ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Student Preferences for Live versus Virtual Rats in a Learning Course
Author: Elcoro, Mirari
Date: 2013-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Preferences,Animals,Computer Simulation,Operant Conditioning,Comparative Analysis,Questionnaires,Attitude Measures,Science Laboratories,Laboratory Experiments,Laboratory Training

We examined the preference of undergraduate students for a live or a virtual rat when learning about concepts of operant conditioning. Students were provided with the opportunity to directly compare a virtual and a live rat in a supplemental exercise for Learning courses. We argue that the design of teaching exercises should involve a systematic examination of student preferences between different available techniques. In general, students preferred a live rat over a virtual rat when learning concepts in operant conditioning, specifically a fixed-ratio schedule of reinforcement. Students also listed advantages and disadvantages of using a virtual rat versus a live rat. These aspects evaluated by students are compared and contrasted with those provided by experts who have reviewed these learning exercises.
Learning Approach and Learning: Exploring a New Technological Learning System
Author: Aflalo, Ester
Date: 2013-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Technology Uses in Education,Learning Strategies,Males,Cohort Analysis,Intermode Differences,Qualitative Research,Observation,Transcripts (Written Records),Cognitive Style,Comparative Analysis,Questionnaires,Thematic Approach,Investigations,Technological Literacy,Learning Activities,Reflection,Student Attitudes,Case Studies,Semi Structured Interviews,Foreign Countries,Undergraduate Students

This study furthers the understanding of the connections between learning approaches and learning. The research population embraced 44 males from the Jewish ultraorthodox community, who abide by distinct methods of study. One group follows the very didactic, linear and structured approach of a methodical and gradual order, while the second group follows the multi-directional approach that emphasizes global, abstract thought. The participants, who for ideological reasons hardly use computer technology, were exposed to a new technological learning system. The study employed the qualitative research method, with the research tools including textual analysis, observations and guided in-depth interviews. The findings show that those following the multi-directional method handled the device better from the didactic perspective. The question of how learning and teaching paradigms influence individual study is discussed.
Reader's Response: Learning about Learning--Moving beyond a Teacher-Centered Approach
Author: Lesser, Lawrence M.
Date: 2013-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Reader Response,Lecture Method,College Faculty,College Students,Classroom Techniques,Active Learning

Two articles in the January 2013 issue address the need for teachers to focus on student learning rather than on what the teacher does (Scoufis, 2013) and make learning the object of inquiry (Cerbin, 2013). A big part of making this happen is reducing or eschewing lecture that is one-directional and one-dimensional. This often means that teachers must overcome many habits, biases, or misconceptions about lecture. Like many (if not most) professors, I began my teaching career as a strictly-by-the-book lecturer and have gradually over time worked through my own limitations and prejudices to incorporate more and more active learning strategies, such as classroom voting (Lesser, 2011) or liberating structures such as 1-2-4-whole (Lipmanowicz &amp; McCandless, 2010).
Improving Mathematics: An Examination of the Effects of Specific Cognitive Abilities on College-Age Students' Mathematics Achievement
Author: Taub, Gordon E.
Date: 2014-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Achievement,Intelligence,College Students,Structural Equation Models,Cognitive Ability,Cognitive Tests,Intervention,Mathematics Instruction,Short Term Memory,Cognitive Processes,Teaching Methods

This study investigated the effects of general intelligence and seven specific cognitive abilities on college-age students' mathematics achievement. The present investigation went beyond previous research by employing structural equation modeling. It also represents the first study to examine the direct and indirect effects of general and specific cognitive abilities, simultaneously, on the mathematics achievement of college-age students. A model developed using the Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory of intelligence was the theoretical model used in all analyses. Data from 1,054 college-age students who participated in the standardization of the Woodcock-Johnson III (Woodcock, McGrew, &amp; Mather, 2001) were divided into a calibration sample set and validation sample set. The calibration data set was used for model testing and modification and the independent validation sample data set was used for model validation. The specific areas of intelligence demonstrating direct effects on the mathematics achievement dependent variable were Crystallized Intelligence and Fluid Reasoning. The effects of general intelligence were found to be &quot;indirect&quot; in the college-age sample. Implications for instruction and intervention to improve college student's mathematics achievement are provided.
Personal Reflection: Teaching in the Shadow of a Dead God
Author: Corrigan, Paul T.
Date: 2013-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foundations of Education,Constructivism (Learning),Higher Education,College Instruction,Educational Change

Potter (2013) argues that even though many college teachers have adopted constructivist practices and perspectives, the &quot;foundations&quot; of Western higher education remain objectivist through and through. In the title metaphor of his essay, &quot;objectivism&quot; is the dead god. Constructivism killed it conceptually. But materially and ideologically speaking, its shadow still hangs over everything we do. While we work to deeply engage learners in their own learning, the structures and infrastructures of our institutions assume a superficial understanding of learning and thereby undermine our efforts.
Mathematics Career Simulations: An Invitation
Author: Sinn, Robb
Date: 2013-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Mathematics Education,Career Education,Simulation,Active Learning,Inquiry,Tenure,Conferences (Gatherings),Periodicals,Ethnography,Qualitative Research,Pilot Projects,Career Choice,Writing for Publication,Games,Learning Motivation

A simulated academic career was combined with inquiry-based learning in an upper-division undergraduate mathematics course. Concepts such as tenure, professional conferences and journals were simulated. Simulation procedures were combined with student-led, inquiry-based classroom formats. A qualitative analysis (ethnography) describes the culture that emerged within the simulation during a pilot test. A discussion follows evaluating the potential for career simulations to invite students to consider graduate studies and academic careers in the STEM disciplines.
An Applied Learning Experience Field Research and Reporting at the 2012 National Party Conventions
Author: Carlson, Carolyn S.
Date: 2014-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Learning Experience,Experiential Learning,Undergraduate Students,Conferences (Gatherings),Political Issues,Political Affiliation,Political Campaigns,Field Studies,Community Surveys,News Reporting,Observation,Student Surveys,Student Satisfaction,Questionnaires,Student Attitudes,Barriers

Scholarship in teaching and learning demonstrates how academic understanding may be best achieved, and values of civic engagement best inculcated, when class materials are delivered within a experiential context. The goal for instructors, therefore, is to develop pedagogic techniques and teaching platforms that enhance learning by doing by directly engaging students with educational content. Courses that focus on American political processes provide especially fruitful opportunities for such applied learning experiences. In this paper, we discuss and assess experiential learning as facilitated in a pair of undergraduate courses taught at a southern state university that focused on the study of American politics at national party conventions. As a primary requirement in &quot;Political Party Conventions Field Study&quot; and &quot;Reporting at the Party Conventions,&quot; political science and communication students, and four supervising faculty, traveled to the 2012 Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention where they produced political research using field observation and survey methodologies and professional-style news reporting. Survey data collected before and after the convention indicate that students engaged in such experiential learning projects develop a more substantive understanding of the subject matter under study, enhanced motivation for learning, and greater feelings of academic achievement and citizenship.
Finding the Right Fit: Assessing the Impact of Traditional v. Large Lecture/Small Lab Course Formats on a General Education Course
Author: Wildermuth, Susan M.
Date: 2013-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teaching Methods,General Education,Instructional Effectiveness,Small Group Instruction,Large Group Instruction,Lecture Method,Communications,Comparative Analysis,Academic Achievement,Affective Behavior,Communication Skills,Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance,College Faculty,Anxiety,Assignments,Grades (Scholastic),Undergraduate Students,Statistical Analysis

This study explores alternative approaches for teaching general education courses burdened with serving extremely large enrollments. It compares the effectiveness of a self-contained course in which each course section is taught by one instructor to a large lecture/small lab format in which all course enrollees attend one large lecture section and then are divided into several small lab sections for more intensive training experiences. The study uses the Introduction to Human Communication course at the authors' university. Two hundred and seventy-five students enrolled in nine large lecture/small lab sections of the course and two hundred and fifteen students enrolled in eight self-contained sections were used for this study. Comparisons were made of cognitive learning outcomes, affective learning outcomes, communication apprehension outcomes, and student evaluations of faculty. Cognitive learning outcomes indicated that students in the self-contained format did better on their first speeches and that those in the large lecture/small lab format did better on their final speech and improved more rapidly from their first to last speech. Little difference was found in level of affective learning or reduction in student apprehension. Students in both sections decreased in communication apprehension over the course of the semester. The large lecture/small lab format appeared to depress teaching evaluations.
Time Efficiency, Written Feedback, and Student Achievement in Inquiry-Oriented Biology Labs
Author: Basey, John M.
Date: 2014-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Time Management,Feedback (Response),Summative Evaluation,Graduate Students,Teaching Assistants,Biology,Science Achievement,Formative Evaluation,Goodness of Fit,Undergraduate Students,Science Tests,Grades (Scholastic),Inquiry,Statistical Analysis

We examined how different styles of written feedback by graduate-student teaching assistants (GTAs) in college intro biology lab (USA) influenced student achievement and related the different styles to time efficiency. We quantified GTA feedback on formative lab reports and student achievement on two different types of assessments, a quiz in 2010 and a summative lab report in 2011. We evaluated the extent to which three categories of written feedback impacted student achievement (grade discrepancy between actual and ideal, short direct comments, and in-depth explanatory comments). Student achievement was best explained by both grade discrepancy and short direct comments in 2010 and grade discrepancy only in 2011. In-depth explanations were not part of the best-fit models in either year. Results also indicated that GTAs provided little encouraging feedback, most feedback was targeted and asked students to expand on explanations. Results are discussed in relation to relative time efficiency and GTA training.
Assessing the Impact of a K-12 Engagement Program on Graduate Learning Outcomes for Communicating with Diverse Audiences, Pedagogy, and Community Engagement
Author: Weeks, Faith
Date: 2014-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Elementary Secondary Education,Learner Engagement,Outcomes of Education,Community Involvement,Graduate Students,Qualitative Research,School Community Relationship,Cultural Pluralism,Audiences,Middle School Students

A large midwestern university has developed a program that places graduate students in middle school classrooms to enhance the graduate students' communication skills with diverse audiences, develop pedagogical knowledge, and provide a foundation for effective future K-12 engagement. After observing and co-teaching, participants develop and implement a standards- and inquiry-based lesson that brings their graduate research theme into the classroom. To provide insights into impacts on graduate students, qualitative methods were used to identify emergent themes in narratives written by graduate student participants. Major themes included new awareness of challenges in effective teaching for diverse audiences, insight into effective strategies for communicating research to teachers and students, and experiences that support future professional responsibilities. These results suggest that this type of engagement program is an effective approach to meeting several outcomes for graduate education, in addition to its value for teachers, K-12 students and college-community relationships.
Investigating Transnational Collaboration of Faculty Development and Learning: An Argument for Making Learning Culturally Relevant
Author: Allen, Janine F.
Date: 2014-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Culturally Relevant Education,Faculty Development,College Faculty,Teaching Methods,Educational Improvement,International Cooperation,Partnerships in Education,Teacher Educators,Workshops,Teacher Attitudes,Foreign Countries,Qualitative Research,Correlation,Course Content,Cultural Awareness,Surveys,Statistical Analysis,International Education,Educational Cooperation

Professional development offered to higher education faculty is meant to enhance pedagogy and improve practice. Inspired by a transnational partnership in Southeast Asia, this study aimed to discover how teacher education faculty perceived faculty development offered to them by university partnership colleagues from the United States. Survey findings indicate that certain faculty development strategies improved teaching and assessment practices and enhanced self-reflection. However, evidence also showed some negative faculty perceptions in relation to the US partner's methodologies, and qualitative responses indicated a lack of relevancy to the Southeastern Asia context. Furthermore, negative correlations were found between faculty development workshops and teacher education faculty teaching subject area endorsement content and their praxis. Very little has been written on the impact of teacher educator professional development offered by transnational academic partnerships. Universities involved as transnational partners must be flexible, culturally sensitive and determine together areas of priority and relevance as a definition of success for partnership effectiveness.
The Role of Informal Science Centers in Science Education: Attitudes, Skills, and Self-Efficacy
Author: Sasson, Irit
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Science Education,Middle School Students,Student Attitudes,Self Efficacy,Questionnaires,Thinking Skills,Inquiry,Persuasive Discourse,Graphs,Likert Scales,Science Teaching Centers,Informal Education,Scoring Rubrics,Pretests Posttests,Foreign Countries

Informal learning relates to activities that occur outside the school environment. These learning environments, such as visits to science centers provide valuable motivational opportunities for students to learn science. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of the pre-academic center in science education and particularly to explore its effects on 750 middle-school students' attitudes toward science, their scientific thinking skills and self-efficacy. Pre and post-case based questionnaires were designed to assess the students' higher order thinking skills--inquiry, graphing, and argumentation. In addition, a five-point Likert scale questionnaire was used to assess students' attitudes and self-efficacy. The research results indicated a positive effect of the pre-academic science center activities on scientific thinking skills. A significant improvement in the students' inquiry and graphing skills was found, yet no significant differences were found in argumentation skill. The students significantly improved their ability to ask research questions based on reading a scientific text, and to describe and analyze research results that were presented graphically. While no significant differences were found between girls and boys in the pre-questionnaire, in the post-questionnaire the girls' scores in inquiry skill were significantly higher than boys' scores. Increases in students' positive attitudes toward science and self-efficacy were found but the results were not statistically significant. However, the program length was found to be an important variable that affects achievement of educational goals. A three-dimension-based framework is suggested to characterize learning environments: organizational, psychological, and pedagogical.
Assessing Faculty Perceptions and Techniques to Combat Academic Dishonesty in Online Courses
Author: Paullet, Karen
Date: 2016-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teacher Attitudes,Online Courses,Ethics,Cheating,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Distance Education,College Faculty,Prevention,Evaluation Methods,Computer Assisted Testing,Statistical Analysis,Teacher Surveys,Correlation,Age Differences,Gender Differences

Online Education is growing as it provides an added convenience to students, especially ones who have life circumstances that prevent them from attending traditional classes. With this growing trend, faculty and universities are facing increased risks with validating student identities in online courses and combatting unethical student behavior. This exploratory study of 75 faculty members will examine faculty perceptions of academic dishonesty specific to validating student identities along with discussing techniques used to combat academic dishonesty. Additionally, it is important to understand how faculty perceptions correlate with demographic characteristics and their experiences in order for administrators and universities to effectively develop techniques to mitigate the risks associated with academic dishonesty in online courses.
Online Discussion Forums with Embedded Streamed Videos on Distance Courses
Author: Fernandez, Vicenc
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Video Technology,Computer Mediated Communication,Group Discussion,Online Courses,Distance Education,Feedback (Response),Higher Education,Student Attitudes,College Students,Electronic Mail,Questionnaires,Business Administration Education,Accounting,Foreign Countries,Likert Scales

Existing literature on education and technology has frequently highlighted the usefulness of online discussion forums for distance courses; however, the majority of such investigations have focused their attention only on text-based forums. The objective of this paper is to determine if the embedding of streamed videos in online discussion forums generates educational dialogue and consequently the feedback that students need in a Management Accounting Course. The findings suggest some interesting issues, such as: students prefer text answers except in complex questions, and videos never replace text commentaries and explanations, but rather complement them.
Agile Preparation within a Traditional Project Management Course
Author: Landry, Jeffrey P.
Date: 2016-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Program Administration,Information Systems,Units of Study,Curriculum Design,Course Content,Course Evaluation,Course Objectives,Undergraduate Study

Agile software approaches have seen a steady rise over a decade and a half, but agile's place in the information systems (IS) undergraduate curriculum is far from settled. While agile concepts may arguably be taught in multiple places in the IS curriculum, this paper argues for its inclusion in a project management course. This paper builds on work by Schwalbe and the Project Management Institute (PMI) to define a set of topics for undergraduates. The co-authors, a professor and a senior student at a public, four-year university, consulted four sources: an industry partner, the PMI, the Schwalbe textbook, and published literature. The authors created course content, including a glossary of terms, individual and team assignments, and assessment items. Our thesis is that agile can be taught alongside traditional project management topics and broadly across PMBOK® areas. Results from the spring semester indicate that students demonstrated a sufficient level of mastery of outcomes.
Sales Education beyond the Classroom: Building Participative Learning Experiences in Sales Management through the CMGS Method (Case Method with Guest Speakers)
Author: Ruizalba Robledo, José Luis
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Sales Occupations,Salesmanship,Management Development,Case Method (Teaching Technique),Marketing,Business Administration Education,Teaching Methods,Information Technology,Workshops,Professional Personnel,Electronic Publishing,Learning Experience,Higher Education,Pilot Projects,Cooperative Learning,Undergraduate Students,Foreign Countries,Teacher Attitudes,College Faculty,Student Surveys,Statistical Analysis,Multiple Regression Analysis,Factor Analysis

The overarching goal of working through the CMGS Method (Case Method with Guest Speakers) in Sales Management courses is to provide Business and marketing learners with practical knowledge about how a sales manager can deal with a wide variety of possible professional scenarios. Even when the case method itself is an excellent way to equip students for their prospective employment, the potential of this method can be enhanced with innovative pedagogical tools such as information and communication technologies. Firstly, eight sales managers were invited to the Sales Management Course as guest speakers. Students were required to prepare for these sessions using information and communication technologies, gathering information about the speaker's sector and identifying areas of special interest. Each speaker shared their hands-on experience and offered an overview of their field in a workshop, while answering the students' questions. These sessions increased the interaction of students with sales professionals, who presented their insights into a career in sales management. The learning experiences built through these workshops were narrated by the students in the course blog. Secondly, students were asked to present a scientific paper with the aim of bridging the gap between higher education and cutting-edge research. This article portrays the reasoning behind the course as well as the different steps followed during the process. The course finished with encouraging results, suggesting the desirability of incorporating PL (participative learning) experiences into any marketing course.