Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

How Can Professional Standards Improve The Quality Of Teaching And Learning Science?, Lawrence Ingvarson, Anne Semple

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

After extensive national consultation the recent Review of Teaching and Teacher Education announced an agenda for action in its report 'Australia's Teachers: Australia's Future. One of its central themes was a call to revitalise the teaching profession. In this vein, the purpose of this paper is to provide a brief review of preliminary work at ACER, conducted in collaboration with the Australian Science Teachers' Association, to develop a standards-guided professional learning system that would lead to professional certification for highly accomplished teachers of science. This paper describes ASTA 's progress towards developing a system of certification, beginning with the development …

No Wonder The Kids Are Confused: The Relevance Of Science Education To Science, Deborah Corrigan

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

My experiences in science have left me wondering if we know what we want to achieve when educating students in science. An important question for science educators is: how authentic is the science presented in science classrooms? To answer this, science educators need a clear idea of what is they believe to be the purpose of science and then how they can portray that in their classrooms. This paper represents my journey in thinking about and researching of these ideas. It is my belief that, if we are to engage students in science, then science education has to be far …

Towards A Science Education For All: The Role Of Ideas, Evidence And Argument, Jonathan Osborne

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

This presentation offers a critical analysis of contemporary science education and the values on which it rests. Science education wrestles with two competing priorities: the need to educate the future citizen about science; and the need to provide the basic knowledge necessary for future scientists. It is argued that the evidence would suggest that it is the latter goal that predominates – a goal which exists at least, in part, in conflict with the needs of the majority who will not continue with science post compulsory education. The argument is advanced that there are four essential elements to any science …

Inquiry In Science Classrooms - Rhetoric Or Reality?, Dennis Goodrum

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

If one scans the science curriculum statements of the Australian States and Territories, one will find a consistent theme of inquiry and inquiry pedagogy pervading these documents. With the rhetoric of these policy documents and our sense of science education history, one would expect to see inquiry as an integral part of our secondary science classrooms. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Many secondary students are taught science that is perceived by them to be neither relevant nor engaging. Furthermore, traditional didactic teaching methods that offer little challenge, excitement or opportunities for engagement are common. There is a considerable gap …

Rethinking Science Education Through Rethinking Schooling, Jim Davies

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

The Australian Science and Mathematics School was designed explicitly to support a renaissance in the teaching of science and to improve the engagement of students in the disciplines of science through highly engaging authentic learning opportunities. The school has adopted an action research approach as a means of re-thinking the elements of schooling and of its science programs. Its working premise is that quality science education is embedded in quality schooling. Science is learned through an innovative interdisciplinary curriculum with a pedagogy aligned to the inquiry methodologies associated with deep engagement in scientific endeavour. The architecturally designed school has transformed …

Achievement Of Australia's Early Secondary Indigenous Students: Findings From Timss 2003, Sue Thomson, Pippa Mckelvie, Hanna Murnane

TIMSS Australia Monograph Series

The primary aim of this report is to examine the performance of Australia’s Indigenous students who participated as part of the early secondary school (Year 8) cohort of the IEA Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS 2003). The performance of Indigenous students in this report has been compared to that of Australia’s non-Indigenous students across a number of variables that are known to affect student achievement in TIMSS generally (Martin, Mullis, Gonzalez & Chrostowski, 2004; Mullis, Martin, Gonzalez & Chrostowski, 2004). In total, 562 Year 8 Indigenous students from 207 schools across Australia participated in the study. Indigenous …

Common Data Set, 2006-2007, Office Of Institutional Research And Assessment, Bridgewater State College

Common Data Sets

No abstract provided.

The Utilization Of Gender, Retention, Ses And Steep Scores To Predict Reading Mastery, Lisa Lee Adams

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between gender, retention, SES and STEEP scores to predict reading mastery. Second grade students’ records were reviewed to obtain demographic information. SAT 9 scores were used to measure students' reading mastery. SES was measured and defined by approved applications for free or reduced lunch for the 2004-2005 school year. Retention was defined as the number of students previously retained. Logistic regression was used to determine the predictive validity of gender, retention, SES and STEEP scores dependent on SAT 9 reading mastery. Gender, retention, SES and STEEP scores were entered as …

A Role Of The University Leader In The 21st Century: A Case Study At Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University,Thailand, Wanwadee Chaichankul

EDU-COM International Conference

Learning is a life-long process, it requires dedication and motivation on the students and lecturers part; and resources and moral support on the administrators part. A leader‘s duty in an educational institution is to provide a system where the lecturers achieve the desired learning outcome not only because they are empowered, competent and accountable, but also because they care. The co-administrators must exercise visionary leadership responsive to emerging learning needs of the nation; ensure adequate resources; promote appropriate technology; create and sustain a climate conducive to enhancing learning. The 21st century educational world is becoming highly competitive in many aspects. …

The Suranaree University Of Technology – Mobile Examination Unit (Sut-Meu), S Chansilp

EDU-COM International Conference

This paper presents an online testing tool that may help extend flexible delivery for quality education. The Suranaree University of Technology – Mobile Examination Unit (SUT-MEU) is an alternative tool which offers an online test unit previously not available to educational institutes. SUT-MEU can be used by teachers to compose exams and grade exams, test proctors to set up the test server and students to sit exams. Both strongly encrypted exam file and public-key encrypted exam result file can be stored and transferred safely when the test needs to be set up elsewhere off campus and thus is designed to …

Ua56/1 Fact Book, Wku Institutional Research

WKU Administration Documents

Statistical and demographic profile of WKU.

Assessing Students’ Online Learning: Strategies And Resources, Patricia Comeaux

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Explore key strategies used by experienced online instructors, and learn about the wealth of resources for designing assessment instruments integral to online learning.

How Learning Styles Impact E-Learning: A Case Comparative Study Of Undergraduate Students Who Excelled, Passed, Or Failed An Online Course In Scientific/Technical Writing, William West, B.R. Simon Rosser, Salma Monani, Laura Gurak

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Online classes appear increasingly popular, making it critical in each discipline to study the advantages and disadvantages of learning online. Following up on anecdotal impressions that scientific/technical writing students appeared to do either better or worse in an online course than an offline equivalent (unpublished data), it was decided to study the impact of learning style and experience in using the Internet on grades. The 60 students who participated in an online course on scientific/technical writing were emailed post-course evaluations which included questions on learning styles. Of these, 37 (62%) returned the evaluations, revealing a clear and significant pattern of …

Harnessing Innovative Technologies In Higher Education: Access, Equity, Policy & Instruction, Kathleen P. King, Joan K. Griggs

Department of Leadership, Policy, and Lifelong Learning

This publication is an attempt to capture the evolution of distributed higher education over the last decade by tracing the applications of new technologies funded by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). As FIPSE surveyed the current state of distance/distributed education, there existed an opportunity to help post econdary education make the transition to this new generation of distance education made possible by the explosive growth of the Internet and other new technologies. These technologies created the potential for students to access learning that was interactive, customized, and self-paced; to more easily merge lifelong learning with the …

Computer-Based Instructional Systems Design Tools: Current State And Implications For The Future, Anna A. Andrews

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the current state of computer-based instructional systems design (ISD) tools and outlines its implications for the future. The study utilizes the grounded theory methodology to capture and document modern instructional designers' perspectives regarding the current state of ISD tools, the issues associated with them, and their interrelationships. The study also presents a framework for classifying modern ISD tools and a conceptual prototype of a designer-oriented system of computer-based ISD tools.

Anti-Ethnography?, Ian Barnard

English Faculty Articles and Research

"Many of the ongoing difficulties teachers face revolve around the 'translation' of disciplinary knowledge—especially critical theory—into pedagogical praxis. It often seems that our teaching lags behind our theoretical knowledge by about two decades, and sometimes we wonder if it will ever catch up. This sense of disjunction has been compounded by the difficulty of teaching postmodern understandings of subjectivity, truth, and epistemology in an increasingly commodified teaching context, where consumers expect to purchase a clear, identifiable, and literally usable product, and where 'knowledge' often means easily digestible and repeatable content rather than analytic skills, critical understandings, or complex world views. …

International Perspectives On Citizenship, Education And Religious Diversity, Sarfaroz Niyozov

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

A Parent Information Guide For Assisting Their Child With The Transition To High School, Wendi Frank

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a guide for parents of Eisenhower High School and the various feeder middle schools in the Yakima School District to help the eighth graders transitioning from middle school to high school. The intent of the program was to increase the ninth grade student's academic and social success by having parents involved in the transition along with various transition activities. To accomplish this purpose, a review of current literature, research and selected programs related to transitioning middle school students and parent involvement in the transition, were examined. The culminating guide was designed and …

Imsa20: Bold Ideas, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSA History

In the mid 1980s, the state of Illinois, recognizing a sharply increased need for highly skilled leaders in mathematics, science and technology, founded the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy®. Twenty years later, the national demand for mathematics, science and technology leaders has never been greater. The National Academies report - Rising Above the Gathering Storm and President Bush's American Competitiveness Initiative - address the growing concern that the United States is losing its competitive advantage as countries abroad invest heavily in the education and training of scientists and engineers. Both initiatives call for increased commitments in scientific research and in …

God & Mammon: When Revenue Becomes More Important Than Mission And Community In Higher Education, David M. Johnstone

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

No abstract provided.

Michael Graham Moore: A Significant Contributor To The Field Of Educational Technology, Michael Barbour, Thomas C. Reeves

Education Faculty Publications

Moore’s theories related to distance education, his contributions to scholarship and practice, and his efforts to establish the venues for distance education researchers to interact with one another have influenced many educational technologists in valuable ways.

Academic Performance And Engagement Of Educational Opportunity Program Students In A College Algebra Extended Class At The State University Of New York, New Platz, Courtney Anthony Pindling

Dissertations

Problem

The purpose of this study was to describe the academic performance of a group of Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) students in a College Algebra Extended Program (CAEP) at the University of New York, New Paltz. Generally, EOP students are admitted with low mathematics placement scores. In the past, they would have been required to do remedial math. However, since college remedial math is no longer available, the CAEP was implemented to remedy this problem. This study was conducted to examine how a small group of EOP students performed in this course.

Method

A descriptive research design was used to …

Clark County School District Attitudes, Perceptions, Barriers, And Desires For Field Trip Experiences, Allison Brody

Education about the Environment

Field trip opportunities are plentiful throughout Clark County, Nevada, including museums, parks, and designated locations within the nearly seven million acres of public lands surrounding the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The majority of these field trip destinations, which this paper will refer to as Informal Education (IE) sites, have education teams that can create and deliver programs and/or tours for classes. Many also offer professional development opportunities for teachers. Although the IE sites are rich in natural and cultural resources and provide abundant opportunities for authentic learning experiences, teachers may not think of some of the sites as prime destinations …

What Do We Value? Research On Technology Education Problems, Issues, And Standards In The United States, Philip A. Reed

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Technology education has seen significant changes since the early 1990's. The paradigm shift from industrial arts has been widely received. Communication tools have merged the global community and standards have helped unify content. While many of these changes have been positive, there are compelling calls for research to support technology education practice. How are we addressing this need? More importantly, is the research we are conducting adding value to technology education practice? This study presents a review and synthesis of published research, as well as graduate research, to address these questions. Specifically, research that has addressed recognized problems and issues …

Trends In The Selection, Evaluation, And Compensation Of University Presidents In The Florida State University System, Nancy L. Marshall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent literature suggested that while the discussion of presidential selection, evaluation, and compensation was common to both private and public institutions, special attention was paid to public university presidents. They and their presidencies were subject to intense public debate and scrutiny. Florida's public university presidents have contended with the same issues as their counterparts in other states. However, the 2001 changes in the state's higher education governance created distinct challenges and opportunities for the 11 presidents in the Florida State University System. The purpose of this study was to analyze the trends in the selection, evaluation, and compensation of the …

Acer 2005-2006 Annual Report, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

ACER Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Pre-School Children In Social Interaction Based On A Peace Curriculum, Jill R. Perel

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the benefits of a peace curriculum and the social interactive behavior of preschool children as measured by the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment Program (DECA) and societal factors. The ultimate goal of this study was to determine under what societal conditions would a preschool child, who is exposed to a peace curriculum, display less aggressive behavior. Furthermore, this research investigation explored which personal structure factors were impacted by this type of intervention.

Methodology: The study's sample included two preschools in SE Florida. All participants came from families of moderately high to high …

Effects Of Charter School Laws On Charter School Performance, Kristen R. Hoffman

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Problem Statement

Many issues exist in the public school system in the United States today. The main problems are: 1) American students are performing below their peers in other developed nations; 2) American high school graduates have trouble competing in the global economy; 3) Large achievement gaps exist between subgroups of American students. One of the many recommended policy solutions is to create charter schools to induce innovation and competition into the public school system.

Research Question

While many researchers have looked at charter school outcomes, few consider the effects of charter school laws on student achievement. My research question …

Does The Advertising Effect Of Athletics Impact Academic Rankings?, Brad A. Trenkamp

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The study presented here examines the relationship between athletic success and academic quality among Division I universities. The analysis begins by revisiting models that have been previously examined by other researchers. The current literature is then extended using a new model incorporating academic rankings. The previously used models incorporate objective measures of academic quality. The new model presented here uses rankings which have a subjective input. It is then examined to see whether the subjective opinions present in the academic rankings are influenced by athletic success. The analysis supports the assertion that successful football programs enhance the academic mission of …

Revision Of The Carlisle Elementary Preschool Standards Based On The Iowa Early Learning Standards, Marne M. Sievers

Graduate Research Papers

This paper describes the process of evaluating current standards and benchmarks for the Carlisle Elementary Preschool, revising them using the Iowa Early Learning Standards, which were completed in May 2005, revising a teacher-created assessment tool and progress report, and investigating the curriculum that is used and how it aligns with the newly created standards and benchmarks. Standards and benchmarks have been a focus in the educational field due to the implementation of the Federal "No Child Left Behind" Act.

Many standards and benchmarks have been created for kindergarten through twelfth grade but few programs have adopted standards and benchmarks prior …