Other Education Commons^™

Assessment From An Educational Development Perspective, Mary C. Wright, Molly Goldwasser, Wayne Jacobson, Christopher Dakes

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

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As assessment, already well established in higher education, gains attention in the field of educational development (ED), we ask: What does it mean to practice assessment from an ED perspective? In response, we examine four principles that are central to this endeavor: (a) bridging work across communities and multiple institutional levels; (b) collective, collaborative ownership; (c) action-oriented focus on student-centered learning; and (d) intentionality about inclusiveness to recognize diverse experiences of participants and stakeholders. We apply these principles to four examples of assessment practice at different institutions and offer a rationale for why this lens has utility for the improvement …

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Evaluating Centers For Teaching And Learning: A Field-Tested Model, Susan R. Hines

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

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This paper provides a program evaluation model, along with field-testing results, that was developed in response to the need for an evaluation model able to support systematic evaluation of teaching and learning centers (CTLs). The model builds upon the author’s previous studies investigating the evaluation practices and struggles experienced at 53 CTLs. Findings from these studies attribute evaluation struggles to contextual issues involving evaluation capacity, ill- structured curricula, and ill-conceived evaluation frameworks. This field-tested Four-Phase Program Evaluation Model addresses these issues by approaching evaluation in a comprehensive manner that includes an evaluation capacity analysis, curricular conceptualization, evaluation planning, and plan …

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Teachers' Knowledge Of Dominie Reading And Writing Assessment Portfolio Word-Level Reading, Maxine Y. Kershaw

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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There is confusion among teachers in a school district in a southeastern state about the instructional use of the state-mandated Dominie assessment for word-level reading and phonemic awareness skills for kindergarten and first-grade students. Recent assessment data indicated that 20% of students tested in kindergarten and first grade needed remediation. The purpose of this qualitative, bounded case study of a primary school was to understand teachers' perceptions about using the Dominie assessment for instruction, and how these perceptions contribute to the decline in reading scores. Using constructivism as a conceptual framework, the research questions focused on the trends in students' …

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A Phenomenology Of Sixth Grade Students’ Perspectives On Their Experience Using A Rubric For Criterion-Referenced Assessment, Julie Quast

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

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The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine sixth grade literacy students’ perspectives of rubric-referenced assessment at an inner-city school in central Arkansas. The theories guiding this study were Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, as rubrics scaffold students learning (Reeves & Stanford, 2009) and social cognitive theory, as rubrics help students regulate their learning (Covill, 2012) and control their actions (Bandura, 1997). The sample size included 29 students completing a questionnaire, 12 students participating in a focus group session, and two students journaling their experience. The research questions focused on the experiences, perspectives, approach to assignments, and response to …

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Correlating English Language Learner Crct Scores On The Basis Of English Language Learner Access Scores, Nancy Mcneal

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

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The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to test the sociocultural theory that relates English language learner students’ scores on the Georgia Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State (ACCESS) test to English language learner students’ scores on the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). The assessments scored students in language use and proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, writing, English/language arts, math, science and social studies. Specifically, the study assessed the predictive power of student scores on the ACCESS test on the criterion variable of student scores on the Georgia CRCT. The participants in the study were …

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The Issues And Challenges Of Assessing Media Literacy Education, Evelien A. Schilder, Barbara B. Lockee, D. Patrick Saxon

Journal of Media Literacy Education

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In the media literacy literature, the challenges associated with assessment have, to a great extent, been ignored. The purpose of this mixed methods study was therefore to explore the views of media literacy scholars and professionals on assessment challenges through qualitative interviews (n = 10) with the intent of using this information to develop a quantitative survey to validate and extend the qualitative findings with a larger sample of media literacy professionals and scholars from around the world (n = 133). The findings offer an overview of the assessment challenges encountered by these participants.

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Don’T Box Me In: Rubrics For Ártists And Designers, Natasha Haugnes, Jennifer L. Russell

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

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Two faculty developers at a professional art and design university were met with uneasy faculty attitudes toward grading when they opened their CTL 13 years ago. Conversations revealed that the faculty artists and designers suspected that grading would somehow shatter the fragile muse of creativity, which is so central to the processes of producing art and design. The developers’ quest for transparent, consistent grading, and assessment practices resulted in an approach to rubric creation that taps into artists’ reverence for the critique. This narrative account reveals how the approach allowed an interactive introduction of rubrics as teaching tools, ensured their …

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Difficult Knowledge And The English Classroom: A Catholic Framework Using Cormac Mccarthy's The Road, Scott Jarvie, Kevin Burke

Journal of Catholic Education

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In this article, the authors explore the generative possibilities of risk-taking in the Catholic school English classroom. They associate pedagogical risk with what Deborah Britzman (1998) has called “difficult knowledge”—content that causes students to consider social trauma. Incorporating difficult knowledge meaningfully requires English teachers to take significant pedagogical risks, especially in the Catholic school classroom. Drawing on critical theology and Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road (2006) as a difficult text, the authors employ a case study looking at how the traumatic difficulty of the novel could be fruitfully taught at a Catholic school. How might students reckon with The Road …

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Review Of The Pe Metrics Cognitive Assessment Tool For Fifth Grade Students, Michael Hodges, Chong Lee, Kent A. Lorenz, Daniel Cipriani

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

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Study aim: this study examined the item difficulty and item discrimination scores for the HRFK PE Metrics cognitive assessment tool for 5th-grade students. Materials and methods: ten elementary physical education teachers volunteered to participate. Based on convenience, participating teachers selected two 5th grade physical education classes. Teachers then gave students (N = 633) a 28-question paper and pencil HRFK exam using PE Metrics Standards 3 and 4. Item difficulty and discrimination analysis and Rasch Modeling were used data to determine underperforming items. Results: analysis suggests that at least three items are problematic. The Rasch Model confirmed this …

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The Role Of Collaboration And Feedback In Advancing Student Learning In Media Literacy And Video Production, Carl M. Casinghino

Journal of Media Literacy Education

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Educators can learn many lessons as they implement collaborative project strategies, manage appropriate feedback, and measure communicative skill development in the media literacy classroom. This article examines case studies and learning outcomes in a high school digital production classroom taught by a veteran media literacy educator.

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Assessing Student Leadership Competencies And Adequacy Of Preparation In Seminary Training, Valerie Miles-Tribble

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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As more seminary student-practitioners seek non-pastoral leadership roles in faith-based

and secular organizations, the complexities of the roles demand leadership competencies beyond traditional religious study. Limited research assessing leadership competencies in seminary contexts raises uncertainty about whether leadership preparation needs are addressed adequately in seminary. This quantitative study focused on whether or not student self-assessed adequacy of preparation is related to, affected by, or influenced by self-assessed leadership competencies, individually or in the aggregate. The theoretical foundation joined Evers, Rush, and Berdrow's learner-centered theory that urges student input on competency development needs and Boyatzis's leadership competency theory that frames a …

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Down The Rabbit Hole: An Initial Typology Of Issues Around The Development Of Moocs, Apostolos Koutropoulos, Panagiotis Zaharias

Current Issues in Emerging eLearning

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MOOCs have experienced an unprecedented explosion of publicity. This publicity indicates both optimism that they may be the panacea for whatever ails higher education, as well as caution and trepidation that this may in-fact be some sort of new fad in higher education. In this wave of optimism, and subsequent wave of pessimism, we believe that there is something good to examine about MOOCs and that they do hold potential for certain educational arenas. That said, we don’t want to blindly dive into the MOOC optimism camp. We have critically examined the literature, from both academic peer-reviewed and academic press …

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Measuring The Promise: A Learning Focused Syllabus Rubric, Michael Palmer, Dorothe Bach, Adriana Streifer

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

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To enrich the resources for measuring the impact of educational development work, we have created a rubric to assess the degree to which a syllabus achieves a learning orientation. The rubric provides qualitative descriptions of components that distinguish learning focused syllabi and uses a quantitative scoring system that places syllabi on a spectrum from content focused to learning focused. It is flexible enough to accommodate a diverse range of levels, disciplines, institutions, and learning environments, yet nuanced enough to provide summative information to developers using the tool for assessment purposes and formative feedback to instructors interested in gauging the focus …

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Library Instruction For First Year Students, Amrita Dhawan, Ching-Jung Chen

Publications and Research

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Purpose

– This paper aims to discuss the background, design and implementation of the new library instruction. When a new core curriculum for first-year students was adopted at the City College of New York in the fall of 2008, the City College Library took this opportunity to establish a new approach to teach library research to freshmen. Two library workshops were embedded into a six-credit combined content and writing course.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper documents the process by which the City College Library successfully transitioned to the new system and also reflects on the theory and practice of teaching information …

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Information Literacy At Johnson & Wales University 2011-2012, Ariela Mccaffrey, Lori Micho, Nicole Covone, Joe Eshleman

Library Staff Publications

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This initial document details some ideas and thoughts related to the development of librarians who instruct at the four Johnson & Wales University campuses. A group of five librarians at the four campuses developed the document; Amanda Samland, Ariela McCaffrey, Nicole Covone, Lisa Spicola, and Joe Eshleman, Seven aspects of library instruction are addressed as well as ideas for the application of the guidelines. Finally, next steps towards application of the guidelines are listed.

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Kanyininpa (Holding): A Way Of Nurturing Children In Aboriginal Australia, Fiona Ryan

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

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This paper discusses aspects of traditional Australian Aboriginal nurturance of infants, children, and young people through an exploration of the meaning of certain words selected from Central and Western Desert Aboriginal languages. Connections are drawn between this traditional form of child rearing and Bowlby’s theory of attachment. Aspects of traditional Aboriginal methods of nurturing infants, children, and young people, which have been retained in contemporary Aboriginal child-rearing practices, are also explored. Practitioners, policy makers, and researchers in child protection are encouraged to listen to Aboriginal people, and through listening and reflecting on their own practice, to identify and work with …

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Examining The Attitudes And Outcomes Of Students Enrolled In A Developmental Mathematics Course At A Central Florida Community College, Leila Sisson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

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Examining students' attitudes toward mathematics has become extremely popular. This study examined the attitudes and outcomes of Beginning Algebra students at a central Florida community college. Quantitative methods were used to examine the students' initial composite attitudes toward mathematics. The initial composite attitude was used to examine the relationship between CPT scores and State Competency Exam scores. Further analysis was conducted to examine completers' and non-completers' initial attitudes. The composite change score was determined and quantitative methods were used to examine interactions between class sections, age, gender, and ethnicity.

The study began with 217 students and ended with 158. The …

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Florida's Adolescent Literacy Policy: An Alternative Reading And Response, Diane Kroeger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

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In this qualitative case study, I constructed interpretations of the meanings conveyed by state-level discourse communities as they were manifested in the primary and secondary speech genres of Florida’s adolescent literacy policy. Meanings (or values, beliefs and feelings) are highly tacit understandings embedded in the language, actions and objects of policy (Yanow, 2000), and are conveyed through informal and formal speech (Bakhtin, 1986). Results revealed (a) state policy meanings convey multiple versions of literacy with a heavy focus on receptive aspects of literate practice; (b) a typology of students and their fit within the institutional system; and (c) an emphasis …

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Visual Culture Art Education: Critical Pedagogy, Identity Formation And Generative Studio Practices In Art, Kim Barker

Art Graduate Theses and Projects

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This paper explores visual culture and its emergence as a (inter-) disciplinary field of study and practice within art education. Visual Culture Art Education (VCAE), while still in the process of defining itself, inserts itself among myriad academic disciplines as well as our everyday living experiences outside the classroom. Due to its discursive nature, VCAE draws extensively on contemporary pedagogical praxis. I advocate for the integration of visual culture, with an emphasis on popular culture, into art curricula as a means to increase the relevancy of art instruction for students. The inclusion of (popular) visual culture in the art classroom …

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