Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Tech Edge Student Rubric Grades 4-5, Laurie A. Friedrich, Guy Trainin

Research and Evaluation in Education, Technology, Art, and Design

This rubric can be used to evaluate formative and summative assessments of technology integrated products across the curriculum for grades 4-5.

An Investigation Of Teacher Evaluation Systems And How They Can Be Transformed To Improve Teaching And Learning: A Change Leadership Plan, Kelly O'Brien

Dissertations

Numerous states have contributed to the overhaul of teacher evaluation systems by imposing mandatory guidelines for the development of new measures. The purpose of this Change Leadership plan was to build upon my research “Principal Perspectives on the Current State of the Art of Teacher Evaluations: A Program Evaluation” which revealed a need to investigate how teacher evaluation systems could be transformed by integrating technology to streamline the process and thus improve teaching and learning. Therefore, this Change Leadership plan aimed to address two important questions. How is technology being used within current teacher evaluation systems? Within current teacher evaluation …

More Than Just Plain Old Technology Adoption: Understanding Variations In Teachers' Use Of An Online Planning Tool, Heather Leary, Victor R. Lee, Mimi Recker

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper examines variability in teachers’ usage patterns as they interacted with an online teacher support tool, the Curriculum Customization Service (CCS), as part of their professional work. The CCS is a web application that supports teachers in planning, adapting, sequencing, and enacting differentiated instruction in Earth science education. By mining the usage log files of over 40 teachers who used the CCS over a yearlong period, we analyzed for variability using a framework developed in marketing research to characterize appropriation of technology. This analysis helped reveal different kinds of teachers’ patterns along two dimensions: frequency and variability of use. …

Blurring The Boundaries: Creative Collaborative Space For Excellence And Innovation, Patricia Hoffman, Paul Force-Emery Mackie

Social Work Department Publications

Our Center for Excellence & Innovation has brought together our Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning, our Center for Excellence in Scholarship and Research, Assessment Coordinator and our Educational Technologists to serve faculty in a “one-stop shopping” venue. Through integrated marketing we inform faculty of resources and opportunities for professional development working diligently to ensure that faculty not only receive needed assistance but also experience a warm, welcoming environment. Seven principles of learning space design contribute to this collaborative, learner-centered environment: comfort, aesthetics, affordance, flow, equity, blending (a mixture of technological and face-to-face pedagogical resources.

Making The Most Of Existing Resources: An Online Rubric Database In University-Wide Writing Program Assessment, Jennifer M. Good, Kevin Osborne

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

When creating an assessment plan to measure writing outcomes for a university-wide writing across the curriculum (WAC) program, administrators considered multi-layered evaluation methods for benchmarking and measuring internal growth of students. Although assessment plans must address these needs, the actual assessment practices must be flexible, accessible to faculty, and feasible--based on existing technological structures and data systems at an institution. The writing assessment that is provided addresses all of these elements and is offered as a model for other programs.

For this particular study, the internal aspect of the assessment plan that tracks growth of students over time is the …

Can The Differentiated Math Classroom Be A Reality?, Carl Jeff Morris

Mathematics Graduate Theses

Imagine a math classroom that looked more like a Google workplace where collaboration, teamwork, and innovation are the centerpieces. Instead of just students sitting in rows passively learning about the nature of mathematics, picture a classroom of students in small circle discussing mathematics. This could range from groups working together on a problem solving strategy for a newly learned concept, students helping students using technology as an aid, another small group receiving intervention from the teacher, or individual students making or viewing instructional math videos. All of this according to research focused on classroom differentiation; specifically in middle school and …

Knowing And Learning With Technology (And On Wheels!): An Introduction To The Special Issue, Victor R. Lee

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This special issue of Technology, Knowledge and Learning is dedicated to bicycles and computing. Yes, you read that correctly. The theme of the issue is really and truly bicycles and computing.

Social Mathworking: The Effects Of Online Reflection On Algebra I Students' Sense Of Community And Perceived Learning, Patricia Allanson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if online reflections through social networking affect students' sense of community and levels of perceived conceptual learning in Algebra I courses. Social constructivism, connectivism, and computer-mediated communication in relation to reflective practices form the theoretical and practical framework for the use of Web 2.0 technologies in this investigation. A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design was used to examine Algebra I students' sense of community as measured by the Sense of Classroom Community Index, and perceived learning as measured by Perceived Learning Instrument. The sample consisted of 27 Algebra I students at a …

Attitudes And Beliefs Of Upper Elementary Teachers Regarding The Teaching Of Cursive Handwriting, Dorothy Myers

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study surveyed current third-, fourth- and fifth-grade teachers in two small school districts in the southeast. One school district has initiated a technology initiative in its elementary schools. The other school district involved in the study incorporates technology but does not have a specified technology initiative. This dissertation was designed to provide information about the attitudes and beliefs of current third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade teachers about the necessity of teaching cursive handwriting. Many schools today either no longer teach cursive handwriting or do not spend the amount of time teaching cursive handwriting as in years past. With the age …

An Implementation Study Of The Science And Technology Entry Program (Step) In New York State, Susan C. Perkins

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

As global demands for workers in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields persist, there are increased opportunities for historically underrepresented African-American and Latino youth to fill STEM career pipelines. African-American and Latino youth have long faced disproportionately high unemployment rates. Joblessness has been complicated by lower high school graduation rates for African-American and Latino youth. Significant federal and state funding has been allocated to address this state of affairs. Research findings on STEM career development programs for historically underrepresented youth can inform public policy and resource allocation.

The Effect Of Voice Thread® Integration On High School Students' Anxiety And Oral Proficiency In The Foreign Language Classroom, Melanie Dunn

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the asynchronous voice-conferencing technology, Voice Thread ®, on the anxiety and oral proficiency of high school students in their third year of studying Spanish as a foreign language. In this quasi-experimental study students' foreign language anxiety levels and oral proficiency were examined to determine if a difference existed based on the type of practice used. The treatment group used Voice Thread ® to practice speaking. The control group used the traditional method of the language laboratory to practice speaking. The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was used to …

Collection Of Online Learning Objects For Research Success (Colors) Pilot Project, Andrea Falcone, Stephanie Wiegand

University Libraries Publications

The availability of library-related videos is growing; yet it is difficult to justify the impact of such time-consuming projects. In order to investigate the impact of such projects and a possible solution, the researchers asked students to create videos that appeal to their peers. The following research questions were posed:

• Will creation of media projects enable students to learn core research concepts and skills?
• Will a series of peer-created media engage students and help them acclimate to researching in an academic library?

By asking students to create videos, the researchers were able to observe how users interact with and perceive …

How Ipads Can Be Used In The Math Classroom To Improve Student Learning, Katie Ann Garrity Smieja

Mathematics Graduate Theses

This study explores how iPads can be used to enhance student learning in the math classroom. The author reviews current literature to determine how iPads are being used to facilitate communication, formative assessment, and promising practices in math education such as discovery learning and use of spreadsheets, graphing calculators, and manipulatives. Additionally, challenges and drawbacks to using iPads in the classroom are examined. Research supports the use of iPads to provide students access to digital content including online discussion boards and practice activities with instant feedback. iPads can also be used as student response systems to engage students in instruction …

The Effects Of Technology Instruction On The Academic Achievement Of Fifth Grade Students, Karen Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A digital native is an individual born between 1981 and 2001, and children born after 2001 are called millennials. Educators are expected to meet the needs of today's technologically savvy students. Some researchers assert that an academic `moral panic' is taking place that lacks the empirical and theoretical knowledge to support the claims that education needs to change to meet the needs of digital natives and millennials. The problem is that considering that the majority of students today are digital natives are educators meeting the learning needs of their students. This research study focused on the use of instructional technology …

Teachers And Hand-Held Graphing Technology: An Examination Of Concerns, Edward Helton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this nonexperimental causal-comparative study was to examine the concerns of teachers in reference to the graphing calculator, as measured by the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) and compare the results to a combination of levels of concerns between groups. The study participants were high school teachers of mathematics in Northwest Georgia and Southeast Tennessee (n = 128). This study utilized a two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to determine the effect of two independent variables, formal training and experience teaching with a graphing calculator, on seven dependent variables, teachers' Stages of Concern (stages 0-6). Also, a one-way …

The Influence Of Peer Tutors And Technology-Actuated Reading Instruction Process On Third-Grade Students' Self-Perceptions As Readers: A Multiple Case Study, Brenda Shill Daw

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Driven by Lev Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory (1986), my study investigated the self-perceptions and interactions of seven underperforming, third-grade readers while using Technology-Actuated Reading Instruction (TARI). Partnered with same-age peer tutors, readers used digital tools to listen to, read/record, and playback oral reading passages. They practiced, peer- or self-edited, and selected their best reading products as part of the iterative process. As reading is a complex cognitive skill (Reinking, 2005), TARI incorporated higher cognitive learning activities via a synthesis of Gagné's (1985) nine conditions of learning and the Four-Component Instructional Design Model (van Merriënboer & Kester, 2005).

Much of the current …

Teachers Perceptions Of The Impact Of Online Grading Systems., Brenda Gail Mize

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effects of the communication aspect of using an online grading program. This study explored teachers' perceptions of the implications of allowing the grading process to become transparent to parents. The purpose of this study was to assist teachers in searching for ways to create a positive parent-teacher relationship. A positive and constructive parent-teacher relationship is helpful to the student. If grades are made available to parents on a daily basis, they will have access to specifics about the academic performance of their child. Parents and teachers will be able to communicate with each other on a …

Technology Use In The Middle School Mathematics Classroom, Heather Prestegord

Mathematics Graduate Theses

This paper will examine the outcomes of using technology in middle school mathematics. The author will find research on how implementing technology affects students’ ability to learn mathematics. The author will also analyze if teachers are incorporating technology effectively and how teachers can be better equipped to successfully use technology in the middle school mathematics classroom.

A Study Of K–12 Music Educators' Attitudes Toward Technology-Assisted Assessment Tools, Lance D. Nielsen

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

The purpose of this study was to examine K-12 music educators’ attitudes regarding the use of technology in the assessment of music learning. There is a considerable range of musical behaviors with different levels of complexity that can be assessed (Boyle & Radocy, 1987). A variety of software and web-based assessment tools are available for music educators. However, it is unclear how many teachers are taking advantage of incorporating these technological assessment tools into their instructional practice. This study provided current data about the demographics of teachers using technology to assess musical growth and the variables that might motivate a …

A Study Of Teachers Using 21st Century Tools In A Rural South Carolina School District, Amanda Elmore Moss

Education Dissertations and Projects

Students currently live surrounded by technology and the tools of the 21st Century, but as Prensky (2008) asserted, students feel like they "have to power down" when they go to school by working without many of the technology tools with which they are comfortable and by changing, even slowing, their ways of thinking (p. 42). One purpose of this study was to evaluate the technology tools used by students and the quality or types of usage by teachers and students as defined by the recommendations of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills in a rural school district. The study also …

Toward A Technology Management Core: Defining What The Technology Manager Needs To Know, Mark Doggett, Pam Mcgee, Sophia Scott

SEAS Faculty Publications

With the increasing demands on organizations to do “more with less,” and produce acceptable market results, productivity and performance standards continually raise the expectations on competitive success. To meet these expectations, organizations should create learning opportunities that combine the application of technical management skills along with the softer skills involved in people management. Technical managers with little training or past experience with nontechnical skills often perform poorly in technical management positions (Kroecker, 2007). Because this generation lives in a highly technical environment, managers need to be proficient in dealing with knowledge workers and systems; therefore, there is a growing emphasis …

Student And Teacher Perspectives Of Technology Usage, Lori L. Elliott

Dissertations

This study examined the use of technology by eighth grade students and teachers and perceptions of students and teachers toward technology use in the classroom and home. A mixed design method was selected to collect and analyze the data. Face-to-face interviews, field notes, and national survey results were used to triangulate the data. Three themes emerged from the study in response to the research questions: communication is the focus of technology use, students consider themselves more knowledgeable about technology than teachers, and technology use in the classroom is primarily a visual tool, rather than an interactive resource. Implications for educators …

Manipulatives In The Secondary Mathematics Classroom Using A Traditional Algebra Text, Christina Mutnansky

Mathematics Graduate Theses

This paper is a review of the research available on manipulative use in the mathematics classroom. Mathematical manipulatives, objects that are used to aid a student in learning a mathematical concept, provide a way for students to learn abstract mathematical concepts in a non lecture situation through hands-on learning and discovery. It specifically focuses on the use of manipulatives in the secondary Algebra classroom and how they can be integrated into a traditional curriculum. It discusses the different types of manipulatives that are available as well as reasons why instructors do not use manipulatives. Guidelines are given for their proper …

Harmonizing Technology With Interaftion In Blended Problem-Based Learning, Roisin Donnelly

Journal Articles

This paper discusses the harmonizing role of technology and interaction in a qualitative study on blended 22 problem-based learning within the context of academic development in higher education. Within this 23 setting, and as both designers and tutors in blended PBL, it is important to seek best practices for how 24 to combine instructional strategies in face-to-face and computer-mediated environments that take 25 advantage of the strengths of each and avoid their weaknesses. A qualitative study of the lived experi- 26 ences of 17 academic staff participants in a blended problem-based learning module was considered 27 likely to provide a …

An Investigation Of Middle School Student Interest, Perception, And Attitude Toward Technology And Engineering, Kari Marie Cook

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate middle school student perception and attitude toward technology and engineering and to better understand how the gender of the teacher, gender of the student, and information provided in technology classes affected their perception and attitude. To accomplish this, the Technology Attitude Scale, and the Pupil's Attitudes Toward Technology—United States assessment instruments were used to form the basis of a new survey instrument focused on technology and engineering perception, use, and interest. The new survey instrument is called the Technology and Engineering Attitude Scale (TEAS) survey. Multiple 7th grade technology engineering classes from …

Pilot Project: Technology Integration In Underserved Schools Using Thinkfinity, Spring 2008, Final Report, Sylvia Russakoff

Cornerstone 1 Reports : Expansion and Enhancements of the Thinkfinity Platform

The Pace Computer Learning Center has been involved in helping teachers learn to integrate technology using Internet resources since 1997, when, under a grant from the then Bell Atlantic Corporation, over 900 teachers were trained over a three year period.

Since that initial project, PCLC has continued this work with New York City and Westchester private and public schools. Most recently, funding has come from the Facilitator Center, an organization serving non-public schools in New York City and the Hudson Valley.

This pilot project was conceived as a way in which PCLC could use its experience and expertise to present …

We've Thrown Away The Pens, But Are They Learning? Using Blogs In Higher Education, Katrina Strampel, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

In today’s university classrooms, “the time of restricting students products and learning opportunities to ink on paper are past” (Siegle, 2007). Blogs are only one of many computer-mediated technologies starting to dominate blended and wholly online courses. Most people assume that using these technologies, because it is what the students want, will translate into increased learning opportunities. As the literature continuously asserts, however, learning, and especially reflection, does not just happen (Boud, Keogh, & Walker, 1985). It seems imperative, therefore, that extra measures are taken when any technology is being implemented in a university classroom to ensure high levels of …

The Virginia Sol Eighth Grade Writing Test In Relationship To The National Commission On Writing Recommendations, Grade Configuration, Region, And Socioeconomic Status., Jeffrey R. Comer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine Virginia Standards of Learning 8^th grade writing assessments to determine if there was any association between school passing rates and the recommendations suggested by the 2003 National Commission on Writing to improve writing proficiency. This study further examined the possible differences in school passing rates that may exist due to the grade configuration of a school, the location of a school, the availability of a comprehensive writing plan, and the student percentage on free and reduced-price lunch. Data collection consisted of a self-administered survey sent to all 364 schools in …

Evaluation Of An Adult Education Technology Program, Iwasan D. Kejawa

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adult education technology program at a chartered alternative adult education center in Florida. The adult education center had a low rate of students passing the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). This study examined the impact of the use of computer technology in an effort to improve student learning in mathematics, reading, and science. Computers at the institution were used by all students for tutorials to prepare them for the FCAT and to obtain a high school diploma. The research questions for this study were as follows: 1. Is the education technology …

Technology Follows Technique: Refocusing The Observational Lens, Anton Brinckwirth, Elizabeth M. Kissling, Kathryn Murphy-Judy, Carlos Valencia

Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Faculty Publications

Digital video is being applied to teacher training, development, and evaluation. This chapter evokes theories and practices of performance observation and improvement. It demonstrates facilitative media used in the design and implementation of a current interinstitutional project by the authors. Simultaneously, the implications of teaching evaluation techniques caught in the lens of digital observation technologies lead to considerations of their personal and social impact on the field of world language teacher training and professional development in the 21st Century. A more communal and non-hierarchical approach, called peer coaching, is advanced with a value-added digital video and e-community twist.