Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Pedagogical Agents As Social Models To Influence Learner Attitudes, Yanghee Kim, A. Baylor

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Based on social-cognitive theory, we describe the role of pedagogical agents as “social models.” In several experimental studies we have found that pedagogical agents as social models can effectively persuade and motivate learners. We briefly describe two on-going projects where agents as social models are employed to enhance young women’s motivation and attitudes toward math and engineering.

Text Categorization For Aligning Educational Standards, O. Yilmazel, N. Balasubramanian, S. C. Harwell, J. Bailey, Anne R. Diekama, E. D. Liddy

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Standard alignment (where standards describing similar concepts are correlated) is a necessary task in providing full access to educational resources. Manual alignment is time consuming and expensive. We propose an automatic alignment system, using machine learning techniques utilizing natural language processing. In this paper we discuss our experiments on text categorization for automatic alignment. We explore the role of relevant vocabulary sets in automatic alignment.

Desirable Characteristics Of Learning Companions, Yanghee Kim

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This study investigated the desirable characteristics of anthropomorphized learning-companion agents for college students. First, interviews with six undergraduates explored their concepts of desirable learning companions. The interviews yielded agent competency, agent personality, and interaction control. Next, a controlled experiment examined whether learner competency (strong vs. weak) would relate directly to agent competency (high vs. low) and to interaction control (agent-control vs. learner-control). The dependent measures included learners' perceptions of agent functionality, their self-efficacy beliefs in the task, and their learning. The results indicated that academically strong students perceived the high-competent agent higher than the lowcompetent agent and showed higher self-efficacy …

Designing Educational Games For Activity-Goal Alignment, Brett E. Shelton

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

What indeed, can we expect from our newest trend in education, implementing moving pictures and conversations with instruction through simulation games? Lewis Carroll's familiar narratives Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass provide helpful imagery for many of the queries, explorations and assumptions we currently make about this latest Wonderland of academia. So what are the goals for the designers and researchers of educational games, or perhaps more importantly, what should be the goals?

The Effect Of The Appalachian Math And Science Partnership On Student Achievement, Betsy Evans

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Students in the schools of Central Appalachia continuously score lower in mathematics and science at all K-12 levels than their state’s average scores. This education achievement gap is currently being addressed by the Appalachian Math and Science Partnership (AMSP). The AMSP is a professional development program whose goal is to increase the academic achievement of students in mathematics and science by enhancing the content knowledge and teaching skills of classroom teachers. There is a growing body of research that shows improving teacher knowledge and teaching skills is essential to raising student achievement.

The purpose of this study is to determine …

Research Summary: Young Adolescents’ Developmental Characteristics, Micki M. Caskey, Vincent A. Anfara Jr.

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

Early adolescence is a distinct period of human growth and development situated between childhood and adolescence. During this remarkable stage of the life cycle, young adolescents (10- to 15-year-olds) experience rapid and significant developmental change. Recognizing and understanding the unique developmental characteristics (traits associated with human growth) of early adolescence and their relationship to the educational program (i.e., curriculum, instruction, and assessment) and to the structure of the middle school (e.g., fl exible block scheduling, advisory programs, and team teaching) are central tenets of middle grades education.

Stakeholders' Perceptions Of The Jbte Teaching-Practice Benchmarks : A Descriptive Exploration Of Two Teachers' Colleges In Jamaica, Hyacinth Paulina Rose

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to explore the implementation of and perceptions of the Joint Board of Teacher Education benchmarks for teaching practice, or student teaching. Data were gathered concerning how the benchmarks were implemented and the perceptions of multiple stakeholders regarding the adequacy of their implementation. Additionally, stakeholders were asked about the possible need for including some benchmarks from the USA in order to create an ideal teaching-practice program in Jamaica.

Method. This study used a multiple descriptive case study design. Two teacher training institutions in Jamaica were purposively selected. From each of these institutions a focus …

What Now?: Evaluating Elearning Cpd Practice In Irish Third-Level Education, Roisin Donnelly, K. C. O'Rourke

Journal Articles

The internet has made it impossible for higher education institutions to ignore technology in fulfilling their strategic mission and respond to the expectations of a diverse student body. In the Republic of Ireland, as elsewhere, the use of online technologies has become an increasingly important challenge in academic staff development, and on the surface, eLearning has been moderately successful in the teaching and learning environment. However, given the rapid rate of change in both technology and the increasing diversity in academic staff and students, to describe accurately the nature of eLearning for academic staff development is near impossible. There has …

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 …