Educational Methods Commons^™

Pedagogy Of Curiosity: Initial Explorations Of Instructional Practice In A Critical Thinking And Curious Classroom, Michael Chalukian

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Through research on critical thinking, instructional practice, and curiosity I have developed the Pedagogy of Curiosity. This approach is implemented in the Curious classroom and a workshop for secondary teachers. The Curious classroom creates a structure and focus to encourage and develop curiosity and critical thinking of students. A questioning and research design redefines the learning expectations and the corresponding teacher and student roles in the classroom. An environment is constructed for students to take steps to become autonomous reflective learners.

This synthesis identifies two sources that inform my endeavor: 1) The accountability and results driven focus of No Child …

Sola Gratia: Grace In The Engineering Curriculum And Profession, Ethan Brue

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Integral Christian higher education is in vogue. Most Christian institutions of higher education who take their mission seriously make the claim that the education offered to students is one where faith and learning are not separate. It is a belief that their entire educational enterprise is inexorably tied in some way, shape, or form to our new life in Christ. Most engineering programs on Christian campuses are the outgrowth of this perspective. Over the last fifty years, numerous philosophers, writers, scientists, and engineers have developed a solid foundation from which engineering can be understood as an essential calling in the …

An Examination Of An Online Tutoring Program's Impact On Low-Achieving Middle School Students' Mathematics Achievement, Shanan Chappell,, Pamela Arnold, John Nunnery, Melva R. Grant

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine the impact of synchronous online tutoring services on struggling middle school students’ mathematics achievement. The online tutoring was provided as a response to intervention (RTI) Tier 3 support (intensive, individualized intervention) in schools implementing a school-wide mathematics program that addresses Tier 1 (high-quality classroom instruction) and Tier 2 (small group interventions). We employed quasi-experimental, within- and between-group designs to examine impacts for 119 students in two schools to measure the tutoring’s impact on mathematics assessment scores. We also conducted qualitative analyses of student and tutor postsession commentary. The findings suggest …

Using Context-Aware Ubiquitous Learning To Support Students' Understanding Of Geometry, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

In this study, context-aware ubiquitous learning was used to support 4th grade students as they learn angle concepts. Context-aware ubiquitous learning was provided to students primarily through the use of iPads to access real-world connections and a Dynamic Geometry Environment. Gravemeijer and van Eerde’s (2009), design-based research (DBR) methodology was used in this study. As a systematic yet flexible methodology, DBR utilizes an iterative cyclical process of design, implementation, analysis, and revision. Using this particular DBR methodology, a local instruction theory was developed that includes a set of exemplar curriculum activities and design guidelines for the development of context-aware ubiquitous …

Mobile Learning In The Uk Today: Successes, Failures, Future, John Traxler, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

In the last decade, mobile learning has taken an exponential rise in both the scholarly and practitioner community in the United Kingdom (UK). This rise has stemmed from the development of new mobile technologies with unique affordances that offers opportunities to extend pedagogical boundaries. This short paper provides experts perceptions on the mobile learning movement across the UK. The paper beings with a look back in recent history from the first mLearn conference in Birmingham in 2002, then the second part of the paper offers a brief look into the future of mobile learning.

Exploring Stakeholders' Perceptions Of The Evaluation Of Early Fieldwork Experience In An Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program, Amber R. Peacock

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a qualitative meta-evaluation of the early field experience (EFE) program at a small, private, undergraduate teacher preparation program in Virginia focusing on the perceptions of preservice teachers, cooperating teachers and course instructors about the EFE evaluation objectives, evaluation experience, and resulting data usage. The EFE evaluation protocol at the study site is explored using a participatory-oriented evaluation model that solicited the perceptions of stakeholders. Analysis of EFE evaluation documents and semi-structured interviews with the stakeholders were conducted to explore the extent to which (1) official EFE objectives are congruent with the EFE evaluation, (2) the intended evaluation …

Architechture: Rebuilding The Traditional University For The 21st Century, Sarah E. Shearer

CMC Senior Theses

This senior thesis is an examination of the major complexities and considerations encountered in developing an e-learning program. In light of the changing landscape of higher education resulting from technological advancement, combined with changing pedagogies and financial pressures, traditional institutions are under heightened scrutiny and most in need of innovation. Online learning as been proposed as a solution to many of these issues, but creating a successful program is no small feat. Furthermore, experimental research on specific course designs and delivery often fails upon real-world implementation. Looking through the lens of Design-Base-Implementation Research (DBIR), an emerging research model that seeks …

The Client Role In A Pre-Practicum Counseling Skills Course, Michael Mariska

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

This study explored the experience and process of counselors in training enacting the client role and sharing “real life” experiences during role-playing exercises in a pre-practicum skills course. Using Charmaz’ Grounded Theory, main themes and processes were identified and explored. Through multiple individual interviews and a final focus group, the participants described how the experience facilitated their development of empathy for the client experience. The findings suggest a possible link between the development of empathy for the client experience and sharing “real life” experiences while enacting the client role, and encourage further study into this type of learning experience.

Service-Learning With Young Students: Validating The Introduction Of Service-Learning In Pre-Service Teacher Education, Nancy M. Arrington

Teaching & Learning: Faculty Publications

Founded on experience as a practitioner and teacher action-researcher in an elementary school setting, the author shares this study as a validation for introducing the methodology of service-learning in teacher preparation programs. Multiple methods were used in this action research to analyze the effects of participating in a service-learning experience on the self-effi cacy for self-regulated learning of a class of third-grade music students as they participated in an intergenerational project—sharing music and writing with residents in a local nursing home.

The quantitative data included the results from the Children’s Self-Effi cacy Scale (Bandura, 2006) and progress rating scales administered …

Enhancing Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning Through Micro-Level Collaboration Across Two Disciplines, Nancy M. Arrington, Adrienne L. Cohen

Teaching & Learning: Faculty Publications

Two professors from two disciplines—education and sociology—analyzed the commonalities, differences, successes, and challenges of conducting cross-disciplinary Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research at the course level (micro-level). This case study of their collaboration resulted in a series of lessons learned which add to the literature base on the process of SoTL collaboration. The results of their professional collaboration at this level provide a validation for increased communication and alignment during the development and implementation of the projects developed to enhance teaching and learning in their respective courses. This erudition illuminates the potential of increased SoTL collaborations across disciplines at …

Planning For Veterans’ Success: The Degree Map As An Advising Solution, Tracey M. Richardson, Jason M. Ruckert, James W. Marion Jr

Publications

Due to the expected influx of veterans attending college, it is critical that higher education not only be cognizant of the projected growth but also take a proactive stand and properly plan for these students’ success. Academic planning begins with advising professionals developing open communications and becoming equipped to guide veteran students through the matriculation process. Veteran students often have difficulty interpreting university scheduling and frequently have access to only a limited advising staff for course selection information, which may prompt some to not persist in an online degree program. This study’s findings suggest the degree map is a powerful …

Attitude, Subjective Norm, And Perceived Behavioral Control As Indicators For Nurse Educators’ Intention To Use Critical Thinking Teaching Strategies: A Structural Equation Model Analysis, Angerlita Yolanda Smith

Dissertations

Problem

Deficiencies in new nursing graduates’ ability to use critical thinking skills have been documented. Researchers have found that the continued use of traditional teaching methods and less student-centered approaches for critical thinking development has contributed to this problem. This particular issue has evoked much concern for institutions and organizations involved with the safe delivery of patient care. The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the relationship between the factors educator characteristics, attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control in a hypothesized model that may influence nurse educators’ intention to use instructional methods that promote critical thinking in …

Creating An Enabling Environment For Community Engagement In School-Based Governance: A Glimmer Of Hope", Dilshad Ashraf

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

In 1960, the global enrolment of primary school aged children was less than half. By the 1990s, in spite of rapid population growth in much of the world, the proportion of primary enrolled school children was more than 75 percent. The credit to this spread in educational access does not only go the western of often called the formal form of school operations but to indigenous educational provision and management models as well. It has been observed in many developing countries around the world that indigenous development of a targeted geographical area.

Effects Of Training Teachers To Use A Modified System Of Least Prompts To Support Behaviors Of Young Children, Caitlin E. Beitel

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

There is much research conducted on training teachers to use the evidence-based teaching strategies known as system of least prompts. However, there is little research conducted on using a modified system of least prompt. This study examined the fidelity of implementation by two early childhood teachers using a modified system of least prompts with preschool aged children. A multiple-probe design across participants was used to determine the effect of fidelity of implementation of a modified system of least prompts strategy on the level of on-task student engagement. The results showed that early childhood teachers could implement the modified teaching strategy …

Understanding Angle And Angle Measure: A Design-Based Research Study Using Context Aware Ubiquitous Learning, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Mobile technologies are quickly becoming tools found in the educational environment. The researchers in this study use a form of mobile learning to support students in learning about angle concepts. Design-based research is used in this study to develop an empirically-substantiated local instruction theory about students' develop of angle and angle measure. This local instruction theory involves real-world connections and mobile technologies through a sub category of mobile learning called context-aware ubiquitous learning. Through a process of anticipation, enactment, evaluation, and revision, the local instruction theory was developed to include a theoretical contribution of how students come to understand angle …

Rwandan University Efl Teachers' Perceived Difficulties In Implementing Communicative Language Teaching (Clt), Jean Bosco Ntirenganya

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis examines Rwandan University EFL teachers' perceived difficulties in implementing Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). The data were collected using an online survey questionnaire that was completed by 16 teachers. The results indicated that participants faced several challenges including overly large classes, students' lack of opportunities to use English outside the classroom, the students' tendency to always use their L1 in pair and group work, students' passive learning style and dependence on the teacher, students' low proficiency level in English, insufficient time allotted to English, and teachers' little time to develop CLT materials mainly due to a large number of …

Exploring The Benefits Of Embedded And Sustained Field Placements For Pre-Service Teachers And Students Through Research Of The F.A.C.E Collaboration, Marie Corrigan

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Managing Free Play In Early Childhood: Teachers Don’T Need To End The Trend, Elizabeth D'Apolito

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Effectively Preparing Special Education Teachers: Success In Urban Environments, Gabrielle Siegenthaler

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This literature review examines the level of preparedness of pre-service and novice special education teachers, specifically teachers pursuing education careers within urban school districts. Research studies were reviewed to indicate what teaching methods are regarded as effective in relation to behavior management. It was found that using culturally responsive teaching has been proven to be effective within urban settings. Studies were also examined to determine if first-year teachers were well prepared and what teacher preparation programs could possibly implement to ensure that future educators are well equipped to effectively teach and manage the growing special education population of students in …

Reflections On Effectively Implementing Culture In The Foreign Language Classroom, Alyssa N. Petsche

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this research project is to explore the perceptions and attitudes of past and current foreign language students regarding the relevancy of culture within foreign language education. The first portion of this paper contains a literature review from a variety of international research articles discussing the necessity, implementation methods, and assessment techniques for implementing culture within the foreign language classroom setting. While the research from the literature review emphasizes for researchers and educators the importance of including culture within the foreign language curriculum, very little research has been recorded regarding the perceptions and beliefs of foreign language learners. …

Compassion Development In Higher Education, Roxanne Rashedi, Thomas G. Plante, Erin S. Callister

Psychology

Many schools of psychology and religious studies intend to promote the cultivation of compassion. Compassion is currently an integral area of study in psychology, religious studies, and higher education, specifically in faith-based higher education. While secular universities in the United States strive to generate disciplinary-based knowledge through scholarship, their ability to promote students' use of the information they are learning to create positive social change has typically lagged. Conscious of the magnitude of today's global issues and dissatisfied with the current disparity between the world's reality and university curricula, scholars have begun to re-imagine the role of higher education in …

Opportunities To Create Active Learning Techniques In The Classroom, Danielle J. Camacho, Jill M. Legare

Publications

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the growing body of research that focuses on active learning techniques. Active learning techniques require students to consider a given set of information, analyze, process, and prepare to restate what has been learned--all strategies are confirmed to improve higher order thinking skills. Active learning techniques transform complacent and apprehensive learners into active participants in the process. Group assignments and peer review scenarios establish a setting fostering the notion that students who teach one another are essentially learning to teach themselves. Technology in the 21st century allows instructors to incorporate active learning …

Outsourcing Learning: Is The Statecraft Simulation An Effective Pedagogical Alternative?, Chad Raymond

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

Although rising costs have been a general trend in higher education since the early 20th century, a fundamental restructuring of the higher education marketplace is currently underway. In recent decades students and their parents have been forced to finance college education through greater and greater debt. As a result, students and their families are increasingly demanding that institutions of higher learning provide evidence of value. Universities must now ask what methods of instruction most efficiently expand a student's knowledge base. Can instruction that has been traditionally supplied in a physical classroom be delivered more effectively at lower cost through digital …

Learning To Teach English Learners: Instructional Coaching And Developing Novice High School Teacher Capacity, Felice Atesoglu Russell

Faculty Articles

The number of English learners (ELs) in our schools continues to increase, and at the same time, the academic achievement of ELs consistently lags behind the achievement of native-English-speaking peers (Goldenberg & Coleman, 2010). These second language learners bring with them a set of special needs for teaching and learning, especially for mainstream content area teachers, who often have little or no specialized training for meeting these needs (Bunch, 2010). Although there is not yet extensive empirical work focused on how mainstream content teachers at the secondary level typically teach ELs or how they learn to more effectively teach these …

Teacher-Based Scaffolding As A Teacher Professional Development Program In Indonesia, Bujang Rahman, Abdurrahman Abdurrahman, Budi Kadaryanto, Nurlaksana Eko Rusminto

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Improvement of teachers’ content knowledge has long been regarded as a priority in Indonesian school systems, and has been the goal for many teacher professional development programs. In this paper we report the evaluation of a professional development program to improve content knowledge for 147 Indonesian teachers. The teachers were divided into three experimental groups, and each group was treated to one of the three professional development models frequently used in developing countries. The results showed that all three models led to improvement in the teachers’ content knowledge; however, the teacher-based scaffolding model proved to be the most effective. In …

Vocabulary Word Instruction For Students Who Read Braille, Mackenzie E. Savaiano, Donald L. Compton, Deborah D. Hatton, Blair P. Lloyd

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

The association made between the meaning, spelling, and pronunciation of a word has been shown to help children remember the meanings of words. The present study addressed whether the presence of a target word in braille during instruction facilitated vocabulary learning more efficiently than an auditory-only instructional condition. The authors used an adapted alternating treatments single-case experimental design with three students with visual impairments who read braille, collecting data on definition recall and spelling during each session. Data on definition recall were used to determine mastery. The results of this study are not consistent with previous findings with students who …

Moving From Theory To Practice: Integrating Mobile Devices In Elementary Reading Instruction, Lisa Marie Bald

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Technology integration continues to be a professional development concern, especially in elementary schools. It remains unclear why there is a difference between how teachers talk about using technology and how they apply it in teaching reading. The purpose of this study was to explore professional development options that would help teachers connect theory to practice by studying their decision-making process. The conceptual framework was based on elements of the knowing-doing gap and reflective practices. The research questions explored (a) the decision-making process, (b) reflective practices used during decision-making, (c) professional development that facilitates closing the knowing-doing gap, and (d) recommendations …

Instructional Guidance In Microblogging-Supported Learning: Insights From A Multiple Case Study, Tian Luo

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Microblogging tools such as Twitter show potential to enrich classroom experience and benefit student learning. Research shows that instructional guidance is particularly necessary in computer-assisted learning environments, but no research has been done to study the effects of instructional guidance in microblogging-based learning. Using a multiple-case study design, the researcher examined student learning in terms of the amount of participation, ability to focus on task, and depth of thinking in guided, semi-guided, and unguided modes. The findings suggest that in guided environments, students achieved higher levels of learning, especially with respect to focusing on task and depth of thinking. Variations …

Tweeting And Blogging: Moving Towards Education 2.0, Tian Luo, Teresa Franklin

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This paper reports on an exploratory study that employed Twitter and blogs as instructional Web 2.0 tools to support student learning in an undergraduate-level class. Case study methodology entailing a usage survey, an exit survey, and 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews was sought to examine patterns and characteristics of students' usage of social media and to elicit their perceptions on how the incorporation of Twitter and blogs facilitated their learning. Findings demonstrate that as advanced users of social media, the students highly embraced the incorporation of Twitter and blogs in the class. Not only were the students motivated to utilize social …

An Exploration Of Student Experiences With Learner-Centered Instructional Strategies, Jill E. Stefaniak, Monica W. Tracey

STEMPS Faculty Publications

In this exploratory study, we examined how undergraduate students experience learning in a learner-centered teaching environment and their perceptions of motivation towards learning material in an introductory public speaking communications course. Six faculty members participated in a semester-long study where their teaching strategies were observed. Three faculty members participated in a cognitive apprenticeship where they were taught how to implement learner-centered instructional strategies into their coursework. Participants were 109 students who were enrolled in an introductory public speaking course. Data was collected by means of classroom observations, interviews, and the administration of a survey. Our findings indicated that students who …