Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Positionality: The Interplay Of Space, Context And Identity, Rebecca Y. Bayeck

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This article considers the way in which positionality shifts and is formed during a cross-cultural study to reveal the complexity of the insider-outsider status. As a researcher in a male-dominated game setting, I reflect on the research process and my interactions with participants to show the interplay of space, context, and identity in shaping a researcher’s status. I discuss the process of gaining access to the research site and participants, and data collection in relation to space, context, and identity. The interaction of my identities with space, and context informed my status at various moments. This interplay constructs a complex …

Ending The Status Quo: Kentucky Parents Increasingly Choose Nonpublic Education Options, Gary Houchens

School of Leadership & Professional Studies Faculty Publications

This research report documents enrollment trends for Kentucky students in nonpublic education (homeschooling and private schools) during the years 2017-2022. Using data from the Kentucky Department of Education, the analysis finds that nonpublic education participation has grown by more than 20,000 students during this time period to almost 100,000 students. This trend indicates a clear demand for more education options and policy makers should respond accordingly.

Collage As A Transdisciplinary Learning And Teaching Method In A Time Of International Crisis, James Green Dr

Arts and Design

This paper discusses the art and design method of collage and its efficacy as a trans-disciplinary learning and teaching technique that can be delivered remotely while living through a pandemic and the restrictions of a national lockdown. Collage is a method for making artworks by pasting together desperate elements, such as printed matter or digital images, to make a relatively unified image. Trans-disciplinary learning integrates perspectives from a range of different disciplines, going beyond a given students subject discipline, and should enable students to draw on these perspectives to gain a deeper understanding of their discipline. This was managed through …

Use Of The Prepare Tool To Increase Completion Rates Of Advance Care Planning Documentation, Janella Thompson

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: One in three adults aged 55 and older admitted to the hospital lack advance care planning. Patients without advance care planning may not receive treatment that reflects their personal values, wishes, and preferences

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was in adults 65 years or older (P), how does the implementation of a patient-centered web-based advance planning tool kit (I) compared to the usual practice of addressing advance care planning (C), affect the completion rate of advance care planning documentation (O) within 10 weeks (T).

Evidence: The current evidence has demonstrated that advanced care …

Secondary Educators' Experiences Implementing Formative Assessment In Rural Southern Maryland: A Transcendental Phenomenological Qualitative Study, Bonnie J. Skinner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study is to describe secondary educators’ experiences in planning and implementing formative assessment in rural southern Maryland to gain an understanding of their definition and use of Assessment for Learning (AfL) in diverse classrooms. The theory guiding this study, the sociocultural learning theory, grew from the work of the psychologist Vygotsky. The sociocultural learning theory is the best worldview for this study as Vygotsky’s beliefs of parents, caregivers, peers, other mentors (teachers), and culture are responsible for the development of cognition and higher-order functions with learning occurring by interacting with other people. Four essential …

Implementing Tactile Learning To Aid Students Understanding Of The Bohr Model, Christin B. Monroe, Andrew B. Stein, Cindy Tolman

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

It is essential for introductory level chemistry students to understand atomic models and how atoms interact to form chemical bonds. The tactile model in this article utilizes marbles to represent subatomic particles, a cup to represent the nucleus and wooden rings to simulate the electron orbitals. These inexpensive items can be combined to construct models in which students can build foundational knowledge of atomic structure and how subatomic particles interact. Students were asked to provide feedback comparing the use of this tactile model to atomic computer simulations, videos and their textbook regarding the method they felt was most useful to …

A Winning Approach: Teaching Science Communication Skills Through Small-Group Workshops, Serena B. Gumusoglu, Maria Noterman Soulinthavong, Jennifer Barr

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: Research almost always culminates in the communication of findings. Despite the necessity of grant and manuscript writing throughout academic careers, scientific trainees often receive little guided practice in written communication. To fill this gap, we designed, implemented, and evaluated a voluntary writing initiative for biomedical students at a research-intensive (R1) university in the midwestern United States called Writing Initiative in Neuroscience (WIN).

Method: WIN consisted of didactic and workshop components. The didactic component included discussions with topic-specific experts on writing grants and manuscripts for the public and for non-academic scientific careers. The workshop component consisted of small group-based peer …

Laying The Foundation For Education 4.0: Access, Value And Accountability, Jennifer Karlin, L. Eric James, Lauren Singelmann, Dan Ewert

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

The complexity of the global problems engineers are working to solve has long been discussed in both engineering and engineering education circles. The Grand Challenges for Engineering are grand because of the complexity of the challenges. While the challenges stand over a decade later, the speed at which the terms in which they are described, the shift from Industry 3.0 to Industry 4.0, has been slow. As the world becomes more deeply connected, as the internet of things becomes more commonplace in all parts of our lives, as technologies like machine learning and cyber physical systems become accessible to even …

A Multi-Decade Response To The Call For Change, Bart Johnson, Ron Ulseth, Mike Raich

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Engineering and society have always been intertwined, especially with the accepted realization of technology's significant and rapidly increasing influence on the evolution of society. As a profession, engineering has a vital role in sustainably meeting needs and exploring opportunities that are ever changing and evolving. As societal and industry needs have evolved, engineering education itself has raised the call several times for evolving the way engineers are educated; however, the recent history of engineering education is, overall, one of missed opportunities. This was brought to a headline recently as ASEE leadership authored an article entitled “Stuck in 1955, Engineering Education …

Applying Visual Methods To Document The History Of Psychological Testing: A Qualitative Approach, Analay Perez, Janet F. Carlson, Buros Center For Testing At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln

Buros Center: Professional Staff Publications

The history of psychological testing is critical to many areas of applied psychology. Assessment forms a mainstay of clinical practice, second only to psychotherapy (Meyer et al., 2001). In industrial/organizational psychological practice, employee selection depends on testing to assess applicant qualifications. In educational contexts, testing is central to the evaluation of academic performance and college readiness, in addition to determining eligibility for various types of special educational services.

The history of testing is deeply rooted in myriad psychological specialties (Carlson & Geisinger, 2021). This fact prompted a qualitative examination and integration of three distinct historical threads identified by the proposal …

Towards A National Definition Of Teacher Residencies, Pathways Alliance, Prepared To Teach, National Center For Teacher Residenices

Prepared to Teach

The Pathways Alliance has developed this definition of teacher residencies to help clarify the field's use of the term. Our intention with this document is to support local partnership discussions about residency design and improvements and to provide state, regional, and federal leaders with a condensed yet thorough definition to guide policies that can support high-quality residencies to attract, prepare, and retain a robust and diverse teaching workforce.

The initial draft was co-constructed by the Teacher Residency Working Group, a collaborative group of Pathways Alliance members with expertise in residency development, support, and research. To inform and revise this definition, …

Reflections On An Introduction To Project Based Engineering In An Incarcerated Setting, Robert Sleezer, Nicolle Revello, Morgan Round, Kristen O'Connell, Benjamin Orlin, Andrew Roberts

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Education programs in incarcerated settings have a goal of improving the current and future lives of the currently incarcerated individuals. There are many programs that support earning a GED, associate degree, or baccalaureate degree when incarcerated. The benefits of these programs include improved behavior while incarcerated, reduced recidivism, and broadening the workforce. Generally, the courses offered as a part of these programs are general education in nature. This paper discusses an Introduction to Project Based Engineering taught in a women’s prison setting. Specifically, it explores the course as a case study reflected on from several angles. Each reflection illuminates the …

A Comparative Exploration Into First Time In College Student Academic Performance In Face-To-Face Versus Remote Learning Environments, Ashley Click

Theses & Dissertations

In spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced educational systems to transition into an emergency remote learning modality. This quantitative study compared retention and productive grade rates of two 16-week academic semesters and compared face-to-face (fall 2019) and remote (fall 2020) emergency remote instruction. The study sample was drawn from the core courses of History, English, and Speech at San Antonio College. Those courses were selected in part due to the high proportion of first time in college students who were considered a vulnerable population regarding performance and persistence. Additional variables (i.e., gender, veteran status, first-generation status, and socio-economic status) were …

Building Partnerships To Bridge The Transfer Gap And Increase Student Success, Cody Mann, Andrew Hanegmon, Anthony Venditto, Katherine Ulseth, Frankie Wood-Black, Liz Cox, Michelle Soledad

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Transfer partnerships continue to be one of the most critical elements of student success. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the bridges and transfer gaps from a two-year college to a university and respect the value of the support and knowledge students are currently receiving at their community college, from the context of the practices and experiences of Iron Range Engineering - Bell. The transfer process, afterall, can be daunting to some students who plan to transition from a community college to a university to finish a Bachelor’s degree. Iron Range Engineering - Bell is a unique, co-op …

Complexity In The Classroom Workshop: Teaching And Learning The Cynefin Framework By Applying It To The Classroom, Jennifer Karlin, L. Eric James, Lauren Singlelmann

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Complex adaptive systems are both an important fundamental principle in systems engineering education and a reality of all engineering education. The Cynefin framework, as created by Snowden and Boone (2007), is a decision-making tool that helps the engineer recognize the type of system within which they are operating and then respond in a manner that is appropriate for the cause-and-effect relationships associated with that system type. The types of system, or the domains, fall into five categories and their liminal spaces: obvious, where the cause-and-effect relationships are clear to everyone involved; complicated, where the cause-and-effect relationships are clear to those …

Understanding Learners' Motivation Through Machine Learning Analysis On Reflection Writing, Elizabeth Pluskwik, Yuezhou Wang, Lauren Singelmann

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Educational data mining (EDM) is an emerging interdisciplinary field that utilizes a machine learning (ML) algorithm to collect and analyze educational data, aiming to better predict students' performance and retention. In this WIP paper, we report our methodology and preliminary results from utilizing a ML program to assess students’ motivation through their upper-division years in the XYZ project-based learning (PBL) program. ML, or more specifically, the clustering algorithm, opens the door to processing large amounts of student-written artifacts, such as reflection journals, project reports, and written assignments, and then identifies keywords that signal their levels of motivation (i.e., extrinsic vs. …

Working Full Time And Earning An Engineering Degree: Wellbeing In A Co-Op-Based Engineering Program, Catherine Mcgough Spence, Luke Nyberg, Justine Chasmar, Jodi Nelson, Marissa Tsugawa

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

The purpose of this research paper is to describe how stress manifests in undergraduate engineering students who are working in paid engineering positions while completing their upper-division coursework, through the analysis of reflective prompts on wellbeing, and engineering belongingness. Previous research has identified the culture of “suffering and shared hardship” where heavy workloads and stressful situations are expected in engineering programs and engineering as a discipline. Stress, specifically feelings of being overwhelmed with workload, has far reaching implications for an individuals’ wellbeing beyond academic performance.

We focus on the frameworks of self-determination theory, engineering belonging, identity, to better understand undergraduate …

Three Essays On Social Networks And Schools, Yunzheng Zheng

Dissertations

Researchers have been increasingly interested in the phenomenon of social networks in education, a research area that provides more opportunities to study the relationships among individuals or organizations in our educational system. The goal of this dissertation was to understand the effect of various social networks on outcomes by investigating various relationships in the educational system. To achieve the goal, three distinct, but related, essays comprised this dissertation.

In the first essay, I examined the effects of interschool networks on student achievement. By using the data collected from the High Impact Leadership (HIL) program and employing the hierarchical linear model …

Building A Community Of Mentors In Engineering Education Research Through Peer Review Training, Karin Jensen, Lisa Benson, Kelsey Watts, Gary Lichtenstein, Evan Ko, Rebecca Bates

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Peer review of scholarship is critical to the advancement of knowledge in a scholarly discipline. Despite this, scholars receive little or no training in effective and constructive peer review. The process of peer review has been routinely criticized in higher education for lack of quality reviews and reviewers, and reviews that are personal and not constructive. As a discipline, engineering education research (EER) benefits from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and perspectives of scholars, and as such relies on peer review of scholarship to generate, interpret, and translate knowledge. Supported by funding through the National Science Foundation, this project is developing, implementing, …

Teachers’ And Students’ Views On The Use Of Songs In Teaching And Learning Ionic Bonds, Omollo D. O, Winston Edward Massam

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Taking into consideration learner engagement during a chemistry lesson is a very crucial step if conceptual understanding is one of the goals. In the current times, teachers are drastically losing a grasp of their learners during lessons, especially chemistry lessons. However, studies that borrowed from the kindergartens have proved that incorporation of songs during lessons may engage learners. This qualitative research, which took an action research design, explored the feasibility of applying songs in rich science content in enhancing interest, motivation and engagement in ionic bonding and similar chemistry concepts among Kenyan high school students. The aim of the study …

Metrics In Group Work, Emily Faulconer

Publications

Collaborative Learning, asynchronously online

• Critical Thinking
• Tech Literacy
• Communication
• Ethics
• Cultural Literacy
• Info Literacy

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Public High School Teachers And Instructional Coaches Participating In Virtual Instructional Coaching During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alyson J. Manion

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of public high school teachers (grades 9-12) and instructional coaches who have participated in virtual instructional coaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three research questions guided this study: (1) How do public high school teachers and instructional coaches describe their experience with virtual instructional coaching during the COVID-19 pandemic?, (2) How do public high school teachers and instructional coaches describe the changes in instructional coaching experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic?, and (3) How do public high school teachers and instructional coaches describe their relationships with their instructional coaching …

The Perceptions Of School Psychologists Regarding The Disproportionality In Special Education For Students Of Color: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Jessica Ann Marshall

All Theses And Dissertations

Racial disproportionality in special education has been a problem of practice since Dunn called attention to it in 1968. Research has demonstrated the adverse effects on students including stigma, labeling, reduced access to high-quality educational opportunities, restrictive settings, and lower expectations and educational outcomes. Little research on disproportionality has examined how individual characteristics and societal factors intersect with specific school variables and contexts. Using disability critical race theory as a lens for exploration, this qualitative phenomenological study examined the phenomenon of disproportionality situated within a specific context to uncover how local factors may contribute to the incidence of disproportionality. Seven …

Teaching Learning Newsletter Vol 2 Issue 2, Sastra Deemed To Be University

TLC Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Student Achievement And Teacher Perceptions Of School Climate In Title 1 And Non-Title 1 Schools, Jennifer E. Pangle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there is a significant relationship between student achievement and teacher perceptions of school climate. An additional purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference in teacher perceptions between Title 1 and non-Title 1 schools. The final purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference in teacher perceptions of school climate among the schools according to overall student achievement. A series of Spearman’s Correlation analyses were used to analyze data to determine if there was a significant relationship between TVAAS composite …

Examining First-Year, First-Generation College Students' Perceptions Of Parental Involvement, Quincy D. Spencer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parental engagement and support have been shown to have a positive impact on the academic performance, mental health, and overall well-being of undergraduate students (Harper et al., 2012). While continuing-generation college students utilize knowledge and insight from their parents to navigate the collegiate experience, first-generation undergraduate students face hurdles that can impact their experience due to the unfamiliarity associated with being the first in their family to pursue higher education. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine underrepresented first-year, first-generation undergraduate students’ perceptions of their parent(s) involvement when deciding to attend college, high school to college transition, and …

Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion: Three Essays In The Educational Context, James D. Paul

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many universities and K-12 public school systems express a significant, formal commitment to the ideals of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Relative to the emphasis on DEI in America’s educational institutions, however, there has been little research describing DEI trends and evaluating the efficacy of DEI bureaucracies. This three-chapter dissertation examines DEI trends that have been the subject of much discussion—but rarely studied empirically.

For example, chapter one analyzes how universities promote DEI when hiring new faculty. I audit a subset of academic job postings and present the first evidence on how many require DEI statements, as well as the …

Examining The Intersection Of Cultural Competence And Classroom Management Self-Efficacy In Northwest Arkansas K-6 Teachers, Bonnie Culp King

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to examine the relationship between Northwest Arkansas K-6 teachers’ cultural competence and classroom management self-efficacy. Multiple linear regression will be the quantitative approach used for analyzing K-6 teachers’ self-reported data. Valid and reliable instruments will be used to measure the concepts as operationalized for this study. Cultural competence will be measured using the “Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale” and classroom management self-efficacy will be measured using the “Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale.” Demographic information will be collected to control for two variables: a teacher’s years of experience in teaching and race/ethnicity. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics will be …

An Instrumental Case Study Of Confirmative Evaluation In The Continuous Improvement Of Online Remote Leaders’ Work, Chad Lawrence Mclane

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Confirmative evaluation is often noted as an important element of models of Human Performance Technology and Performance Improvement, but there exists confusion around what is and what is not confirmative evaluation. A significant issue limiting the use of confirmative evaluation is the Performance Improvement field’s inability to clearly classify confirmative evaluation in terms of its purpose and scope. Additionally, the performance improvement field lacks sufficient examples of confirmative evaluation in the literature necessary to adequately define confirmative evaluation and demonstrate its use. Without sufficient examples of confirmative evaluation, practitioners of performance improvement are left without a clear path of how …

One Stop Along The Corridor Of Shame: A Portrait Of Public Education In Marlboro County In The Post-No Child Left Behind Years, Jackson Branch

Graduate Theses

In the years following the passage of the historic No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, South Carolina has dropped to having one of the lowest ranked public education systems in the United States. As many schools in South Carolina are rural and in high poverty areas, this should have been a state where the federal legislation made great strides towards closing the education gap. One of the greatest struggling counties in the state, Marlboro, has seen its share of troubles since the passage of NCLB. This thesis will look at Marlboro County in the post-NCLB years and will examine (1) …