Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Teacher Beliefs, Teacher Concerns, And School Leadership Support As Influences On School Readiness For Implementing A Research-Based Reform Model, Elizabeth Hoag Carhart

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Federal policy makers and school leaders increasingly recognize middle school math as a turning point in students' academic success. An i3 scale-up grant allowed grant partners to conduct a large-scale implementation of Power Teaching (PT), a research-based reform to increase student math achievement. In a mixed-methods study during the pilot phase of the project, eight schools' readiness for reform was explored. Teacher questionnaires; interviews with project managers, school leaders, and teachers; classroom observations; and school evaluation forms were used to describe school characteristics that affected variability in initial implementation of the PT model. A cluster analysis demonstrated the relative importance …

Can Practice Calibrating By Test Topic Improve Public School Students' Calibration Accuracy And Performance On Tests?, Rose M. Riggs

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The effect of a calibration strategy requiring students to predict their scores for each topic on a high stakes test was investigated. The utility of self-efficacy towards predicting achievement and calibration accuracy was also explored. One hundred and ten sixth grade math students enrolled in an urban middle school participated. Students were assigned to either a calibration practice group or a no practice condition. Students in the practice condition completed a self-efficacy scale specific to math at the beginning of the study. They also practiced making predictions for each topic on each of three tests over a three month period …

Using Data Mining For Predicting Relationships Between Online Question Theme And Final Grade, M'Hammed Abdous, Wu He, Cherng-Jyh Yen

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

As higher education diversifies its delivery modes, our ability to use the predictive and analytical power of educational data mining (EDM) to understand students' learning experiences is a critical step forward. The adoption of EDM by higher education as an analytical and decision making tool is offering new opportunities to exploit the untapped data generated by various student information systems (SIS) and learning management systems (LMS). This paper describes a hybrid approach which uses EDM and regression analysis to analyse live video streaming (LVS) students' online learning behaviours and their performance in their courses. Students' participation and login frequency, as …

Listening For The Squeaky Wheel: Designing Distance Writing Program Assessment, Virginia M. Tucker

English Faculty Publications

Distance writing programs still struggle with assessment strategies that can evaluate student writing as well as their ability to communicate about that writing with peers at a distance. This article uses Kim, Smith and Maeng's 2008 distance education program assessment scheme to evaluate a single distance writing program at Old Dominion University. The program's specific assessment needs include the ability to determine how well students are developing expert insider prose and working together as a virtual community. Kim, Smith and Maeng's assessment scheme was applied to six courses within the writing program, revealing that programmatic assessment weaknesses included providing varied …

Prompting Self-Monitoring Of Learning In Self-Paced Computer Based Training: The Effect On Self-Regulation And Learning, Christopher J. Coburn

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the effects of prompting students to monitor their use of learning strategies and comprehension while completing self-paced, work-related training in a computer-based learning environment. Study participants included 94 enlisted military volunteers, randomly assigned to one of three groups in the spring of 2012. Changes in strategy use and comprehension were evaluated within and between groups receiving either immediate, delayed or no prompts using multiple methods of measurement, both during and after training. Prompts asked participants to rate their level of agreement to statements regarding their strategy use and comprehension of lesson content. …

Research Needs For Technology Education: A U.S. Perspective, Gene Martin, John Ritz

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This study was conducted for the purpose of identifying research needs for technology education by generating a rank-ordered list of research topics that the profession's members might wish to explore individually or in collaboration with colleagues and students. The researchers' goal was to provide a concise list of topics that could be used by the profession to better position itself within the greater educational community, not to provide a call for action. The anticipated beneficiaries of this study are researchers who identify themselves as furthering the development of the technology education school subject. Professionals may use the list found in …

Dispositions In The Twenty First Century School Library Profession, Sue C. Kimmel, Gail K. Dickinson, Carol A. Doll

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Within the school library profession there is an emerging focus on dispositions, defined as "a tendency to exhibit frequently, consciously, and voluntarily a pattern of behavior that is directed to a broad goal" (Katz, 1993). Directed focus groups of practicing school librarians were asked to articulate their vision for school libraries of the future. Data from these groups informed development of six dispositional continua to guide both school library education and school librarianship in the 21st century. This study clarifies the dispositions needed by school librarians in the future.

Evaluation System Design And Academic Performance Analysis Using Clustering And Simulation, Volkan Cakir

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The starting point of this study was to understand the possible causes of evaluation system change in a military academic environment. With that motivation the objectives of this study were defined as examining student profiles in a military academy, establishing the nature of academic performance, comparing student groups that were identified by course scores, analyzing student performance changes over time and developing a manageable evaluation system and curriculum by comparing different scenarios.

An analysis was performed on the literature on academic performance prediction, cluster analysis methodologies and their development, and specifically summarized cluster analytic academic performance studies where these two …

Teaching Interactively Using Web-Conferencing: The Student Perspective, Pilar Pazos, Holly Handley, Shannon Bowling, Charles B. Daniels, Kim Sibson, Patrick Hester

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Department (EMSE) of Old Dominion University (ODU) Batten College of Engineering and Technology (BCET) has employed distance-learning technologies for well over three decades. Although the current technologies provide a valuable service for many geographically dispersed students, the faculty continues to explore additional distance learning tools, technologies and methods to promote more student participation and active learning. The goal of this paper is to describe and evaluate an innovative instructional approach using interactive web conferencing in hybrid courses. This paper will explore the use of web conferencing to teach graduate-level courses and explore the impact …

An Investigation Of Higher-Order Thinking Skills In Smaller Learning Community Social Studies Classrooms, Christopher Fischer, Linda Bol, Shana Pribesh

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This study investigated the extent to which higher-order thinking skills are promoted in social studies classes in high schools that are implementing smaller learning communities (SLCs). Data collection in this mixed-methods study included classroom observations and in-depth interviews. Findings indicated that higher-order thinking was rarely promoted in SLC classes. Interview data suggests several factors affecting teaching for higher-order thinking in SLC social studies classrooms. These include: high stakes testing, pacing pressures, teachers' dispositions and training, and teacher autonomy.

Simulation And Visualization Enhanced Engineering Education- Development And Implementation Of Virtual Experiments In A Laboratory Course, Sushil K. Chaturvedi, Kaustubh A. Dharwadkar

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents results from a National Science Foundation grant titled "Simulation and Visualization Enhanced Engineering Education", funded by the EEC division. Although the scope of the project is quite broad, embracing a wide range of courses in three engineering disciplines, the present work describes the results obtained from application of simulation and visualization for development and implementation of web-based virtual engineering laboratories. The present work leverages the advancement in hardware and software technologies to map physical experiments into web-based virtual experiments that can be used to enrich student's laboratory experience. Four physical experiments in the thermo-fluids laboratory course have …

Student Achievement As An Investment In Human Capital: Using Longitudinal Patterns Of Per Pupil Instructional And Capital Expenditures, Socioeconomic Status, And Past Performance In Predicting Student Achievement, Charles Anthony Roberts

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Existing research illustrating a significant relationship between school spending and student achievement is expanding. However, research specifically investigating the relationships between capital expenditures (maintenance, renovations, and construction) and instructional expenditures (teacher quality, teacher salaries, textbooks, class size) with student achievement both individually, and as a function of overall school spending, is lacking. Recent studies have linked school spending to student achievement in an attempt to increase school funding as a response to No Child Left Behind Act (2001) mandates. This study attempts to augment this area of inquiry by providing feedback across the Commonwealth of Virginia on longitudinal patterns of …

Community Of Inquiry Framework And Learning Outcomes, Jennifer Ann Maddrell

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

First described by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000), the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework suggests social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive presence are essential elements to foster successful educational experiences in computer-mediated higher education distance learning environments. While hundreds of CoI-based articles have been published since 2000, those critical of the framework and related research suggested a lack of empirical evidence to support the framework's central claim that a CoI leads to deep and meaningful learning outcomes (Rourke & Kanuka, 2009). The current study, conducted with 51 graduate students in five distance education courses at the same university, compared the …

The Access Gap: Poverty And Characteristics Of School Library Media Centers, Shana Pribesh, Karen Gavigan, Gail Dickinson

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Stephen Krashen believes that schools can counter the effects of poverty in at least one area: access to books. However, little research has been done to determine whether students living in poverty have access to school library services comparable to those attending schools with low concentrations of students living in poverty. We examined the school library access gap namely, the differences in school library characteristics (staffing, books added to collection, schedule, and number of days closed) in schools with various concentrations of students living in poverty. Alarmingly, we found that the students in most need—those attending schools with the highest …

"Beyond Bio2010: Celebration And Opportunities" At The Intersection Of Mathematics And Biology, John R. Jungck, Holly D. Gaff, Adam P. Fagen, Jay B. Labov

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

With this special edition of CBE-LSE, which focuses on connections between and integration of the biological and mathematical sciences, it is especially fitting that we report on an important symposium, Beyond BIO2010: Celebration and Opportunities,1 which was held at the National Acad- emy of Sciences (NAS) in Washington, D.C. on May 21–22, 2010. This symposium was organized to assess what progress has been made in addressing the challenges and recommendations in the National Research Council’s (NRC) report: BIO2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists (NRC, 2003a). Most of the presen- tations and posters at this event emphasized the increasing …

Perceptions Of Virginia Community College System Faculty And Administrators On The Purposes For And Composition Of A Comprehensive Evaluation System For Teaching Faculty Members, William H. Hightower Jr.

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

A survey instrument was developed to measure community college faculty and administrator views on the faculty evaluation process. Responses were then compared based on demographic characteristics such as primary area of instruction, supervisory responsibility, years of experience, and gender. Open-ended survey questions asked respondents to identify the strengths, limitations and changes needed for their current faculty evaluation plans.

A total of 404 faculty members and 67 administrators completed the survey. Significant differences were found between faculty and administrator responses with respect to the reasons for conducting faculty evaluations, the relative importance of including certain elements in the evaluation process, and …

Evidence-Based Practice In Undergraduate Athletic Training Education, Sarah A. Manspeaker

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

As Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) has progressed within medicine, nursing, and physical therapy, athletic training has been subsequently slow to infuse EBP and its associated concepts at the professional level. The aim of Project I was to determine athletic training instructors experience and use of evidence-based concepts (EBC) during instruction through emergent design qualitative interviews. Project II was designed to establish the Evidence-Based Teaching Model (EBTM) as a tool for athletic training educators' to use to introduce EBP concepts to professional students.

Project I featured 11 educators from Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) programs. Instructors identified primary approaches …

Effectiveness Of The Combat Operational Stress Control Training Program: Expectations Of The U.S. Marine Corps, Marek M. Sipko

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the U.S. Marine Corps combat operational stress preventive training program to determine whether the program meets the training effectiveness criteria of the Marine Corps. This evaluation entailed both qualitative and quantitative inquiries to answer the subject matter research questions.

The participants consisted of active duty and reserve Marines on active duty. For the purposes of the quantitative analysis, the researcher obtained a random sample of 480 Marines. Additionally, the researcher obtained a purposefully stratified qualitative sample of 12 active duty Marines consisting of four junior non-commissioned Marines, four staff non-commissioned officers, and four commissioned …

The Status Of Research In Technology Education, Philip A. Reed

STEMPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of The Reading First Program At A Southeastern Virginia Elementary School And The Impact On K–2 Student Reading Achievement, Leslie Ford Lippard

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Reading First was a federal initiative aimed at improving reading instruction and implementing programs and strategies grounded in scientifically-based reading research. The legislation was predicated on research findings that high-quality reading instruction and intervention in the primary grades significantly reduces the numbers of students who experience difficulties in later grades. This study examined the Reading First program at an elementary school in southeastern Virginia from 2006-2008. Specifically, the researcher investigated the impact of the independent variable, the tier three model of intervention on K-2 student reading achievement. Quantitative data was garnered from 792 K-2 student participants attending the research site. …

Introduction To This Special Issue: Faculty Intellectual Property In The Digital Age, Gary R. Morrison, Gary J. Anglin, Jennifer M. Maddrell

STEMPS Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) Prior to the third generation of distance education that is described as telelearning (Taylor 1995) or teleconferencing (Moore and Kearsley 1996), there were few questions about the ownership of a faculty member’s intellectual property. It was extremely rare for an institution to claim ownership of a professor’s class materials whether lecture notes, flip charts, overhead transparencies, audio and video recording, monographs, handouts or tests. With the advent of Internet-based distance education delivery systems including 2-way audio and video as well as online courses, the issue of intellectual property ownership has grown complex.

The Effect Of Technology Education On Student's State Standardized Test Scores, Maurice Torrez Frazier

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The intent of this dissertation was to determine if technology education program completers score higher on academic standards assessments than do students who do not enroll in technology education courses. Many states have developed academic standards for public school students to measure the quality of the educational system. States and local school systems adopted these standards and their accompanying tests to establish a level of academic competency for all of their students. One of the goals of technology education courses was to provide practical applications to reinforce the content of the core subject areas. The purpose of this study was …

A Meta-Analysis Of Supplemental Educational Services (Ses) Provider Effects On Student Achievement, Shanan L. Chappell

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The 2001 renewal of the United States' Title I program, which provides federal funds to schools with large populations of low-income students, instituted the Supplemental Educational Services (SES) program in which schools in their third year of failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) are required to offer after-school tutoring in core subjects to low-income students, provided by public or private tutoring agencies. States are responsible for implementing, overseeing, and evaluating the SES programs; currently, several states and large local school districts have performed evaluations, with many more in the process of publishing results from statewide SES studies. Although state …

Enhancing The Collection Process For The Delphi Technique, Petros Katsioloudis, John Brocato (Ed.)

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The purpose of this manuscript is to describe a process that enhances the data collection process for a Delphi technique. The approach consists of online platforms to expedite the process and reinforce the validity of the Delphi technique. The context of the study was the identification of quality indicators for visual-based learning material development for Technology Education programs for grades 7-12.

A Framework For Process Reengineering In Higher Education: A Case Study Of Distance Learning Exam Scheduling And Distribution, M'Hammed Abdous, Wu He

Distance Learning Faculty & Staff Publications

In this paper, we propose a conceptual and operational framework for process reengineering (PR) in higher education (HE) institutions. Using a case study aimed at streamlining exam scheduling and distribution in a distance learning (DL) unit, we outline a sequential and non-linear four-step framework designed to reengineer processes. The first two steps of this framework – initiating and analyzing – are used to initiate, document, and flowchart the process targeted for reengineering, and the last two steps – reengineering/ implementing and evaluating – are intended to prototype, implement, and evaluate the reengineered process. Our early involvement of all stakeholders, and …

The Relationship Of Teacher Route To Certification To Student Outcomes On Statewide Social Studies Assessment, Aaron L. Smith

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Public school divisions face daunting challenges today. One such challenge is the ability to recruit and retain highly qualified and effective teachers. Endemic teacher shortages coupled with escalating national education standards make it imperative that school divisions hire and retain teachers who can positively and immediately impact student achievement. Schools without effective teachers face possible sanctions, which could include re-staffing of the school, parental choice that would allow the student population to attend more successful schools and loss of funds.

At the same time, colleges and universities have begun alternative certification programs in an effort to compensate for teacher shortages …

A Program Evaluation Of Supplemental Instruction For Developmental Mathematics At A Community College In Virginia, Marilyn Lawson Peacock

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

With the current emphasis on accountability and the importance of math skills in our present economy, the success of developmental mathematics students at community colleges is critical. How to improve the success of these developmental students has become the impetus for many educational initiatives. One educational innovation in tutoring, called supplemental instruction, has been successfully applied to high-risk courses which are defined to have a failure rate in excess of 30%. Mid-Atlantic Community College, in its Title III grant which seeks to improve the success of developmental students, selected supplemental instruction as its initiative. This program evaluation investigated the effects …

Virginia Standards Of Learning: An Analysis Of Sociodemographic Effects On Exam Passing Rates, Anne E. Foster

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study proposed to analyze the effects that sociodemographic variables have on Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) exam passing rates. By analyzing Census data along with passing rates from the Virginia Department of Education, the researcher determined if the independent variables white, non-white, poverty, female-headed household and foreign born explained variance in the SOL passing rates. By using linear regressions for each independent variable as well as a regression for a combination of the independent variables, the researcher was able to show the amount of variance that was explained. The results confirm that variance was present in each test subject …

Research Supporting Technology Education- Task Force 2.4 Final Report, Philip A. Reed, Jim Carlson, Fred Figliano, Hal Harrison, Hyuksoo Kwon, Johnny Moye, Phyllis Opare, John M. Ritz, Roger Skophammer, John Wells

STEMPS Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) ITEA's Board of Directors convened a task force in 2006 to identify research on technology teaching and learning. The resulting database is designed to help teachers, supervisors, and anyone that needs to show research support for technology education. The research was compiled by the following task force members:

Generational Differences Among Community College Students In Their Evaluation Of Academic Cheating, Kathleen E. Wotring

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Values development is an important part of the mission of community colleges, and upholding academic integrity is one way in which colleges advance this mission. Community colleges serve a multigenerational student body, more diverse than most four-year institutions of higher education, and different generational cohort groups hold different values and attitudes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether community college students varied by generation in their evaluation of academic activities as cheating, and to further determine whether such variation interacted with demographic variables and the extent to which personal morality is grounded in a religious belief system. Based …