Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Influence Of Different Teaching Strategies On Physical Activity Levels In A Collegiate Swim Class, Derrick Bass, Ellen Martin

Perspectives In Learning

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the number of teaching strategies used during instruction on the physical activity levels of students. Observations were conducted during a collegiate intermediate swimming class taught by an assistant professor at a university in the southeast United States. The class consisted of 16 undergraduate students from varying backgrounds and major fields of study. The professor was observed for the use of Graham’s (2001) 16 teaching strategies. Teaching behaviors were observed using a simple event recording sheet to allow for the occurrence or lack of occurrence of certain teaching strategies to …

Book Reviews

Perspectives In Learning

Book Reviews

Facebook As A Learning Tool, Rebecca Toland

Perspectives In Learning

Facebook is a social network that has been used by hundreds of people around the world. The network started as a technologically infused meeting place for college students to communicate socially. Since the inception, the network has blossomed into a global sensation. Such growth has spurred many uses for the site including the opportunity to add to the learning experiences for college students. Facebook is a tool in a learning revolution that incorporates the ease of technology and communication efforts between students and between teachers and students. This essay focuses on how Facebook can be used as a learning tool …

Reviewers For Volume 14

Perspectives In Learning

Reviewers for Volume 14

The Effect Of Peer Leader Instruction On Introductory University Science And Mathematics Course Performance: Preliminary Results, Kimberly Shaw, Cindy Ticknor, Timothy Howard

Perspectives In Learning

The Peer Instruction Leader (PIL) program at Columbus State University pairs courses having historically low success rates with dedicated peer helpers in an attempt to boost student learning and success. PILs are selected from undergraduate students who have demonstrated success in the targeted subject. They attend classes, meet with the assigned instructor periodically, participate in PIL training, and manage course focused discussion groups. The authors analyze data collected in the early stages of the program, which shows that students who attended the discussion groups fared better than those who did not.

Welcome To Volume 14

Perspectives In Learning

Welcome to Volume 14 of Perspectives in Learning

Searching Mindfully: Are Libraries Up To The Challenge Of Competing With Google Books?, Amrita Dhawan

Publications and Research

Traditional research tools used by libraries, such as encyclopedias and catalogs (OPACs) were created in an age of print and information scarcity. They have not kept up with changes in the information world which assume an abundance of online information in different formats and interdisciplinary topics which attempt to solve ‘real world’ messy problems and not traditional theoretical questions. The traditional tools rest on an unwieldy and somewhat outdated collaboration between OCLC, LOC, private aggregators, librarians and faculty. The search results they deliver offer excessive information with very little guidance on how to systematically sift through them. This makes the …

An Analysis Of Factors Expected To Impact Student End-Of-Course Grades In Introductory College Science Classes, Kimberly Shaw, Pinar Gurkas, Zodiac Webster

Perspectives In Learning

Research shows brain-based learning is achieved best when the students are in an active, low-stress state (Jensen, 2008), and people have unique learning styles that facilitate the assimilation of new knowledge (Gardner, 1983). However, current testing practices hinder the creation of an optimal learning environment, because teachers feel they have to build test-taking skills and spend valuable educational time teaching in ways they believe are not best practices. Changes in the brain can be seen with highly sophisticated imaging technology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI, and positron emission tomography (PET) (Drevets & Raichle, 1998). This imaging technology …

Measles On The Rise: Academic Institutions Be Prepared, Sally Richter, Amanda Hawkins, Leslie Painter

Perspectives In Learning

Measles is a highly contagious, acute viral illness that can lead to serious complications and death. From January 1 through May 20, 2011, a total of 118 measles cases were reported from 23 states and New York City, the highest reported number for the same period since 1996. Patients ranged in age from 3 months to 68 years. Of the 118 cases, 105 unvaccinated persons were associated with importation from other countries. Transmission occurred in households, child care centers, shelters, schools, emergency departments, and at a large community event. It is important for those in academic institutions to understand measles …

The Impact Of The “Failure Is Not An Option Policy” On Student Grades, Tamara Brown

Perspectives In Learning

Benjamin Bloom, well known for his Bloom’s Taxonomy, coined the term “mastery learning”. Bloom’s process of mastery learning involved initial instruction, assessment, feedback, and corrective instruction. Various researchers demonstrated success with a mastery learning model at the elementary, middle school, high school, and community college levels. Based on the idea of mastery learning, a rural high school developed and implemented a “Failure is not an Option Policy”. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the “Failure is Not an Option Policy” at a rural high school on student grades. The program evaluation found the policy improved …

Reviewers For Volume 13

Perspectives In Learning

Reviewers for Volume 13

Editorial Board

Perspectives In Learning

Editorial Board

Cultivating An Environment For Continued Growth In Nurse Educators, Amanda Hawkins, Elizabeth Frander, Stephanie Lewis

Perspectives In Learning

Along with the significant shortage of registered nurses, the United States is also experiencing a serious shortage of nursing faculty. Despite the high demand for nurses, many nursing programs are unable to accept all qualified students due to this shortage. This essay identifies reasons why nurse educators are leaving the academic setting and why there are fewer qualified and willing candidates to fill the vacant positions. In addition to discussion of the problem, practical strategies for recruitment and retention are proposed. Through appropriate planning and leadership, there are many practical solutions that can be implemented in the workplace setting to …

The 4 Cs Of Teaching At-Risk Youth, Jeanine Fittipaldi-Wert, Claire Mowling

Perspectives In Learning

The purpose of this article is to assist educators in creating an environment that is safe and conducive to learning for at-risk students through implementation of the 4 Cs (caring, choices, commitment, and challenges). The 4 Cs can provide a framework for educators in providing suggestions on how to engage and meet the needs of all students, including those at-risk, while creating an emotionally safe environment that facilitates cooperation, responsibility, motivation, and respect for self and others.

Strategies For Success For English As A Second Language (Esl) Students In The Post-Secondary Setting, Tamara Condrey, Sherika Derico

Perspectives In Learning

English as a Second Language (ESL) students in the college setting have a higher rate of attrition than non-ESL students due, in part, to communication barriers. Retention and graduation rates of these students impact cultural diversity in practice settings for professionals who work with diverse populations. Colleges and universities must seek ways to assist ESL students with communication barriers in order to lower the attrition rate for this segment of the population and, ultimately, to improve the diversity needed in these professions. This article seeks to explore communication barriers for ESL students and offer strategies for overcoming these challenges in …

Table Of Contents

Perspectives In Learning

Table of Contents

About This Issue

Perspectives In Learning

About this Issue

Interdisciplinary Collaborative Research For Professional Academic Development In Higher Education, Elizabeth Johnston, Cheryl Burleigh, Andrea Wilson

Higher Learning Research Communications

Although faculties are more diverse, decentralized, and increasingly isolated in technology-supported modern universities, effective technology use can also foster faculty professional academic development and collegiality. This scoping literature review applied Cooper’s systemic review model and a categorical content analysis technique targeting decentralized collaborative research teams in higher education. Findings indicate technology supports formal and informal university and nonuniversity networks, as well as various collaborative research structures; all contributing to professional academic development. Shared attributes of successful collaborative online teams include a sense of social presence, accountability, institutional and team leadership. Collaborative teams are integral to research and allow more faculty …

Managing Childhood Asthma In The School Environment, Amanda Hawkins, Leslie Painter, Sally Richter

Perspectives In Learning

It is often taken for granted that schools are instrumental in the spread of illness from child to child as well as from child to teacher. In addition to the nagging colds, stomach viruses and other temporary maladies, the school environment may actually contribute to some lifelong medical conditions. Many children face an unhealthy school environment on a daily basis, year after year, which may contribute to a condition called asthma. Asthma causes the airways of the lungs to swell and constrict and can often flare up without warning. Asthma is one of the top childhood disorders and is also …

Resolving The Conflict: Brain-Based Learning, Best Practices, And No Child Left Behind, Cindy Bowen

Perspectives In Learning

Research shows brain-based learning is achieved best when the students are in an active, low-stress state (Jensen, 2008), and people have unique learning styles that facilitate the assimilation of new knowledge (Gardner, 1983). However, current testing practices hinder the creation of an optimal learning environment, because teachers feel they have to build test-taking skills and spend valuable educational time teaching in ways they believe are not best practices. Changes in the brain can be seen with highly sophisticated imaging technology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI, and positron emission tomography (PET) (Drevets & Raichle, 1998). This imaging technology …

Teaching And Helping College Students With Personal Problems During Tough Economic Times, Marcia Rossi

Perspectives In Learning

The student population today may be facing increased need for support services, due to a wide variety of potential personal problems. Reasons for this include the increased number of students in college who have learning disabilities or other disabilities, the economic downturn of 2008 driving older students to pursue college degrees, and the number of veterans in school who are returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Faculty members and academic advisors may be approached by students who are experiencing personal problems, and may not know how to offer help. Suggestions for helping and teaching such students are offered; these …

Winning The War Against Childhood Obesity: The Role Of Teachers And Schools In Early Childhood Education, Paula Walker

Perspectives In Learning

American children are at the epicenter of a global childhood obesity epidemic. Due to increased adiposity, school-aged children are being routinely diagnosed with adult illnesses like Type II diabetes, hypertension, and elevated cholesterol levels. The keys to combating these epidemiological trends are prevention and early intervention. Since the majority of American children are enrolled in school, school-based interventions offer enormous potential in teaching lifelong health habits and curbing the incidence of childhood obesity, especially when these habits are taught proactively as a component of early childhood education. Adiposity rebound is the critical period of increasing body mass index (BMI), that …

Table Of Contents

Perspectives In Learning

Table of Contents

Learning About Teaching: Redesigning Teacher Preparation, Barbara Buckner

Perspectives In Learning

Our country has not yet tackled the question, how do we best prepare teachers. Maybe because the question should be; how do we best support our candidates to learn about teaching in order for them to develop into highly qualified and effective teachers? The answer seems to lie in strategic partnerships between universities and school districts, the quality and length of clinical experiences, and state policies for teacher preparation. Reformers call for a shift towards more clinically based programs that integrate academic content and professional knowledge and skills. Some models that show promise are those that have tried to emulate …

About This Issue

Perspectives In Learning

About this Issue

Does Time-Of-Day Of Instruction Impact Class Achievement?, Amanda J. Wile, Gary A. Shouppe

Perspectives In Learning

This article explores literature related to Time-of-Day instruction and possible impact on student achievement for students. The possibility of schools as a contributing factor to the problem of low academic performance by some students due to a conflict between personal chronotype and school schedule may have research significance. In order for learning to take place, student engagement must be paramount and provide optimal opportunities for students to utilize their personal learning, for modalities may hinge on physical readiness as well. Several studies at multiple grade levels related to the investigation of circadian rhythms and biological patterns which indicate an effect …

Facilitating Online Collaboration And The Development Of Digital Communities, S. Wade Bradt, Samantha Tackett

Perspectives In Learning

This discussion focuses on the utility of two unique Web 2.0 tools designed to elicit more interaction among students and to increase learning outcomes while instructing at a distance. While Web 1.0 could be described as that iteration of the World Wide Web that focused simply on making information accessible, the philosophy of Web 2.0 applications is based upon user-centered designs and the proliferation of volunteer collaboration. Fortunately, the explosion of Web 2.0 technologies and social networking platforms have provided a wide array of applications uniquely suited to addressing distance education challenges. We discuss the application of two Web 2.0 …

Exploring Podcasting Of Required Reading In A Graduate Counseling Course, Richard Long, Dee Fabry

Perspectives In Learning

Podcasting is a relatively unexplored technology tool in education (Hew, 2009). This study explored the integration of podcasting in an onsite graduate counseling course to determine how digital students responded to the integration of podcasting and to determine if podcasting impacts student comprehension of required reading materials. The results indicated that, while students came to class better prepared to discuss the material and enjoyed the podcasts, they preferred traditional teacher-led discussions to the podcasting technology.

Key words: podcasting, technology skills

Editorial Board

Perspectives In Learning

Editorial Board

From Walls To Steps: Using Online Automatic Homework Checking Tools To Improve Learning In Introductory Programming Courses, Dwayne Towell, Brent Reeves

School of Information Technology and Computing

We describe the motivation, design, and implementation of a web-based automatic homework checker for Programming I and Programming II courses. Motivated by a problem-based-learning approach, we redesigned our first course to have over 70 short programming assignments. The goal was to change conceptual "walls" into "steps", so that students would not feel overwhelmed at any point in time. At each step along the way, it must be clear where the student is and the next step must feel attainable. Over the last 3 years, we have learned much about proper "step-size" and sequencing of problems. We describe how current computer …