Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Analysis Of Student And Faculty Perceptions Of Textbook Costs In Higher Education, Michael Troy Martin, Olga Maria Belikov, John Hilton Iii, David Wiley, Lane Fischer

Entrepreneurship Faculty Research

The cost of textbooks has continued to impact students in higher education. Students have reported that they make decisions on which courses to take based on the specific cost of textbooks. Faculty have reported willingness to use open textbooks to help ease the burden on students but are unsure where to find viable options. We examined the responses of 676 students and 573 faculty from a large private university (Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah) to understand the real impact of textbooks costs to students and how they are dealing with this ongoing problem. We found that 66% of students at …

The Dividing Lines Of Opportunity: The Relationships Among Student Characteristics And Selected Institutional Services At Two-Year Public And For-Profit Colleges, Elizabeth Anne Gilblom

ETD Archive

This study examined if and to what extent selected institutional services and special learning and credit opportunities in the 2-year private, for-profit college sector and community colleges in the United States are related to race, socioeconomic status and urbanicity. The researcher evaluated whether the institutional services and special learning and credit opportunities available to students at these 1,479 institutions are stratified by the socioeconomic and racial characteristics of their student bodies and their local communities, by institutional control, by the institution’s degree of urbanization, and the student financial aid characteristics. The researcher also investigated the relationship among institutional services, special …

Western Guide To Working With Teaching Assistants, Erin E. Fraser, Kevin Morse, Natasha Hannon, Karyn Olsen, Nanda Dimitrov

Purple Guides

This guide offers valuable strategies for working effectively with both tutorial and laboratory TAs, preparing TAs for grading, managing TA teams, mentoring TAs as junior instructors, and more.

Ipads And Paintbrushes: An Exploratory Case Study Of Integrating Digital Media As Placed Resources Into An Intergenerational Art Class, Rachel Heydon, Lori Mckee, Bridget Daly

Education Publications

This exploratory case study integrated digital media as placed resources into an intergenerational art class. Its goals were to generate knowledge of how to bring young children and elders together to expand their opportunities for meaning making and seeing themselves in affirming ways so as to generate transferable understanding of digitally-enhanced multimodal curricula across the lifespan. Participants included 15 elders and 9 pre-schoolers. Focusing on how the digital media were used and with what implications for participants’ literacy and identity options as well as relationship building, data were collected through ethnographic methods, and a qualitative thematic analysis with multimodal elements …

Singing Our Song: The Affordances Of Singing In An Intergenerational, Multimodal Literacy Program, Rachel Heydon, Lori Mckee, Susan O'Neill

Education Publications

This exploratory case study examined singing as a multimodal literacy practice within ensembles that featured art, singing and digital media produced in an intergenerational program that served a class of kindergarten children and community elders. The program that was set up by the study in collaboration with a rural school and home for seniors, saw participants meet one afternoon a week for most of a school year. Study questions concerned the meaning making and relationship-building opportunities afforded to the participants as they worked through chains of multimodal projects. Data were collected using ethnographic tools in the seniors’ home where the …

Benefits Of Participating In Service-Learning, Business-Related Classes: Assessing The Impact On The Community Partners, Nancy Vizenor, Tasha J. Souza, Joshua Jordan Ertmer

CTL Teaching Gallery

Problem: Many universities offer service-learning classes that provide opportunities for students and community partners to work together on semester-long projects. Researchers have been especially interested in the benefits students receive in service-learning classes, and those benefits have been well recognized (Eyler, Giles, Stenson, & Gray, 2001). However, the benefits to community partners have been assumed but seldom explored empirically (Bringle & Steinberg, 2010; Cruz & Giles, 2000; Dorado & Giles, 2004). Research Questions: How beneficial were the service-learning projects to the community partners? What were the community partners’ experiences working with the students? Research Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design was …

Reading In English And In Chinese: Case Study Of Retrospective Miscue Analysis With Two Adult Ells, Yang Wang, Carol J. Gilles

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Retrospective Miscue Analysis (RMA) has proved to be a useful instructional tool in language arts classrooms and for English learners from various cultures. However, it has not been used with native Mandarin-speaking English learners. This qualitative case study explored the reading process of two adult Mandarin-speaking ELs through RMA. They read two pieces in simplified Chinese and two in English respectively. This study demonstrates that RMA supports adult ELs to become more metacognitive about their reading process, uncover reading strategies they use, build their confidence to read, acquire more agency, and learn more about the English language. RMA is a …

Conferring In The Café: One-To-One Reading Conferences In Two First Grade Classrooms, Bethanie Pletcher, Rosalynn Christensen

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to explore the teacher/student reading conferences in two first grade teachers’ classrooms in one primary school. Sixteen one-to-one reading conferences were recorded and transcribed over a two-month period and coded for content as related to the CAFÉ (Boushey & Moser, 2009) model of reading instruction, which the teachers used daily. We found that the two teachers placed heavy emphasis on students’ reading accuracy (the “A” in CAFÉ) and did not spend as much time working on comprehension, fluency, or expanding vocabulary (the C, F, and E in CAFÉ). We suggest teachers …

Blended Learning Benefits Academic Growth, Lindsey Harris

WRIT: Journal of First-Year Writing

The research in this writing piece discusses the academic advantages of integrating technology into traditional learning through the platform of Blended Learning.

Factors That Influence Teachers' Use, Or Non-Use, Of Small Group Discussion, Julie Snider Snider

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE TEACHERS’ USE, OR NON-USE,

OF SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

by

JULIANNE SNIDER

August 2016

Advisor: Dr. Karen Feathers

Major: Reading, Language, and Literature

Degree: Doctor of Education

This qualitative study explored teacher answers to one question: What factors influence teachers’ decisions to use, or not use, small group discussion. Research supports a variety of small group discussion approaches to meet a range of curricular goals. Despite the philosophical move to student-centered discussion approaches, and research supporting small group discussion as an effective literacy approach, teacher led whole class discussion continues as the dominant approach. An online teacher …

Written Language Performance Following Embedded Grammar Instruction, Ginger Collins, Jan Norris

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This study explored whether presenting grammar instruction within the context of reading and writing would improve writing skills. The participating schools were using a traditional grammar instruction in which grammar lessons were predominately taught using worksheets and were presented separately from other reading and writing activities. This was termed Discrete Grammar Instruction (DGI). The researchers introduced a contextualized grammar instruction approach, termed Embedded Grammar Instruction (EGI), which taught grammar within authentic contexts of reading and writing. Students in grades three through eight were assigned to either the EGI group (N = 164) or the DGI group (N = 156). Two …

Exploring Writing Circles As Innovative, Collaborative Writing Structures With Teacher Candidates, Sherron Killingsworth Roberts, Norine Blanch, Nandita Gurjar

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Writing circles are “small groups . . . meeting regularly to share drafts, choose common writing topics, practice positive response, and in general, help each other become better writers” (Vopat, 2009, p. 6). In this exploratory study, writing circles were employed with elementary teacher candidates in hopes of enhancing their perceptions about writing and authorship. This mixed methods pilot used a convenience sample of 28 teacher candidates in a language arts methods course. Based on interest and using writing workshop elements, weekly writing circles were formed and generated one collaborative manuscript. Afterward, 68% of candidates reported improvement in writing skills. …

“This I Believe” About The Teaching Of Writing: Secondary Teachers’ Digital Essays About Their Pedagogical Understandings, Denise N. Morgan, Natasha H. Chenowith

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This case study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) examines the final projects of two secondary teachers in a graduate course about writing pedagogy. Teachers created digital essays along the lines of the National Public Radio’s “This I Believe” essays, which articulated their beliefs about the teaching of writing. We posed two research questions: a) What pedagogical understandings do teachers identify as their beliefs about writing and how do they represent those ideas in a digital composition? b) What did teachers learn from participating in the process of composing a digital essay? We found that teachers “reimagined” the teaching of writing, were …

What’S Brewing? A Statistics Education Discovery Project, Marla A. Sole, Sharon L. Weinberg

Publications and Research

We believe that students learn best, are actively engaged, and are genuinely interested when working on real-world problems. This can be done by giving students the opportunity to work collaboratively on projects that investigate authentic, familiar problems. This article shares one such project that was used in an introductory statistics course. We describe the steps taken to investigate why customers are charged more for iced coffee than hot coffee, which included collecting data and using descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Interspersed throughout the article, we describe strategies that can help teachers implement the project and scaffold material to assist students …

Exploring Teaching Methods Corresponding With The Theory Of Basic Human Values In Late Childhood And Early Adolescence Classrooms, Nicole Daly

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Recent research that indicates ten universal values are shared across cultures has developed into the Schwartz Value Systems Theory. This theory describes the ten basic human values that derive from different motivational forces such as social superiority, an inner desire in novelty, and loyalty to one’s group. The values and corresponding motivational forces guide an individual’s decisions. After the Schwartz Value Systems Theory had been developed, two surveys have been created in order to assess an individual’s value hierarchy. While both of these surveys accurately measure an adult’s values, further research has indicated children possess individual values similarly to adults. …

Animals In Space!, Courtney Wright

Cold War & Space Race

This is an extremely flexible project about the role of animals in space that you should adapt to fit your classroom’s needs. When I designed this lesson plan, I kept in mind different socioeconomic levels, and access to technology (or rather, lack thereof). I have attached my personal “daily” schedule for your use and guidance, but this project can be adaptable to any classroom without any set time restrictions. The point of this project is to allow students to learn how to research and present information. Additionally, it corresponds with the Hidden Figures nonfiction book because it requires students to …

The Transition From Naca To Nasa, Courtney Samans

Cold War & Space Race

The artifact that I have created to be a resource for teachers is a PowerPoint presentation on the transition from The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), to The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Students’ Opinions About Science And Technology In Turkey And The United States: A Cross-Cultural Study, Hunkar Korkmaz, Julie Thomas, Nilgun Tatar, Serpil Aktas

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

The aim of this study is to determine the thoughts of Turkish and American middle school students on science and technology. One intact school was assigned randomly for this study from both countries. The sampling of the study contains 479 students (363 Turkish students, 116 American students) from two countries aged between 11 and 13. The data for the study were obtained by using ROSE Survey. The results of the study revealed similarities and dissimilarities on science and technology between the students of the two countries. The findings of the study are thought to improve the education of universal science …

The Use Of Hands-On Educational Pedagogy In A Standardized Science Curriculum, Sarah Alam

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Introduction

The purpose of this project is to implement an innovative, and engaging knowledge transfer pedagogy for 5th grade science students. This project utilized Stealth Learning, a learning pedagogy developed by Dr. James Rosser.^{99,100,109,110} The program featured applied learning to develop skill sets in general and drone aviation, as well as minimally invasive surgery techniques. This was facilitated through the use of computers, table simulators, and drones.

Methodology

This project took standardized subject matter from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) and converted it into content featuring the Stealth approach. The section that was converted was the "Practice of …

Lifelong Learning: A Strategic Analysis Of Education, Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Are outdated traditional education, distance education, information technological infrastructure, partnerships and financial resources common problematic issues facing many of the educational institutions in our world today? With this into considerations, are these issues vital in order to stabilize the political and economic embroidery of an institution or organization, and its psychological and sociological awareness? What is it that is to be learned and thought in our institutions and, what really is lifelong education; and how is to be carried out in the society of ours? It is found that education may be the training of the mind to perform desire …

When Children Are Water: Representation Of Central American Migrant Children In Public Discourse And Implications For Educators, Theresa Catalano

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Since June, 2014 when the U.S. government began to document an increase in unaccompanied/separated children arriving in the United States from Central America, these children have become a frequent topic in media discourse. Because rhetoric about immigration issues have been shown to affect schooling of these children, the present paper aims to examine how these children are represented in the discourse of one community. Findings from this critical multimodal discourse analysis reveal multiple strategies of representation that result in the dominant metaphor of IMMIGRANT CHILDREN ARE DANGEROUS WATER and negative perceptions that have implications for the education of these students.

Learning From Rookie Mistakes: Critical Incidents In Developing Pedagogical Content Knowledge For Teaching Science To Teachers, Suleyman Cite, Eun Lee, Deepika Menon, Deborah L. Hanuscin

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

While there is a growing literature focused on doctoral preparation for teaching about science teaching, rarely have recommendations extended to preparation for teaching science content to teachers. We three doctoral students employ self-study as a research methodology to investigate our developing pedagogical content knowledge for teaching science to teachers during a mentored internship in an elementary teacher professional development program. With our mentor, we examine critical incidents in the experience that supported new insights about teaching teachers and about ways in which beginning teacher educators need to develop their existing pedagogical content knowledge for teaching science to students in order …

Treble In The Environment: Incorporating Music Into Environmental Education, Shinara Sunderlal

Pitzer Senior Theses

In this era where global sustainability is challenged, environmental education plays a vital role in building environmental awareness. Other roles of environmental education include the promotion of responsible citizenship and the fostering of environmental advocacy in children. As a way to strengthen these goals of environmental education, this thesis explores the dynamic uses of music to compound on the fields impact. I argue that the benefits of music outlined suggest music’s power to heighten environmental sensitivity from a young age. I use narratives from the environmental education, music, education, and psychology discourses to demonstrate the theoretical advantages of music in …

Investigating Students’ Perception Using Construction Management Simulations, Saeed Rokooei, James D. Goedert, Asregedew Woldesenbet

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Faculty Publications

Today, construction programs are incorporating a wide variety of active learning methods in their curricula to improve student learning outcomes and induce a more knowledge retention rate. Simulations and educational games are one of the fast growing and effective active learning methods that have been implemented in many programs. However, there are few instances of such learning methods applied in construction programs and a limited number of research projects have been conducted to investigate short-term and long-term outcomes of these methods and applications. This paper presents construction students’ perceptions of tested simulations with regards to the features, knowledge gained, level …

Authors & Endmatter (Jnchc 18-1)

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

About the Authors

About the NCHC Monograph Series

NCHC Monographs & Journals

NCHC Publications Order Form

In This Issue (Back cover)

Black Excellence: Fostering Intellectual Curiosity In Minority Honors Students At A Predominantly White Research Institution, Stephen C. Scott

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

As a recent alumnus of the West Virginia University Honors College, I recognize my honors experience as a multi-faceted, intellectual journey that pushed me academically, professionally, and personally to become the lifelong learner that I am today. As the only Black honors student in my graduating class, I was aware of my tokenism, especially in my honors courses, in the honors college office, in the honors learning center (testWELL Learning Center), and in university and honors college committee meetings, but I never let it bother me much. My peers misperceived me as an “Oreo”; my physical appearance was Black, yet …

Applying Encoding And Retrieval Techniques To Chinese Rhyme Reading In Advanced Placement Chinese Instruction, Nan Wang

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

Learning Chinese as a foreign language is increasingly prevalent in public school districts in the U.S. As ACTFL (2011) reported, an increasing number of enrollments of Advanced Placement Chinese courses indicate a growing demand for Chinese language courses in U.S. public school districts (ACTFL, 2011; ACTFL, 2017). AP foreign language exams indicate that students from the mainstream culture in the U.S. do not perform as well as racial minority test takers (Brown & Thompson, 2016). Therefore, implementing appropriate teaching strategies in a student-centered foreign language environment is a desperate need. This is a pragmatic instructional design proposal, which emphasizes the …

Project Based Learning: Assessing And Measuring Student Participation, Bethany A. Clark

Research and Evaluation in Education, Technology, Art, and Design

This paper includes a literature review exploring the major components of project-based learning (PBL) followed by an analysis of research conducted in a classroom utilizing project-based learning concepts. The literature review includes an in-depth look at terminology and elements to be included in PBL projects and how PBL differs from traditional classroom projects. It also discusses assessment techniques and the benefits on students of implementing PBL. The focus of the review is on the idea that with more student control over their own learning, the more motivated students will be to complete and succeed. With student influence and participation at …

Educational Development As Pink Collar Labor: Implications And Recommendations, Lindsay Bernhagen, Emily Gravett

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Against a backdrop of other professional arenas, including higher education, this article examines the field of educational development—who we are (mostly women) and what we do (care, service, and emotional labor)—through the lens of gender. While we suggest that educational development may provide a positive counterexample to the male dominance in other higher education professions, we also argue that the common devaluing of women and their labor, well- documented in other arenas, may contribute to educational developers’ "marginal" positions on campuses, our difficulties getting "invited to the table," as well as our challenges in becoming more involved in organizational development …

Educational Development Efforts Aligned With The Assessment Cycle, Phyllis Blumberg

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Using an assessment cycle as an organizing framework, this article illustrates how educational development and assessment mutually complement each other. It describes an assessment study conducted to determine if two colleges at a small university met their strategic goals to increase the adoption of learning-centered teaching. This study served the parallel function of assessing the impact of sustained educational development efforts by the Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL) to promote learning-centered teaching. The majority of interviewed faculty reported using learning-centered approaches. The data collection method itself also served as a teachable moment for faculty who do not attend CTL …