Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Qepr Review Of Progress: Review Of Progress Towards Implementing The Government Response To The Queensland Education Performance Review And Related State School Initiatives In Literacy, Numeracy And Science, Geoff N. Masters

Assessment and Reporting

This review was undertaken at the request of the Director-General of the Queensland Department of Education and Training. It reviews progress and makes recommendations ‘about initiatives aimed at improving the performance of Queensland students in literacy, numeracy and science’. More specifically, the Terms of Reference for the review requested an analysis and recommendations relating to:

• the effectiveness of the initiatives implemented in the Government response to the five recommendations of the Queensland Education Performance Review (QEPR); and
• the effectiveness of identified key initiatives in Queensland state primary schools to improve performance in literacy, numeracy and science.

The review was asked …

Perceived Effectiveness Of Special Reading Teacher’S Preparation Through The Reading Practicum Experience, Patricia C. Leitsch

Dissertations

Special reading certification in the state of Missouri requires a candidate to complete coursework that involves two three hour practicum experiences. These experiences must entail working with students in kindergarten through grade 12. The practicum experiences are designed to provide significant instruction in the area of reading strategies for struggling readers. Since the advent of No Child Left Behind (Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education [MODESE], 2009b) there has been an increased demand for special reading teachers. Many universities have experienced an increase in the number of students seeking special reading certification. This qualitative study focuses on the three …

2009-2010 Profile, Morehead State University. Institutional Research & Analysis.

Office of Institutional Research & Analysis Publication Archive

2009-2010 issue of Profile Magazine.

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 …

Vet Leadership For The Future: Contexts, Characteristics And Capabilities, Hamish Bennett Coates, V Lynn Meek, Justin Brown, Tim Friedman, Peter Noonan, John Mitchell

Higher education research

This study examines leadership in Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector. VET leaders make a vital and growing contribution to learners, industry and society, yet research on their work is limited. This has direct implications for ensuring leadership is most effective, and for framing evidence-based capacity development. To assist the sector, and in particular the people who find themselves running large and complex training organisations, this study paints a picture of what VET leaders do, and of how they can do it best.

Analysis Of Engineering Students Learning Styles On Level 7, Level 8 And Level 9 Programmes, Aidan O'Dwyer

Conference papers

This contribution reports on research, carried out over three academic years, into the learning styles of engineering students, on a number of Level 7, Level 8 and Level 9 programmes at DIT, using the index of learning styles survey developed by Felder and Soloman (1991). The contribution explores the results obtained in detail, placing them particularly in the national context. The correlation between student performance and individual learning styles is examined. Knowledge of the strongly visual learning style of these cohorts of students may be used to improve the learning environment.

How Do Doctoral Research Academics Perceive Their Research Activities To Be Of Benefit To Undergraduate Students, James Mccauley

Theses

The principal aim of my research is to investigate the perceptions of Doctoral research academics regarding the benefit of their research activities to undergraduate students. Through in-depth interviews, the research aims to establish the level of communication that Doctoral researchers initiate with their undergraduate students about their research activities as well as the extent to which they know if these students perceive these activities as positive or negative. The extent to which students proactively queried such academics about their research activities is also examined. Two main types of activities were identified as having a positive impact: topic specific ‘cutting-edge’ knowledge …

Long-Term Impact Of Community-Based Learning On College Graduates: Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp Qualitative Study, Rowanna L. Carpenter

University Studies Assessment Research

Provides an overview of an ongoing research project conducted by Capstone faculty and the Capstone Director analyzing interviews with students who had completed the Kiwanis Camp Capstone. This Capstone provides students with an opportunity to live with and provide direct service to a camper with disabilities.

Test Scores Show More Students Scoring Proficient Or Advanced In 2010, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

In mid-June, the ADE released the results of the 2009-10 standardized achievement tests, including the Arkansas Benchmark and SAT-10 exams for students in grades 3- 8 and the End-of-Course (EOC) Literacy exam for students in grade 11. The following policy brief will highlight the current performance of all Arkansas students, the performance for particular subgroups of students, and finally the changes in achievement over time.

The Effects Of Reflective Thinking On Middle School Students’ Academic Achievement And Perceptions Of Related Instructional Practices: A Mixed Methods Study, David Denton

Theses and Dissertations

The problem investigated in this study was whether instructional practices, which characterize reflective thinking, aided in the alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment at the classroom level. Participants included 259 seventh grade students, 126 female and 133 male, from 10 intact social studies classrooms. The investigator used an explanatory mixed methods design, which included a quantitative and qualitative phase.

The first phase involved testing the effects of an intervention, administered for 23 days, on students’ academic achievement according to a content-specific test. In addition, this phase involved a questionnaire used to assess student perceptions of the intervention. Results of the …

Where In The World? Demographic Patterns In Access Data, Mimi Recker, Beijie Xu, Sherry Hsi, Christine Garrard

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Standard webmetrics tools record the IP address of users’ computers, thereby providing fodder for analyses of their geographical location, and for understanding the impact of e-learning and teaching. Here we describe how two web-based educational systems were engineered to collect geo-referenced data. This is followed by a description of joining these data with demographic and educational datasets for the United States, and mapping different datasets using geographic information system (GIS) techniques to visually display their relationships. Results from statistical analyses of these relationships that highlight areas of significance are given.

Walking Box Ranch Planning And Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending June 10, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• UNLV has purchased weather equipment, established a weather station at the ranch, and has begun collecting weather data and conducting preliminary research. The station collects hourly data on temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and insolation that is transmitted wirelessly to UNLV and captured and projected on the PLI WBR website. A database of weather information will be maintained for further analysis. Research quantifying solar insolation at the ranch will be conducted.
• UNLV has begun preparing informational brochures that will be available to the public at the ranch in the future and will provide information on biology, geology, anthropology, and …

Faculty Achievements, 2009-2010, Otterbein University

Faculty Achievement Reports

No abstract provided.

Bibliography Of Research On The College Fraternity, 1996-June 2010, Charles G. Eberly

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

This is a document I edited with the help of master's level graduate students in college student affairs and counseling at Eastern Illinis University. The bibliography of research on the college fraternity / sorority contains 497 articles published from 1996 to June 1, 2010. Library search terms are included with each entry.

Bibliography Of Research On The College Fraternity, 1996-June 2010, Charles Eberly

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

This is a document I edited with the help of master's level graduate students in college student affairs and counseling at Eastern Illinis University. The bibliography of research on the college fraternity / sorority contains 497 articles published from 1996 to June 1, 2010. Library search terms are included with each entry.

Influence Of Ethnicity On English Vocabulary Measurement: Using The Montgomery Assessment Of Vocabulary Acquisition In One Rural Southeastern New Mexico School, Eileen M. Gatliffe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined vocabulary acquisition of elementary students in grades kindergarten through fifth in one rural New Mexico school. The school had 277 students. Hispanic students comprised nearly 80% of the student body. All students received free lunch and breakfast. The 65 students who participated in the study were assessed using the Montgomery Assessment of Vocabulary Acquisition (MAVA). This new assessment, published in 2008, tests receptive and expressive vocabulary utilizing the three-tier vocabulary model introduced by Beck, McKeown and Kucan (2001). The study assessed each student for proficiency in identifying and using tier-I, tier-II and tier-III words. Hispanic and non-Hispanic …

Authentic Assessment In Infant And Toddler Care Settings: Review Of Recent Research, Allyson Dean, Brenda Zollitsch Phd

Children, Youth, & Families

Authentic assessment provides an alternative approach to gathering child performance information and designing developmentally-appropriate curriculum for infants and toddlers. Conventional tests and assessment have been shown to lead to the mismeasurement of children through the use of norm-referenced testing practices (Bagnato, 2007). Additionally, many of these traditional testing practices have not been developed or validated for infants or toddlers and result in biased samples of a child’s functioning (i.e. results that differ from how a child actually behaves.) This policy brief describes what authentic assessment is, the role observation plays in authentic assessment, how information from observations is used to …

Thinkfinity Grant Mid- Project Status Report: Differentiations, Roberta Wiener

Cornerstone 1 Reports : Expansion and Enhancements of the Thinkfinity Platform

No abstract provided.

Assessing Student Learning Outcomes In Aqip Accredited Community And Technical Colleges, Constance M. Schwass

Dissertations

Accreditation in higher education institutions continues to be regarded as the seal (f) obstacles encountered that may impede the assessment of student learning outcomes processes. Responses from 75 individuals (a 52.4% response rate) responsible for their college's assessment of student learning revealed that assessment plans at these AQIP accredited institutions do exist, and are written, implemented, and embedded as part of their institutional culture and operational strategy. Significant differences between General and Occupational Education programs were found in the use of comparative data, communication with external stakeholders, faculty involvement in the assessment practices, perceived levels of improvement in the teaching/learning …

Stressors And Coping Mechanisms Of Married Female Physicians : A Qualitative Review, Eva Marie Starner

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Female physicians live and work in a very complex world fraught with professional demands and personal challenges. Twenty-seven married female physicians were interviewed for this study to assess demands and stressors endemic to them and to determine how they manage them. The breadth of this study looked at the demands and stressors of the female physician from the perspective of her work environment, home and family responsibilities, parenting responsibilities, and self-imposed demands in her perceived roles as a working wife and mother. Two main categories emerged during the development of grounded theory: System Challenge and System Adaptation. Additionally, work demands, …

Peer Production Of Online Learning Resources: A Social Network Analysis, Beijie Xu, Mimi Recker

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This work describes methods for collecting user activity data in a peer production educational system, the Instructional Architect (IA), and then takes a social network perspective in analyzing these data. In particular, rather than focusing on content produced, it focuses on the relationship between users (teachers), and how they can be analyzed to identify important users and like-minded user groups. Our analyses and results provide an example for how to select the most important factors in analyzing the dynamics of an online peer production community using social network analysis metrics, such as in-degree, out-degree, betweenness, clique, and community.

Horsing Around? Hippotherapy As A Context For Speech Therapy, Kara Schricker

Psychology and Child Development

Language and communication are essential to our daily lives. With it we are able to express our wants and needs without frustration, without it we would not be able to effortlessly engage in the communication that is so essential to our daily lives. Children typically follow a pattern of development that allows them to develop language without delay. Interferences can arise that delay language development including: articulation disorders, fluency disorders, dysphagia, hearing impairment, cleft palate, or cognitive impairment. Each of these interferences has a unique cause and also a unique effect on children. A variety of therapies are available that …

Influences Of Environmental Education Programs On The Participant's Affinity For Nature, Justin Alan Schmillen

Master's Theses

This study was conducted to determine the change, and the factors influencing the change, in the participant’s affinity for nature resulting from an environmental education experience. In addition, this study also examined the change and factors of change in aspects of the participant’s affinity for nature that directly relate to marine and coastal resources and environments. An adapted version of the Affinity for Nature scale, an outcome measuring instrument used by the American Camp Association was used to collect data from participants (n=529) at Rancho El Chorro Outdoor School and Camp Ocean Pines, whose experience included an overnight component and …

Social Class And The College Experience Of Students In Kentucky: An Exploratory Study, Ainsley Lambert

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

A great deal of research in higher education is focused on difficulties that pertain specifically to lower income students. Many of these studies use qualitative methods and small samples from a single institution. This study uses quantitative methods and a stratified sample of 388 students to examine the effects of social class on students' experiences at four colleges in Kentucky. The results support the notion that lower income students feel marginalized, isolated, and "imposters" at college.

What Explains The Gender Gap In Financial Literacy? The Role Of Household Decision-Making, Raquel Fonseca, Kathleen J. Mullen, Gema Zamarro, Julie Zissimopoulos

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Research has shown that financial illiteracy is widespread among women, and that many women are unfamiliar with even the most basic economic concepts needed to make saving and investment decisions. This gender gap in financial literacy may contribute to the differential levels of retirement preparedness between women and men. However, little is known about the determinants of the gender gap in financial literacy. Using data from the RAND American Life Panel, we examined potential explanations for the gender gap including the role of marriage and division of financial decision-making among couples. We found that differences in the demographic characteristics of …

Parental Support And South Africa’S Rural High School Performance, Moloko Raxina Kgare

Sandanona

The presenter will begin by explaining what parental support means, its importance and impact on the high school performance. She will explain causes of parents’ decision to distance themselves from their children, the school management and teachers.

Differentiation: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Dena Konneker

Sandanona

When is differentiation helpful and when it is harmful? What are common pitfalls? What is the balance between meeting learners’ needs and holding them to equally high expectations? What are a few positive strategies that teachers should focus on? Participants will examine case studies around these issues.

An Examination Of Changes In Program Offerings And Program Enrollments In Selected Nebraska High Schools During The Era Of Standards-Based Reform, Kenneth E. Schroeder

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not there were changes in certain characteristics of educational programs in grades 9-12 Nebraska public high schools during the era of standards-based reform. This purpose was accomplished by testing for changes between the 1993-94 school year and the 2007-08 school year in the courses high schools offered and in the courses students took. The total program and each of ten designated subject areas that comprise the program were examined. Those ten designated subject areas were language arts, science, social science, mathematics, foreign language, vocational education, visual and performing arts, personal …

The Imperative For Achieving Diversity, Ellen Hazelkorn

Other resources

Diversity is seen as a basic norm of higher education policy because it best meets educational and labour market. This presentation examines the concept of diversity as it applies to institutional mission and differentiation, and to research. It argues that in response to rankings and the global financial crisis, policymakers are tending to make a simple correlation between rankings, elite higher education and global competitiveness. There is increasing emphasis on selective excellence and focusing on the 'economic value of research outputs'. However, pursuit of ‘world class’ is skewing policy and institutional priorities.

From Active Learning To Activity: Getting Beyond Busy Work And Into Deep Learning, Wendy Holliday

Library Faculty & Staff Presentations

This session will report on an ethnographic study of an English composition class. The researcher observed the class for an entire semester and conducted focus groups and interviews with students and the instructor. The session will describe key activities from the class, including reflections on motivation and learning by both instructors and students. It will conclude with a discussion of how the research findings can help librarians design instruction that engages learners more deeply.