ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Exploring Data-Driven Decision-Making in the Field: How Faculty Use Data and Other Forms of Information to Guide Instructional Decision-Making. WCER Working Paper No. 2014-3
Author: Hora, Matthew T.
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Decision Making,Data,College Faculty,Higher Education,Science Teachers,STEM Education,Student Evaluation,Team Training,Theory Practice Relationship,Educational Research,Intervention,Sampling,Research Universities,Teacher Characteristics,Interviews,Engineering,Engineering Education,Foreign Countries,Case Studies

A defining characteristic of current U.S. educational policy is the use of data to inform decisions about resource allocation, teacher hiring, and curriculum and instruction. Perhaps the biggest challenge to data-driven decision making (DDDM) is that data use alone does not automatically result in improved teaching and learning. Research indicates that translating raw data into useable information and actionable knowledge for teachers requires not only adequate technical and social supports, but also an awareness of how educators in real-world settings actually use information to make decisions. Yet, little is known about DDDM in higher education, in general, and how postsecondary faculty make sense of and use data in their instructional decision-making processes, in particular. In this paper, we use naturalistic decision-making theory to generate practice-based descriptions of how 59 STEM faculty at three large public research universities used data as part of their course planning. Interview transcripts and notes taken while observing planning meetings were analyzed using an inductive approach to content analysis. In practice, respondents used different types of data and other information obtained from, for example, student assessments, end-of-semester evaluations, and conversations with colleagues. Results indicate that faculty generally collect and analyze data in informal, ad hoc scenarios ungoverned by institutional policy. Exceptions include disciplines with accreditation pressures and team-taught courses where structured (and supported) opportunities exist for faculty to collect, analyze, and reflect upon data about student learning. Thus, while numeric data are clearly viewed by this population of faculty as the most rigorous, in practice, even those that use quantitative data also use other sources of information. These results suggest an opportunity for educational leaders to design policies and professional development initiatives that facilitate a more formal collection of and reflection on data by faculty. In pursuing such technical solutions, however, policymakers and educational leaders must carefully negotiate the tension between rigor and relevance, and learn from the challenges experienced in the K-12 sector regarding DDDM.
Learning Teaching (LT) Program: Developing an Effective Teacher Feedback System. 90-Day Cycle Report
Author: Park,Sandra
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Teacher Evaluation,Beginning Teachers,Feedback (Response),Program Effectiveness,Interprofessional Relationship,Trust (Psychology),Coaching (Performance),Principals

Early career teachers make up an increasingly large proportion of the public school teaching force. Often less effective and facing greater challenges than their more experienced counterparts, new teachers tend to leave the profession at high rates and, given that the modal length of teaching experience has now dropped to one year, finding ways to support the growth and development of new teachers has become of paramount importance. One critical way to provide this support is through effective feedback that improves instruction. In this 90-Day Cycle, the authors investigate the factors and processes that contribute to an effective feedback system, paying particular attention to how the system affects early career teachers and how such systems can coexist with extant and emerging teacher evaluation systems. Identified are a set of interconnected drivers at the district, school, and individual levels, that unpack the feedback process into a set of sub-processes that are shaped by individuals, systems, and the larger context in which those systems operate.
Adding Eyes: The Rise, Rewards, and Risks of Multi-Rater Teacher Observation Systems. Issue Brief
Author: White, Taylor
Date: 2014-12-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Teacher Evaluation,Student Attitudes,Principals,Observation,Feedback (Response),Interviews,School Districts,Interrater Reliability

New teacher evaluation systems have emerged as the cornerstone of the recent movement to improve public school teaching. Fueled by incentives from the federal government, state and local policymakers have sought to replace the often-cursory evaluation models of the past with more comprehensive ones. In contrast to past evaluations, which often relied on a single classroom visit by an untrained administrator, new models evaluate teachers on the basis of their students' achievement, on surveys that capture students' perceptions of their teachers' practice, and on improved classroom observations. But as these new systems roll out, there is mounting evidence that principals alone cannot bear the time burden they impose. Nor can a single principal be depended upon to deliver effective feedback across content areas to teachers with vastly different strengths, weaknesses, and teaching assignments. In response to these challenges, a growing number of districts have adopted multi-rater systems, in which several observers watch teachers at work, score their performance, and provide feedback. Sometimes the raters observe together, sometimes independently. And more and more, they come to the process from different vantage points: Many districts now rely on combinations of peer teachers, master teachers, and administrators from different schools. By adding more eyes to these evaluations, districts aim not only to relieve principals but, more important, to lend new perspectives, deeper expertise, and greater objectivity to the evaluation process. This report explores the use of multi-rater evaluation systems in 16 districts with widely varying student populations, resources, and policy priorities. The districts range from New York City, the nation's largest school system, to Transylvania County, NC, which educates just 3,500 students each year. Drawing on document reviews and interviews with district officials, it examines the districts' varying aspirations for multi-rater models, as well as how the models are designed, how they operate, and the challenges they pose.
The Best Laid Plans: Designing Incentive Programs for School Leaders. WCER Working Paper No. 2014-7
Author: Goff, Peter
Date: 2014-12-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Merit Pay,Productivity,Administrators,Incentives,Grants,Measures (Individuals),Evaluators,Content Analysis,Academic Achievement

Notable attention and effort has been directed toward improving educator productivity through the use of performance incentives. Little of this work has focused on incentive systems for school leaders (principals) and less yet examines performance pay systems used in practice. This research uses 34 funded grants from the federal Teacher Incentive Fund to document how schools across the nation (N = 1,315) are structuring their pay-for-performance systems. Focusing on elements related to measurement, rewards, and program structure, we find that most programs are poorly defined and often lack the requisite design components to ensure successful implementation. Elements that are close to the practice of educators, such as defining professional development activities, tend to be well articulated; however, non-instructional program considerations, such as psychometrics, the aggregation of measures, and the distribution of rewards, were poorly defined. We anticipate that the impact of pay-for-performance programs may be substantially improved if districts are provided a more comprehensive system of supports to help construct the incentive systems. The following is appended: &quot;Features of Teacher Incentive Fund Proposals.&quot;
Statistical Theory for the &quot;RCT-YES&quot; Software: Design-Based Causal Inference for RCTs. NCEE 2015-4011
Author: Schochet, Peter Z.
Date: 2015-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Statistics,Computer Software,Inferences,Research Design,Educational Research,Nonparametric Statistics,Computation,Hypothesis Testing,Mathematical Logic,Validity,Simulation,Outcome Measures

This report presents the statistical theory underlying the &quot;RCT-YES&quot; software that estimates and reports impacts for RCTs for a wide range of designs used in social policy research. The report discusses a unified, non-parametric design-based approach for impact estimation using the building blocks of the Neyman-Rubin-Holland causal inference model that underlies experimental designs. This approach differs from the more model-based impact estimation methods that are typically used in education research. The report discusses impact and variance estimation, asymptotic distributions of the estimators, hypothesis testing, the inclusion of baseline covariates to improve precision, the use of weights, subgroup analyses, baseline equivalency analyses, and estimation of the complier average causal effect parameter. A section on mathematical proofs is appended.
BREATHE to Understand©
Author: Swisa, Maxine
Date: 2015-05-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Metacognition,Holistic Approach,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Reflection,Empathy,Experiential Learning,Teaching Methods,Class Activities,Well Being

BREATHE is an acronym for Breathe, Reflect, Empathize, Accept, Thank, Hearten, Engage. The addition of Understand allows for a holistic approach to living a healthy and balanced life both inside and outside the classroom. This paper took form as a result of my personal, spiritual journey, as well as my teaching practice. I noticed that the majority of my students enjoyed experiential activities that included time and space for self-reflection, relaxation and meditation. I began looking for books, seminars, and workshops that explored these areas. Deepak Chopra, Jonathan Kabat-Zinn, Dan Siegel, Eckhart Tolle, et al. offer insights into the benefits of meditation and mindfulness as a vehicle for improved quality of life. His Holiness the Dalai Lama describes compassion as a basic human value that is separate from religious practices and beliefs. The positive effects of gratitude on a person's well-being have been studied by Dr. Robert Emmons and others. In addition, Charles A. Curran writes about the importance of understanding and its connection to our sense of belonging. SIT Graduate Institute's focus on reflective teaching practices is another piece of the puzzle that creates a holistic approach to life-long learning. Each chapter includes practical activities for EFL teachers to use in the classroom. The goal of this paper is to provide a framework for EFL teachers, students and anyone interested in lifelong learning to incorporate activities that enable all of us to BREATHE to Understand as a part of our daily lives. An appendix includes: Important concepts and vocabulary from &quot;Nonviolent Communication&quot;(Rosenberg, 2003, pp. 209-210).
Using Dual Eye-Tracking to Evaluate Students' Collaboration with an Intelligent Tutoring System for Elementary-Level Fractions
Author: Belenky, Daniel
Date: 2014-07-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Eye Movements,Intelligent Tutoring Systems,Elementary School Mathematics,Mathematical Concepts,Grade 4,Grade 5,Alignment (Education),Cooperative Learning,Learning Activities,Teaching Methods,Concept Formation,Knowledge Level,Educational Technology,Statistical Analysis,Pretests Posttests

As learning technologies proliferate, it is important for research to address how to best align instruction to educational goals. For example, recent evidence indicates that working collaboratively may have unique benefits for facilitating the acquisition of conceptual understanding, as opposed to procedural fluency (Mullins, Rummel &amp; Spada, 2011). To investigate this effect, we leverage and expand upon a new methodology, dual eye-tracking, to understand how collaborators' joint attention may impact learning in a collaboration-enabled Intelligent Tutoring System for fractions. We present results from a study in which 28 pairs of 4th and 5th grade students completed a set of either conceptually-or procedurally-oriented instructional activities in a school setting. Results indicate that students collaborating exhibited learning gains for conceptual knowledge, but not for procedural knowledge, and that more joint attention was related to learning gains. These results may inform the design of future learning technologies, and illustrate the utility of using dual eye-tracking to study collaboration.
Perceptions of Educators Regarding the Effectiveness of Alternative Programs in a Southern State
Author: Roberson, Lydia
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Subjects: Nontraditional Education,Program Effectiveness,Teacher Attitudes,Teacher Surveys,Mixed Methods Research,Interviews,High School Students,At Risk Students

At-risk students are engaged in dangerous behaviors that lead them to become involved in the juvenile justice system and cause the feeling of low self-worth. This eventually causes at-risk youths to drop out of school and engage in detrimental behaviors that meddle in their academic success. The alternative education program provides these at-risk youth with the opportunity to develop positively their academics and behavior to complete a regular high school program. This mixed method study with quantitative and qualitative research enhanced the understanding of the perceptions of the effectiveness of alternative programs from an educator's viewpoint. Conveniently selected educators who worked at an alternative education site, had referred students to an alternative program, had worked with a student who was at an alternative site, or had a student who had been at a program completed a survey examining their perceptions of the effectiveness of alternative programs. From the selection, 10 educators were asked to partake in the qualitative section of the research to strengthen the validity of the research. The means were estimated to analyze the educators' perceptions of the effectiveness of alternative programs in southern state. The results revealed alternative education programs are needed and are effective in developing the needs of at-risk youths, which was consistent with the research shared in the literature review. Appendices include: (1) Survey Instrument; (2) Interview Guide; and (2) Sample Interview Responses.
Authoring Tools for Collaborative Intelligent Tutoring System Environments
Author: Olsen, Jennifer K.
Date: 2014-06-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Intelligent Tutoring Systems,Programming,Cooperative Learning,Problem Solving,Achievement Gains

Authoring tools have been shown to decrease the amount of time and resources needed for the development of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs). Although collaborative learning has been shown to be beneficial to learning, most of the current authoring tools do not support the development of collaborative ITSs. In this paper, we discuss an extension to the Cognitive Tutor Authoring Tools to allow for development of collaborative ITSs through multiple synchronized tutor engines. Using this tool, an author can combine collaboration with the type of problem solving support typically offered by an ITS. Different phases of collaboration scripts can be tied to particular problem states in a flexible, problem-specific way. We illustrate the tool's capabilities by presenting examples of collaborative tutors used in recent studies that showed learning gains. The work is a step forward in blending computer-supported collaborative learning and ITS technologies in an effort to combine their strengths.
Undesired Behaviors Faced in Classroom by Physics Teachers in High Schools
Author: Bayar, Adem
Date: 2015-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,High School Students,Secondary School Teachers,Science Teachers,Physics,Science Instruction,Student Behavior,Behavior Problems,Interviews,Barriers,Student Motivation,Planning,Psychological Patterns,Attention,Classroom Techniques,Teacher Education,Cooperative Planning,Administrator Role,Qualitative Research,Case Studies

The aim of this study is to define undesired behaviors in the classroom, to better understand the reasons of these undesired behaviors, and to offer strategies to overcome these behaviors. The researchers have used a qualitative research approach in this study. For this aim, the researchers have purposefully selected 12 physics teachers who work in different high schools in Amasya, Turkey. Then, the researchers have carried out open-ended interviews with teachers. Each interview lasted around 40 minutes, was recorded and transcribed. After analyzing the collected data, the researchers have found that teachers define undesired behaviors if the behavior 1) inhibited students' learning 2) distracted the students' attention 3) destroyed the students' motivation and 4) reduced students' desire to study. Furthermore, teachers have declared that because of following reasons, students demonstrate the undesirable behaviors. These are; lack of motivation, hopelessness to learn, hopelessness to be successful, lack of ready for topic, and prejudice to physics. Teachers have also mentioned that there might be some strategies to overcome the undesired behaviors in the classroom. These are; planned ignoring, signal interference, proximity control, using humor to defuse tension, removing distracting objects, changing student places, and time out. The findings of this study show that there exist undesirable behaviors in physics classes. Unless these determined behaviors have been removed, teaching and motivating of students will be more difficult for physics teachers and it negatively affects students' learning and academic success. In this regard, the researchers have following recommendations: 1) classroom management lessons at the pre-service education level should be taught more efficiently 2) some professional development activities regarding classroom management should be offered for physics teachers 3) physics teachers should be encouraged to collaborate with psychologists, counselors, and guidance specialists to overcome and address undesirable behaviors in classroom 4) school administration should engage parents and collaborate with them by organizing periodical meetings and 5) school administration should arrange some social activities for students in school such as basketball tournament, soccer tournament, theatre, and etc.
Using an Intelligent Tutoring System to Support Collaborative as well as Individual Learning
Author: Olsen, Jennifer K.
Date: 2014-06-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Intelligent Tutoring Systems,Cooperative Learning,Elementary School Students,Teaching Methods,Achievement Gains,Instructional Effectiveness,Young Children,Problem Solving,Pretests Posttests

Collaborative learning has been shown to be beneficial for older students, but there has not been much research to show if these results transfer to elementary school students. In addition, collaborative and individual modes of instruction may be better for acquiring different types of knowledge. Collaborative Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) provide a platform that may be able to provide both the cognitive and collaborative support that students need. This paper presents a study comparing collaborative and individual methods while receiving instruction on either procedural or conceptual knowledge. The collaborative groups had the same learning gains as the individual groups in both the procedural and conceptual learning conditions but were able to do so with fewer problems. This work indicates that by embedding collaboration scripts in ITSs, collaborative learning can be an effective instructional method even with young children.
Findings from the Second-Grade Rounds of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011). First Look. NCES 2015-077
Author: Mulligan, Gail M.
Date: 2015-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Longitudinal Studies,Kindergarten,Young Children,Grade 2,Early Childhood Education,Parent Background,Educational Attainment,Poverty,Student Characteristics,Family Characteristics,Language Dominance,Native Language,Reading Skills,Mathematics Skills,Science Process Skills

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011), is collecting information about the early educational experiences of a nationally representative sample of children who were in kindergarten or who were of kindergarten age in ungraded classrooms or schools in the 2010-11 school year. The data collection began in the 2010-11 school year, when the children in the sample were in kindergarten, and will continue through the spring of 2016, when most of the children in the sample are expected to be in fifth grade. This brief report is intended to provide a snapshot of the children in the ECLS-K:2011 cohort who were in kindergarten for the first time in the 2010-11 school year and in second grade 2 years later during the 2012-13 school year. Information is presented on selected child and family characteristics, such as poverty status, parental education, family type, and primary home language, obtained when the children were in kindergarten. Information is also provided on the children's knowledge and skills in reading, math, and science in the fall and spring of second grade, both overall and by the selected kindergarten-year child and family characteristics. For brevity, the selected findings focus on achievement in the spring of the children's second-grade year. Appended are: (1) Survey Methodology and Glossary; and (2) Standard Error Tables.
Psychosocial Maturity and Conflict Resolution Management of Higher Secondary School Students
Author: Jaseena M.P.M., Fathima
Date: 2014-12-20
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Secondary School Students,Conflict Resolution,Maturity (Individuals),Communication Skills,Trust (Psychology),Identification (Psychology),Interpersonal Competence,Social Responsibility,Social Change,Political Influences,Cultural Awareness,Cultural Pluralism,Student Surveys,Measures (Individuals),Rating Scales,Predictor Variables

The aim of the study is to find out the extent and difference in the mean scores of Psychosocial Maturity and Conflict Resolution Management of Higher secondary school students of Kerala. A survey technique was used for the study. Sample consists of 685 higher secondary students by giving due representation other criteria. Findings revealed that students have medium level of Psychosocial maturity and conflict competency. Also found difference in the mean scores of both the variables among the sub samples.