Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Student Success And Time Management In College Algebra, Steven Wallace, Mary Wolfe, June Jones, Gaston Brouwer

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

The panel will illustrate how the students’ completion of the instructional system ALEKS objectives correlates with student success and retention rates. The panel will also discuss the influence of factors such as time management on success and the promotion of good study practices for students using computer-based learning systems.

Faculty Achievements, March 2012 Report, Otterbein University

Faculty Achievement Reports

No abstract provided.

Walking The Walk: Using Evidence-Based Teaching And Learning To Improve Teaching Training, Sarah Grison, Stephanie Seiler, Crystal Carlson

Psychology Faculty

Over two years, we explored whether a novel graduate teaching course could weave together three programs that would simultaneously: (1) Enhance graduate TAs’ teaching skills; (2) Investigate undergraduates’ learning and educational experiences; and (3) Develop research in teaching and learning sciences.

Series Editors' Foreword: Placing Practitioner Knowledge At The Center Of Teacher Education., Edmund T. Hamann, Rodney Hopson

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

The starting point for this book is a new phase—the Carnegie Program for the Education Doctorate (CPED)—of the longstanding dilemma of whether and how to to distinguish advanced graduate education for the Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in education from the Doctorate of Education (EdD). EdD graduates should have gained not just in knowledge, but also in capability—to not only know new things, but to be able to do new practices and/or engage previous skills and practices more effectively.

Western Guide To Professional Master's Programs, Gloria J. Leckie

Purple Guides

This guide is a resource for departments that plan to introduce new Professional Master's (PMA) or Professional Science Master's (PSM) degrees. The guide provides examples of existing programs, describes key criteria that new PSM programs need to meet, reviews issues in the development of new programs, and discusses the types of competencies professional programs promote in order to help their graduates compete on the job market.

Engaging Students In The Classroom: How Can I Know What I Think Until I See What I Draw?, Paul Donnelly, John Hogan

Conference papers

Recognizing the world into which our students will emerge upon graduation, a world characterized by constant change, and our belief in the need to develop our students as “critical beings” (Barnett, 1997) and as “citizens capable of governing” (Giroux, 1997: 259), we embrace a critical pedagogy that is not just about theory (Dehler, Welsh & Lewis, 2004), but can also be implemented experientially in the classroom through the use of freehand drawing. With this as context, our aim in the classroom is to create a learning space where our students develop their capacity for critical self-reflection. As such, we use …

Teacher Leaders+ Reflective Teaching = A Collaborative Leadership Approach To Establishing Public School And University Partnerships, Madeline M. Landes

Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Media Technology

No abstract provided.

Nefdc Exchnage, Volume 22, Number 2, Spring 2011, New England Faculty Development Consortium

New England Faculty Development Consortium Exchange

Contents

President's message: Who is your mentor? - Tom Thibodeau, New England Institute of Technology

Sparks, insights, and affirmations: reflections of a mentor - Denise Marchionda, Middlesex Community College

Engaging students through social media to promote learning - Suzanne Markham, Mount Ida College

Vampires, and zombies, and ghosts, oh my… run! The undead in the college classroom - Kristine Larsen, Central Connecticut State University

Service learning as a way to engage students and serve the community - William Stargard, Pine Manor College

Save the date! NEFDC 2011 Fall Conference, Friday, November 11, 2011, College of the Holy Cross

Models for …

The Impact Of Class Size On Outcomes In Higher Education, James Monks, Robert M. Schmidt

Economics Faculty Publications

Numerous studies have investigated the impact of class size on student outcomes. This analysis contributes to this discussion by isolating the impact of class size on student outcomes in higher education by utilizing a natural experiment at a selective institution which enables the estimation of class size effects conditional on the total number of students taught by a faculty member. We find that class size negatively impacts student assessments of courses and instructors. Large classes appear to prompt faculty to alter their courses in ways deleterious to students.

Using Low-Stakes Repeated Testing Can Improve Student Learning: How (Some) Practice Makes Perfect, Sarah Grison, Steven G. Luke, Aya Shigeto, Patrick D.K. Watson

Psychology Faculty

Two studies in Introductory Psychology classes explored whether repeated low-stakes testing can augment learning. In Experiment 1, answering more in-class questions with student response systems (SRSs) predicted better learning when students had not read the text. In Experiment 2, taking online practice quizzes predicted better learning, especially when questions on a concept were grouped. Repeated low-stakes testing can aid learning, but we must develop evidence-based pedagogical tools to maximize effects.

Using Learning Goals To Promote Self-Directedness: How Problems In Research Led To Solutions In Teaching, Jaya Kannan, Larry Lutsky, Lisa Bauer, Yasmine Alwan

CTL Publications

In promoting self-directedness, our process at MCNY’s Learning Enhancement Center begins by having the student construct learning goals. A qualitative analysis of these student learning goals was conducted based on the premise that a student’s ability to articulate a goal in a clear, specific, complex, and measurable manner will improve over time. Although our findings did not support our hypothesis, the complex exercise of creating a customized rubric to measure the goals helped us arrive at a standardized evaluation method and build a transparent self-assessment tool to foster independent learning. This attempt to quantify student learning goals created successful iterative …

Nefdc Exchange, Volume 23, Fall 2011, New England Faculty Development Consortium

New England Faculty Development Consortium Exchange

Contents

Message from the NEFDC President - Tom Thibodeau, New England Institute of Technology

Creating student engagement in the university classroom - Frank Bellizzi, Quinnipiac University

Ensuring access and essential learning for diverse students - Gouri Banerjee, Emmanuel College

Without a pen: reflections on an experiment in typed assessment - Reva Kasman, Salem State University

Bringing a dialogue into the classroom - Dorothy A. Osterholt and Katherine Barratt, Landmark College

Suffolk University Course Design Institute - Kathryn Linder, Suffolk University

Colleges of Worcester Consortium Offers Certificate in College Teaching

Save the date: NEFDC 2012 Spring Conference, Fraiday, June 8, 2012, …

The C.R.E.A.T.E. Approach To Primary Literature Shifts Undergraduates’ Self-Assessed Ability To Read And Analyze Journal Articles, Attitudes About Science, And Epistemological Beliefs, Sally G. Hoskins, David Lopatto, Leslie M. Stevens

Publications and Research

The C.R.E.A.T.E. (Consider,Read, Elucidate hypotheses, Analyze and interpret data, Think of the next Experiment)method uses intensive analysis of primary literature in the undergraduate classroom to demystify and humanize science. We have reported previously that the method improves students’ critical thinking and content integration abilities, while at the same time enhancing their self-reported understanding of “who does science, and why.” We report here the results of an assessment that addressed C.R.E.A.T.E. students’ attitudes about the nature of science, beliefs about learning, and confidence in their ability to read, analyze, and explain research articles. Using a Likert-style survey administered pre- and postcourse, …

Moving From A Predominantly Teaching Oriented Culture To A Research Productivity Mission: The Case Of Mexico And The United States, Gus Gregorutti

Faculty Publications

This study qualitatively analyzes the culture conflicts professors in the United States and Mexico are experiencing with the increasing pressures to produce more research about higher education. The first dataset was collected from 36 faculty members from 12 small and medium sized private, doctorate-granting universities. These universities are located in 11 states across the United States. The remaining data came from 44 faculty members employed at four small and medium sized private, doctoral granting universities in four states across Mexico. Results showed that universities in the US are transitioning from a predominantly teaching college culture to a more research orientation. …

From Walls To Steps: Using Online Automatic Homework Checking Tools To Improve Learning In Introductory Programming Courses, Dwayne Towell, Brent Reeves

School of Information Technology and Computing

We describe the motivation, design, and implementation of a web-based automatic homework checker for Programming I and Programming II courses. Motivated by a problem-based-learning approach, we redesigned our first course to have over 70 short programming assignments. The goal was to change conceptual "walls" into "steps", so that students would not feel overwhelmed at any point in time. At each step along the way, it must be clear where the student is and the next step must feel attainable. Over the last 3 years, we have learned much about proper "step-size" and sequencing of problems. We describe how current computer …

Nefdc Exchange, Volume 21, Number 1, Fall 2010, New England Faculty Development Consortium

New England Faculty Development Consortium Exchange

Contents

Message from the President - Tom Thibodeau, New England Institute of Technology

From the editors - Jeanne Albert, Donna Qualters, Naomi Migliacci, Gouri Banerjee, and Deborah Hirsch

Fall 2010 Conference; Friday, November 19, 2010, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States; theme: Better Teaching – Better Learning: Reflective Practices for Faculty and Students; keynote speaker: Dan Willingham, University of Virginia

An excerpt from, Why Don’t Students Like School? - Dan Willingham, University of Virginia

NEFDC Fall 2010 Conference Agenda

Connecting with others

The Benefits of Formal and Informal Reflective Practices - Art McGovern, Nichols College

Seven Ways …

Faculty Achievements, 2009-2010, Otterbein University

Faculty Achievement Reports

No abstract provided.

Nefdc Exchange, Volume 22, Number 1, Spring 2010, New England Faculty Development Consortium

New England Faculty Development Consortium Exchange

Contents

Message from the President: Where would you be - Tom Thibodeau, New England Institute of Technology

From the editors -

Spring 2010 Conference, Friday, May 21, 2010, Westford, Massachusetts, United States; theme: Teaching for Learning; keynotes speaker: D. Christian Jernstedt, Dartmouth College, "How Learning Changes Brains"

A Book and Readings List for Thinking about the Human Mind - G. Christian Jernstedt, Dartmouth College

Embracing the Intimidating: Assessing Student Learning in a Non-major Online Science Course - Kristine Larsen, Central Connecticut State University

Save the date! 2010 Fall Conference, November 19, 2010, Westford, Massachusetts, United States; theme: Better Teaching, Better …

Practice Makes Perfect: Improving Learning Of At-Risk Students, Patrick D.K. Watson, Sarah Grison, Steven G. Luke, Aya Shigeto

Psychology Faculty

29 graduate TAs and 1 faculty member teach 2700 Introductory Psychology students annually. This year we developed an assessment program to improve student learning and graduate teaching training (Shigeto et al., 2010). We studied the value of pedagogical tools developed for students in the Educational Opportunities Program (EOP). EOP selects students based on demographics and academic vulnerabilities for a special intro psych section. This section has an extra day per week for content presentation and additional student development support. These interventions have been demonstrated to enhance learning in minority students (Treisman, 1992).

Left Behind: Despite Positive Attitudes, Learning Is Modulated By Prior Academic Achievement, Aya Shigeto, Sarah Grison, Steven G. Luke, Patrick D.K. Watson

Psychology Faculty

In our Introductory Psychology (Psych 100) program, 30 graduate TAs/faculty teach 2,700 undergraduates annually. While the program has received many accolades and TAs are often recognized for their teaching skills, we have not systematically investigated the program’s strengths and weaknesses. Accordingly, in Fall 2009, we studied 3 questions: 1. What are students’ attitudes toward the course? 2. Do students in Psych 100 learn the core psychological concepts? 3. Are there differences in learning based on students’ characteristics?

Research-Based Strategies To Promote Academic Integrity, Michele Dipietro

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

A cursory glance at the literature on cheating paints a bleak picture. In the past decades, the prevalence of cheating has hovered at discouragingly high level, with about 75% of students admitting to some sort of cheating, and with peaks of over 90% in some prevalence studies. Given these figures, where does a wellintentioned instructor start? A good place to start untangling this complex problem is to understand it better. Academic dishonest behaviors vary in their frequency, seriousness, and motivations behind them, but they have been extensively researched, and we can abstract general principles to conceptualize this problem. Once we …

Deep/Surface Approaches To Learning In Higher Education: A Research Update, James Rhem

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Instead of looking at and trying to adjust to differences, the deep/surface researchers concentrated on observing commonalities. How did actual students actually study and what were the environmental cues that prompted them to take the approach (“deep” or “surface”) they chose? This research and renewed awareness of it here have had a powerful influence on thinking about teaching and learning in higher education in the United States especially with regard to assessment. Why? Because the research has found that students’ intention in studying/learning relates strongly to their perceptions of what they will be assessed on and how they will be …

The Value Of The Narrative Teaching Observation, Niki Young

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Narrative teaching observations allow educational developers to document a variety of teaching behaviors and, by framing these behaviors with the appropriate vocabulary, to highlight their pedagogical functions. We use the vocabulary not to obfuscate good teaching in educational jargon but to illuminate effective teaching behaviors using an agreed upon professional vocabulary and to make the teaching process more transparent (Hatzipanagos ND Lygo-Baker, 2006). Similarly, through its examples of narrative teaching observations, this essay adds to the literature by making our contribution as faculty developers more evident and making our professional practice more explicit.

Because You Can't Teach It All And They Won't Read It All: Student Response Systems Do Improve Learning, Steven G. Luke, Sarah Grison, Aya Shigeto, Patrick D.K. Watson

Psychology Faculty

In Introductory Psychology, 30 graduate TAs/faculty teach 2700 students annually. This year we developed an assessment program to improve student learning and graduate teaching training (Shigeto et al., 2010). Part of the program studied the pedagogical value of using student response systems to answer in-class multiple choice questions. Prior research lacks scientific rigor and provides equivocal evidence that SRSs improve learning (Caldwell, 2007).

Producción Intelectual En Pequeñas Universidades Privadas Latinoamericanas: Una Situación Paradójica, Gus Gregorutti

Faculty Publications

Durante las tres últimas décadas, Latinoamérica ha experimentado un incrementovertiginoso de la educación privada superior, incluyendo a las universidades.Este fenómeno ha estimulado la creación de diversas agenciasacreditadoras que buscan certificar la calidad de los programas de esas universidades.Se exige, entre otras dimensiones, que haya producción de conocimientocomo una forma de originar cambios socioeconómicos. Así las universidadesse ven impulsadas a producir investigación. Este estudio busca sabercómo los docentes de ocho pequeñas universidades privadas latinoamericanasperciben el proceso de producción intelectual en el contexto de sus tareas profesionales.Con una metodología mixta, se encontró que los mayores factoresque afectan a la investigación están relacionados …

Nefdc Exchange, Volume 21, Number 1, Fall 2009, New England Faculty Development Consortium

New England Faculty Development Consortium Exchange

Contents

Message from the President: A Reflection of a Different Light - Tom Thibodeau, New England Institute of Technology

From the editors - Jeanne Albert, Donna Qualters, and Naomi Migliacci

New England Faculty Development Consortium Fall 2009 Conference, November 13, 2009, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States; theme: When Questioning is the Answer: Reflective Practice for College Faculty; keynote presentation by Stephen Brookfield, University of St. Thomas

Excerpt from Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher, Jossey-Bass, 1995 by Stephen Brookfield

NEFDC Fall 2009 Conference Agenda

Connecting with others

Contemplative and Transformative Pedagogy - Arthur Zajonc, Amherst College

SAVE the date! NEFDC 2010 Spring …

Western Guide To Curriculum Review, Margaret Mcnay

Purple Guides

The Curriculum Review guide offers ideas about how to get started on the review process—questions to ask at the beginning of and during the process, suggestions about information to be gathered and how, issues to think about as you decide what to include in the curriculum, and ideas about how to teach the curriculum involving new and alternative pedagogies.

Faculty Achievements, 2008-2009, Otterbein University

Faculty Achievement Reports

No abstract provided.

Western Guide To Mentoring Graduate Students Across Cultures, Nanda Dimitrov

Purple Guides

The Western Guide to Mentoring Graduate Students Across Cultures is a handbook for graduate supervisors who work with students from cultures around the world. The guide addresses the most frequently occurring challenges in supervision across cultures and includes concrete mentoring strategies and case studies to help supervisors promote independence and initiative in their mentees, bridge power differences in the relationship, set boundaries, communicate effectively and support their students in the transition to Canadian academia.

Nefdc Exchange, Volume 20, Number 1, Spring 2009, New England Faculty Development Consortium

New England Faculty Development Consortium Exchange

Contents

Message from the President: Where We've Been, Where We're Going - Judy Miller, Clark University

From the editors - Jeanne Albert, Donna Qualters, and Naomi Magliacci

NEFDC 2009 Spring Conference, Friday, May 29, 2009; theme: Connecting the .edus: Using Technology to Connect with Our Students; keynote speaker: Peter Doolittle, Virginia Tech

Online Teaching: Field-Tested Principles of Pedagogy and Practice - Peter Doolittle, Virginia Tech; Krista Terry, Radford University, and Stephanie Scheer, University of Virginia

Spring 2009 Conference Agenda, Friday, May 29, 2009, Middlebury College, Dartmouth College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, New England Institute of Technology, and University of Connecticut

Connecting …