Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Classroom Ideas For Promoting Social Justice: Encouraging Student Activism In Intercultural And Gender Communication Courses, Amy Aldridge Sanford

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Communication courses (e.g., intercultural communication and gender communication) dedicated to the promotion of social justice often result in students’ raised consciousness regarding privilege and the oppression of people who have been marginalized historically. Affected students, however, often are at a loss about what to do with the newly acquired knowledge; consequently, they may experience anger and frustration that causes them to feel overwhelmed and leaves them with a sense of hopelessness. This essay provides 10 suggestions to help communication pedagogues guide students from anger and hopelessness to action and empowerment. Tips offered center on classroom discourse, curriculum choices, and potential …

Taking Interest In Students’ Disinterest: Best Practices For Mitigating Amotivation In The Basic Course, Electra Gilchrist-Petty

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

As a general education requirement, basic communication course instructors are afforded the unique opportunity to reach a variety of students. Because many students often are enrolled in the basic communication course out of necessity, student amotivation can transform what should be a dynamic and interactive classroom experience into a daunting challenge that stifles the pedagogical process. To assist in engaging students, 10 best practices for mitigating amotivation in the basic course are presented. By following these best practices, instructors can help cultivate a more engaged and interactive classroom experience for both themselves and their students.

Best Practices For Retaining Public Speaking Students, Kimberly M. Weismann, Shannon B. Vanhorn, Christina G. Paxman

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This article draws on existing communication research and praxes to share the best practices for retaining students enrolled in the introductory public speaking course. Among the many important pedagogical practices that communication scholars have documented, this article highlights the value of 10 best practices: instructor use of immediacy and confirmation; instructor inclusion of written prescriptive feedback, peer feedback workshops, low-stakes assignments, applied assignments, and individual speech preparation tools; and instructor participation in out-of-class communication, online office hours, and classroom-connectedness.

Integrating Service-Learning In The Public Speaking Course, Elizabeth A. Munz, Roger D. Gatchet, Matthew R. Meier

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This best-practices article endorses incorporating service-learning into the foundational public speaking course. The article explains connections between service-learning and the rhetorical tradition, highlights pedagogical approaches that would benefit from a service-learning component, and discusses the benefits of service-learning for community partners and students. The remainder of the article focuses on how to implement servicelearning in a public speaking course, including reflection and assessment recommendations.

Best Practices For Facilitating Communication-Centered Professional Development For Non-Communication Faculty, Stephanie Norander

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Communication-across-the-curriculum (CxC) programs commonly support noncommunication faculty by crafting robust professional development learning experiences. This article presents 10 best practices for facilitating professional development designed to support the teaching and learning of communication competencies in non-communication disciplines. These practices draw on lessons learned from a successful professional development course facilitated by the CxC program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Grounded in a situated communication pedagogy framework, these best practices reflect a communicationcentered approach to professional development, thus extending scholarly discourse and practices surrounding CxC programs, communication pedagogy, and professional development of faculty.

Journal Of Communication Pedagogy, Complete Volume, 2018

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Evaluating A Reading Response To Intervention Model: A Case Study Of Elementary Educators, Jeremy Brumfield

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This case study sought to explore the perceptions of classroom teachers and an instructional support team regarding the effectiveness of an established reading Response to Intervention model. It compared the perceptions of both groups regarding the model’s effectiveness, focusing on its strengths and weaknesses. The similarities and differences between the two participant groups’ perceptions that emerged from the individual interviews and focus groups were identified and discussed. This research also compared the perceptions of the participants to the success rates of students in the school in terms of the Response to Intervention measures of reading and standardized student achievement on …

“In A Position I See Myself In:” (Re)Positioning Identities And Culturally-Responsive Pedagogies, Noah Asher Golden

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Culturally-responsive pedagogies require moving beyond blanket assumptions about learners to focus deeply on local meaning-makings. This narrative analysis case study examines the ways a 20-year-old African American man challenges the negative educational identity with which he is forced to contend as he navigates a large and complex urban public school system. The ways in which Jamahl, a seeker of a High School Equivalency, refuses interpellation as an uneducated learner destined to be “nothin'” provides insight as to how formal education might be more responsive to learners' negotiation of deficiency discourses. Embracing agency, specifically through awareness of the ways Jamahl employs …

Per Pupil Expenditure, Graduation Rates, And Act Scores In Tennessee School Districts, Jay Irvin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate and identify possible relationships between academic achievement, as measured by high school graduation rate and ACT composite scores of individual school districts within the state of Tennessee, and the per-pupil expenditure of each district. Research was conducted to determine whether a significant difference existed in academic achievement measures (high school graduation rate, ACT composite score) among school districts in the state of Tennessee that were classified as above average, average, and below average in relation to their per-pupil expenditure (PPE) in the 2013-2014, 2014-2015, and 2015-16 school years.

Ex post facto data …

An Evaluation Of Avid As A Supplemental Education Program At The Middle School Level, Lori Bradner

Dissertations

This is a study of AVID as a supplemental education program at the middle school level that includes a quantitative evaluation of the academic efficacy of AVID utilizing anonymized, longitudinal student achievement data. The second section is a qualitative evaluation of the AVID program at one middle school within a district to determine the perceived efficacy of the AVID program among stakeholders using surveys and interviews. This also includes a discussion of the necessary change in leadership determined by the evaluation portions of this project. The third portion outlines a policy change essential for satisfactory outcome as defined by AVID …

Improving Reading Through Fine Motor Skill Development In First Grade, Tyler West-Higgins

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Children who struggle with learning to read in first grade, fall behind, and have difficulty catching up with their peers. Research has shown students who struggle to read in first grade, also struggle to read in later years. The purpose of this study was to determine if an intervention to enhance fine motor skills to a select group of students in one class room increased their reading abilities. This was a mixed methods research study which assessed the quantitative data from the running record assessments, and the qualitative data taken by teacher-aide during assessment process post fine motor intervention. This …

The Characteristics Of African American Parental Influence On Academic Success In A Rural School District: A Collective Case Study, Raymond Christian

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to discover the characteristics of African American parental behavior regarding the importance of school, and its influence on their high school children’s academic success in a rural school district, for recent African American graduates in Mountain County, North Carolina. The research study utilized a collective case study approach and included five African American parents and, their children that had graduated from Mountain County High School and gained college acceptance. Guided by Ecological Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), and Risk and Resilience Theory (Catalano, Hawkins, 1996), data collection methods included interviews, document analysis and, focus groups. …

Achievement Gap In United States History End Of Course Assessment Scores In Ga High Schools, Kris Watkins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this dissertation study, which employed a quantitative correlational research design, was to determine if the school-level variables of percentage of African American students, the percentage of economically disadvantaged students, and type of school scheduling significantly influence student performance on the Georgia Milestones U.S. History end-of-course assessments (EOCs) for the school years 2014-15 and 2015-16. The study utilized a sample of 163 high schools located in the Atlanta metropolitan statistical area (MSA). Results from simultaneous linear regression analyses showed that school-level percentage of economically disadvantaged students was significantly associated with school-level Georgia Department of Education (GADOE) U.S. History …

Digital Media Production To Support Literacy For Secondary Students With Diverse Learning Abilities, April Marie Leach

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Producing digital media is a hands-on, inquiry-based mindful process that naturally embeds Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles into literacy instruction, providing options for learning and assessment for a wide array of students with diverse learning abilities. Video production learning experiences acknowledge the cognitive talents of some students labeled “disabled.” For some, the discovery of personal abilities activated when learning through the production process may motivate deeper learning. Although challenges of access, quality of teacher preparation and assessment strategies represent significant challenges, digital media production learning experiences offer diverse learners a rich, socially interactive environment that models open communication and …

Critical Digital Literacies Across Scales And Beneath The Screen, Noah Asher Golden

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Digital technologies and education scholarship tend to focus on either individual creative design or analysis of the political economy. To better understand how ideologies travel across networks, critical digital literacies must focus on enactments beneath the screen, as the linguistic constructs known as software can enact interests across scales of activity to “disembed” local actions and meaning. Investigations of these mobilities and disembedding effects challenge popular notions of digital technologies as neutral, rendering overt the ways that algorithms can naturalize manifestations of power and social arrangements. Such a framework allows for descriptive analyses of the ways hegemonic discourses are enacted …

Using Tablet Technologies To Engage And Motivate Urban High School Students, Nicol R. Howard, Keith Howard

Education Faculty Articles and Research

In this two-year study, researchers examined the impact of using tablet technologies across content areas in an urban high school setting. Class observations provided notable examples of how student motivation and learning appeared to be enhanced by use of the iPads in conjunction with opportunities to collaborate and be creative in the context of their learning. Interviews from a set of teachers with a range of classroom teaching experience provided multiple perspectives of the program’s impact. The opportunity for teachers and students to have the flexibility to select the apps they believe achieve curricular and/or learning goals supports the shift …

Cross-Subsidization Of Teacher Pension Costs: The Impact Of Assumed Market Returns, Robert M. Costrell, Josh B. Mcgee

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

It is well-known that public pension plans exhibit substantial cross-subsidies, both within cohorts, e.g. from early leavers to those who retire at the “sweet spot”, and across cohorts, through unfunded liabilities. However, the cross-subsidies within and across cohorts have never been provided in an integrated format. This paper provides such a framework, based on the gaps between normal cost rates for individuals and the uniform contribution rates for the cohort. Since the unfunded liabilities and associated cross-subsidies across cohorts derive from overly optimistic actuarial assumptions, we focus on the historically most important such assumption, the rate of return. We present …

The Relationship Between Teacher Attitudes Toward The Common Core State Standards And Informational Text, Marcie Estruch

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study sought to determine the relationship between teachers’ attitudes toward the Common Core State Standards and three predetermined factors. These factors were (1) teachers’ attitudes toward the practicality of pedagogical shift three, balancing informational and literary texts, (2) teachers’ attitudes toward school support with the implementation process of pedagogical shift three, balancing informational and literary texts, and (3) teachers’ attitudes toward the balance of informational and literary texts in comparison with the previous set of New York State standards. Through the use of a teacher survey, the researcher assessed the relationship between teachers’ attitudes toward the Common Core State …

The Impact Of Learning Environments On Student Engagement, Yanira Oliveras Ortiz

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Architects design schools every day, but the impact that their designs have on student learning is at times unknown to those that design the schools. Educational research has shown that a positive school culture impacts student achievement; among the factors that impact the school culture is having a safe school (K12 Insight, 2017). Pride, student behavior, and overall safety each impact a school’s culture. A sense of pride and overall school safety can be influenced by the conditions of the building where children go to school.

The purpose of this manuscript is to explore the impact architectural design had on …

A Comparative Study Of Student Engagement Based On Intercollegiate Athletics Participation, David Woolever

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The concept of retention in higher education institutions is certainly a hot topic. Institutions have explored first year seminars, engagement with faculty and creating a culture of connectivity and belongingness among the student population to include extra-curricular activities in creating an engaged student that will persist until graduation. Furthermore, academic engagement among student-athletes is one topic that has that has been somewhat neglected while institutions look at ways to increase retention via creating a culture of involvement. In addition, the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI), initially designed to measure engagement among secondary students has rarely been utilized to examine academic engagement …

Levinas, Leviticus, & Language: A Case Study Exploring Acsi Maritime Teacher Challenges Of Practice Due To Increasing Esl Enrollment, Susanne Huizing

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to explain the perceived challenges of practice due to increasing enrollment of English Language Learners (ELLs) for ACSI teachers in the Canadian Maritimes. The theory guiding this study was ethics as first philosophy by Levinas (1981). Levinas’ theory aided in examining the ethical, relational, and linguistic challenges teachers experienced teaching ELLs. The central research question guiding this study was: what are the perceived challenges of practice K-12 ACSI Maritime school teachers face due to increasing ELL enrollment? Data was collected through pre-interview journals, semi-structured face-to-face interviews, and observations. Data analysis included transcriptions, documents, …

The Aftermath Of Detroit's Economic Decline And The Exodus Of Urban Teachers: A Phenomenology, Melissa Holtzhouse

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the decision-making process of teachers, Kindergarten through twelfth grade, who left the urban setting in metropolitan Detroit. The theories that guided this study were Rotter’s locus of control and Condorcet’s decision theory as they investigated the experiences leading to teachers’ decisions to leave the urban setting within metropolitan Detroit. Four research questions were included (a) How do select teachers, Kindergarten through twelfth grade, describe the decision-making process they underwent before leaving urban education in metropolitan Detroit? (b) How do participants describe their experiences prior to their decision to leave urban education …

A Phenomenological Study Of First-Career Millennial Novice Elementary School Teachers’ Use 0f Technology, Karla Ontiveros-Karr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to describe the attitudes and understandings for millennial first-career novice (FCMN) teachers toward transformational technology integration in the elementary classroom as it relates to the technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge framework (TPACK). Three research questions framed this study: (a) How do millennial first-career novice teachers from the Midwestern United States describe their level of content knowledge, technological knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge (TPACK) to support their teaching practices in the elementary classroom? (b) How do participants describe their approach to instructional decision-making based on their technological knowledge in the elementary classroom? (c) How, …

The Impact Of 1:1 Laptop Environments On The English Language Arts Achievement Of Fifth Grade Students From Diverse Socio-Economic Backgrounds, Nicole Miller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study extends previous research on the impact of one to one (1:1) laptop environments on student outcomes in English Language Arts (ELA) by focusing on students from various socio-economic backgrounds, while using a new technology-enhanced, state-administered assessment to measure performance. This study is significant because policy makers focus on state test scores when planning educational investments. Therefore, results from this study can assist policy makers in determining best practices related to technology integration to ensure equitable opportunities for all students. A non-experimental ex post facto causal comparative research design was used to explore the impact of 1:1 laptops …

A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of Pre-Service Physical Educators' Perceptions Of Their Professional Preparedness, Geoffrey Hampson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to capture the essence of the perceptions of 11 pre-service physical educators in the final field placement and clinical practices of their undergraduate degree program at the University of Redbank, the University of Peters, and Ina University where they prepared to become professional educators. Pseudonyms protected the names of the participants and institutions. The theoretical framework guiding this study was social cognitive theory. The research questions were (a) How do the attitudes and beliefs of teaching physical education as pre-service physical educators influence their knowledge and skill development for classroom preparedness? (b) …

Facilitating The Transition From Military Instructor To Academic Educator: Cognitive Apprenticeship In Teacher Induction At The United States Air Force Academy, Thomas T. Swaim

The Qualitative Report

This article examines teacher induction in the military undergraduate education context. The U.S. Air Force Academy relies on approximately 520 military and civilian instructors to educate nearly 4000 future military officers each year. These educators must be highly skilled and unquestionably capable in their abilities to teach these future leaders. Many of these instructors derive from highly technical active duty operational career fields (such as pilot, missile operator, etc.). This article reveals how Collins’, Brown’s, and Newman’s (1989) theory of cognitive apprenticeship is manifested within teacher induction experiences at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Using a qualitative multiple-case study approach, …

A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Exploration Of The Impact Of Technology On The Collaborative Practices Of Rural Middle School Teachers, Kimberli Dailey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative study described the impact of collaboration and technology-based communication on the professional experiences of rural middle school classroom teachers. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to determine if technology-based tools, such as online discussion boards, email, social networking sites, and short message service (SMS) texting has made an impact on instructional collaboration for rural middle school teachers. The theory guiding this study was connectivism (Siemens, 2005) as it addresses the concept that in the digital age knowledge is stored outside the learner and distributed knowledge as it relates to the connections formed between individuals and/or networks (Downes, 2005, …

Integrating Google Apps And Google Chromebooks Into The Core Curriculum: A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experience Of Public School Teachers, Paula Bartolo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of public school teachers using Google Suite for Education with Google Chromebooks integrated into the core curriculum. With the adoption of Common Core standards by 46 states, the increased use of technology has occurred due to standards that integrate technology. Google has created a free cloud-based educational suite for K-12 and Higher education institutions. The central research question that guided the study was: How do grade 4-8 public school core content teachers perceive the experience of using Google Suite for Education with Chromebooks in the classroom? The theory …

You Are Now Entering The School Zone, Proceed With Caution: Educators, Arbitration, & Children’S Rights, Raquel Muniz

Arbitration Law Review (2009 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Teacher Experiences In Elementary Word Study Instruction: A Phenomenological Study, Gregory Mihalik

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experience of integrating word study spelling programs for second grade teachers across six elementary schools in Northern Virginia. Word study is a developmental spelling approach that can be used by teachers to differentiate instruction and meet student needs. Despite the growing popularity of the program and increased classroom application, many schools nationwide continue to use memory-based traditional methods. Based on a review of the word study literature, the study sought to describe the experience of second grade teachers implementing word study spelling instruction in their classrooms. This study explored the …