Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Sky Brightness At Zenith During The January 2019 Total Lunar Eclipse, Jennifer J. Birriel, J. Kevin Adkins

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

Lunar eclipses occur during the full moon phase when the moon is obscured by Earth’s shadow. During these events, the night sky brightness changes as the full moon rises and then passes first into the penumbral and then the umbral shadow. We acquired sky brightness data at zenith using a Unihedron Sky Quality Meter during the 20–21 January 2019 total lunar eclipse as seen from Morehead, Kentucky. The resulting sky brightness curve shows an obvious signature when the moon enters the umbral (partial) eclipse phases and the total eclipse phase. During the total eclipse phase, the brightness curve is flat …

Examining Self-Contained And Integrated Physical Education Experiences Among Individuals With Visual Impairments, Rebecca Coffey

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Introduction. While research to date has examined the views of individuals with visual impairments toward integrated public-school physical education, little attention has been given to examining perspectives toward experiences at residential schools for those with visual impairments. By understanding the perspectives of those who attended physical education in both contexts, researchers can gain valuable information about particularities that can make experiences meaningful or challenging. The purpose of this study was to examine how individuals who experienced physical education in both integrated and residential school settings viewed their physical education class experiences. Methods. This study utilized a retrospective interpretative phenomenological approach …

The Impact Of The Success For All Classroom Model On School Climate And Teacher Satisfaction, Amy Lynn Chesnut

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Providing quality education for students in disadvantaged communities has been at the forefront of educational research for decades. These schools struggle each year with budgets that fail to meet the needs of the school, low teacher and student morale, and low teacher retention. Success for All has been identified as an effective program to increase literacy skills and standardized test scores for disadvantaged children. The purpose of this quasi-experimental static-group comparison study was to investigate the impact of Success for All on teacher satisfaction and school climate in low performing schools. Teacher satisfaction and school climate have an instrumental, positive …

An Exploration Of Professional Preparedness Of Instructional Designers To Evaluate, Philena V. Devaughn

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Formative, summative, and confirmative evaluation of instructional products determine whether learner objectives have been attained and substantiate the value of the instruction. The ability to implement an evaluation plan is classified as an essential skill for instructional designers by the International Board of Standards for Training and Performance Improvement (IBSTPI). Previous research has ascertained that entry-level instructional designers have failed to master the skills required to create evaluation plans.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the professional preparation received by instructional designers, for instruction evaluation, through graduate level programs. The data collected for this study was the …

Veteran Transition From Combat To Campus: A Mixed-Methods Study, Joanna R. Jones

Dissertations

The current research was carried out to investigate the overall satisfaction and benefits concerning student veteran programs at a public university located in southcentral Kentucky and the possible correlation of effectiveness within the supportive transitioning assistance programs for student veterans. The study included survey(s) distributions to administrators of veteran programs and student veterans.

The descriptive investigative study involved both aspects of quantitative and qualitative design, hence categorizing the study as mixed-methods. Descriptive research design is considered a scientific method which involves observing and/or describing behavior regarding the subject without influencing it in any way. Surveys were used during this study …

Building Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy (Ese): How Undergraduate Students Make Meaning Of Their Entrepreneurial Experiences, Amy Kurfist

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative, interview-based research study explores how undergraduate students at a single research university make meaning of their experiences in curricular and co-curricular university entrepreneurship programming. The study focuses on the developmental relationship between entrepreneurship education and feelings of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and how feelings of ESE relate to future entrepreneurial intentions. I explore three of Bandura’s (1977) predictors of self-efficacy: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, and social persuasion interwoven with the six dimensions of ESE developed by De Noble, Jung, and Ehrlich (1999) to determine how undergraduate students make meaning of their entrepreneurial experiences.

Through the analysis of data collected …

2nd Place Contest Entry: International Adoption: Its Rise In The United States And Downfall In The Education System, Nicole Williams

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Nicole Williams' submission for the 2019 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which won second place. It contains her essay on using library resources, a three-page sample of her research project on developmental challenges and its implication on education for international adoptees, and her works cited list.

Nicole is a junior at Chapman University, majoring in Psychology and Integrated Educational Studies. Her faculty mentor is Dr. Anne Steketee.

Student Connectedness And Academic Achievement: A Quantitative Study Of Career And Technical Education Students, Kern Mcginley

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The focus of this correlational study in an Alaskan career and technical (CTE) school environment was to explore the research question that guided this study: In a large urban school district of Alaska, with a diverse student population, what is the relationship between the CTE student connectedness level and academic achievement levels? Participants included 132 high school students, Grades 10 through 12. Additional research questions were developed to examine the strength of the relationship between student connectedness and academic achievement by gender and ethnicity. Data were collected using an online survey with a combination of demographic questions and Goodenow’s (1993b) …

Whose Responsibility Is It? A Statewide Survey Of School Librarians On Responsibilities And Resources For Teaching Digital Citizenship, Abigail L. Phillips, Victor R. Lee

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

In 2015 the Utah State Legislature passed H.B. 213, “Safe Technology Utilization and Digital Citizenship in Public Schools,” mandating that K–12 schools provide digital citizenship instruction. This study presents an exploratory endeavor to understand how school librarians in a state that adopted digital citizenship legislation engage with digital citizenship instruction and their perceptions of a school librarian’s role in providing this instruction. We conducted a statewide survey of Utah school librarians, including questions focusing on digital citizenship resources used, current instruction within the school, and inquiries about improvements to current instruction. School librarians expressed a desire to be more involved …

Overview Of The 2018 Inclusion In Science, Learning A New Direction, Conference On Disability (Island), Cary A. Supalo, Jasodhara Bhattacharya, Daniel Steinberg

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

21cleo Research Team Introduces Early Work At Coabe, 21cleo Research Team

21CLEO Research Project Blog Posts

21CLEO Research Blog Post No.05

Creating Communities Of Learning: Engaging Through Project-Based Learning, Monica Nudd, Thomas Huntress

Andrews University Teaching and Learning Conference

Join us for a hands-on session designed for K-8th grade educators where you will practice methods and receive tools that will help you facilitate project-based learning in your classroom. Learn how to connect your learners through engaging them in collaborative activities that meet the standards. Assessment will be part of this engaging session and resources will be available with ready-to-go lessons.

Discoursing Into Interpreting - Sign Language Interpreting Students And Their Construction Of Professional Identity As Interpreters For Deafblind Individuals, Gro Hege Saltnes Urdal

Journal of Interpretation

This article reports on students’ process of Bildung expressed as their construction of professional identity as interpreters for deafblind individuals. With a qualitative research design and critical discourse analysis, focus group discussions were used to gain insight into which discourses students drew upon when constructing their professional identity at different stages during their education. Data from the focus group discussions were analyzed by using Fairclough's (1989, p. 112) values of features, experiential and expressive values. The findings indicate that students drew upon intersecting and antagonistic discourses in the construction of their professional identity. At the beginning of their education, and …

Supporting Young Children Of Immigrants In Prek-3

Occasional Paper Series

This special issue of the Occasional Paper Series describes practices and policies that can positively impact the early schooling of children of immigrants in the United States. We consider the intersectionality of young children’s lives and what needs to change in order to ensure that race, class, immigration status, gender, and dis/ability can effectively contribute to children’s experiences at school and in other instructional contexts, rather than prevent them from getting the learning experiences they need and deserve.

Queering Education: Pedagogy, Curriculum, Policy

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

21cleo Field Literature Review Process, 21cleo Research Team

21CLEO Research Project Blog Posts

The 21st Century Learning Ecosystems Opportunities (21 CLEO) project has embarked on a review of research that describes educational opportunities offered to frontline workers. Throughout the course of this review process, the project has been creating a list and description of the different types of opportunities offered. This field review will help us get a clearer picture of types of learning available and the range as well as their educational reach.

Critical Mathematical Inquiry

Occasional Paper Series

Welcome to Issue 41 of Bank Street’s Occasional Paper Series. The issue features a collection of papers by authors with a shared affinity for the work of critical mathematical inquiry (CMI). In what follows, we present our framing of mathematics education as a participatory venue for CMI and situate it in the context of another, perhaps more familiar approach to teaching mathematics for social justice (TMfSJ).

From The Co-Editors..., Todd Pagano, Sami Kahn

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Elementary Mathematics And #Blacklivesmatter, Theodore Chao, Maya M. Marlowe

Occasional Paper Series

The #BlackLivesMatter movement has opened up conversations in schools across the country about systemic racism, a “new” civil rights movement, and the treatment of children of color. In this article, a veteran elementary teacher uses the #BlackLivesMatter movement to help her students see the power of mathematics in their own lives, taking care to first connect with her school community so as not to incite trauma. Using an age-appropriate activity to investigate the feelings of anger felt by the Black community of Ferguson County, Missouri, shortly before the police murdered Michael Brown, we construct a conversation on what elementary mathematics …

Power To Change: Math As A Social-Emotional Language In A Classroom Of 4 And 5 Year Olds, Elinor J. Albin, Gretchen Vice

Occasional Paper Series

Tells the story of how mathematics influenced a long term investigation around feeling powerful within an early childhood classroom. Written by Early Childhood Teacher, Elinor J. Albin, and Dean of Faculty, Gretchen Vice, this essay outlines the guiding questions by which teachers at The Advent School in Boston, MA connect mathematics to overarching themes and social-emotional learning. “Power to Change” concludes with observations about how and why mathematics provided a language for building social-emotional intelligence in four and five year olds.

The World In Your Pocket: Digital Media As Invitations For Transdisciplinary Inquiry In Mathematics Classrooms, Lynette Deaun Guzmán, Jeffrey Craig

Occasional Paper Series

Building a curriculum from online digital media may provide opportunities for students to draw on their funds of knowledge, deconstruct dominant narratives, and engage with complex multimodal artifacts. We focus on an example of how we have used a digital infographic, The World as 100 People, to unpack global and local issues in mathematics classrooms. Using digital media as invitations for critical mathematical inquiry, we call for mathematics educators to push back on (1) the way mathematics should be formally taught in schools, and (2) a common practice of social media restrictions in schools.

Collaboration And Critical Mathematical Inquiry: Negotiating Mathematics Engagement, Identity, And Agency, Frances K. Harper

Occasional Paper Series

When faced with the challenge of supporting students to do the “messy” mathematical work necessary for exploring social justice problems through critical mathematical inquiry, teachers might rely on more procedural or direct instruction. Because how students learn matters as much as what they learn, this can inadvertently limit students’ engagement with mathematics. Instructional strategies designed to foster equitable collaboration can support critical mathematical inquiry by promoting norms for equitable student engagement and mathematics identity development. As teachers and students negotiate what counts as mathematics engagement and who has access to mathematics, students’ authority over mathematics and social justice issues increases.

Cultivating A Space For Critical Mathematical Inquiry Through Knowledge-Eliciting Mathematical Activity, Debasmita Basu, Steven Greenstein

Occasional Paper Series

Learning mathematics becomes more effective when teachers leverage their students' mathematical and everyday knowledge as resources for instruction. Thus, tasks that reveal these forms of knowledge would be especially useful to teachers. Unfortunately, such tasks are hard to find and even harder to create. Consequently, we developed a collection of mathematical tasks that we hoped would elicit “children’s multiple mathematical knowledge bases (i.e., the understandings and experiences that have the potential to shape and support children’s mathematics learning—including children’s mathematical thinking, and children’s cultural, home, and community-based knowledge)” (Turner et al., 2012, p. 68). These tasks proved to be productive …

Re-Designing Mathematics Education For Social Justice: A Vision, Fahmil Shah

Occasional Paper Series

With a recent push within recent years incorporate issues of social justice within mathematics classrooms, it is important to consider the practicality of addressing these issues in classrooms. Using a theoretical framework developed through a historical analysis of mathematics and its development in school systems around the world, this paper addresses aspects of the current US educational system that limit the feasibility of incorporating social justice in mathematics classrooms. The author also provides recommendations for the field that might pave the way for progress towards a socio-analytical focus in mathematics classrooms in the future.

Teaching For Social Justice Through Critical Mathematical Inquiry, Steven Greenstein, Mark Russo

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Perceptions Of Parents On Parent Involvement In County Community School Students’ Academic Achievement, Maria Haro

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand and explain how parents perceive parent engagement affects high school academic achievement within county operated community schools in Riverside County California. An additional purpose of the study was to understand and explain actions parents believe are necessary to increase parent engagement within county community schools in Riverside County.

Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study explored the perspectives of 16 parents who had students attending County Community Schools in California. The research focused on parent engagement and the actions necessary to involve parents in their children’s education. The researcher in conjunction …

The Influence Of An Interdisciplinary Elementary Curriculum On Student Outcomes: Providing Cognitive Student Learning Through An Integrated Approach, Ann Marie Harris

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

In order to provide students at the elementary level a thorough and efficient method of learning, the integrated–interdisciplinary approach to teaching curriculum was explored to reveal the impact on student achievement of fourth graders across the state of New Jersey in a randomly selected grouping of 50 schools using integrated–interdisciplinary curriculum and 50 schools using subject-specific curriculum. The research was an investigation of the integrated–interdisciplinary approach to teaching when compared with subject-specific curriculum to explore the impact on student achievement.

Integration of curriculum aligned to the state standards at the elementary level was a focus for this research; elementary curriculum …

Developing An Assessment Framework: Measuring Digital Literacy Of Interior Design Students In A Digital Drawing Course, Somang Yang

Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study provides a foundation to measure students’ level of learning based on education theory for digital technology and meaningful technology theory for digital literacy. There has yet to exist an effective assessment tool that can evaluate students’ digital literacy. To provide initial insight into the digital technology integrated course development, Wacom pen-tablet and Autodesk Sketchbook were utilized to create an interior design curriculum for undergraduate college students. The findings of this study shed light on the necessity of assessing new technology for integration into coursework in higher education. There are five themes that an instructor must examine when …

The Predictive Power Of Teacher Practice In Explaining Student Growth, Nick Pillsbury

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

In recent years, states across the nation have increased their interest to develop specific teacher accountability measures and improve student achievement. On August 6, 2012, the state of New Jersey approved the TEACHNJ Act, which reformed tenure laws and linked student growth to a teacher’s evaluation. The ultimate goal of the TEACHNJ Act is to “raise student achievement by improving instruction through the adoption of evaluations that provide specific feedback to educators” (TEACHNJ Guide). The 2013-14 school year was the first full year of implementation, which included student growth percentile (SGP) scores as one component of a teacher’s evaluation.

The …

Feeling Safe At School – What Does The Research Say?, Sue Thomson

Teacher columnist - Sue Thomson

Most people would argue that children should feel safe at school. For some children, school is possibly the only place in which they feel safe. However, when we see reports of school shootings and large-scale violence in school communities in other countries, we are reminded that this is not universal. On a more day-to-day level, bullying, and cyberbullying in particular, can significantly influence students’ perceptions of school safety. However, the ramifications of bullying on students’ levels of stress and wellbeing are not always considered as elements of school climate.