Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Examining Sociocultural Contexts Of Classrooms To Foster Student Mathematical Discourse And Learning, Melva R. Grant

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Mathematics learning and teaching are optimized in classrooms when reform-oriented culture (ROC) is present. This report presents a case study that illustrates how ROC manifested and influenced mathematical Discourses in one sixth-grade classroom. The data was drawn from a study that addressed the question: How do classroom interactions influence mathematical Discourses? The study used interpretive methodology for analysis. One finding was that classroom boundary interactions either enhanced or hindered mathematical Discourses dependent upon sociocultural context alignments. An implication of this research is when “effective” learning and/or teaching strategies are identified, “effective” implementation may require paying close attention to sociocultural context …

A Phenomenographic Study Of Introductory Physics Students: Approaches To Their Learning And Perceptions Of Their Learning Environment In A Physics Problem-Based Learning Environment, Paul Irving

Doctoral

This phenomenographic study describes students’ approaches to learning and their perceptions of the learning environment in an introductory physics course which is taught using a problem-based learning approach. This research builds on previous studies which showed that these students develop a greater conceptual knowledge than their counterparts in a more traditional learning environment while others showed very little development even though they engaged fully with the pedagogy. This study aimed to examine and describe the students’ approaches to learning. The definitions of surface, strategic and deep approaches to learning are not appropriate in this context and could not be applied …

Using Knowledge Of Student Cognition To Differentiate Instruction, Silvana M.R. Watson, Robert A. Gable

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

By all accounts, learning is a complex task that requires a student to use and apply a range of cognitive skills. A student's ability to retain information while performing concurrent processing, often referred to as working memory (WM), is critical to the acquisition of increasingly more complex knowledge and skills. Not surprisingly, WM is often linked to successful learning and student academic achievement. According to the academic literature, WM is a very useful measure of a student's capability to acquire new information². Most students are able to successfully respond to classroom instruction that requires them to rely on their WM …

Are Developmental Math Courses Being Offered At The Appropriate Time Of Day To Optimize Student Success?, Ralph Cox

Mathematics Graduate Theses

This research paper will identify if a relationship exists between success in pre-requisite developmental math courses and the time of day that the course is offered for students enrolled at a rural community and technical college in northwestern Minnesota. The ACCUPLACER Arithmetic test was administered originally during new student orientation and then, again, at the completion of pre-requisite developmental Math Foundations courses. Paired Pre- and Post- Test data was gathered over seven years, from 2002 to 2009, for a total of 268 students (n=268). The data was then evaluated using one-tail two-sample T-tests assuming unequal variances to determine if a …

Ict Integration Efforts In Higher Education In Developing Economies: The Case Of Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, Dawit Tibebu, Tridib Bandyopadhyay, Solomon Negash

Faculty Articles

A situational modified version of Tearle’s model (2004) is utilized in this study to understand the integration of ICTs in the educational process. The study evaluated self efficacy beliefs, institutional support and policy in the context of developing economies where challenges of inadequate resources and insufficient skills persist. We assess the state of affairs, and the challenges faced by teachers and management at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. The results show that educators are generally appreciative of ICTs role in the teaching/learning process.

The Effects Of Block Scheduling On Ap Calculus Ab Student Achievement, Larry A. Lightner

Mathematics Graduate Theses

Student achievement on the AP Calculus AB Exam is always a concern for teachers and school districts that offer the exam. A factor of concern that also arises is a school’s schedule. A school’s schedule may have an affect on achievement. This study examines the comparison in achievement of students who take the AP Calculus AB Exam under a block schedule and a traditional schedule system. Block Scheduling is defined as a class period of 80-90 minutes with 4 periods each day, allowing a full year’s curriculum to be offered in one semester. Traditional scheduling is defined as a class …

Cooperative Learning In The Mathematics Classroom, Janine Regnier

Mathematics Graduate Theses

Student interactions are important which provokes the idea that cooperative learning should be incorporated into classrooms. Research states many benefits for incorporating cooperative learning and are included in the literature review. Cooperative groups were introduced and studied by the author, who ultimately concluded that cooperative learning does have a place in Mathematics classrooms and should be used when the lesson lends itself to a cooperative environment. The study results can be found in this paper following the literature review.

To What Degree Will Differentiated Instruction Impact Student Grades In A Middle School Classroom?, Maureen K. Wilke

Mathematics Graduate Theses

The middle school student population encompasses one of the widest ranges of diversity in the educational system. Besides cultural, religious, educational, economical diversity, the middle school student copes with physical and psychological changes as well. It is important to understand that reaching students successfully is not teaching one way, but providing a learning experience based on students’ needs. The five key differentiated strategies in the classroom are: knowing the student, the environment, meaningful lessons, tiered assignments, and assessment. Gather as much information on the students, such as data from past standardize tests, conversation with students, student journals about success and …

Beyond Competition--Innovation For A Sustainable Future, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

Dr. Marshall outlines her belief that the current context and conditions of schooling are far too constrained, prescribed and risk-averse for our children’s imagination, and as a result, actually mitigate against innovative thinking and creative and collaborative problem-solving. Authentic learning is a live encounter. She feels that we cannot mandate, punish or test our children into greatness and provides recommendations for educational transformation--not reform--to design the educational experiences needed by today's children.

Blessed Unrest: The Power Of Unreasonable People To Change The World, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

In her keynote address at the 2008 NCSSSMST Professional Conference, Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall addresses what work can be done with the collective resources of its Consortium members which beg to be shared and connected--and also explores what the source of "...our Blessed Unrest that will give us the courage to become unreasonable advocates for our children and for STEM transformation?"

What Helps Law Professors Develop As Teachers? -- An Empirical Study, Gerald F. Hess, Sophie M. Sparrow

Law Faculty Scholarship

The overall goal of this article is to provide concrete suggestions for how law schools can improve teaching and enrich law student learning. In doing so, it reviews and analyzes the data collected from two national surveys about the kinds of faculty development activities that are most effective in improving law professors’ teaching. One survey was designed to quantify how many law teachers engaged in twenty-two types of teaching development activities over the previous five years and to assess the effectiveness of each of those activities. The other survey focused on the effectiveness of a national conference on teaching and …

Confluent Education: Curriculum Developed To Create Connections For Students, Blythe Ariana Wilson Fuge

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to develop a confluent interdisciplinary unit for use by other teachers. Confluent education focuses on teaching the affective and cognitive domains in a seamless approach in which the education of both domains are part of the objectives in the lessons. Includes lesson plans.

The Teaching And Learning Cycle: Integrating Curriculum, Instruction, And Assessment, Donna L. Jones

Christian Perspectives in Education

The philosophies of educators and government entities guide the teaching and learning cycle of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The educator’s worldview plays an important part in developing these concepts which is demonstrated throughout history. Studying the history of the educational philosophers reveals their beliefs about curriculum, instruction, and assessments and the effects on education today. It shows the importance of integrating all three concepts in the educational process creating the teaching and learning cycle.

Effects Of Illustrations On Retention And Visual Attention Using Authentic Textbooks, Loris P. Fagioli

Master's Theses

Problem

The purpose of this exploratory study was to validate a model of multimedia learning, incorporating learner-specific characteristics such as intelligence, memory, and measures of visual attention.

Method

The sample consisted of 62 Andrews University students (26 males, 36 females, and mean age 21.7). Data were gathered by means of standardized testing (RPM, WAIS- III) and eye-tracking. MLR was used to determine significant visual attention predictors for retention and SEM was used to test a hypothesized model of multimedia learning.

Results

Multiple Linear Regression was significant (p.05; GFI = .923; CFI = .986; RMSEA = .043; PGFI = .451) proving …

Assessing Online Discussion Forum Participation, Matthew Shaul

Faculty Articles

As a socially constructive learning tool, discussion forums remain central to online education. They have continued to evolve in functionality, acquiring ever-increasing usability features. However, development has lagged in providing instructors the means to assess student work in forums. The author submits an overview of his software program that provides instructors with the means to evaluate forum work quickly, easily, and repeatedly. The software accomplishes this by accessing the forums' underlying database, searching for manifest and latent data, and calculating data associated with an array of metrics. This is a Web-based tool built on Open Source and standards-based languages, providing …

The Rhode Map To Success: The Exploratory Student’S Guide To Choosing An Undergraduate Major, Kaitlin O'Hara

Senior Honors Projects

Entering college without a major has become more prevalent over the past decade. Colleges and universities are opening their arms to the undecided, providing them with extensive resources and assistance to help direct them to a major and, ultimately, a career. The University of Rhode Island has admitted an increasing number of undeclared incoming freshmen over the past few years. This fall semester, approximately fifteen percent of freshman class did not declare a major prior to starting classes. This percentage of students represents a very special group at the University College. The undecided academic advisors at the University College developed …

Best Practices In Writing Assessment, Robert C. Calfee, Roxanne Greitz Miller

Education Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Our assignment in this chapter is to discuss best practices in writing assessment, a task that poses a twofold challenge for teachers-first, the task of providing authentic opportunities for students to acquire skill in writing while covering an ever-increasing array of other curriculum demands; second, the overriding pressures to ensure that students perform well on the standardized tests that have become the primary accountability index. As we complete this chapter, few state testing systems rely to any significant degree on performance tests for measuring student achievement. Multiple-choice tests dominate, and on-demand writing tests (including the SAT) generally contravene the counsel …

Theories Of Learning And Curriculum Design - Key Positionalities And Their Relationships, Tony Cunningham, Julie Gannon, Mary B. Kavanagh, John Greene, Louise Reddy, Laurence Whitson

Articles

One of the challenges academics face when designing pedagogies and curricula is how best to articulate their own positionalities regarding the different ways theories or models of learning inform both the process of design as well as the product. It is difficult to find a text book or design resource that illustrates the relationships between the main theories of learning and how they might inform a coherent approach to programme design in higher education. For that reason we decided to produce this summative guide to learning theories and a chart illustrating their relevance for pedagogies and for curriculum design. The …

Aesthetic Knowing: Essential To The Development Of Heart And Mind., Laura Howzell-Young, Susan Daniels

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Children are biologically wired to experience their world through rich sensory, affective, aesthetic, and imaginal experiences. Children thirst for art, music and movement, and these modes are utilized widely to learn the varied languages of literacy: the alphabet, numbers, vocabulary, body-sense and more. Yet, in response to meeting higher and more prescribed standards at the elementary and secondary levels, there is a tendency to narrow the curriculum, to consider art and music expendable, to view social-emotional development as external to the schoolhouse. This narrowing is happening just as our global culture is moving again toward multiple kinds of communication: toward …

Review Of After Education: Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, And Psychoanalytic Histories Of Learning By Deborah Britzman, Marla Morris

Curriculum, Foundations & Reading: Faculty Publications

This review was published in the Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies.

Nf05-626 Communicating With Families: Building Relationships, Mary K. Warner, Debra E. Schroeder, Mary Nelson, Eileen Krumbach, Sarah Effken Purcell, Kathy Bosch, John Defrain

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Successful child-care providers, preschool teachers and elementary teachers begin to establish positive relationships with the children in their care or classrooms as soon as possible. Here are some guidelines for making closer contact with the children's families.

Nf95-641 Car — A Strategy For Learning, Janet S. Hanna, Kayla M. Hinrichs, Carla J. Mahar, John Defrain

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Language and literacy development starts at the very beginning of a child's life and is one of the main developmental events of early childhood. This process if facilitated by early adult-child interactions in which the adult guides and supports the child's learning by building on what the child already knows. Following the child's lead, a key strategy presented in Language Is the Key is one of the defining aspects of developmentally appropriate practice. It has been shown to successfuly facilitate early language development for children with and without disabilities.

Walk With Your Kids: Early Childhood Pedestrian Injury Prevention Project: Classroom Activies: Pre-Primary, Marnie House, Maree James

Research outputs pre 2011

This resource contains learning activities designed to provide a review for children of the five road crossing steps, to introduce chiidren to sequencing these steps and then road crossing scenarios to build children's problem solving skills. The learning activities are designed to be developmentally and cognitively appropriate for pre-primary children, with a focus on learning through play.

The Effects Of The Use Of Dynamic Geometry Software On Student Achievement And Interest, Heidi B. Hansen

Mathematics Graduate Theses

This study examines the current research that exists on the effects that the use of dynamic geometry software has on student achievement and interest level in mathematics. Additional questions examined are whether using dynamic geometry software has a greater impact on high or low achievers, and what current methods of implementation are suggested by the research. A review of the relevant literature indicates that the use of dynamic geometry software does have a positive effect on student achievement, particularly achievement in areas of high-level thinking. Insufficient research has been done on the effect that the use of dynamic geometry software …

Synchronous Text-Based Chat Vis-À-Vis Asynchronous Threaded Discussion: An Instructional Strategy For Providing An Option In Two Course Delivery Schemes, Shin Yi Lin

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an instructional strategy of providing students an option of two types of online text-based discussion (chat vs. threaded discussion forum) had significant effects on student satisfaction, cognitive achievement, and self-efficacy. In an effort to identify any differential effects associated with student characteristics, students' age and learning preferences were used as blocking variables. The study sample was teacher education students. Statistical procedures employed were MANOVA; MANCOVA, regression analysis, chi-square, and correlation were employed. The findings show that such an instructional customization—providing the online discussion forum option—has positive impacts on student satisfaction and …

Mathematical Card Tricks, Sarah Zimmermann

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

A Study Of Elementary School Teachers' Perceptions Regarding The Match Between Teachers' Teaching Styles And Students' Learning Styles, Sandra Eileen Sutton

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Journaling In The Secondary Mathematics Classroom: An Introduction, Defense, And Resource, Emily K. Falgier

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Adventure Education And Learning Communities: Linking Classroom Learning With Everyday Life, Andrew J. Bobilya, Lynn D. Akey

Academic Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Changing Roles Of Title I Reading Teachers In Light Of New Provisions And Teamteaching Model, Abha Gupta, Eileen S. Oboler

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

We present the important and very complicated roles of the Title I Reading teacher in light of a new instructional paradigm: teamteaching. Following the 1994 reauthorization of Title I, Reading teachers often find themselves in multiple professional roles (Improving America's Schools Act, 1994). Based on observational data collected in our research on elementary school communities, five major categories of professional roles emerged (Oboler, 1993; Gupta and Oboler, 1998). We interpret Reading teachers' roles with respect to the new provisions found in the Interim Report, 1996, issued by the U.S. Department of Education (http://www.ed.gov/pubs/NatAssess), and Title I, Part A, Title I …