ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Trends in Classroom Observation Scores
Author: Casabianca, Jodi M.
Date: 2015-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Scores,Middle School Teachers,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Evaluation,Scoring,Trend Analysis,Observation,Statistical Analysis,Models,Classroom Observation Techniques

Observations and ratings of classroom teaching and interactions collected over time are susceptible to trends in both the quality of instruction and rater behavior. These trends have potential implications for inferences about teaching and for study design. We use scores on the Classroom Assessment Scoring System-Secondary (CLASS-S) protocol from 458 middle school teachers over a 2-year period to study changes over time in (a) the average quality of teaching for the population of teachers, (b) the average severity of the population of raters, and (c) the severity of individual raters. To obtain these estimates and assess them in the context of other factors that contribute to the variability in scores, we develop an augmented G study model that is broadly applicable for modeling sources of variability in classroom observation ratings data collected over time. In our data, we found that trends in teaching quality were small. Rater drift was very large during raters' initial days of observation and persisted throughout nearly 2 years of scoring. Raters did not converge to a common level of severity; using our model we estimate that variability among raters actually increases over the course of the study. Variance decompositions based on the model find that trends are a modest source of variance relative to overall rater effects, rater errors on specific lessons, and residual error. The discussion provides possible explanations for trends and rater divergence as well as implications for designs collecting ratings over time.
Civic Ecology Education and Resilient Societies: A Survey of Forest Fires in Greece
Author: Papaspiliou, Konstantina
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Ecology,Civics,Natural Disasters,Environmental Influences,Social Influences,Death,Environmental Education,Safety,Prevention,Fire Protection,Resilience (Psychology),Consciousness Raising,Questionnaires,Attitude Measures,Volunteers,Citizenship Education

Forest fires, as all natural disasters, have the potential to seriously affect both the environment and the social structure of a local community. Unlike some of the natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornados and tsunamis which are unpredictable, the phenomenon of forest fires could be easily predicted and controlled, since the causes are mainly anthropogenic. This article, focusing on the paradigm of forest fires that occurred in Greece during the summer of 2007, deals in depth with the significant role that Civic Ecology Education plays in the promotion of resilient societies. Given the fact, that the specific forest fires resulted in an unusually high death toll, the article argues about the need for successful environmental education for resilience in order to avoid similar tragedies. Increasing the social tolerance to natural hazards and directing communities' efforts towards strengthening sustainable development in their area should become common practices everywhere.
Pre-Service Foreign Language Teachers' Attitudes of Privilege and Oppression
Author: McGowan, Shannon L.
Date: 2014-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Teacher Attitudes,Language Teachers,Second Language Instruction,Cultural Influences,Whites,Racial Bias,Social Bias,Statistical Analysis,Social Problems,Gender Bias,Homosexuality,Religious Factors,Secondary Education,Methods Courses,Pretests Posttests,Questionnaires,Intervention,Discussion (Teaching Technique),Rural Schools,Preservice Teacher Education,Likert Scales,Learning Activities,Consciousness Raising,Scores,Attitude Change

Over the past several years multicultural education has seen an increased attention in teacher preparation. However, little research exists that examines the attitudes of pre-service teachers related to white privilege. This study is a quantitative exploration of the attitudes of pre-service foreign language teachers on a variety of social issues related to oppression (i.e. sexism, heterosexism, white privilege, religion). Students in a secondary foreign language methods course (N = 19) completed pre- and post-instruction questionnaires to determine the effect of an intervention and intentional discussion regarding white privilege and oppression on their attitudes towards these social issues. The mean test scores were analyzed using a paired-samples t-test which resulted in a significant change in attitudes regarding white privilege. Suggestion for further research includes determining the effect for general education pre-service teachers compared to Foreign Language teachers.
A Research-Based Approach to Participation Assessment: Evolving beyond Problems to Possibilities
Author: Flaherty, Joan
Date: 2008-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Undergraduate Students,Focus Groups,Student Attitudes,Barriers,College Faculty,Academic Achievement,Individual Development,Student Participation,Grading,Teacher Attitudes

This research study, undertaken across a department, presents the results of two focus groups in which twenty undergraduate students offer their views on participation assessment and its underlying goal of student engagement. Barriers to fairly assessing participation are discussed along with their solutions. Assessing participation, though, isn't just about identifying and then dealing with problems, as necessary as that is. It's also about fostering and acknowledging personal and academic growth on the part of the student and, as strange as this may sound, on the part of the professor.
Professionalism Marks vs. Participation Marks: Transforming the University Experience
Author: Wells, Elizabeth A.
Date: 2008-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Professional Identity,College Students,College Faculty,Student Participation,Feedback (Response)

As well as content, what are we teaching our students and what opportunities can we take to influence their current and future success as graduate students, professionals, and contributors to a wider society? One thing we can teach them is a sense of professionalism; however, that is defined in different disciplines and varying career paths. By substituting for the often vaguely-defined &quot;participation&quot; component of a grade a &quot;professionalism&quot; mark, a place is created for students to learn and exercise mature approaches to their work and their roles within the university. Presented as a proactive and positive element within the student's control, instead of a punitive grade component, the professionalism mark can result in dramatic changes in class behaviour, participation, attitudes, accountability, and self-motivation. The following scenarios outline different situations, which may ring true to a number of instructors and which professionalism marks might address.
Making the Most of Multiple-Choice Questions: Getting beyond Remembering
Author: DiBattista, David
Date: 2008-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Multiple Choice Tests,Retention (Psychology),Cognitive Tests,Test Construction,Test Format,College Students,College Faculty

Multiple-choice questions are widely used in higher education and have some important advantages over constructed-response test questions. It seems, however, that many teachers underestimate the value of multiple-choice questions, believing them to be useful only for assessing how well students can memorize information, but not for assessing higher-order cognitive skills. Several strategies are presented for generating multiple-choice questions that can effectively assess students' ability to understand, apply, analyze, and evaluate information.
The Writing Development Initiative: A Pilot Project to Help Students Become Proficient Writers
Author: Fukuzawa, Sherry
Date: 2008-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Undergraduate Students,Writing Skills,Language Proficiency,Writing Improvement,Pilot Projects,Interdisciplinary Approach,Teaching Assistants,Grading,Criterion Referenced Tests,Tutoring,Writing Assignments,Workshops,School Schedules,Success

In 2005, the undergraduate advisory committee at the University of Toronto Mississauga found that across all disciplines, writing proficiency was the skill weakness that generated the greatest concern. Students reported that they often found writing tasks intimidating, and suggested that effective feedback and guidance would improve their writing. In response to these findings, the Dean's office created the writing development initiative. Thirteen departments participated with a wide range of strategies to improve student writing. One successful participant was a first-year undergraduate course in biological anthropology (n = 255 students and 7 teaching assistants). We created a writing improvement model that involved defined objectives for teaching assistants and additional contact hours between teaching assistants and students. These measures significantly improved the students' writing skills. In addition, the intensive training and monitoring of teaching assistants' grading by the instructor and director of the Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre contributed to a reduction in grading disputes. The success of the pilot project led to an extension of the writing development initiative for the 2006-2007 academic year.
Journal Writing as Taking Ownership of Internship Experiences
Author: Bowen, Tracey
Date: 2008-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Journal Writing,Reflection,Internship Programs,Theory Practice Relationship,Student Experience,Teaching Methods,Language Usage,Ownership,Relevance (Education),College Students

Many disciplines employ journal writing as a tool for students to record and reflect on their learning experiences. In the internship program in Communications Culture and Information Technology at the University of Toronto Mississauga students experience the transfer of classroom theory to practice in the &quot;real&quot; work world during a once a week placement. Students use journals to account for these experiences reflecting on the knowledge they gain from their observations and how this knowledge incorporates into everyday work life. However, journal writing has pedagogical affordances that extend beyond recording and reflecting on experience. Language mediates the learning as students choose what to say about what they experience. They take ownership of these connections and make meaning by appropriating these ideas as part of who they are and who they are becoming as industry professionals. Identifying the ways in which students use journal writing to construct their professional selves will contribute to the evolving scholarship of experiential education.
Writing-to-Learn in First-Year Biological Sciences
Author: Paszkowski, Cynthia
Date: 2008-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Biology,Science Instruction,Essays,Writing Assignments,Editing,Feedback (Response),College Science,Foreign Countries,Content Area Writing,Workshops,Graduate Students,Concept Formation,Scientific Concepts,Critical Thinking,Thinking Skills,Communication Skills,Revision (Written Composition),Undergraduate Students,Teaching Assistants,Seminars

In 2006-2007, we established a writing exercise in two large first-year biology courses. Overall, our exercise, which consisted of multiple drafts of a 500-word essay, offered students a good introduction to how editorial feedback can improve content and style in scientific writing. We discuss our goals, procedures, outcome, and students' responses to our initiative.
Early Adolescents' Enjoyment Experienced in Learning Situations at School and Its Relation to Student Achievement
Author: Hagenauer, Gerda
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Early Adolescents,Academic Achievement,Psychological Patterns,Longitudinal Studies,Grade 6,Grade 7,Emotional Response,Negative Attitudes,Positive Attitudes,High Achievement,Correlation,Low Achievement,Urban Schools,Suburban Schools,Questionnaires,Foreign Countries,Self Concept,Academic Ability,Likert Scales,Mathematics Achievement,English (Second Language),German,Statistical Analysis,Grade Point Average

While many studies confirm that positive emotions, including enjoyment, lead to better student achievement, less empirical evidence exists about possible mediator variables that link achievement to enjoyment. It is proposed that achievement and enjoyment form a circular dependency; enjoyment in learning leads to higher achievement but a degree of achievement is required to enjoy learning. This study provides insight into the reverse of the much studied enjoyment to achievement link and provides practical recommendations on how to use these findings. Founded in Control-value theory, which suggests that control and value cognitions are important variables that mediate the connection between enjoyment and achievement, this study explores the reciprocal achievement-cognition-enjoyment link. The reciprocal link was investigated by applying a one year longitudinal design to students of grade 6 and 7 (N = 356). This age group was chosen because early adolescence represents a critical period during which a strong decrease in positive learning emotions is observed. Part of the work involved identifying factors that might be responsible for this negative development. Results of cross-lagged path analysis identified reciprocal effects between student achievement and enjoyment with control and value cognitions functioning as partial mediators. High achievement goes with high control and value cognitions, which in turn positively affect enjoyment. However, cross-lagged correlations could only be partly confirmed. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical implications.
E-Portfolios in Teacher Education: The UNBC Experience
Author: Kitchenham, Andrew
Date: 2008-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teacher Education,Portfolios (Background Materials),Electronic Libraries,Teaching Skills,Professional Identity,Knowledge Base for Teaching,Standards,Web 2.0 Technologies,Educational Practices,Preservice Teachers,Student Experience,Foreign Countries

This paper presents the preliminary findings from the University of Northern British Columbia's e-portfolio project, entitled the Digital Record of Student Success (DRSS). The e-portfolio requires that the Education Program students provide artifacts of their learning related to the British Columbia College of Teachers' 13 standards for professional educators. The project will be outlined and sample in-progress e-portfolios will be described. The paper will conclude with a description of the successes and challenges of the DRSS.
Three Cases of Student Teaching Practice for Social Justice in Early Childhood Education
Author: Lee, Young Ah
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Justice,Student Teaching,Teaching Methods,Early Childhood Education,Action Research,Participatory Research,Preschool Education,Kindergarten,Grade 1,Suburban Schools,Urban Schools,Qualitative Research,Observation,Interviews,Documentation,Content Analysis,Student Diversity,Case Studies,Cultural Awareness,Classroom Techniques

Although teachers may agree that it is important to teach all learners equitably, it is challenging to practice social justice oriented pedagogy due to its multiplicity and complexity. This participatory action research attempted to examine student teaching practices that three teacher candidates approached to teach for social justice with young children (Preschool-1st grade) in suburban and urban school settings. For this qualitative research, multiple data sources such as observations, interviews, and documents from course work and field placement were collected and analyzed. This study discusses different student teaching practices each participant chose to teach for social justice and different areas of diversities each participant focused in different contexts. It concludes with some suggestions for early childhood teacher educators with insights and tools to support teacher candidates to teach for social justice.
Group Selection and Learning for a Lab-Based Construction Management Course
Author: Solanki, Pranshoo
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Construction Management,Group Structure,Group Instruction,Selection Criteria,Laboratories,Undergraduate Students,Construction Materials,Cooperative Learning,Questionnaires,Student Attitudes

In construction industries' projects, working in groups is a normal practice. Group work in a classroom is defined as students working collaboratively in a group so that everyone can participate on a collective task. The results from literature review indicate that group work is more effective method of learning as compared to individual work. However, only limited studies reported influence of group selection method on the learning of groups. To fill the gap in this area, the main objective of this study was to find out which selection method is the best to use and helps students to perform better in the course. Therefore, a total of three group selection methods, namely, random-selection by instructor, performance-based-selection by instructor and individual-selection by student were utilized. The target subjects used in the proposed study were students enrolled in two different lab-based construction management courses. The learning of each group was evaluated by calculating an average of scores received by all fellow members in the corresponding lab projects. Additionally, at the end of the semester, students were asked to complete a questionnaire. Data from all the questionnaires was also used for evaluating influence of group selection method on learning of students.
Addressing Teachers' Feelings of Lack of Control over Policy Issues
Author: Judson, Eugene
Date: 2014-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Locus of Control,Behavior Modification,Teacher Education Programs,Science Teachers,Teacher Influence,Teacher Empowerment,Policy,Training Methods,Educational Practices,Educational Strategies,Graduate Students,Inservice Teacher Education,Pretests Posttests,Course Organization,Course Objectives,Academic Standards,Standardized Tests,Controversial Issues (Course Content),Teacher Attitudes,Attitude Change

This study reports on how an American Education System course, traditionally taught with broad objectives, was contextualized for science teachers. Using pre-assessment data, specific policy issues were targeted with the objective of increasing teachers' feelings of influence over issues. The approach used was adapted from exposure therapy, a method common in behavioral therapy. This involved providing greater depth of understanding of issues, revisiting issues repeatedly, and developing professional dialogue. After participating in the course, teachers were significantly less likely to list standardized testing and curriculum standards as critical issues. The teachers correspondingly significantly increased their internal locus of control over these issues.
Please Pass the Peas: Influence of Emotions on Adult Learning Motivations
Author: Ramsay, Samantha
Date: 2014-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Child Caregivers,Video Technology,Vignettes,Focus Groups,Interviews,Learning Motivation,Child Care,Audio Equipment,Emotional Response,Adult Education,Adult Educators,Group Discussion,Qualitative Research,Caregiver Training,Food,Eating Habits

The purpose of this study was to expand the knowledge of adult motivation in unconventional professional settings. Nine focus group interviews were conducted with child care providers in child care settings from four states in the Western United States: California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. At each focus group interview three to eight participants viewed two video vignettes on feeding young children and participated in a facilitated discussion that was audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed to identify themes related to participants' motivation to learn (Ely et al., 1997; Strauss &amp; Corbin, 1990). A primary theme was the presence of hedonistic emotions. Child care providers' immediate and anticipated feelings of pleasure along with their desire to avoid pain influenced their motivation to learn. Hedonistic emotions were imbedded within and throughout participants' learning. To enhance adult motivation to learn and learning, adult educators should identify and attend to hedonistic emotions.
Is Student Knowledge of Anatomy Affected by a Problem-Based Learning Approach? A Review
Author: Williams, Jonathan M.
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Anatomy,Problem Based Learning,Knowledge Level,Conventional Instruction,Undergraduate Students,Online Searching,Databases,Medical Students,Comparative Analysis,Information Retrieval,Literature Reviews

A fundamental understanding of anatomy is critical for students on many health science courses. It has been suggested that a problem-based approach to learning anatomy may result in deficits in foundation knowledge. The aim of this review is to compare traditional didactic methods with problem-based learning methods for obtaining anatomy knowledge. A Medline search was completed and studies needed to investigate the effects of a problem-based learning method compared with an alternate method with the primary outcome being examination scores to be included. Ten articles matched the inclusion criteria. Most studies investigated undergraduate medical students. Four studies demonstrated improved exam results following a problem-based learning approach and five demonstrated no difference between didactic and problem-based learning. Overall a problem-based approach appears not to offer disadvantages or benefits over a more traditional didactic approach, however it has been suggested that additional skills, such as problem solving may be developed when using this approach.
Adolescents Media Experiences in the Classroom: SimCity as a Cultural Model
Author: Lacasa, Pilar
Date: 2014-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Adolescents,Educational Technology,Video Games,Technology Uses in Education,Simulated Environment,Teaching Methods,Ethnography,Action Research,Workshops,High School Students,Video Technology,Interpersonal Communication,Classroom Communication,Learning Activities,Critical Thinking,Literacy,Discourse Analysis,Foreign Countries

The main goal of this paper is to analyze adolescents' experiences when they play SimCity (EA, 2008), a commercial videogame, in an innovative learning environment designed around the concept of participatory culture. By using this video game in the classroom and machinima productions created in relation to the game, we sought to generate a critical and reflective approach, related both to the content of the game and to the audiovisual discourse through which its messages are formulated. Adopting an ethnographic, action research and discourse analysis approach, we analyze the practices, conversations and multimedia productions generated in a workshop where the teacher and the research team worked together. The students were in their third year of high school, and the group comprised boys and girls in a language compensatory program. All sessions were video recorded. The analysis of the conversations and activities in the classroom revealed a process in which the teacher and the researcher shared difficulties and participated to facilitate the students' learning through the use of digital instruments. From this perspective, this article aims to provide educational strategies that help foster critical thinking by using commercial video games in the classroom.