Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Association Of Course Performance With Student Beliefs: An Analysis By Gender And Instructional Software Environment, J. Richard Alldredge, Gary R. Brown

Office of Academic Innovation Publications

The effect of educational technologies on learning is an area of active interest. We conducted an experiment to compare the impact of instructional software on student performance. We hypothesize that some of the impact on student performance may reflect the influence of the technology on student subject-related beliefs and that those beliefs may differ by gender. We desired to assess how course performance may be associated with student beliefs, and how the association may differ depending on instructional software environment and gender.

Online Student Evaluations And Response Rates Reconsidered, Joan Anderson, Gary R. Brown, Stephen Spaeth

Office of Academic Innovation Publications

In what follows we provide an overview of the reasons why the evaluation process has failed to elicit sufficient involvement from students and instructors as well as the ways in which an online format can help address these problems. We then offer the results of an ad hoc study in which student response rates to an online evaluation tool were measured and assessed at a particular institution in order to determine the factors that influence participation, engagement, and perceived relevance.

Fundamentals For Student Success In The Middle Grades, Mike Muir, Vincent A. Anfara Jr., P. Gayle Andrews, Micki M. Caskey, Steven B. Mertens, David Hough

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

Determining how to provide the best education possible for young adolescents begins with the answers to three essential questions: Who are young adolescents? What do we know about them, their abilities, interests and strengths? Based on what we know about young adolescents, what should schools do to provide a quality education for each and every student? And finally, is there evidence that these recommended practices improve student achievement? How do we know programs and practices designed specifically with young adolescents in mind make a difference? To answer these questions, we will first outline some of the developmental characteristics of young …

University Studies Annual Assessment 2005-2006, Portland State University. University Studies Program

University Studies Annual Assessment Reports

Annual in-depth examination and assessment of Portland State University's general education model, the University Studies Program. The tools and methods used to assess student learning are faculty driven and developed.

"Varying Realities Of The Human Experience": University Studies Program At Portland State University, Charles Ryan Brown, Grace L. Dillon, Celine Fitzmaurice, Greg Jacob, Yves P. Labissiere, Antonia Levi, Cherry Muhanji, Candyce Reynolds, Jack C. Straton

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Like many institutions of higher education, Portland State University (PSU) has engaged in initiatives to promote a more equitable and democratic society, from curricular changes to institutional policy implementation. In the late 1980s, PSU required students to complete a certain number of “diversity” credits as part of its general education requirements. During the 1990s, PSU radically revised its approach to general education, creating the University Studies Program that places diversity awareness among its core goals. Most recently, current President Daniel O. Bernstine has instituted a comprehensive “Diversity Initiative” as part of a series of initiatives aimed at improving the quality …

University Studies Annual Assessment 2004-2005, Portland State University. University Studies Program

University Studies Annual Assessment Reports

No abstract provided.

Knowing Our Students: Creating A Web-Based Prior Learning Assessment, Yves P. Labissiere, Candyce Reynolds

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Students in higher education are more diverse than ever before in history. Understanding students' backgrounds, experiences and attitudes early can help faculty better serve this diverse population. This a case study that outlines the development and implementation of a web-based prior learning assessment. It also describes how faculty and administrators have used the results.

Essay Review: A Marxist Critique Of Michael Apple’S Neo-Marxist Approach To Educational Reform, Ramin Farahmandpur

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

This essay review examines Apple's most recent work. It begins by providing a brief historical account of Marxist educational theory since the late 1970s. Next, it offers an analysis and a critique of a number of the theoretical underpinnings of Apple's neo-Marxist approach to educational reform. These include, among others, his interpretation of Gramsci's concept of the 'commonsense' his employment of the 'decentered unity' which he identifies as an counter-hegemonic alliance among progressive forces on the left; and finally, his notion of a 'dual strategy' for building alliances between progressive forces on the left and those on the Right. Finally, …

Using Electronic Portfolios As A Pedagogical Practice To Enhance Student Learning, Yves P. Labissiere, Candyce Reynolds

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Real learning transcends barriers of time and place. It can also provide a bag of tools one can take on the journey through life. Some students, unfortunately, leave college with empty toolkits, or ones they do not know how to open. Engaging students in the process of salient, transformative learning is a challenge, but one worth taking. Tagg (2004) speaks eloquently in a recent About Campus article about the need for faculty to use practices in the classroom that improve the quality of learning, and calls for faculty to help students claim their learning and engage in what Kegan (1995) …

Bohmian Dialogue: A Promising Pedagogy For Transformative Learning?, Leslie G. Mcbride, Robin A. Voetterl, Mary K. Kinnick

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Between 1997 and 2002, dialogue, a process developed by the late theoretical physicist David Bohm and philosopher Krishnamurti, was adapted and used as the central form of pedagogy within two interdisciplinary courses at Portland State University. The purpose of this workshop is, through an interactive experience, to provide participants with an introductory understanding of Bohmian dialogue and its promise as a pedagogy for transformative teaching and learning in higher education. Throughout the past several years, Bohmian dialogue has developed into a process in which meaning and knowledge are created and shared between and among educators and learners during the learning …

Pedagogy For The Economically Privileged: “Tuning In” To The Privileged Learner, Ann Curry-Stevens

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Today’s activists are challenged by the sheer scope of losses by social movements. We have lost most significant battles and have moved into a defensive position struggling to retain earlier gains in social policy. The gap between rich and poor continues to widen, and it is clear that we need new allies in the struggles for justice. The middle class has been eyed as potential allies, with the hope that in bringing their resources, information, and power to bear, progressive social change will result. This paper draws from dissertation research on a pedagogy for the privileged: research that involves transformative …

Formal Course Design And The Student Learning Experience, Gary R. Brown, Carrie B. Myers, Sharon E. Roy

Office of Academic Innovation Publications

What impact does collaboration between faculty and professional course designers have on the student learning experience? As the use of technologies increases, educational institutions have to find ways of identifying and addressing expectations about how technologies can best be incorporated into the teaching and learning experiences. This paper reports on efforts at Washington State University to develop and assess the course design and faculty development process and the impact the process has on student learning experiences. The results of a comprehensive set of faculty and student surveys from five groups suggest that the systematic course design process improves students' opportunities …

Computer-Based Testing In Vocational Assessment And Evaluation: A Primer For Rehabilitation Professionals, Tina M. Anctil Peterman, Nancy J. Adams

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Current technologies, including computerized assessments, assistive technology, and information/resource technology, are effective tools that offer the rehabilitation professional a variety of applications for vocational evaluation and work assessment. "The ability of vocational evaluators to effectively utilize computers to obtain useful information (e.g. availability of specific electronic devices, job accommodation techniques, job-matching) for vocational recommendations could ultimately affect the outcome goals achieved in the rehabilitation process" (Chan, Lam, Leahy, Parker, & Wong; 1989, p. 113). In order to appropriately use these technologies, rehabilitation professionals need to understand the issues surrounding the use of these tools (e.g., reliability, validity) and ethical concerns …

Classroom Instruction In Gates Grantee Schools A Baseline Report, Jeffrey T. Fouts, Carol Brown, Gayle Yvonne Thieman

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study is part of the on-going program evaluation of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Model Schools Initiative and Model Districts Initiative in the state of Washington. In developing the Teaching Attributes Observation Protocol (TAOP) a conceptual framework was identified based on extensive literature on constructivist teaching. From this framework and the foundation’s written materials we identified important components and indicators of constructivist teaching and implications for the classroom. We then produced an observation protocol with 7 lesson components and a number of indicators under each component. The content validity of the instrument was then checked against the literature …

The Validity Of Parental Reports Of Preschooler’S Early Literacy Skills, Allison M. Henning

Dissertations and Theses

It has been well documented that children with language impairments often go on to have difficulties in reading, with many of these children not being diagnosed until first or second grade. However, research demonstrates a predictive relationship between early literacy skills and later reading and writing success. Thus, assessment of early literacy is to utilize parental reports, which have been found to provide valuable information regarding children's communicative-linguistic development.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between parental reports of early literacy behaviors of their preschool children and the child's performance on informal and formal early literacy …

The Support Service Crisis: A Misnomer, Gary R. Brown

Office of Academic Innovation Publications

Discussion of issues related to perceptions of technology support in education by faculty and administrators. The article focuses on research and studies by Gilbert, Wharton, Edutech and Educause.

Teaching Online: Now We're Talking, Gary R. Brown, Lisa Johnson-Shull

Office of Academic Innovation Publications

A critical review of current literature related to online learning and teaching, with particular focus on the strengths and weaknesses of academic research into the topic.

Designing And Tailoring School/University Partnerships: A Straightjacket, Security Blanket, Or Just A Loose Coat?, Dannelle D. Stevens, Robert B. Everhart

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Formalized partnerships between colleges or universities and public schools have gained in popularity even though their impact remains uncertain. Such partnerships, existing under a variety of terms (the most common of which is Professional Development Schools [PDS}), are meant to bring together the resources and the expertise of the university and those of one or more public schools. PDSs typically center on three fundamental domains of activity: the preparation of new educational professionals, the continuing professional development of current staff, and the collaborative field-based research on issues of common interest.

This paper focuses on the process by which such partnerships …

Where Do We Go From Here?, Gary R. Brown

Office of Academic Innovation Publications

Review of recent articles that appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education, related to technology and its impacts on changes in education.

Feedback, Accountability, And The Standards-Based System, Dannelle D. Stevens

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The standards-based system provides feedback and accountability, and, more importantly, it challenges educators to re-examine basic assumptions about teaching, learning, and schooling. These assumptions are changing as a result of the standards-based system, and this has positively affected practices in the classroom.

The Difference Frenzy And Matching Buckshot With Buckshot, Gary R. Brown, Mary Wack

Office of Academic Innovation Publications

A critical review of "The Difference Frenzy," a review of research on the effectiveness of distance learning in higher education from the Institute for Higher Education Policy.

Online Collaboration And Implications For Learning And Society, Gary R. Brown, Mary Wack

Office of Academic Innovation Publications

A review od current literature related to online learning, collaboration, and its larger impacts for society.

Digital Diploma Mills Or Socratic Gymnasium? The Future Of The University, Gary R. Brown, Mary Wack

Office of Academic Innovation Publications

Review of current literature on challenges to traditional higher education, focusing specifically on "Digital diploma mills or Socratic gymansium?" by David Noble.

Critical Multiculturalism And The Globalization Of Capital: Some Implications For A Politics Of Resistance, Ramin Farahmandpur, Peter Mclaren

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite the historic defeat of Marxism and constant attempts by so-called progressive educators to exorcize any residual Marxist discourse from the literature on multiculturalism, the contradictions of capital playing themselves out in the theater of contemporary social relations are beckoning Marx's spectre to return and further trouble those theories proclaiming that the "end of ideology" is upon us and that all we need to do in order to rescue humanity is to heed the clarion call of diversity. Too often overlooked in the debates over multiculturalism at present engulfing the academy are the myriad ways in which globalization is shaping …

University Studies 1994-1997: A Progress Report, Portland State University. General Education Working Group

University Studies Assessment Research

Broadly reports on the state of implementing University Studies, reviewing consequences for the University, faculty, and students.

A Case Study Of Twelve Japanese Esl Students' Use Of Interaction Modifications, Darin Dooley

Dissertations and Theses

This case study examines Japanese ESL students' use of interaction modifications in a content based course. Twelve female subjects were observed and recorded during a nine week period. Their use of interaction modifications (clarification requests, confirmation checks, and comprehension checks) and responses to interaction modifications (single word, full or partial repetition, or reformulation), during teacher-fronted and small group situations, were recorded and coded using the COLT observation instrument.

The study found that the subjects used clarification requests over four times more often in small group or pair-work situations than in teacher-fronted classes. Also, the subjects used confirmation checks over five …

Institutional Transformation As Scholarly Activity: The Experience Of Portland State University, Charles R. White, Judith A. Ramaley

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

In American higher education, change is continuous but occurs most often at the margins, generally taking the form of piecemeal or isolated efforts and programs. Only rarely are change projects comprehensive in their scope and transformative in their effects. In this chapter we describe the context for comprehensive curricular change at Portland State University and offer a more general theoretical construct about institutional change in higher education. That there are so few examples of comprehensive institutional change in American higher education is indicative of the complex mix of internal and external factors that constrain change efforts. We have found that …

The Leadership Of African American Women Constructing Realities, Shifting Paradigms, Gloria Murphy Gostnell

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn more about leadership from the perspectives, norms, and values of a selected group of African American women leaders. I sought to develop a more inclusive view of the realities of leadership, and a better understanding of the impact of the interlocking status of race, gender, and social class on the practice, pursuit, and perceptions of leadership by these women.

This study is grounded in a Black women's standpoint, and places Black women's experiences at the center of analysis. In answer to the question "How do we know the world?," the standpoint …

Scharp: Opening The Door To Systems Change, Leslie G. Mcbride

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

The majority of policymakers, educators, and the public at large agree that public education needs reform. However, the nature and extent of changes are discussed and debated. Some promote the newest curricula,the latest teaching innovation, or the freshest administrative style (Sashkin & Egermeier, n.d). Others regard these approaches as piecemeal solutions that "tinker at the edges" of the real problem (Reigeluth, in press). The real problem, they say, is an ailing education system requiring fundamental, systemic changes through basic restructuring(Corbett, 1990; O'Neil, 1993; Reigeluth, in press; Sashkin & Egermeier,n. d.). These two approaches bracket a solution continuum ranging from minor …

Factors That Motivate Washington State Teachers To Participate In Professional Growth And Development, Dolores Adan Heisinger

Dissertations and Theses

The major focus of this study was the identification of factors that motivate teachers to participate in professional growth and development activities. Although teachers may be motivated to participate in staff development for different reasons, it was hypothesized that common factors forming an identifiable incentive profile could be found. Within the focus of the study, three primary questions were asked: (a) What are the needs, incentives or motivators that influence teachers to further their professional development? (b) What are the relative strengths of the various needs, incentives or motivators? and (c) How do the incentive structures of teachers differ based …