Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Technology And Language Teaching: A Conversation With Dr. James May, Tapestry Staff

TAPESTRY

TAPESTRY recently caught up with Dr. James May, winner of 2011-2012 Carnegie Foundation Florida Professor of the Year award, at a recent state conference. Dr. May is currently a Professor of English as a Second Language at Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida. His research focuses on helping teachers to incorporate Web 2.0 technologies into instruction. Dr. May graciously agreed to share some of his insights into issues surrounding technology in the modern classroom with TAPESTRY.

Preparing Preservice Teachers To Address The Disproportionality Of Ells In Exceptional Education Programs, Leah J. Lerma, Martha Lue Stewart

TAPESTRY

As our nation’s classrooms become more diverse, how to best educate all of our students is of paramount importance. The educational placement of students of racial, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity in classes for students with special needs at a disproportionate level is well documented. This paper addresses the issue of disproportionate representation of English Language Learners (ELLs) in special education programs. Teacher beliefs, cultural bias, lack of culturally responsive professional development opportunities, and assessments contribute to inappropriate referrals and identification. Preparing preservice teachers to understand disproportionality and why it exists can help reduce the inappropriate referrals and placement of …

Editor's Note, Tapestry Staff

TAPESTRY

From the Editors

Preparing Teacher Candidates To Meet The Needs Of English Language Learners: The Tells Certificate, Martha Castañeda, Jeannie Ducher, Amy Fisher-Young, Bruce E. Perry

TAPESTRY

A report on the development and implementation of the Teaching English Language Learners (TELLs) certificate program at Miami University, in Oxford Ohio.

Enhancing Reading Proficiency In English Language Learners (Ells): The Importance Of Knowing Your Ell In Mainstream Classrooms, Marth Castañeda, Eva Rodríguez-González, Melissa Schultz

TAPESTRY

In this manuscript, the authors encourage classroom teachers and school leaders to learn about the home culture and language of the growing English learner population if they are to respond effectively to these students’ language, literacy, and content learning needs. These funds of knowledge have been shown to help teachers adjust instruction in ways that permit students to engage more actively in language, literacy, and content learning tasks. In addition to offering recommendations for administrators and teachers working to improve literacy of ELLs within and outside the school setting, the authors share sample surveys that can be used to gather …

In English You Read With A Stopwatch: A Journey Towards Biliteracy In Two Older Adopted Salvadoran Children, Mary A. Petron, Barbara J. Greybeck

TAPESTRY

This longitudinal case study provides an in-depth exploration of the journey toward bilingualism and biliteracy of two older adopted Salvadoran siblings in U.S. schools. Data sources include observations in the home and school, interviews, written artifacts, field notes, and various reading test scores. Analysis suggests that literacy instruction in English tended to focus more on phonics and fluency than comprehension and vocabulary, and it assumed a level of oral proficiency in English that neither of the children had. Spanish literacy instruction was aimed toward children of Mexican origin that was neither culturally relevant nor geared toward their specific language needs. …

Teaching Inclusivity: Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Knowledge, Skills And Attitudes Toward Working With English Language Learners In Mainstream Classrooms, Philip C. Smith

TAPESTRY

This study investigated the effect of one semester of ESOL education on preservice teachers by examining their perceived knowledge and skill in working with English Language Learner (ELL) students, and their attitude toward having ELL students in their mainstream classrooms. The survey identified two factors: a) Perception of ESOL Knowledge and Skills (PEKS) and b) Attitude Toward Inclusion (ATI). Results showed that preservice teachers’ perceptions of both knowledge & skill (PEKS) changed from introductory to the final ESOL course, and that PEKS changed significantly from pre- to post-test within the same course. No significant changes were found in students’ attitude …

“You Got The Word Now”: Problematizing Vocabulary-Based Academic Language Instruction For English Learners In Science, Katherine Richardson Bruna, Roberta Vann, Moises Perales Escudero

TAPESTRY

With increasing numbers of English Learners enrolling in public schools, teachers of core academic subject area classes are facing the challenge of integrating English language development into instruction. This article describes how teachers' understanding of infusing language into science teaching can shape instructional practices and consequently influence the simultaneous English language development and science learning of English Learner students.

Deciding When To Step In And When To Back Off: Culturally Mediated Writing Instruction For Adolescent English Learners, Leslie Patterson, Carol Wickstrom, Jennifer Roberts, Juan Araujo, Chieko Hoki

TAPESTRY

Culturally Mediated Writing Instruction invites students to take an inquiry stance toward issues of interest and significance—exploring issues, framing questions, gathering information, synthesizing findings into messages, publishing or presenting their findings, and assessing their efforts before moving on to other inquiries. CMWI can be seen as a rich and dynamic landscape of literacy tasks, routines, practices, materials, and dialogues that invites students to ask questions and to look for answers to those questions. Data from four high-school classrooms illustrate that CMWI teachers made interdependent and layered instructional decisions in response to students' needs, and that they provided mediation toward for …

Elementary Students’ And Teachers’ Perceptions Of Flipped Mathematics Lessons, Susan Grace Edwards Mosher

All Theses And Dissertations

Flipped learning is a pedagogical model that allows more time for students to engage in active learning in the classroom because direct instruction is moved to video and watched outside of class time. Although many studies have shown the effectiveness of this strategy, previous perceptional studies have primarily focused on flipped learning through the lens of high school students and adult learners. This study was designed to explore elementary students’ and teachers’ perceptions of flipped learning in mathematics. A descriptive qualitative case study was conducted in a suburban elementary school in North Carolina. Three fifth grade teachers and fifteen of …

Teaching The First: A Phenomenological Study Of Southeastern Community College Instructors Communicating With First-Generation College Students, Tanyanika Mattos

All Theses And Dissertations

This phenomenological research study explored eight Southeastern community college instructors communicating with first-generation college students, specifically the lived experiences of community college instructors as they taught developmental education. The participated included a lawyer, health care executive, and engineer, psychologist, bookkeeper, health sciences professional, and education specialist and computer information systems professional. Pre-interviews, interviews and an electronic survey were utilized to obtain the data on the phenomenon. This phenomenological data analysis process offered a structured analysis process that is reflective and grounded in vibrant descriptions. During the interview, all forms were used to document responses of interviewees. The interviews were interpreted …

Teacher/Student Interpersonal Engagement And Customer Service Principles: A Phenomenological Study, Juanita Takeno

All Theses And Dissertations

The importance of understanding the effects of teacher and student engagement in online learning is especially pertinent to the online teacher and the online student as well as the college as a whole. This qualitative phenomenological study involved discovering if interpersonal online engagement between teacher and student involved those principles used in business customer service. The focus of this phenomenological study is on the lived experience of online students relative to interpersonal engagement – it is about the students’ stories. Accordingly, the questions asked what the participants felt when their teachers were engaged and if the engagement was augmented with …

Education Through Simulation, Melody A. Padilla-Collings

Master's Projects and Capstones

SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/Mac/Desktop/653Abstract.docx

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if education through simulation was effective in an undergraduate ADN nursing program to improve nursing confidence, knowledge, skill competency, and nursing care. Two groups of second year RN students were selected in their fall semester to participate in a before and after survey to compare traditional learning (required course readings, assignments, and lectures) with the PROMPT Birthing Simulator that allows hands on, interactive learning, and feedback in preparation for the Mother-Baby clinical setting. The first PDSA cycle with Group A revealed 21% were confident in their knowledge with the traditional …

Vocabulary Development In The Science Classroom: Using Hypermedia Authoring To Support English Learners, Robert Pritchard, Susan O'Hara

TAPESTRY

This study investigated the impact of authoring hypermedia projects on the academic vocabulary development of middle school, ESL students. Vocabulary definitions, inprocess verbalizations, observations and semi-structured interviews were the primary means of collecting data and assessing vocabulary growth. The results of this study indicate that hypermedia authoring had a positive impact on students' understanding of grade level, science concepts as well as on student engagement in and attitudes toward vocabulary building activities. Thus, the procedures implemented in this study provide a potential model for teachers to follow as they attempt to facilitate their students' vocabulary and concept development.

Cross-Cultural Leadership: Best Practices In Multinational Graduate Education, Carol Anne Kerr

All Theses And Dissertations

The international security environment depends in part on professional military leaders with the knowledge, skills and attributes to execute a broad range of leadership communication, collaboration and negotiations with counterparts in complex international and intercultural settings. If higher education is the path to cognition, metacognition, motivation and behavior, then it may be an effective instrument for developing leadership readiness for a range of international/inter-cultural tasks. This study explores US military leaders’ perceptions about graduate-level, senior professional military education alongside foreign military officers at the U.S. Army War College as an influence on readiness for decision-making, cultural adaptation, and task performance …

Improving Technology Integration In A Rural High School By Listening To Students' Needs And Experiences, Brandie Nicole Shatto

All Theses And Dissertations

While schools have embraced the mantra of 21st century skills since the early 1990s and access to technology has become nearly ubiquitous, technology use in K-12 classrooms is still largely absent. This has created a situation where teachers are unsure of how to teach with technology and students are unsure how to learn with technology. This transformative mixed methods study sought to give students a voice to articulate their learning needs in relation to technology integration in schools. The study drew on rural high school students’ perceptions of technology use in K-12 classrooms by documenting students’ use of technology at …

Student Perspectives On Proficiency-Based Learning In Vermont's High School Completion Program, Hayley J. Shriner

Capstone Collection

This Independent Practitioner Inquiry Capstone (IPIC) paper examines student perspectives on proficiency-based learning at an adult education center in Vermont. Through Vermont’s High School Completion Program (HSCP), adults can earn their high school diplomas through proficiency-based Personalized Learning Plans (PLPs). This qualitative study focuses on high school-aged students who received referrals to the program from area schools within the context of the current shift toward proficiency-based learning mandated by Vermont Act 77. The study draws on resources specific to Act 77, as well as literature on the nationwide trend toward personalized learning and proficiency-based learning. The researcher uses holistic student …

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Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

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Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities (JSESD)

The Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities is a multi-disciplinary, peer-reviewed journal with an international focus on providing information on science education for students with varying types and levels of disabilities. We aspire to publish the best of theoretical research and practical application and we review articles by both special and general educators. Interesting topics have included innovative curricular ideas, instructional adaptations, research-based modifications, best practices, and management issues in science education.

Copyright Statement

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Publication rights to works is granted to Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities, however, full copyright for works published in this journal is retained by the author(s). The author(s) may post their works online in an institutional repository, on their University departmental website, or on their own personal websites

Development Of A Problem-Based Learning Matrix For Data Collection, Shannon M. Sipes

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Few of the papers published in journals and conference proceedings on problem-based learning (PBL) are empirical studies, and most of these use self-report as the measure of PBL (Beddoes, Jesiek, & Borrego, 2010). The current study provides a theoretically derived matrix for coding and classifying PBL that was objectively applied to official curriculum documentation in a content analysis. The results for the level of problem-based learning in two engineering program curricula are presented. By introducing such a matrix, this study offers a tool that can be applied by other scholars examining PBL, creating consistency in methodology, definitions, and language among …

Values Education In Bangladesh: Understanding High School Graduates' Perspectives, Leo J. Pereira

Theses & Dissertations

Values education is a subject that may be neglected in some educational settings. An absence of values education may lead to dysfunction in society. Scholars have only recently become interested in the importance of values education (Koh, 2012). Although the National Education Policy in Bangladesh has long emphasized the inculcation of values in educational institutions (Ministry of Education, 1974, 2010), recent research has revealed the inadequate implementation and practice of values education (UNICEF Bangladesh, 2009). The purpose of this basic interpretive qualitative study was to understand the high school graduates' perspectives regarding values education and the values they learned while …

The Numbers Game: What An Un-Predictive Ability Of Success In First-Year Mathematics Courses And Subgroup Bias Mean To Students At Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Jayme Gonzales Agozie

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the ability of standardized test scores to predict the performance of students in first-year mathematics courses, and the extent to which these tests displayed differential validity among various subgroups. Using discriminant analysis, it was established that the following percentages of students were correctly classified into passing and not passing groups, using the listed independent variables: a) SAT mathematics scores - 58.6%, b) SAT verbal scores - 50.6%, c) ACT mathematics scores - 54.7%, and d) ACT verbal scores - 56.3%. New predictive models were created using standardized test scores in combination …

Intramural Activity Report Fy 2016, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Intramural Activity Reports

The Sponsored Programs Annual Reports collection contains reports for the Extramural and Intramural Activities of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University faculty and students. The collection currently covers the years 2014 - 2017. More reports will be included as they are available.

Extramural activities mean they were funded by organizations independent of SWOSU.

Intramural activities mean they were funded by SWOSU.

School Crisis Plans: Are You Prepared?, David Alan Dolph

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The majority of states have statutes requiring school districts to develop school safety plans focused on preventing and responding to crisis situations. Plans may include protocols for disseminating school safety plans to appropriate personnel; mandatory fire, tornado, or active drills; and community involvement.

Although the degree of comprehensiveness of those plans depends on state legislation, all should include the basic elements offered here, focused on creating secure school environments.

Maintaining Momentum Toward Graduation: Oer And The Course Throughput Rate, John Hilton Iii, Lane Fischer, David Wiley, Linda Williams

Entrepreneurship Faculty Research

Open Educational Resources (OER) have the potential to replace traditional textbooks in higher education. Previous studies indicate that use of OER results in high student and faculty satisfaction, lower costs, and similar or better educational outcomes. In this case study, we compared students using traditional textbooks with those using OER at Tidewater Community College to compare their performance on what we call course throughput rates, which is an aggregate of three variables – drop rates, withdrawal rates, and C or better rates. Two self-selecting cohorts were compared over four semesters, with statistically significant results. The study found that, subject to …

A Phenomenological Study Of Practicing Educators’ Personal And Collaborative Experiences Within A Climate Of High Stakes Individual Accountability, Kathy L. Stewart

Dissertations

With the national focus in education turning to increasing student achievement and closing achievement gaps between demographic groups, federal and state policy has extended responsibility and high stakes accountability for student growth and achievement. Overall, student achievement status and elimination of achievement gaps between demographically defined sub-groups of students remain cornerstones of accountability under ESEA and now ESSA. Under the Obama Administration, however, accountability for academic growth was extended to individual classroom teachers and school and district-level administrators through federal policy provisions tying student growth to performance evaluation. As a result, many states, including Michigan, enacted legislation to mandate high …

Administrative Strategies To Improve Teacher Recruitment And Retention In Rural Public Schools, Christine Kay Butler

Dissertations

The main purpose of this study was to gain insight into the recruitment and retention strategies popularized due to the need to meet high-quality teacher demands. Additionally, recruitment and retention strategies identified by administrators and tenured teachers working in rural public schools of Missouri as effective were collected through a survey. Administrators, as well as tenured teachers currently on staff in rural public school districts of Missouri, were the population of this study. Among 286 administrators, 95 administrative participants and 33 tenured teachers completed the survey. The survey responses were compared to determine if the administrative point-ofview was similar to …

Effects Of Tli- Versus Nwea-Interim Assessment On Academic Achievement Of Sixth- And Seventh-Grade Students, Walt Davis

College of Education Dissertations

This project focused on two online providers, The Learning Institute (TLI) and Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA). The purpose of this dissertation was to provide additional research concerning the effects of interim assessments (TLI versus NWEA) and gender on literacy and mathematics achievement for students in Grades 6 and 7 in Northwest Arkansas. Of the four included school districts, two used TLI and two used NWEA as their interim assessment. For all four hypotheses, the independent variables were gender and interim assessment type. In the first and second hypotheses, the dependent variable was literacy achievement as measured by student performance on …

Teacher And Administrator Perceptions Of One-To-One Technology Device Implementation, Stewart F. Pratt

Dissertations

The influence of technology on society shows little sign of diminishing (Puybaraud, 2012). Increased capabilities and the affordability of technology devices have brought a resurgence of one-to-one device implementation in schools (Dawson, 2016). This qualitative study was designed to elicit the perceptions of administrators and teachers on one-to-one device implementation. Marc Prensky’s (2001) premise that students are digital natives embedded in media and digital device-rich environments provided the conceptual framework for this study. Furthermore, Prensky (2001) proposed modern students learn, conceptualize, and respond differently than previous generations. The participants in this study represented six southwest Missouri school districts with student …

A Comparison Of Online And Face-To-Face Achievement In Physical Science, Lisa F. Mozer

Doctor of Education in Instructional Technology Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This study provided a descriptive analysis of learning outcomes in both online and face-to-face grades 9-12 physical science courses. Archived data from a single school system were used for a comparative analysis of learning outcomes in high school physical science between students enrolled in online classes and students enrolled in face-to-face classes. The study compared two years of summative assessment scores of two student groups and, overall, found equality between the two learning environments. Online learning outcomes and face-to-face learning outcomes were similar for both school years, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015. The overall comparison between learning environments was further examined …