Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Research Across The Curriculum: Using Cognitive Science To Answer The Call For Better Legal Research Instruction, Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The American Bar Association (ABA), law students, and employers are demanding that law schools do better when teaching legal research. Academic critics are demanding that law professors begin to apply the lessons from the science of learning to improve student outcomes. The practice of law is changing.

Yet, the data shows that law schools are not changing their legal research curriculum to respond to the need of their students or to address the ABA’s mandate. This stagnation comes at the same time as an explosion in legal information and a decrease in technical research skills among incoming students. This article …

Middle School Teachers’ Perceptions Of Homework Assignments Effective At Increasing Student Homework Completion, Jennifer E. Keck

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory research study with a phenomenological research design was to gain an understanding of the phenomenon regarding which homework assignments, as perceived by middle school teachers, most effectively resulted in students submitting completed assignments. This study fills a gap and helps explain which homework assignments are more effective at increasing homework assignment completion for middle school students. The constructivist theory guided the conceptual framework. Data analysis was conducted on data collected though surveys, in-depth interviews with middle school teachers, and a review of archival homework samples. Through this phenomenological study four themes emerged regarding teacher …

A Study Of The Impact Of A University’S Program For Intellectual Disabilities On Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions And Attitudes, Tyanne N. Bailey

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Opportunities for individuals with exceptional needs to participate in inclusive environments have increased in recent years due to the implementation of various laws. Throughout the history of education, individuals with exceptional needs were prevented from attending higher education institutions; however, the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) of 2008 provided opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities to attend higher education institutions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how a university’s program to assist students with intellectual disabilities successfully transition from high school to adulthood impacted undergraduate students’ perceptions and comfort level of working with individuals with intellectual disabilities. This …

A Case Study Of Science Teachers’ Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy In Teaching The Science And Engineering Practices, Bryanna J. Dennewitz

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This case study examined South Carolina public school science teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy related to planning and executing STEM-centric lessons. The adoption of the South Carolina Academic Standards and Performance Indicators for Science in 2014 required science teachers to make substantial pedagogical shifts in their instructional practices, which influenced their self-efficacy. The standards included science and engineering practices (SEPs) embedded in the standards. Understanding how science teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy influence their instructional competence for planning and executing SEP-integrated lessons might guide schools and districts to create focused instructional support for the teachers designed to meet their unique pedagogical needs. …

Novice Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Preparedness To Teach Students Experiencing Trauma: A Mixed Methods Study, Lisa A. Ciganek

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore how graduates of traditional teacher preparation programs perceived their preparedness to teach students experiencing trauma stemming from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The study focused on the perceptions of novice teachers working in Title 1 schools across two school districts in Central Florida. The quantitative research portion of the study involved an online survey addressing the impact of teacher preparation program coursework and clinical experiences on the teachers’ perceptions of preparedness. Qualitative data was gathered from semi-structured interviews after the survey to give voice to the novice teachers’ perceptions of preparedness. Study …

Education Reform And The Transition To Standards-Based Grading In The United States, Lexa Mahr

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This literature review provides a history of education reform in the United States along with the basis for a transition to standards-based grading. The educational system is a complex network of intertwining parts that work together with the goal to mold a child into a valued member of society. Continual passage of educational laws has helped develop education reform within the United States. Adoption of federal and state laws helps create consistency amongst schools. Grades are held with high regard and deserve accurate representation within an unbiased grading system. Many components are encompassed in the transition to a standards-based grading …

Preschool Assessment, Christy Faber

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Assessments in early childhood are being addressed by educational leaders, administrators and teachers to meet the needs of preschoolers and ensure that these young children are school-ready. A school improvement plan was created using research-based methods. This school improvement plan looks at the need to create a developmentally appropriate preschool assessment report based on state standards with age appropriate objectives outlining specific benchmark skills to show teachers and parents an accurate picture of how children are progressing and growing. The focus of the literature review is based on the need for preschool assessments, types of assessments that are developmentally appropriate …

Fall 2020 Census Enrollment Indicators Report, Tables 1-3, Uno Office Of Institutional Effectiveness

Enrollment Reports

Enrollment comparison for both the UNO Administrative-Site and the UNO Delivery-Site: Fall Semesters 2020 and 2019.

Social-Emotional Learning & Academic Achievement, Breanna Kroese

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This action research study investigated the impact that social-emotional skills had on academic growth during the first 8 weeks of the 2020-2021 school year for a class of first grade students. Academic growth was evaluated by the students math gains measured by the STAR math assessment. The SAEBRS teacher assessment was used to measure the students social-emotional skills, specifically social, emotional, and academic behavior. The data did not indicate statistical significance, however, there is literature that suggests the importance of teaching social-emotional skills to young children to improve their social, emotional, and academic behavior and support their education and life.

“It Doesn’T Feel Like A Conversation”: Digital Field Experiences And Preservice Teachers’ Conceptions Of Writing Response, Alison Heron-Hruby, James S. Chisholm, Andrea R. Olinger

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

Research shows that preservice English teachers (PSETs) lack opportunities to respond to student writing and that they may view student writing through a deficit lens. To address this need, the authors developed the Writing Mentors (WM) program, a digital field placement that gave PSETs experience providing feedback to high school writers. In this analysis, we examine how PSETs’ views of response were shaped by their digital interactions with high school writers. The challenges of interacting asynchronously created opportunities for PSETs to identify limitations in the mode of communication, propose approaches to providing feedback, and reflect on how teacher feedback can …

Safety Concerns In Football: A Systemic Review On The Protocol Of Return To Play After Concussion, Steve Chen, Gina Gonzalez, Alexis Smith

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

The purpose of this article was two-fold: (1) to address and highlight the standards of concussion management protocol provided by the NATA, CDC and major sports governing bodies, and (2) to examine how concussion protocols of different levels of athletic programs and organizations adhere to the proposed guidelines and standards. According to the literature, an ideal concussion management plan must cover elements such as: concussion education, responsibility and information about student athletes’ self-reporting signs and symptoms, policy and rules on restricting activities of athletes who are diagnosed with a concussion, requirements and procedures for diagnosis of a concussion and clearance …

Tailgating At College Campuses: A Sobering Dilemma, Steve Chen

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

This case study addressed a regional public university’s challenges for offering on-campus social activities to serve its student, an issue commonly faced by a “suitcase” school. Engaging students to attend intercollegiate sports and pre-game tailgate parties is a common practice carried out by the institutions. However, the potential risk of increasing excessive drinking and drunk driving cases by students had become a serious concern of institutions’ administrators. Discussions and suggestions are given on how to foster a safe and family-oriented social environment on campus, and effectively minimize alcohol-induced problems.

Teachers' Willingness To Pay For Retirement Benefits: A National Stated Preferences Experiment, Dillon Fuchsman, Josh B. Mcgee, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Many states have recently made or are considering changes to their teacher retirement systems. However, little is known about how teachers value various elements of their retirement benefits versus other aspects of their jobs and compensation. To help alleviate this gap, we use a discrete choice stated preferences experiment embedded in a nationally representative survey of teachers to estimate their willingness-to-pay for various retirement plan characteristics and other non-salary job components. We find that teachers would be indifferent between a traditional pension and alternative retirement plan designs if the alternatives were paired with 2 to 3 percent salary increases. Our …

Key Stakeholders’ Lived Experiences While Implementing An Aligned Curriculum: A Phenomenological Study, Pedro P. Aguas

The Qualitative Report

Furthering innovation in English as a foreign language curriculum has been a concern for the Colombian educational system for many years. Nevertheless, the major attempts at the national level continue to fail. Through this phenomenological study of 12 participants at a an urban public school in grades 6-12 I attempted to answer the phenomenological question, “What were the lived experiences of key stakeholders involved in implementing an aligned curriculum at an urban public school in a northern city in Colombia, South America? “The theoretical framework that guides this study included innovation, the theory of policy attribution, and the learner-centered philosophy. …

An Assessment Of Demographic Factors As Predictors Of Career Commitment Of Librarians In Universities In Southern Nigeria., Mercy Arodovwe Igere Mrs

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Unwillingness and negative attitude of librarians was observed as a factor that hinders users from accessing information resources in most developing country libraries. This negative attitude could be associated with the demographic factors of the librarians hence this study investigated demographic factors as predictors of career commitment of librarians in South-South universities, Nigeria. Three research questions guided the study and three hypotheses were formulated at 0.05 level of significance using simple regression analysis. The research questions and hypotheses were analysed using inferential statistics such as simple regression analysis. The population comprised 197 librarians in universities of South-South, Nigeria. Questionnaire was …

A Narrative Inquiry Of Associate Degree Nursing Students' Stories About Their Experiences With Academic Misconduct, Bridget Maley

Publications and Research

Academic misconduct is a growing national and global concern. There is a paucity of literature on academic misconduct in nursing. Utilizing the qualitative method of narrative inquiry, this study gives voice to students’ stories of academic misconduct and reveals intimate stories of their experience. The stories contribute to a deeper understanding of associate degree nursing students' experiences with academic misconduct. The findings of the study have implications for future research, nursing education, and practice.

Effective Instruction For Students With Dyslexia And Related Learning Struggles, Susan Keesey

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Dyslexia has received increased emphasis with recent legislation requiring universal screening, added dyslexia training in educator preparation programs, and professional development specifically addressing dyslexia. In addition, KY created the Dyslexia Toolkit to inform and support teachers. This article discusses how Structured Literacy and High-Leverage Practices can support learning for students with dyslexia and related reading struggles.

Group-Based Training On Trial-Based Functional Analysis, Christina Noel, Thomas Gross, Grant Hacherl, Meaghan Ritchie, Matthew Howerton

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

A functional behavior assessment (FBA) of challenging behavior has been identified as a High-Leverage Practice in the social/emotional/behavior area (HLPs; McLeskey et al., 2017). Despite the importance of FBAs to classroom practices, many FBAs are conducted outside of classroom settings. Evidence suggests that FBAs may be more effective when conducted in a child’s typical classroom setting. A trial-based functional assessment (TBFA) is a variant of an FBA that is conducted by practitioners in a child’s classroom environment. The purpose of this paper is to outline the important components that should be included in a TBFA group training designed for practitioners …

Lessons In A Different Language: Teaching Pre-Service Teachers To "Speak" Data, Christina Edmonds-Behrend, Stephanie Woodley, Frank Mullins

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

An undergraduate teacher education behavioral principles course focused on pre-service teachers’ accuracy of data collection using simple technology during a field-based experience is described. Pre-teachers, mostly special education majors, completed questionnaires at the beginning and end of the semester regarding whether simple technology (i.e., stopwatch, tally counter, interval timer) impacted data recording and perceived effectiveness. Interrater reliability was randomly assessed across two K-5 locations in which the pre-teachers tutored elementary-aged students in an after-school program. On-campus and on-site data collection interrater reliability results were promising, demonstrating pre-teacher ability to collect data accurately. Conclusions and recommendations for future practices are provided.

Normalizing Struggle, Catherine Martin Christopher

Arkansas Law Review

A person who is effective in law school, on the bar exam, and in practice utilizes the same set of skills in each of those scenarios: close, critical reading; synthesis of multiple sources of law into a coherent rule or schema; appreciation of both the big picture and the fine details of a set of rules of law; analysis of a factual scenario for facts that meet or fail a legal test; assessment of the validity and strength of counterarguments; and, of course, clear, concise, thorough, organized communication. Because all these skills are useful from the first day of law …

Probing For Bias: Comparing Populations Using Item Response Curves, Paul J. Walter, Edward Nuhfer, Crisel Suarez

Numeracy

We introduce an approach for making a quantitative comparison of the item response curves (IRCs) of any two populations on a multiple-choice test instrument. In this study, we employ simulated and actual data. We apply our approach to a dataset of 12,187 participants on the 25-item Science Literacy Concept Inventory (SLCI), which includes ample demographic data of the participants. Prior comparisons of the IRCs of different populations addressed only two populations and were made by visual inspection. Our approach allows for quickly comparing the IRCs for many pairs of populations to identify those items where substantial differences exist. For each …

Infographic: Public Perceptions Of The Teaching Profession, Jo Earp

Teacher infographics

Researchers from Monash University surveyed teachers and members of the public in Australia about public perceptions of the teaching profession. Today’s infographic takes a look at the responses on the topic of appreciation.

Acer 2018-2019 Annual Report, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

ACER Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Estimating School-Level Achievement In Belize, Betty Jean Usher-Tate

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation consists of five chapters: introduction, literature review, methodology, results, and discussion with final thoughts. The research design of this dissertation study attended to structures, cultures, and characteristics associated with, and specific to, the Belize education system. The processes for data collection and types of analyses were appropriate, yielded meaningful results, and served as a segue for national application. The Belize Educator Survey was developed to capture the educators’ voices and illuminate their relationship to educational achievement in Belize. The Belize Educator Survey was piloted and revised with direct input from educators and experts who work in the Belize …

A Case Study Of The Effects Of A Counseling Program In A New Jersey High School, Dayle J. Collins

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this convergent mixed-methods study was to explore what influence, if any, a specific mental health program in a Northeast high school had on absenteeism and tardiness for students serviced by the school. The qualitative portion of this study looked at the overall impact the counseling program has had on the High School. It was important to utilize both quantitative and qualitative measures to ascertain an overall understanding of the effect on the High School.

The convergent mixed-methods approach was the best fit for this research study. The first part of this study focused on conducting the quantitative …

A Digital Ethnography Of Teach For America: Analysis Of Counternarrative From The Truth For America Podcast, Julian Vasquez Heilig, T. Jameson Brewer, Amber K. Kim, Miguel Sanchez

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

To analyze the counternarrative in the public discourse surrounding Teach For America (TFA), this paper represents the first digital ethnography in education policy. We conduct a qualitative analysis of Truth For America, an education policy podcast. We found four overarching themes that arose from conversations with respondents: (1) problematic practice, preparation, and pedagogy; (2) concerns linked to critiquing TFA and the organization’s responses to that critique; (3) issues related to race and diversity; and (4) disconcerting funding practices and political power. We conclude by discussing the implications of how individual-level stakeholder experiences inform the public discourse about TFA.

Pisa 2018: Reporting Australia’S Results. Volume Ii Student And School Characteristics: Data Tables [Excel] [Data Set], Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Catherine Underwood, Marina Schmid

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

The Zipped Excel file provides the data in tabular format that was used to prepare the figures presented in the report: PISA 2018: Reporting Australia’s Results. Volume II Student and School Characteristics. The data covers the constructs reported in the report.

Validation Of The Myanmar Teacher Competency Standards Framework (Tcsf) Final Report, Anna Dabrowski, Jeaniene Spink

Initial Teacher education

This final report provides background to the four domains of the Myanmar Teacher Competency Standards Framework (TCSF), and the validation study design, stages and methods which sought to answer the focus question: Does the TCSF describe effective teaching in Myanmar? The study included expert review, a teacher survey and case studies of teaching practice in a sample of effective teachers. The report presents key findings and next steps from validation of the TCSF to implementation.

Pisa 2018: Reporting Australia’S Results. Volume Ii Student And School Characteristics, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Catherine Underwood, Marina Schmid

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an international study that measures the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students and how prepared they are to use these to meet real-life opportunities and challenges. Volume II is an examination of Australia’s PISA results in relation to student and school background characteristics, and how these are related to student performance. Each chapter focuses on different indicators that cover the school community, the school learning environment, students’ attitudes and beliefs, and the role teachers play in shaping students’ learning. Together, the different indicators of student and school life provide an illustration of …

Gender Stereotypes And Political Leadership: A Study Of Malaysian Secondary Schools, Wan Farihah Ahmad Fahmy

Student Works (2020-2029)

Gender inequality continues to be a pervasive problem in both developing and developed nations. While significant progress has been made towards achieving gender equality in many aspects in the recent decades, educational attainment remains an issue in many developing economies. Worldwide, various institutional barriers also continue to prevent women from achieving their fullest political, social, and economic agency. The Malaysian narrative on gender equality in education runs counter to conventional expectations. In the last three decades, girls and women in Malaysia have made significant strides in educational attainment. However, despite this gender gap in schooling favouring females, women continue to …