Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Assessing Students’ Online Learning: Strategies And Resources, Patricia Comeaux

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Explore key strategies used by experienced online instructors, and learn about the wealth of resources for designing assessment instruments integral to online learning.

Transferring A Face-To-Face Course To Online Instruction At A Community College, Brenda Heitmeyer

Graduate Research Papers

This paper is a literature review of research related to the differences between developing an online class and a face-to-face class. Differences include how the course material is presented, how to engage the learners, and how students are learning in an online environment. Research is presented from various sources regarding considerations for online instruction and includes statistics on online student learners. The literature states that the instructor assumes a different role as a facilitator for online collaboration in a learning environment.

Instructors need to consider the differences presented by distance education when creating online instruction. The advantages and disadvantages of …

E-Learning Enhances Both Student Achievement And Career Change Options, Rochelle P. Ripple

Perspectives In Learning

It seems as if everyone is using e-learning (online learning) these days. There are many options available, including self-paced courses, skills-based courses, virtual classrooms (and their cousins, live web seminars), web-enhanced courses, and asynchronous courses. There is a plethora of technological methods that can be utilized for course delivery. Which of these technologies and methods of use will maximize e-learning’s effectiveness? In other words, for the university, the instructor and students, which seems to work the best? In a nutshell - all of them. The beauty of e-learning is that there are so many options that can be tailored to …

Career-Related Issues In Secondary Schools: A Literature Review, Jennifer E. Mcghee

Perspectives In Learning

The career counselor’s role over the past 100 years or so has evolved from being a placement tool in the industrial revolution to that of providing a more holistic approach to meeting both the career and personal concerns of individuals. More and more counselors are beginning to focus on the person as a whole, including values, interests, abilities, skills, and work-life experiences, as they counsel on career-related issues (Zunker, 2006). As a focus on human development and the whole person enters the counseling field, school counselors are faced with developing comprehensive school guidance systems that meet the needs of students …

Alcohol And Drug Use: The Negative Effect On Health And Academic Achievement, Judson Mccarley, Heather Holloway

Perspectives In Learning

Most know the damaging and lethal effects that drugs and alcohol pose upon our children and young people today. Parents and schools work hard at limiting these terrible and devastating results. However, is this effort enough and what is the latest research on alcohol and drug use by school age children? Although there are significant effects from drug and alcohol use on health and academic achievement, there are a variety of interventions used in keeping children clean. Alcohol and drug use by school-age children poses serious health and safety risks. The three leading causes of death for 15-24 year olds …

Curriculum Alignment Matrix: A Systematic Framework For Aligning Educational Leadership Program Curriculum, Martha C. Hall

Perspectives In Learning

The emphasis on educational accountability and the necessity of training highly qualified administrators and leaders, prompted changes to Columbus State University’s Educational Leadership programs. Curriculum alignment was the foundation of this initiative. There has been an evolution in thinking about the important ingredients and benefits of curriculum for the 21st Century leader. Lashway (2002) advanced the idea of totally revamping the leadership preparation program to stay current with the ever-changing world. Jacobs (1997), through her work with curriculum, saw a need for obtaining course overviews. Cunningham & Cordiero (2000) envisioned futurist thinking for the practitioners and purported changing the pedagogical …

Charting A New Course: Professional Development Strategies For Improving Literacy Education Across The Curriculum, Vikki K. Collins, Dawn Upshaw, H. Marguerite Yates

Perspectives In Learning

This paper reviews the effects of a program of professional development for literacy teachers in an urban, southeastern elementary school. During academic year 2002-2003, only 67% of fourth grade students met or exceeded state standards for achievement in reading as measured by the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT), and only 77% of fourth grade students met or exceeded state standards for achievement in English/language arts as measured by the CRCT (Georgia Department of Education, 2005).

Student Achievement Through Early Truancy Reduction, Nanette K. Jackson, Susan Taylor

Perspectives In Learning

Truancy is a concern for all grade levels of all schools. According to Capps (2003) the average student misses thirteen days of school each year. Many students entering middle school have already accumulated 180 days of questionable absences, the equivalent of a full year of school. Studies of school dropouts show students begin distancing themselves from school at an early age. These students are absent more often than other students as early as the first grade (Epstein & Sheldon, 2002). There is a pattern of increasing absenteeism throughout a student’s entire school career. It is not too early to begin …

The Trouble With Ed Schools: A Book Review, Justin M. Finney

Perspectives In Learning

American schools of education, whose two primary objectives are to prepare highly qualified teachers and to conduct valid and reliable education research, are often decried as “weak institutions” by many in academia and society in general. American schools of education are very often scorned by scholars and academia as intellectually inferior, referred to by teachers in the field as the “ivory tower” and considered to be out of touch and completely unrelated to what really transpires in schools, perceived by political leaders at all levels to be a primary contributing factor to the substandard state of contemporary public education. These …

Support Groups For Children Whose Parents Have Deployed To Iraq, James Blount

Perspectives In Learning

Findings among army researchers, many of whom have published their work on Army Knowledge Online (AKO), have consistently shown that children are affected negatively by the deployment of their parents to Iraq or, for that matter, any war. This is cause for great concern as the War on Terror could go on for many, many years to come. However, since it is known in general what the negative effects on children are, strategies and techniques have been formulated to offset the damage done to children. Some of the questions that remain to be answered follow: At what ages are children …

Assessment Of Emotional Competencies In Educational Leaders: Applying Daniel Goleman’S Work In Emotional Intelligences As A Means Of Evaluating Dispositions Related To The Work Of The School Leader, Paul T. Hackett, James W. Hortman

Perspectives In Learning

The study of best practices related to educational leadership is an emerging area for universities with programs training leaders in school improvement. Practices taught in educational leadership programs have long been related to the technical issues of school operations with emphasis in the areas of finance, law, organizational theory, and strategic planning. More recently, educational leadership programs have begun to focus on the skills required of a leader of instruction (Hallinger, 2003; Jason, 2001). Among areas of concentration for the instructional leader are assessment, collaboration, professional development, and curriculum design. Although the focus of educational leadership programs has changed, the …

Introduction To School Counseling Services Articles, Lisa Shaw

Perspectives In Learning

Introduction to School Counseling Services Articles

Piecing Together The Diversity Puzzle, Rochelle Ripple, Jose' Villavicencio

Perspectives In Learning

Current literature focuses on the importance of listening to students’ voices and the insights they have on their experiences. According to Dewey (1916/1944), having interactions with other groups helps in the process of democratic growth because one is better able to understand other perspectives. Freire (1985) added another layer of richness to Dewey’s ideas about reflection and experience. He believed that people exist “in and with the world.” Fraser (1994) describes the need for different voices and different views in educating children in a public sphere of critical inquiry and multiple voices (different genders and people of all colors). In …

The Effects Of Eating Disorders On Student Academic Achievement And The School Counselor’S Role, Dana Livingston, Lori Sammons

Perspectives In Learning

Eating Disorders have become an increasing reality among today’s youth. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “approximately one out of every 100 adolescent girls develops anorexia.. .another two to five out of every 100 young women develop bulimia nervosa” (Understanding Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders, 2005, p. 6). Although eating disorders are usually seen as affecting girls, studies have shown that hundreds of thousands of boys experience eating disorders as well (Boys and Eating Disorders, 2004). Factors that make anorexia and bulimia painful, such as intense fear of weight gain and lack of self-esteem, cannot be …

Factors Related To Adult Degree Program Completion At Atlantic Union College, Corina Polanco Parris

Dissertations

Problem

The Adult Degree Program at Atlantic Union College has for the past 34 years instituted innovations and practices, following new trends in adult education, to make it more accessible and viable in helping students grow intellectually and professionally and to complete their educational goals. This study was done to examine the extent to which institutional, personal, and family factors are related to adult degree program completion at Atlantic Union College.

Methodology

A survey research method was used in this study. A questionnaire was designed and administered to 365 adults: 160 alumni, 45 withdrawals, and 160 current students. Useable responses …

Students At A Chinese Radio And Television University: Reasons For Participation, And Perceptions Of Their Status As Students And The Quality Of Their Learning, Huiping Ding

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this case study was to investigate students' participation in distance education and perceptions of their status as students and the learning achieved within the context of a radio and television university in the North of China. This study focused on the students who had completed a two-year college program and been promoted to a four-year bachelor's degree program. Data was collected and analyzed from observations, interviews and document reviews.

Results of the study identified many reasons for students' participation at the radio and television university to pursue their higher education. The primary reason for most was their …

Determining Which Delivery Styles Are Best Suited For Instructing In The Distance Learning Environment, James T. Schultz, Marian C. Schultz, Thomas G. Henkel

Publications

The purpose of this study was to ascertain if there is a specific style of teaching which is better suited for the distance learning (virtual) environment, as opposed to the traditional classroom environment. Numerous studies have shown that individuals have different delivery styles in the classroom. The study utilized instructor delivery styles and faculty perceptions of distance learning programs to develop an instrument which identifies the style that would be more successful in the distance learning environment. The study employed an author developed instrument, which included a derivative of the Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI) instrument, to determine the teaching …

Indicators Of Quality In Internet-Based Distance Education: An Empirical Investigation Of Faculty Perceptions At Two-Year Colleges, Deborah A. Halik

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

may exist between the presence and importance perceptions of faculty. Lastly, the study tested for differences between full and part-time faculty perceptions on the importance of quality indicators. Data was collected using a survey instrument developed by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP). The population of interest for this study was full-time and part-time Internet-based distance education faculty from two-year community colleges in the Midwest. Descriptive results were presented as well as t-test analyses investigating the differences of interest described above. The study found that when comparing Internet-based distance education faculty perceptions of quality indicators in Internet-based distance education, …

A Statistical Comparison Between A Distance Learning Environment And A Traditional Teaching Environment, David Ledford Flora

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science & Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Industrial Technology by David Ledford Flora on April 11, 2005.

When Children Have Children: Teenage Pregnancy, Atsuko Kawamata, Rodney Roundtree

Perspectives In Learning

Because teenage pregnancy affects so many people, it is receiving a great deal of attention in the United States as well as in other leading nations. Teaching young people that sex before marriage is not acceptable does not prevent pregnancy. Recognizing that teen’s sexual behavior is a crucial part of their development will lead to honest and accurate information about sex. This will help teens express their sexuality in safe and healthy way. Therefore, prevention strategies should be created that address the needs of sexually active teens. Males should also be included in prevention strategies. Young males are often overlooked …

'Divertual' Learning In Education Leadership: Implications Of Teaching Cultural Diversity Online Vs. Face To Face, Carolyn Ridenour, A. Llewellyn Simmons, Timothy J. Ilg, A. William Place

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

What are the consequences of this teaching-learning situation when graduate students in a Department of Educational Leadership are enrolled in a course on cultural diversity? Might the words on the computer screen be completely unrelated to the humanity, personality, style, interpersonal behaviors, and dispositions of the student writing them, as Menand suggests? Or, might the detachment provide a security in which the most honest and unadulterated discourse can be shared between teacher and students, as some proponents hope? In this chapter we explore responses to this dilemma. We attempt to capture this situation in our label: "divertual learning," a neologism …

The Committee On Diversity's Plan Of Action, Rochelle P. Ripple, Jose' Villavicencio

Perspectives In Learning

Recent work of the College of Education’s Committee on Diversity has included plans to provide a curriculum and experiences aimed at increasing all education candidates’ knowledge of, sensitivity to, and strategies and techniques for teaching diverse P-12 students. This comprehensive plan was initiated in the 2002- 2003 academic year with a workshop conducted for faculty, administration, and staff of the COE. The workshop raised awareness of the diverse nature of P-12 students (and connected this awareness with bringing these students to higher levels of learning). Diversity was also defined more broadly to include race, gender, cultural background, religion, geographical area …

Books, Blocks, And Bridges: Fostering Early Literacy Development In Child Care Settings, Vikki K. Collins

Perspectives In Learning

Millions of American families with preschool children utilize child care settings each day. Since the number of mothers in the work force has increased drastically in the last two decades (O’Neill & O’Connell, 2001), it is estimated that almost 12 million children younger than age 5 spend part of their days in the care of people other than their parents (U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2002). Child care settings include day care homes and day care centers. In Muscogee County, Georgia, there are 99 state-registered day care homes and 62 state-licensed day care centers. In the eight-county …

Eating Disorders In School-Aged Children, Terri Darden, Kelly Hedrick

Perspectives In Learning

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition Text Revision (DSM-IVTR) lists criteria for anorexia nervosa that include refusing to maintain a normal body weight, weighing 85% below normal. Postmenarcheal females can be amenorrheic, having the absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles. Individuals diagnosed with this disorder have a fear of gaining weight or becoming fat. The DSM-IV- TR reports that 90% of anorexia nervosa cases occur in females (DSM-IV- TR, 2005). Research shows that at some time during their adolescence around half of high school and college age girls and 10% of boys will develop …

Best Practices In Educator Preparation, Deborah Gober

Perspectives In Learning

One of the themes emphasized in the College of Education (COE) Conceptual Framework is excellence in teaching. As defined in the Conceptual Framework, excellence in teaching embodies the use of best practices which embody a variety of educational ideas and activities that lead to improved student learning. The phrase “best practice” is used frequently in fields such as medicine or law to describe reputable work based on current research and employing the latest knowledge, technology, and procedures in the field (Zemelman, Daniels, & Hyde, 1998). However, best practice in education has been somewhat difficult to define.

Use Of Authentic Language Materials To Teach Foreign Languages, Jose' Villavicencio

Perspectives In Learning

Based on these standards that require that instruction be proficiency-oriented, the teacher must plan activities that develop the students’ ability to communicate in the target language. To become proficient in the target language, the students must use the language in meaningful exchanges and in activities that promote moving up the proficiency scale as defined by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelinesfor K-12 Learners (1999). These guidelines specify what the students should be able to know and do in the target language. With these standards in mind, the teacher should design lessons that facilitate the interaction in the target language in culturally authentic …

Recognition And Treatment Of Adolescent Substance Abuse: Who Are The Substance Abusers?, Lori Beckwith, Shea Bailey

Perspectives In Learning

There is a serious threat to the health and well being of America today: the threat of substance abuse. It affects everyone on some level: the friend’s child who is always in trouble with the law, the family member whose activities are kept secret, or the work colleague who habitually calls in sick. For many, the abuser lives in their own home. The problem of abuse is not discriminating; it can even start in early adolescence. When the individual who is using is an adolescent, it affects their parents, peers, school, and community. In a study by the U.S. Department …

Collaboration Between Universities And Public Schools For Improved Student Achievement: A Report On The Progress Of A Developing Partnership, Paul T. Hackett, James E. Witte, Maria Martinez Witte, Iris Saltiel, Mike Johnson, Kathy Hesler

Perspectives In Learning

This article reports the progress of one project aimed at bringing together professionals from post-secondary and K-12 environments. The project is being implemented at Richards Middle (RMS) in Columbus, Georgia and involves a collaborative partnership between several universities and RMS, resulting in a school-based evaluation initiative with direct implications for strengthening leadership, training, and instructional practices in schools. Faculty researchers from three universities from two states, Troy University, Columbus State University, and Auburn University are working collaboratively with faculty and staff of Richards Middle School on an inquiry with a three-fold purpose. The primary goal is to evaluate the effectiveness …

Child And Adolescent Depression And Suicide: The Role Of The School Counselor In Assessment And Treatment, Naomi M. Hitchcock, Leigh Lovelette

Perspectives In Learning

Suicide is the third leading cause of adolescent death in the United States. This alarming statistic has been widely studied and debated for years. It has become a consensus that because adolescents spend more than a third of their time in school, suicide intervention strategies must be put into place school-wide. There has also been “heightened awareness of the need for effective crisis intervention in public schools” (Allen et al., 2002, p. 96) nationwide. Kennedy (1999) feels that teaching students about violence and prevention is just as important as teaching them to read and write. More of the responsibility for …

Measuring Christian Education Against National And State Standards: A Review Of The Literature, Beth Gordy Waddell

Perspectives In Learning

Almost all states within the United States have adopted state education standards as a tool to measure the knowledge and skills needed and the expected outcomes students should be achieving within a given school year (Juarez, 1999). There are two kinds of standards, content standards and performance standards. Content standards indicate what a student should know and be able to do. Performance standards incorporate content standards, but are expanded to include suggested tasks, sample student work, and teacher commentary on that work (Georgia Department of Education, 2004). According to Robert J. Marzano, a Senior Fellow at the Mid-Continent Research for …