Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Problem-Based Educational Games: Connections, Prescriptions, And Assessment, Andrew Walker, Brett E. Shelton

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

The overwhelming success of the commercial game market has brought increased attention to emerging work in educational game design. Much of the existing work in educational games a strong similarity to the field of Problem-Based Learning (PBL), which has a rich history of conceptual literature as well as empirical investigations. Despite apparent similarities between the two fields, there has been no formal effort to explore the connections between them. This conceptual paper examines the basic tenants of PBL with an eye toward making prescriptive recommendations for the design and use of problem-based educational games. Examples within existing educational games are …

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 …

Improving Student Engagement: Use Of The Interactive Whiteboard As An Instructional Tool To Improve Engagement And Behavior In The Junior High School Classroom, Georgia Lyn Morgan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the impact of interactive whiteboard use on student engagement and appropriate at-task behaviors of junior high school students. Two hundred twenty-six students at two public schools in northeast Florida were observed during the second quarter of the school year. Data were collected using an at-task checklist, and students completed an attitude survey regarding their perception of their own engagement and enjoyment with interactive whiteboard use. Significant differences were noted in student behavior between instruction without interactive whiteboard use and instruction with interactive whiteboard use. No significant correlations were found between the variables gender and ethnicity and improved …

University Research Management - Developing Research In New Institutions, Ellen Hazelkorn

Other resources

No abstract provided.

2007-2008 Profile, Morehead State University. Institutional Research & Analysis.

Office of Institutional Research & Analysis Publication Archive

2007-2008 issue of Profile Magazine.

Rankings And The Battle For World-Class Excellence: Institutional Strategies And Policy Choices, Ellen Hazelkorn

Other resources

No abstract provided.

Impact Of University Rankings: Global Excellence Vs. Local Engagement, Ellen Hazelkorn

Other resources

Globalisation is helping to create a ‘single world market’ in higher education (Marginson, 2006). A feature of this process is the emergence of global university rankings which have taken the practice of accountability, quality assurance and benchmarking to a worldwide level. Today, the Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities and the Times QS Ranking of World Universities are used by governments and HEIs as a measurement of competitiveness and reputation. An internationalist strategy is imperative not only for governments, but also globally-facing and regionally-focused HEIs. No one is immune. Many HEIs are using rankings to help define targets …

Classroom Organizational Structures As Related To Student Achievement In Upper Elementary Grades In Northeast Tennessee Public Schools., Darrell Wayne Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Learning Differences In E-Commerce I Online Classes In Public Secondary Schools In North Carolina., Pamela S. Pitman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to measure differences in learning styles in an online E-Commerce I class in public secondary schools in North Carolina. Students' observations and achievements were evaluated by gender, grade level, course of study, online experience, and expected grade. This type of study could identify relationships between the online model and the four areas evaluated. This information may aid designers of online curricula as well as the teachers.

The literature review covered several topics including technology, online learning, gender-based education, learning styles, maturity, and expectations. Each topic was related to the success of students in an …

Participation In Science, Mathematics And Technology In Australian Education, John Ainley, Julie Kos, Marina Nicholas

ACER Research Monographs

This report was commissioned to update and extend the Background Data and Analysis component of the report, Australia’s Teachers: Australia’s Future – Advancing Innovation, Science, Technology and Mathematics (Committee for the Review of Teaching and Teacher Education, 2003a) that informed the Main Report (Committee for the Review of Teaching and Teacher Education, 2003b). In the five years since the 2003 review, there have been developments in science, technology and mathematics education that have been impacted on by initiatives in policy and practice as well by changes in the context. So that changes in science, technology and mathematics education can be …

Supply, Demand And Approaches To Employment By People With Postgraduate Research Qualifications In Science And Mathematics: Literature Review And Data Analysis, Daniel Edwards, T Fred Smith

Higher education research

This report is the first in a project that investigates the demand for and supply of people with science and mathematics postgraduate qualifications in Australia. This report is divided into two main parts: a literature review and a data analysis. The report uses numerous national data sets to present a picture of the supply, demand and employment dynamics of postgraduates in the natural and physical sciences in Australia. The figures indicate an increasing number of postgraduates are completing studies in these fields. However, compared with other fields of education, supply in the natural and physical sciences is increasing at a …

Enhancing The Engagement Of Distributed Learners, Hamish Coates

Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE)

For much of the twentieth century it was conventional practice to distinguish between ‘on-campus’ and ‘external’ or ‘distance’ forms of higher education. This distinction has blurred both in theory and practice over the last few decades, with an increase in what may be referred to as ‘distributed’ forms of learning and higher education. In Australia and New Zealand today, very few students spend significant amounts of time on campus. According to results from the 2007 Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) around three-quarters (77%) report spending no more than 10 hours per week on campus outside of formal classes. Just …

Touching The Future : Building Skills For Life And Work (Conference Proceedings), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

2008 – Touching the Future: Building Skills for Life and Work

This conference addressed the theme of the skills and dispositions that young people need to participate effectively in work and society and the role of educators to nurture the development of those skills and dispositions.

The conference featured four keynote and 12 concurrent sessions. The full conference proceedings and individual papers, some PowerPoint presentations can be downloaded below. Podcasts of selected sessions are also available from this repository.

Factors That Are Associated With Students' Standardized Reading Achievement Scores, Cherie Nichole Mothershead

Dissertations

This study examined the factors that are associated with students' standardized reading achievement scores. The participants in this study were obtained from two sources: a national and a regional sample. The national participants were located throughout the United States of America, and the regional participants were from a school district in a southeastern state.

The data for the national sample were provided by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a division of the U.S. Department of Education, and the regional sample was provided by surveying all fifth grade teachers in a school district from a southeastern state. These two …

A Metamorphosis Of Thought: Parent Education Based On Transformative Learning Theory In A Title I-Funded Middle School, Ayanna Lichelle Shivers

Dissertations

Section 1118(e)(2) of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 encouraged public schools to conduct and evaluate parent education programs to assist with closing the achievement gap. In an effort to combat the existing problem, the researcher engaged in a mixed-methods study to address four research questions.

A comparative-quantitative study, using the Middle School Parent Perception Survey, was conducted to determine if there were statistically significant differences in perceptions of parents whose children attended Title I funded and non-Title l-funded schools in the following areas—barriers to parent involvement, their ability to assist their children with schoolwork, and the support …

Programme Oriented And Institutional Oriented Approaches To Quality Assurance: New Developments And Mixed Approaches, Deirdre Lillis, Tara Ryan

Articles

This paper considers the programme validation arrangements in place in one half of the Irish higher education sector. It outlines how responsibility for programme validation can be safely delegated to Institutions within a robust overarching framework for quality assurance. It compares programme validation in Institutions with self awarding status with Institutions that have their programmes validated by a national Awarding agency. The paper concludes that when programme validation in Ireland and (potentially) across Europe is examined more closely, processes that appear to be very different on the surface can be quite similar in reality. From a philosophical perspective it appears …

E-Portfolios, Social Networking, And A Lms All In One, Dennis King

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

The presenter discusses several Online tools which can be assembled for the containment of learning management, student electronic portfolios, and networking. Implementations discussed include Epsilen's Global Learning Project.

Free Web-Based Technology Solutions: Are They Really Free?, Corey Ray

SIDLIT Conference Proceedings

The presenters examine the conditions and models institutions may have when developing attitudes towards software, be it open source or otherwise.

Harnessing Educational Cooperation In The Eas For Regional Competitiveness And Community Building, Phillip Mckenzie, Robert Horne, Andrew Dowling, Adrian Beavis

International Education Research

At the Second East Asia Summit (EAS) meeting held in 2007, the 16 Country Leaders agreed to strengthen regional educational cooperation. Acting on behalf of the EAS, the ASEAN Secretariat has commissioned this project to develop strategies for EAS participants to enhance regional economic competitiveness and strengthen community building in a balanced and sustainable manner through cooperation in education. The project’s scope encompasses regional cooperation in basic education (primary and secondary), technical and vocational education and training, and higher education. This report draws on a literature review of experiences with international educational cooperation, analysis of published data, consultations with education …

The Application Of Web 2.0 Technologies As An Experimental Method Of Teaching Remote Sensing At Dit, Ireland, Avril Behan

Conference Papers

This paper describes the implementation of an experimental method of delivery for a module of remote sensing material to second year students on the BSc (Hons) in Geomatics at the Dublin Institute of Technology. The project began as a reaction to poor levels of student engagement and unsatisfactory grades, as well as the requirement to focus more on real-world type problems due to the implementation of a work-placement semester for third year students. Both pedagogical considerations (movement towards formative feedback, interactivity and group-based work) and the effect of technological drivers, such as the popularity of the internet in general and …

Assessing And Reporting Of Employability Skills Of Senior Secondary Students, Gabrielle Matters, David D. Curtis

2008 – Touching the Future: Building Skills for Life and Work

This paper traces the emergence of ‘life skills’ from being rather general and global prescriptions for educational change to specific lists of ‘skills’ that schooling, vocational and higher education should address. We focus specifically on the ‘key skills’ of the Employability Skills Framework (ESF) developed jointly by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and the Business Council of Australia (BCA) (ACCI & BCA, 2002). We propose a strategy for extending the definitions of the key skills to include personal, social and civic objectives. We also identify a sequence of challenges that schools and school systems must address in …

A Study Of The Effectiveness Of A School District's Mentoring / Professional Development Plan For Beginning Teachers, Jason Sefrit

Dissertations

The purpose of the study of the mentoring I professional development program within the teaching profession was to determine the extent and perceived value of the existing formal mentoring program in the Fort Zumwalt School District. The study found that the district's mentoring and professional development program for new teachers is effective as perceived by both beginning teachers and their administrators. The instrument used in this study was a survey designed by the District and distributed to beginning teachers who finished their first year of teaching and the formal mentor program during the 2002-2003 through the 2006-2007 school years. Surveys …

International Engagements: The Characteristics Of International Students’ Engagement With University, Daniel Edwards

Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE)

The international student market is important and lucrative for Australian universities and the Australian economy in general. In 2006, nearly 15 per cent of all income of Australian tertiary providers was derived from international student fees, a total of $2.3 billion. This makes international education Australia’s largest service export and its third largest export industry overall. Between 2001 and 2006, enrolments of undergraduate international students in Australian universities increased 43.3 per cent. By comparison, the growth in enrolments of domestic undergraduate students in this time was much smaller at 1.7 per cent (DEST, 2001 - 2006). In 2006, 14.2 per …

A Study Of The Effectiveness Of A School District's Mentoring / Professional Development Plan For Beginning Teachers, Kim Carter

Dissertations

The purpose of the study of the mentoring / professional development program within the teaching profession was to determine the extent and perceived value of the existing formal mentoring program in the Fort Zumwalt School District. The study found that the district's mentoring and professional development program for new teachers is effective as perceived by both beginning teachers and their administrators. The instrument used in this study was a survey designed by the District and distributed to beginning teachers who finished their first year of teaching and the formal mentor program during the 2002-2003 through the 2006-2007 school years. Surveys …

Leadership In Indigenous Education, Nola Purdie, Jenny Wilkinson

Indigenous Education Research

This brief scoping paper was developed around the theme of ‘What’s happening in Indigenous leadership in education in Australian schools?’ A dual focus for this theme was noted: leadership for Indigenous education; and leadership by Indigenous principals and teachers.

The authors provide an overview of current issues in educational leadership that were derived, in the main, from papers presented at the 2007 ACER conference on educational leadership. Current offerings and opportunities in the area of Indigenous leadership and leadership for Indigenous education include those operating through the Australian Principals Associations Professional Development Council (APAPDC), principally through the Dare to Lead …

Beyond Happiness: Managing Engagement To Enhance Satisfaction And Grades, Hamish Coates

Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE)

Universities collect a considerable amount of data on students’ perceptions of the quality of teaching and institutional services, including on their satisfaction with the overall experience. While much data is collected from students, less is collected on what students are actually doing. Yet it is equally – or arguably more – important to understand students and their learning as it is to understand learners’ satisfaction with provision. The Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) provides data on both learners’ engagement in effective learning practices and on whether institutions have provided the support mechanisms to facilitate such engagement. It also collects …

Ict Trends In Education, Gerald K. White

Digital learning research

The use of information and communications technology (ICT) in education is a relatively new phenomenon. Educators, researchers and thinkers have taken up the challenges of using ICT since the 1980s with varied success. The advent of the internet and the World Wide Web has pressured new productivity and service demands as well as expectations on these endeavours although research to guide best practice remains scant and elusive. This discussion about the trends occurring in ICT in education and research begins with a brief history. The brief history of ICT raises a number of issues that provide options for thinking about …

Departmental Survival Through Collaborative Industrial Partnership, Jaby Mohammed, Sam Mason, Xiaolong Li

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

In this paper/discussion the author's identify how the Industrial and Engineering technology curriculum and program strengthened at Morehead State University. The author's initially review a brief history of the Industrial and Engineering Technology program and how the department survived from closing down to become one of the most successful departments at the university. The author's also describe how the objectives were set and how department worked with the local industrial partners and advisors to set up and help with the curriculum to meet the industrial demands. The objectives were set based on the local educational and industrial demands for the …

Pilot Project: Technology Integration In Underserved Schools Using Thinkfinity, Spring 2008, Final Report, Sylvia Russakoff

Cornerstone 1 Reports : Expansion and Enhancements of the Thinkfinity Platform

The Pace Computer Learning Center has been involved in helping teachers learn to integrate technology using Internet resources since 1997, when, under a grant from the then Bell Atlantic Corporation, over 900 teachers were trained over a three year period.

Since that initial project, PCLC has continued this work with New York City and Westchester private and public schools. Most recently, funding has come from the Facilitator Center, an organization serving non-public schools in New York City and the Hudson Valley.

This pilot project was conceived as a way in which PCLC could use its experience and expertise to present …

Harnessing Educational Cooperation In The East Asia Summit (Eas) For Regional Competitiveness And Community Building, Phillip Mckenzie, Robert Horne, Andrew Dowling, Adrian Beavis

Program monitoring and evaluation

At the Second East Asia Summit (EAS) held in 2007, the EAS leaders agreed to strengthen educational cooperation between their 16 countries. On behalf of the EAS, the ASEAN Secretariat commissioned this project to develop strategies for EAS participants to enhance regional economic competitiveness and strengthen community building in a balanced and sustainable manner through cooperation in education. Its scope encompasses regional cooperation in Basic Education (Primary and Secondary Education), Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and Higher Education. The report draws on a literature review of the experience with regional educational cooperation, analysis of published data, consultations with …