Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Outsourcing Learning: Is The Statecraft Simulation An Effective Pedagogical Alternative?, Chad Raymond

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

Although rising costs have been a general trend in higher education since the early 20th century, a fundamental restructuring of the higher education marketplace is currently underway. In recent decades students and their parents have been forced to finance college education through greater and greater debt. As a result, students and their families are increasingly demanding that institutions of higher learning provide evidence of value. Universities must now ask what methods of instruction most efficiently expand a student's knowledge base. Can instruction that has been traditionally supplied in a physical classroom be delivered more effectively at lower cost through digital …

A Case Study Examining Formative Assessment In A Postsecondary English Language Program, Divya Varier

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the formative assessment practices of three teachers in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms using a sociocultural theoretical framework. The study was conducted in a postsecondary ESL setting at a large public university in the southeastern United States. Using an embedded mixed methods design, this study employed teacher interviews and classroom observations to address the overarching question: What individual and contextual factors are present in the formative assessment practices of participant ESL teachers? The study also explored the relationship between student metacognitive judgments of learning (JOL) and performance with the purpose of informing formative assessment practice. …

Assessment Of Phonological And Orthographic Differences In Adults With Reading Disabilities, Christina P. Hyers Mrs.

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

There is debate surrounding how to effectively identify and distinguish reading disabilities from other deficits in college populations. Although several theories have proposed a positive relationship between nonword decoding weaknesses and higher intelligence levels, currently there is no conclusive evidence supporting these claims. The primary purpose of the current study was to determine if individuals of diverging levels of verbal intellectual functioning display profile differences with regard to accuracy for spelling and single word reading of regular words and nonwords. Identifying the specific deficits displayed in populations with reading disabilities assists in formulating interventions targeted at areas of weakness and …

Divergent Summers: Measuring The Effect-Size Of Summer Vacation On Reading And Mathematics Achievement Scores For Different Populations Of Maine Students, Brian I. Mazjanis Phd

All Student Scholarship

This quantitative study of summer learning for Maine students in grades three through grades eight analyzed changes in academic achievement level in mathematics and reading that occurred during the summer recess of 2009. The patterns of learning exposed in this study have meaningful implications for policymakers attempting to close the achievement gap.

An Examination Of The Perception Of School Administrators On The Effectiveness Of Freshman Academies On The Academic Achievement Of African American Males, Willie Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

The significant impact of transitioning to ninth grade has necessitated the need to examine the effects of the secondary school structure on African American males. These students were often assumed to be capable of functioning and maintaining personal accountability within their new, less structured environment, as opposed to the structured setting they encountered in middle school (Ellerbrock & Kiefer, 2013). As a result, these adolescents encountered increased challenges often resulting in greater challenges and lack of motivation that does not cater to their learning and developmental needs (Ellerbrock & Kiefer).

Bethel (2012) indicated that environmental characteristics of the school setting …

Using Social Writing Instruction As A Means Of Building Community Among Diverse Gifted Students In A Transient, Pull-Out Program, Kimberly S. Lester

Theses and Dissertations

In this era of high-stakes testing and teacher accountability, teachers complain of a lack of time for authentic writing experiences that lead to deeper community development. Yet numerous researchers, including Vygotsky, argue the value of community development as a means of creating safe places where students feel valued, allowing them to make more relevant connections for life-long learning.

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore how writing builds community among diverse students in a short term, transient gifted program. The study incorporated ethnographic research techniques combined with basic descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. The study focused on three …

Exploring Stakeholders' Perceptions Of The Evaluation Of Early Fieldwork Experience In An Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program, Amber R. Peacock

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a qualitative meta-evaluation of the early field experience (EFE) program at a small, private, undergraduate teacher preparation program in Virginia focusing on the perceptions of preservice teachers, cooperating teachers and course instructors about the EFE evaluation objectives, evaluation experience, and resulting data usage. The EFE evaluation protocol at the study site is explored using a participatory-oriented evaluation model that solicited the perceptions of stakeholders. Analysis of EFE evaluation documents and semi-structured interviews with the stakeholders were conducted to explore the extent to which (1) official EFE objectives are congruent with the EFE evaluation, (2) the intended evaluation …

Construct Validity Of The Learning Behaviors Scale And The Academic Competence Evaluation Scales, Taryn L. Smith

Masters Theses

This research examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the Academic Competence Evaluation Scales (ACES; DiPerna & Elliott, 2000) and the Learning Behaviors Scale (LBS; McDermott, Green, Francis, & Stott, 2001). The Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA; McDermott, Stott, & Marston, 1993) was compared with the ACES and LBS to examine discriminant validity. Pearson product moment correlations were obtained to examine convergent and discriminant validity. Paired samples t-tests were conducted on the ACES and LBS total and subscale scores to compare the mean scores. The ACES Academic Enabler (ACES-AE) total score was significantly, positively correlated with the …

Don't Get Testy About It: Can Teaching Critical Thinking Skills Improve Act Scores?, Glenda L. Labruyere

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Tests are an inevitable component of the educational process and the pressure, for teachers and students alike, can be tremendous. This study was designed to investigate and compare the effectiveness of two different strategies intended to assist students in the preparation for the ACT college entrance exam. One strategy was a continuation of the test preparation strategy that had been in place for several years and the other was a result of research about the type of thinking required to perform well on the ACT exam.

Students in the comparison group prepared for the ACT exam by reviewing the types …

Advisor And Student Experiences Of Summer Support For College-Intending, Low-Income High School Graduates, Karen D. Arnold, Alexandra Chewning, Benjamin Castleman, Lindsay Page

Journal of College Access

Summer melt occurs when students who have been accepted to college and intend to enroll fail to matriculate in college in the fall semester after high school. A high rate of summer melt contributes to the lower postsecondary attainment rates of low-income students, in particular. This article presents qualitative findings from two interventions intended to reduce summer melt among low-income, urban high school graduates who had been accepted to college and indicated their intention to enroll. Results from student and counselor surveys, interviews, and focus groups point to a web of personal and contextual factors that collectively influence students’ college …

Investigating The English Language Arts Placement Of Struggling High School Freshmen, Pamela Burke-Haug

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative case study addressed a suburban school district's placement of academically at-risk English language arts (ELA) 9th graders as the district transitions from the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) to use of the unfamiliar and controversial Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). Based on the theoretical frameworks of the zone of proximal development, cognitive apprenticeship, and Bandura's model of self-efficacy, the purpose was to understand the characteristics of struggling (labeled 'academic') ELA students, placement practices and perceptions of these practices, and placement improvements. A purposeful sample was recruited of 7 staff members …

Evaluating Retention Strategies For At-Risk Undergraduate Nursing Students, Joanna L. Ramsden-Meier

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As there continues to be a nursing shortage and a lack of diversity in the nursing profession, it is important to retain at-risk students who have been admitted to nursing programs. The purpose of this program evaluation was to compare at-risk students who had not received retention services to at-risk students who had received retention services at a Midwestern college. A formative evaluation was conducted using information from three sources: the college, the students, and the community. Guided by a constructivist theory defined by Ponticell, this study examined the effectiveness of the retention program in terms of its impact on …

Exemplary Teachers' Perspectives On Effective Teaching Elements In Danielson's Framework For Teaching, Derek Jon Olson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Reforms in teacher evaluation are enacted to increase student achievement. Although there is research on teacher evaluation and teacher quality, there is little that addresses effective teaching as conceptualized in Danielson's Framework for Teaching, a commonly used evaluation tool. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine which of the 4 domains and 76 elements of Danielson's framework are viewed by award-winning teachers as having the greatest impact on effective teaching and learning. Constructivism formed the theoretical basis for this study. The research questions examined to what extent state and national teachers of the year perceive differences in the …

A Structural Equation Model Of The Influence Of Personal, Behavioral, And Environmental Factors On The Writing Performance Of First-Year Students At A Selected Michigan Community College, Thula I. Norton Lambert

Dissertations

Problem.

While previous writing performance studies have examined a range of motivational variables such as self-efficacy or writing apprehension, certain contextual variables and variables related to current writing pedagogy and practice have not been included, which has resulted in gaps in the research literature.

Method.

A non-experimental, correlational, cross-sectional, ex post facto, survey research design was used to examine the personal, behavioral, and environmental factors that had been identified as being of potential influence to students’ writing performance. A census was conducted among the 233 students enrolled in English Composition on the two campuses of a small two-year college in …

Demographics And Education In The Twenty-First Century, Norman Eng

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Latino Students In Suburban High Schools: An Examination Of School Malleable Predictors Of High School Graduation, Kira Jean Hicks

Dissertations

Despite recent gains, Latino students drop out of high schools in the United States at a higher rate than their peers and at a significant cost. As more Latino students move to the suburbs, it is important for suburban high schools to meet their needs and solidify their path to graduation. Practices that appear to be promising in keeping students on track to graduate have been developed and studied in urban education settings and need to be validated with other populations and settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the indicators that are predictive of on time graduation …

Investigating First Year Education Students’ Stress Level, Gretchen Geng, Richard Midford

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper investigated the stress levels of first-year education students who undertake teaching practicum and theory units during their first year of teacher education program. First, 139 first-year and 143 other years’ education students completed the PSS-10 scale, which measures perceived level of stress. Then, 147 first-year education students completed an online questionnaire to identify the particular stressors in their learning experience. The first-year education students had significantly higher stress levels than other years’ education students, (p < .01). Contributing stressors included academic work commitment; completing placement and related performance assessments in schools and at university; having a good understanding of the requirements of professional teaching, such as classroom management, and working with mentor teachers; and conflicting work and family commitments. These findings provide greater understanding about the stressors experienced by first-year education students and usefully inform ways to help this group achieve their study and career goals.

Fijian Teachers' Conceptions Of Assessment, Hem Chand Dayal, Govinda Ishwar Lingam

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract: Teacher’s conceptions are important as they have a strong influence on their professional practices. This study set out to explore Fijian teacher’s conceptions of assessment. Seventy teachers enrolled in an assessment course at a university in Fiji were involved in this study. Data was collected by asking teachers to write a reflection on assessment. The reflective exercise contained four open-ended items. Data was analyzed qualitatively. The results indicate that Fijian pre-service teachers generally held an assessment of learning view, while majority of in-service teachers see assessment as formative.

Teacher Allocation Policies And The Unbalanced Distribution Of Novice And Senior Teachers Across Regions In Turkey, Murat Ozoglu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Policies toward fostering a more balanced distribution of teacher quality have garnered considerable attention from researchers and policymakers around the world. This attention has been motivated largely by the widely acknowledged educational goal of providing quality education for all children. Equipped with similar policy concerns, this study examines the initial assignment of novice teachers and voluntary transfer of senior teachers to determine whether there is any kind of sorting pattern in the allocation of novice and experienced teachers to schools across regions, particularly across provinces, in Turkey. Using the entire initial teacher assignment and voluntary teacher transfer data in between …

Validity Of The School-Age Assessment Of Attachment For Moderate-Rate, Rural Early Adolescents, Shari L. Kidwell

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

An article written in part by Shari L. Kidwell and published in the fall issue of Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, pages 366-380.

Selected Student Research - Ignite: Research The Sea, Kelly Whealan-George, Aaron D. Clevenger

Publications

Selected Student Research - Ignite: Research the SEA is an introduction to selected undergraduate research articles that focus on the Southeast Asian aviation community. This section of the text also introduces readers to the concept of short-term undergraduate research abroad and the methodologies that were taught to students doing rapid research during one such program.

The Tools That Matter: Assessing Online Resources, Valeriana Colon

Graduate Research Posters

In the age of technology, educators are encouraged to incorporate online resources into their teaching, but the impact of these resources on learning is rarely considered. To create a foundation for assessment, this poster reviews theories and research on how students learn across oral, written, and online modes of communication. It then reviews methods of assessing various elements of online resources. Lastly, this poster suggests an implementation approach to enhance the use of resources.

Recruitment And Selection Strategies In Optometric Education Towards Addressing Human Resource Disparities In Sub-Saharan Africa, Vanessa Moodley, James Loughman, Kovin S. Naidoo

Articles

The dire need for eye care services and a dearth of human resources (HR) in sub-Saharan Africa motivated the setting up of new optometry programmes. However, to make a meaningful impact, geographical, gender, economic and educational disparities must additionally be addressed. A qualitative study utilizing purposive sampling to select academic leadership and students from optometry programmes in sub-Saharan Africa was conducted. Individual and focus group interviews produced data that were coded and analysed using a deductive thematic analysis approach. The themes that emerged as contributing to disparities in access through recruitment and selection were institutional barriers (student intake numbers, programme …

What Are They Learning? Assessing Theatre/Dance Performance Experiences, Andrew Vorder Bruegge, Meg Schriffen

College of Visual and Performing Arts Faculty Publications

The model of assessment will demonstrate how to align the assessment of production activity with learning goals set by accrediting bodies, the institution, the department, and the specific program. This alignment insures that measurement of student learning is standardized across the students’ entire experience in the program (courses, performances, rehearsals, technical preparations, etc.) Examples of indirect and direct measurement instruments will be presented.

An Evaluation Of Principals’ Perceptions Of Georgia’S Teacher Keys Effectiveness System, Denise B. Warnock

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

“Teachers are by far the most important in-school factor in determining whether our students succeed and our nation’s schools improve” (Education Trust, 2009. p. 3). Quality instruction should be the objective of all educators. Accountability measures have increased the focus on instruction quality making teacher evaluation an important element in determining teacher effectiveness. A greater emphasis on accountability in the field of education calls for teachers and students to demonstrate standards of competency and performance. In light of current educational policy, the means by which teachers are observed and appraised are as important as the content and students they teach. …

Teaching Economics To Built Environment Students, Thomas Power

Conference papers

Teaching economics to construction economists is paradigmatically different to teaching economics to ‘pure’ economists. While the principles of economics don’t change, the philosophical aim and the methodology of teaching the subject do change. Understanding and executing this philosophical variant enhances the students’ learning experience.

Teaching economics and finance can open students’ eyes to a new way of thinking about the world. The study of economics looks at the world in a unique way because economics is a truly social science and it makes advances in finding solutions to the challenges that society faces. However, it approaches these solutions with the …

Technical Adequacy And Acceptability Of Curriculum-Based Measurement And The Measures Of Academic Progress, Stacy-Ann A. January, Scott P. Ardoin

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Curriculum-based measurement in reading (CBM-R) and the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) are assessment tools widely employed for universal screening in schools. Although a large body of research supports the validity of CBM-R, limited empirical evidence exists supporting the technical adequacy of MAP or the acceptability of either measure for universal screening. Purposes of the current study were to replicate and extend prior research by (a) examining the extent to which CBM-R performance measures more than word reading skills, (b) evaluating the concurrent validity of MAP with CBM-R, (c) determining the potential benefit of administering MAP with CBM-R for universal …

Vocabulary Word Instruction For Students Who Read Braille, Mackenzie E. Savaiano, Donald L. Compton, Deborah D. Hatton, Blair P. Lloyd

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

The association made between the meaning, spelling, and pronunciation of a word has been shown to help children remember the meanings of words. The present study addressed whether the presence of a target word in braille during instruction facilitated vocabulary learning more efficiently than an auditory-only instructional condition. The authors used an adapted alternating treatments single-case experimental design with three students with visual impairments who read braille, collecting data on definition recall and spelling during each session. Data on definition recall were used to determine mastery. The results of this study are not consistent with previous findings with students who …

Diffusion Of Innovations Of Videoconference Technology: An Instrumental Case Study Concerning Undergraduate Degree-Seeking Nontraditional Learners, Bruce G. Campbell

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation is an instrumental case study based on diffusion of innovations theory designed to gather student opinions regarding videoconference (VC) technology use in facilitating courses to undergraduate degree-seeking nursing students. The author of diffusion of innovations theory, Rogers (2003), recommended that more qualitative studies be conducted in education. Rogers and Jain (1968) recommended these studies should be conducted from the aspect of “receivers of innovation diffusion” (p.1) to provide feedback instrumental to implementation of technological innovations in academe. Further, Rogers stated that multiple data points should be used during the process of trialing an innovation. Therefore, a current …

Perceptions Of Retention Among Bachelor Of Social Work Graduates At A Historically Black College And University, Monique Eileen Holsey-Hyman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Student attrition from universities carries high costs for individuals, universities, and society. Despite these costs, there has been limited research on the problem from the students' perspectives, specifically the perceptions of university graduates about what factors may have influenced their own retention at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). African American students complete college at the lowest rate compared to other ethnic sub groups. Guided by Tinto's theory of student departure, this qualitative consensual research study focused on the perceptions of 15 bachelor of social work graduates regarding (a) the factors that helped them to persist to graduation at an …