Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

The Educational Benefits Of Cultural Institutions, Brian Kisida

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A significant portion of the education children receive occurs outside of the traditional classroom and produces outcomes not typically captured by standardized achievement tests. This dissertation is part of an effort to expand the educational venues and outcomes educational researchers rigorously examine. In particular, I present the key results from experimental studies of the effects of school tours to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR., and to the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, AR.

Chapter 1 focuses on arts exposure and critical thinking outcomes. A problem for the arts’ role in education has been a …

Parental Involvement, Students' Self-Engagement, And Academic Achievement: A Structural Equation Model, Cuirong Wu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the ever-evolving landscape of China's education system, the gap between the rural and urban was always an important issue, not only the multifaceted interplay of parental involvement, student self-engagement, and academic performance. This study utilized a comprehensive national survey dataset through a thorough understanding of cultural nuances and educational intricacies specific to the Chinese context. Its aim was not only to decipher the underlying constructs of parental involvement and student self-engagement but also to investigate how these factors impacted academic achievement among students. The research unfolded in several stages using a representative sample of 10750 students from 112 schools …

Talking Back, With Reawakened Voices: Analyzing The Potential For Indigenous California Languages Coursework At California Polytechnic State University, Logan Cooper

Ethnic Studies

The legacy of colonialism in the United States, including genocidal practices and cultural assimilation, has left Indigenous languages endangered. Native peoples, scholars, and activists have been working to revive and heal the languages of America’s first peoples, and the cultures those languages speak to, yet more work remains in the field of language revitalization. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo currently does not offer any course specifically teaching or discussing Indigenous languages, even those of the Chumash people who know the San Luis Obispo area as their ancestral homelands.

By synthesizing revitalization and Indigenous activist literature with the narratives …

Individual Differences In Digital Badging: Do Learner Characteristics Matter?, Joey R. Fanfarelli, Thomas Rudy Mcdaniel

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Badge use has rapidly expanded in recent years and has benefited a variety of applications. However, a large portion of the research has applied a binary useful or not useful approach to badging. Few studies examine the characteristics of the user and the impact of those characteristics on the effectiveness of the badging system. This study takes preliminary steps toward that cause, examining the effectiveness of a badging system across two web-based university courses in relation to the individual differences of the learners. Individual differences are examined through the lens of Long-Dziuban reactive behavior types and traits. Results revealed differences …

Long-Term Impact Of Teacher Training For Mexican English-Language Teachers, Rochelle Keogh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the long-term impact of the Summer Workshop for English Teachers. Moving beyond participant satisfaction surveys and even measures of participant learning outcomes, this project sought to describe the ways that teachers implemented their program training after returning to Mexico and what affect that had in their classrooms, their schools, and the wider English-teaching community. I surveyed 203 former Summer Workshop participants and conducted focus group interviews with 18 more who attended the professional development training at a U.S. host institution between 2002 and 2013. The data showed that the participants were using …

2015 Oklahoma Research Day Full Program, Northeastern State University

Oklahoma Research Day Abstracts

This document contains all abstracts from the 2015 Oklahoma Research Day held at Northeastern State University.

Effects Of Criteria-Referenced Formative Assessment On Achievement In Music, Christopher Valle

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of criteria-referenced formative assessment on music achievement. Archival data from 1,173 students who participated in the first two years of the Arts Achieve project were used to examine the overall and school level effects of criteria-referenced formative assessment on music achievement, as well as its effect on content knowledge, listening, and performance achievement tasks. The relationships between sources of feedback from formative assessment – self, peer, teacher – and music achievement were also investigated. Unbiased causal treatment effects were derived after employing propensity score analysis to minimize selection bias and …

What Are They Learning? Assessing Theatre/Dance Performance Experiences, Andrew Vorder Bruegge, Meg Schriffen

College of Visual and Performing Arts Faculty Publications

The model of assessment will demonstrate how to align the assessment of production activity with learning goals set by accrediting bodies, the institution, the department, and the specific program. This alignment insures that measurement of student learning is standardized across the students’ entire experience in the program (courses, performances, rehearsals, technical preparations, etc.) Examples of indirect and direct measurement instruments will be presented.

The Impact Of The Sra Corrective Reading Program On Standardized Testing, Tony Oyola

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The implementation of effective reading programs for special education students is paramount for school success due to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the reauthorization of Individual with Disabilities Education Act. One local school implemented the Science Research Associates Corrective Reading Program (SRACRP) because their special education students did not meet the required proficient or advanced reading scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). The purpose of this quantitative within-group study was to determine if special and regular education students demonstrated growth in reading comprehension after the implementation of the SRACRP. The theoretical foundation …

Program Evaluation Of A Tutoring Program To Prepare Disenfranchised Students For College, Rhonda Lee Petrini

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 2001, the San Colombano Project has provided the College-Bound Tutoring program for disenfranchised prospective first-generation college students in a southwestern community of the United States. However, an evaluation of the program had never been conducted. The purpose of the study was to conduct a qualitative, responsive program evaluation in a naturalistic setting using a case-study approach with a constructivist lens to create a narrative portrait of the program. Guided by critical race theory, Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, and Wlodkowski's motivational theory, the study explored the effectiveness of the program. Interviews were conducted and archival data were examined to …

School-Based Supports For Trans Youth In Ontario, Charlie E. C. Davis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Trans youth are some of the most marginalized youths in schools. In 2012, the Ontario Government passed two legislations, one of which was the Accepting Schools Act, strengthening supports for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) students in schools. The other was Toby’s Act, an amendment to the Ontario Human Rights Code including protection from discrimination on the grounds of gender identity and gender expression. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how these two acts have created a political context supporting trans youth in schools. A comprehensive mixed-methods approach was used to examine provincial trends of trans-specific …

A Movement Tool Kit For The Divergent And Convergent Cps Guidelines: Instruction Cards And Activity Floor Mats, Adela Vangelisti

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

A Movement Tool Kit for the Divergent and Convergent CPS Guidelines:

Instruction Cards and Activity Floor Mats

Movement is as natural to humans as breathing is, and, yet, passivity starts early in schools. We are taught to sit still and in silence for long periods of time. By the time we reach adulthood and enter the workforce, we have almost forgotten our sense of embodiment. This lack of movement is counter-productive, not only to learning but to the development of creativity as well. For this project, I designed a tool to recapture the joy and playfulness of movement. Furthermore, the …

“He Venido A Servir A Mi Gente” El Liceo Guacolda Y La Educación Intercultural En Chile / "I Have Come To Serve My People " The Liceo Guacolda And Intercultural Education In Chile, Jake Highleyman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The concept of intercultural education is present in many countries worldwide: it’s the idea of learning through the lenses of more than one culture, not just the Western or dominant one. In Chile, intercultural education is most commonly associated with the mapuche, the largest indigenous group in Chile. Since 1993, Chile has had a federal Bilingual Intercultural Education program (EIB). However, almost all of the implementation is left up to individual schools. The schools that do apply the program at a high school level only do so in an elective-based manner. That is, only students who elect to take a …

The Self-Directedness, Metacognitive Awareness, Self-Efficacy Beliefs, And Grammatical Competence Of College Students Studying Spanish, Juan Guillermo Loaiza

Dissertations

Differential performance is a frequent issue in formal education in general and in second language education in particular. Three variables that may have an effect on college language learners’ performance were identified in the literature on adult education and second language acquisition, namely, self-directed learning, metacognitive awareness, and self-efficacy beliefs. The relationship among those three predictors as well as their relationship with academic performance (in the form of college learners’ grammatical competence in Spanish) was explored using a multiple regression analysis. The statistical analysis showed that none of those three variables predicted learners’ grammatical competence in Spanish. However, participants’ answers …

Music Education, Aesthetics, And The Measure Of Academic Achievement, Karl Madden, David Orenstein, Alexei Oulanov, Yelena Novitskaya, Ida Bazan, Thomas Ostrowski, Min Hyung Ahn

Publications and Research

Grades and test scores are the traditional measurement of academic achievement. Quantitative improvements on standardized scores in Math/Science/Language are highly-coveted outcomes for meeting accreditation standards required for institutional program funding. Music and the Fine Arts, difficult to assess by traditional academic achievement measurement, and often devalued as so-called “luxury” subjects, struggle for necessary funding. Showing measureable collateral value to other academic subjects—such as math—in order to justify music program funding is dubious. To objectify the purpose of music education in terms of its influence on other subjects is to overlook aesthetic value. The scholarly literature recognizes an historical tendency to …

Spanning Boundaries To Identify Archival Literacy Competencies, Sharon A. Weiner, Sammie L. Morris, Lawrence J. Mykytiuk

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This paper is a report of a collaborative research project that identified the competencies undergraduate history majors should have related to finding and using archival materials. The boundary-spanning collaboration involved archivists, librarians, and history faculty.

Historians have long relied upon archives as essential source material, and recent studies confirmed the continued significance of archives to research in this field. However, there is no detailed listing of the archival research competencies that college history students should attain. Without a clearly defined list upon which history faculty, archivists, and library liaisons to history departments agree, teaching about archives research is difficult and …

An Interpretive Plan Guide For Wilderness Park In Lincoln, Nebraska, Rachel J. Ward

Community and Regional Planning Program: Professional Projects

Wilderness Park, located in Lancaster County, Nebraska, is a public park of unique ecological and historical value to the city of Lincoln and to the surrounding region. The natural and historical features of the park present an opportunity to communicate environmental and historical topics that are relevant on local, national, and global levels, as well as inspire a lively sense of pride in the community. The problem is that many topics relevant to Wilderness Park are not currently being interpreted at the park, and that there are relatively few interpretive resources available to park visitors.

The purpose of this project …

An Examination Of South Carolina’S Institutions Of Reform And Their Impact On The Self-Narratives Of African American Men, Ashley E. Krejci-Shaw

Capstone Collection

In the State of South Carolina (SC), African American male adolescents disproportionately face disciplinary action in public schools and other institutions. In 2013, South Carolina’s Department of Juvenile Justice (SCDJJ) released data that listed Black male children comprising 57% of all juvenile referrals in the state. This disproportionate trend is also present in South Carolina’s correctional system. In 2013, South Carolina’s Department of Corrections (SCDOC) reported that out of 20,777 male prisoners, 13,631 were Black. For adolescents or young adults looking to continue their education, alternative programs are available. One program that captures educationally displaced children in South Carolina is …

The Effects Of Student Engagement On Retention: Comparing Male Undergraduate Stem Majors To Non-Stem Majors, Tourgee D. Simpson Jr.

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Researchers suggest certain benchmarks of student engagement (i.e., student-faculty interaction, level of academic challenge, enriching educational experiences, active and collaborative learning, and supportive campus environment) positively influence student success. This study investigated the relationship between student engagement and the retention of male, full-time undergraduate students in STEM majors by comparing male, full-time undergraduate students in select science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors to male, full-time undergraduate students in non-STEM majors to identify best practices to improve retention and increase degree completion among men in STEM fields.

Students were invited to participate in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). …

Comparison Of Piaac And Pisa Frameworks For Numeracy And Mathematical Literacy, Iddo Gal, David Tout

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

This paper describes key aspects of the frameworks for the assessment of adult numeracy and mathematical literacy in PIAAC and PISA, which are OECD two flagship programs for international comparative assessment of competencies. The paper examines commonalities and differences in how the constructs of adult numeracy and mathematical literacy were assessed in PIAAC and PISA, and sketches selected challenges associated with interpretation of results from these surveys.

A Mixed-Methods Study Of The Variables That Influence Florida Southern Baptists' Affirmation Of The Inerrancy Of The Bible, David A. Mcgee

Faculty Dissertations

The culmination of the resurgence within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) was finalized by adopting the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (BFM 2000). The SBC had discovered in the 1970s and 1980s that belief in the inerrancy of the Bible was not being affirmed by their leadership, particularly within their six seminaries. After a twenty plus year battle, the SBC attempted to affirm in more precise language the inerrancy of the Bible through the BFM 2000. However, this raises the question, how has this firm commitment to the inerrancy of the Bible, as affirmed by the leadership, translated to the …

Diversity In Times Of Austerity: Documenting Resistance In The Academy, David Moscowitz, Terri Jett, Terri Carney, Tamara Leech, Ann M. Savage

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

What happens to feminism in the university is parallel to what happens to feminism in other venues under economic restructuring: while the impoverished nation is forced to cut social services and thereby send women back to the hierarchy of the family, the academy likewise reduces its footprint in interdisciplinary structures and contains academic feminists back to the hierarchy of departments and disciplines. When the family and the department become powerful arbiters of cultural values, women and feminist academics by and large suffer: they either accept a diminished role or are pushed to compete in a system they recognize as antithetical …

Deconstructing The Digital Divide: Critical Media Literacy Implementation In The Classroom, Evelyn C. Obamos

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

In this presentation I explore the complexity of the digital divide and propose to use the framework of critical praxis put forth by Paolo Freire in the Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970). Using Freire we are able to build on existing research on the digital divide, contextualize the multi-dimensional issue of the divide, and respond to the social, cultural, and political issues within and beyond the classroom environment.

Word On The Street: Instilling A Relationship Between Art And Community, Joyce Peseroff

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The project “Word on the Street” will be integrated into ENGL 210: Introduction to Creative Writing. Beginning as a pilot in one course section in Spring 2014, the course will partner with the Black Seed Writers’ Workshop, a group of homeless writers supported by the Cathedral Church of St. Paul’s Wednesday Lunch Program. Professor Joyce Peseroff and Master of Fine Arts graduate student Teaching Assistants (TA) will participate in the Civic Engagement Scholars Initiative (CESI) to build capacity for course redesign, implementation, assessment, and scholarship.

Analyzing Responses To Open Ended Questions For Spirit Using Aspect Oriented Sentiment Analysis, Animesh Jain

Open Access Theses

Open ended questions provide an effective way of measuring the attitude and perception of respondents towards a topic. Surprising Possibilities Imagined and Realized through Information Technology (SPIRIT) was a program (2008-2012) that employed open-ended questions to gauge program participants' attitudes related to computing. SPIRIT sought to increase the interest of high school students, especially female students, towards computing courses and careers. Pre- and post-attitude surveys were used during the program to measure the changes in attitudes of the participants towards IT and also to analyze the impact different sessions had on different demographic groups of participants. The open-ended survey questions …

The Student Augustinian Values Institute: Assessing Its Impact Of Enhancing The Understanding And Experience Of The Augustinian Core Values Of Veritas, Unitas, And Caritas Upon Students In Augustinian Secondary Schools, Stephen M. Curry

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Educational leadership understands the importance of teaching values in its schools and incorporates this philosophy into the school’s symbolic and structural systems. Roman Catholic Church leaders have always endorsed the teaching of values in its schools and this position was sanctioned at its Second Vatican Council (Vatican Council II, 1962-65). One aspect of the Council emphasized the importance of Catholic education as an essential vehicle for proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. Catholic schools founded and sponsored by religious communities were challenged to reappropriate their founders’ charisms in their educational ministries. The Order of St. Augustine is an example …

Student Bonding As Community-Building, James Edward Martin

Research Collection Centre for English Communication

The concept of student bonding is likely to be supported by most teachers. It is quite clear that student attitudes influence learning, and bonding is often seen as a way to help create a positive atmosphere that will promote participation in class (i.e., making students more comfortable in the often “socially risky” environment of the English language classroom). For this purpose and to maximize bonding, cooperative language learning techniques, for example, have sometimes been used (see, e.g., Wichadee & Orawiwatnakul, 2012).

In this article, however, I will focus my discussion on a related but somewhat different rationale for bonding and …

College And Career Readiness Anchor Standards For English: Preparedness Of Students And Teachers As Perceived By West Virginia English Language Arts Teachers In Grades Six Through Twelve, Mary Ann Triplett

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine how prepared students are to learn the competencies outlined in the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for English Language Arts and how prepared teachers are to teach those same competencies as perceived by West Virginia English Language Arts teachers in grades six through twelve. In addition, this study examined differences, if any, between student preparedness and teacher preparedness as well as differences among respondents with different demographic or attribute variables. Finally, this study described effective instructional strategies and beneficial professional development topics identified by respondents. Data obtained from responses …

The Historical Formation Of Academic Identities: Rhetoric And Composition, Discourse And Writing, Louise Wetherbee Phelps

English Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) This talk originated in my work as a consultant at the University of Winnipeg, where I spent six weeks on a Fulbright Specialist grant in Spring 2011. I was invited to advise the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Communications on its plans for “program architecture renewal,” which included critically assessing its programs, articulating levels of the curriculum, and charting future directions for the department. The grant had larger goals as well, charging me to study the development of writing and rhetorical studies in Canada as an emerging field seeking both definition and visibility. The Winnipeg faculty hoped that …

Learning To Retell Stories Through Comparative Teaching: Writing And Drawing, Rachel L. Lindle

Theses and Dissertations--Art and Visual Studies

Students who are emergent readers and writers are often difficult to assess, as they are unable to communicate understanding in writing. From my observations, these students communicate ideas best through concrete forms of expression, rather than the abstract formation of letters and writing that is unfamiliar to them. Drawing provides an alternate form of expression from writing. Based on information found in literature review and personal experiences from working with students who are emergent readers and writers, pictures and drawings are a bridge to communicate ideas with these students. This form of expression and communication may be a useful assessment …