ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of a Virtual Teaching Assistant in an Open Laboratory Environment for Electric Circuits
Author: Saleheen, Firdous
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Electronic Equipment,Energy Education,Electronics,Engineering Education,Virtual Classrooms,Laboratory Experiments,Courseware,Teaching Methods,Instructional Effectiveness,Web Based Instruction,Computer Simulation,Computer System Design,Program Implementation,Usability,Pretests Posttests,Pretesting,Likert Scales,Achievement Gains,College Freshmen,Statistical Analysis,Experimental Groups,Control Groups

In order to provide an on-demand, open electrical engineering laboratory, we developed an innovative software-based Virtual Open Laboratory Teaching Assistant (VOLTA). This web-based virtual assistant provides laboratory instructions, equipment usage videos, circuit simulation assistance, and hardware implementation diagnostics. VOLTA allows students to perform laboratory experiments anywhere at their convenience. A series of studies was carried out in an experimental section of our traditional entry-level electric circuits laboratory to answer the hypothesis: students taught using VOLTA will learn as much as students who were taught by a human teaching assistant. The experiments were conducted using a pre-test/post-test design, and student performance was assessed using ANOVA on gain scores. Statistical analysis revealed that the student performance increased significantly when VOLTA was integrated into a closed laboratory. We conclude that VOLTA can support students in open and closed laboratories as effectively as a human teaching assistant.
&quot;Your Fears Are Appreciated Here&quot;: Exploring a Humanistic Approach to Public Speaking Instruction
Author: Walton, Justin D.
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Humanistic Education,Public Speaking,Speech Instruction,Teaching Methods,Speech Communication,Qualitative Research,Case Studies,Introductory Courses,Fear,Student Centered Learning,Classroom Environment,College Faculty,Interviews,Feedback (Response),Affective Behavior,Teacher Student Relationship,Learning Motivation,Educational Practices

Communication teachers have long been concerned with the development of students' oral communication competencies. Regrettably, public speaking remains one of the most feared communicative contexts. Though there has been extensive interest in cognitive/behavioral strategies for alleviating communication apprehension, there has been surprisingly little descriptive pedagogical research conducted on the subject within actual classroom settings. This qualitative case study examines the way one communication teacher dealt with issues of student reticence and fear in her introductory public speaking courses through the use of humanistic, student-centered principles. Findings reveal that her pedagogy emphasized (a) the expression of feelings and emotions, (b) prizing the whole student, and (c) intrinsic motivational learning. Implications for communication instruction and pedagogical research are considered.
Creating a High Impact Learning Environment for Engineering Technology Students
Author: Zhan, Wei
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Engineering Technology,Educational Environment,Undergraduate Students,Innovation,Research and Development,Student Projects,Student Research,Teaching Methods,Student Surveys,Student Satisfaction,Instructional Effectiveness,Student Developed Materials

This paper discusses an initiative called Product Innovation and Development (PID) that was launched at Texas A&amp;M University. The goal of PID is to create a high impact learning environment that focuses on innovative product development. Undergraduate students are hired to develop innovative new products. The student teams generate ideas for new products, conduct market analysis, design and manufacture the product, sell the products, and provide technical support to the customers. It is intended that the PID projects generate revenue and become self-sustainable in the future. To maximize the impact, project materials are being used in various courses to enhance the curriculum. Project examples are presented to illustrate the PID process. Student learning is evaluated through surveys distributed to different groups of students who received potential benefits from PID.
Developing the Capacity of Culturally Competent Leaders to Redress Inequitable Outcomes: Increasing Opportunities for Historically Marginalized Students
Author: Williams, Sheri
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Capacity Building,Leadership Training,Culturally Relevant Education,Outcomes of Education,Equal Education,Educational Opportunities,Educationally Disadvantaged,Interdisciplinary Approach,Educational Practices,Curriculum Development,Qualitative Research,Administrator Education,Focus Groups,Teacher Surveys,Graduate Students,Student Teacher Attitudes,Student Journals,Knowledge Base for Teaching,Intervention,Teaching Methods,Teacher Participation,Competency Based Teacher Education,American Indian Students

Objective: This study investigated the practices and impact of interdisciplinary faculty at a flagship university in the American Southwest who were engaged in the process of redesigning curriculum in order to center candidates on what they need to know and do as culturally competent school leaders. Method: Participants were 31 interdisciplinary faculty involved in preparing candidates for leadership in early childhood and elementary and secondary education, in diverse contexts including high need and Native American-serving schools. The qualitative study utilized document analysis of faculty's multi-year work in developing the capacity of candidates to increase opportunities for historically marginalized students. An external evaluation was conducted with focus groups of faculty and graduate students along with a follow-up discourse analysis of student reflective journals. Results: The redesign process involved several phases culminating in recommendations and next steps for preparing candidates to redress inequitable conditions and create a more hopeful future for America's diverse students. Conclusions: Developing the capacity of culturally competent leaders requires a fundamental change in the way institutions prepare candidates for equity and social justice work. Further research is needed to demonstrate that recommended activities and interventions will improve the cultural competence of educational leaders and make opportunity equity a reality for all children.
Enhancing the Cultural Competency of Prospective Leaders via a Study Abroad Experience
Author: Hermond, Douglas
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Cultural Awareness,Study Abroad,Leadership Styles,Experiential Learning,Metacognition,Cross Cultural Training,Graduate Students,Educational Administration,Instructional Leadership,Comparative Analysis,Foreign Countries,Principals,Administrator Education,Program Descriptions,Administrator Behavior,Administrator Attitudes,Surveys

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether an experiential learning opportunity, specifically a study tour experience, would improve the cultural intelligence of prospective educational leaders and would challenge them to expand their own cultural understanding and behavior. Several prospective leaders who enrolled in a graduate program in Educational Leadership volunteered to attend a study abroad program that was intended, in part, to enhance their cultural competence. They were then asked to complete a survey that measured the four domains of cultural intelligence, namely metacognition, cognition, motivation and behavior. They were also asked to respond to prompts about how the experiential learning experience impacted their own cultural understanding and behavior. The results indicated that the study tour participants were cognizant of their cultural intelligence and that they compared and contrasted the norms of their own culture and those of the study tour country. In essence, participants acquired substantial cultural intelligence and reflected on how their leadership behavior should change to meet the needs of others.
Green Space Based Learning Model for Repurposing Underutilized Green Spaces within School Campuses
Author: Locicero, Ryan
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Engineering Education,Phenomenology,Urban Areas,Program Descriptions,Graduate Students,College Faculty,Summer Programs,Student Research,Sustainability,School Districts,Research Universities,Elementary Secondary Education,Feedback (Response),Teaching Methods,Faculty Development,Educational Environment,Environmental Education,Space Utilization,Campuses,Recreational Activities,Interviews,Models,Partnerships in Education,Design,Conservation (Environment),Educational Facilities Design

The Green Space Based Learning (GSBL) is an educational model to mainstream green infrastructure within urban environments that builds on a long-term partnership between a Research I university, surrounding underserved community, and local school district with a portion being piloted through a federally funded Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program. The RET program provides an opportunity for graduate students and professors to share their field of knowledge with teacher participants in two intensive 6-week summer research experiences. This content knowledge is then translated by the participating teachers into grade specific lessons that support the development of interactive and sustainable green spaces within their school campus. Stakeholder groups participate in academic year components, bringing their expertise into the K-12 classroom. Ultimately, K-12 students are guided through the design/build of a green infrastructure improvement project, transforming an underutilized green space within their school campuses into a multi-use educational environment. Phenomenological based interviewing methods allowed RET participants to reflect on their experience and provide feedback on the impact that the GSBL had on them, their teaching, and their community. Participating teachers expressed improved pedagogical practices through their experience in the GSBL model across several thematic groups, including authentic research experience, contextualized learning, teacher's contribution to research, practical applications to classroom, professional development, and green infrastructure awareness.
School Board Governance in Changing Times: A School&apos;s Transition to Policy Governance
Author: Curry, Katherine
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Governance,Board of Education Role,Board of Education Policy,School Choice,School Effectiveness,Longitudinal Studies,Case Studies,Administrator Role,Administrator Attitudes,Organizational Change,Organizational Effectiveness,Administrative Organization,Barriers,Change Strategies,Interviews,Observation,Transcripts (Written Records),Sustainability,Elementary Secondary Education,Qualitative Research

The expansion of the school choice movement and greater flexibility allowed by Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) means that education governance is emerging as an important issue for school effectiveness. This longitudinal case study sought to gain an understanding of the implementation of a new governance structure, Policy Governance, in a private, independent school with deeply entrenched culture and patterns of behavior. Findings suggest an immediate positive influence on leadership and culture in the district, including a &quot;trickle down&quot; effect on shared leadership. However, challenges to sustainability indicate that even strict adherence to the model, unanimous support among board members, and strong board and administrator leadership may not be enough to support sustainability.
A Project-Based Cornerstone Course in Civil Engineering: Student Perceptions and Identity Development
Author: Marshall, Jill
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Active Learning,Student Projects,Civil Engineering,Student Attitudes,Self Efficacy,Introductory Courses,Creativity,Comparative Analysis,Design,Teaching Methods,Semi Structured Interviews,Mathematics Skills,College Students,Instructional Innovation,Student Surveys,Multivariate Analysis,Gender Differences,Factor Analysis,Interviews,Statistical Analysis

Our study used a natural experiment to compare a project-based cornerstone course with the traditionally-taught introductory course in civil engineering. During the study, two sections of the course were organized around an overarching project, the design of an event center, and the remaining sections used guest lectures, a textbook, and traditional laboratory activities to familiarize students with civil engineering. Students in the project-based course gained more on measures of creativity and design self-efficacy on a survey of engineering identity than traditionally-taught students. Pre/post comparisons of the project-based students confirmed gains in design self-efficacy, but indicated a decrease in mathematical self-efficacy. In interviews students indicated that they recognized and appreciated that the project-based course enabled them to do real engineering, speaking to the development of engineering identity. They expressed concerns, however, that they might not be learning de-contextualized science and mathematics, a possible explanation for the decrease in mathematics efficacy.
Asynchronous Peer-to-Peer Learning: Putting Student Projects to Work in Future Classes
Author: Talley, Kimberly G.
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Asynchronous Communication,Peer Teaching,Video Technology,Student Projects,Multimedia Materials,Construction (Process),Pretests Posttests,Achievement Gains,Statistical Significance,Course Content,Student Developed Materials,Teaching Methods,Instructional Effectiveness,College Students,Production Techniques,Student Surveys

For instructors interested in flipping their courses or using in-class video introductions to new topics, the development of custom video lecture content can be a daunting task. Having students create videos as a term project creates the potential opportunity to engage students in peer-to-peer learning via videos while also generating course content that could help flip a course over time. In addition to aiding the instructor in course content generation, the project helps the student creators learn the video content, as indicated by the literature. This paper explores the effectiveness of resulting asynchronous peer-to-peer video content at facilitating student learning amongst the students enrolled in a Construction Estimating course from four semesters of implementation. Pre- and post-video presentation quiz scores were analyzed to verify an overall statistically significant increase in student quiz performance for the majority of the video projects whether used in class to introduce a new topic during the semester or during the end-of-semester presentation day for new projects. Thus, this study shows the promise of student-produced videos as course content, especially for those instructors seeking to flip or partially flip their course. Additionally, the paper presents some lessons learned from the implementation of a video project to produce course content.
Using LEGO Kits to Teach Higher Level Problem Solving Skills in System Dynamics: A Case Study
Author: Wu, Yi
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Toys,Teaching Methods,Case Studies,Computer Software,Student Surveys,Student Attitudes,Engineering Education,Required Courses,Difficulty Level,Mathematics,Statistical Analysis,Self Efficacy,Units of Study,Laboratory Experiments,Advanced Courses,Systems Approach,Undergraduate Students

System Dynamics is a required course offered to junior Mechanical Engineering students at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College. It addresses the intercoupling dynamics of a wide range of dynamic systems: including mechanical, electrical, fluid, hydraulic, electromechanical, and biomedical systems. This course is challenging for students due to the abstract nature and advanced mathematics needed to understand the topic. While hands-on experience can be a useful tool in learning the material, the ready-to-use units in the market are costly. This paper explores the applications of using low cost LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT kits to help students learn key quantitative skills in Systems Dynamics course. The labs include (1) time response of a first order system and transfer function identification and verification, (2) time response of a second order system, and (3) PD controller design. These lab activities use MATLAB®/Simulink® to study the response of LEGO MINDSTORMS units. Multiple student surveys (before and after each lab, at the end of semester, one semester/year after the completion of course) and multiple learning assessments have been analyzed and have shown that there is an improvement in students' confidence and skills in topics covered by the labs.
Standards-Based Technology Integration for Emergent Bilinguals
Author: Ronan, Briana
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Technology Integration,Bilingual Students,Academic Standards,Common Core State Standards,English Instruction,Language Acquisition,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Technological Literacy,Educational Opportunities,Educational Planning,Elementary Secondary Education

Today's educators serve the United States public-school system at a time of considerable curricular, technological, and demographic change. In 2010, the Common Core State Standards in Math and English Language Arts significantly altered the curricular landscape of K-12 classrooms. On the heels of this reform came the adoptions of English Development/Proficiency Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. These new standards are not only more academically rigorous, but they also call for teachers to prepare students for successful learning with 21st century tools. Increased expectations for technology integration have resulted in school districts seeking ways to improve their Internet infrastructure and provide 1:1 computing devices for all students. Such standards reform and technology demands have also come at a time of significant demographic change in the U.S., particularly in states like California, where emergent bilingual students comprise over 22% of the K-12 public school population and represent over 60 language groups (California Department of Education, 2015b). Teachers of emergent bilinguals are often faced with unique changes to support their students in meeting the new content and English language standards while also gaining equitable access to technology. This article aims to address this challenge by presenting a standards-based framework for supporting technology integration with emergent bilingual students. The framework adapts a leading model for technology integration, the Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model, and aligns it with English Language Development (ELD) and International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards. The article also discusses exemplar activities, technologies, and essential planning questions to aid teachers in designing technology-integrated lessons for a multicultural, multilingual student population.
Social Media &amp; English Learners&apos; Academic Literacy Development
Author: Shin, Dong-shin
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Media,Literacy,Academic Achievement,English Language Learners,Second Language Instruction,Language Arts,Grade 6,English (Second Language),Persuasive Discourse,Interviews,Instructional Material Evaluation,Transcripts (Written Records),Electronic Publishing,Teaching Methods,Instructional Effectiveness,Technology Uses in Education

Social media are becoming a critical part of communication in everyday lives and are a common form of communication for many students in and outside of school. Accordingly, English learner (EL) students are using social media-based communication to gather information, maintain friendships, and express multiple identities. Considering that social media have been a driving factor in students' literacy practices, it is critical that teachers incorporate this type of social writing into their curriculum and instruction to engage students and to better support their language and literacy learning and development. Research has shown that social media involve changes in modes, authorship, styles, genres, social relationships, and time and space of literacy practices (Elola &amp; Oskoz, 2017; Lam, 2013; Shin, 2014; Toohey et al., 2015). This kind of textual practice has been shown to support second language (L2) development, giving expression to a wider variety of rhetorical goals and expanding audiences (Gee &amp; Hayes, 2011). However, while most of these studies have examined L2 learners' out-of-school literacy practices, there are few studies about multilingual learners'/L2 learners' uses of social media in school settings. This study explores how a sixth-grade teacher used social media in her English and Language Arts (ELA) lessons in a U.S. elementary classroom. Specifically, it examines the kinds of affordances available in social media-based writing, and how students process those affordances in writing genre texts.
Connection, Culture, &amp; Creativity: Using Mobile Technology as a Medium for Storytelling in an Intergenerational Classroom
Author: Stacy, Jen
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Telecommunications,Handheld Devices,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Story Telling,Hispanic Americans,Females,Family Programs,Urban Schools,Preschool Education,Early Intervention,Observation,Interviews,Family Literacy,Language Usage,Case Studies,Cultural Influences

Mobile technology is now ubiquitous in families' lives and, as such, provides fertile ground for organic technology learning embedded within everyday home practices, like oral storytelling. This article explores the experiences of three Latinx women participating in a family digital storytelling program held at an East Los Angeles Head Start preschool program. The mother, Fernanda, was a teacher at the school and invited her two adolescent daughters, Sofía and Catalina, to participate in the program. The analysis of their final digital stories, in tandem with information gathered via observations and interviews, shows that all three women enhanced their technological literacies in addition to creativity and confidence in an intergenerational, informal learning environment.
Collaborative Problem Solving at Chalkboard vs. On Paper for First-Year Calculus
Author: Ritz, Hadas
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Cooperative Learning,Problem Solving,Calculus,Workshops,Chalkboards,Engineering Education,Student Surveys,Observation,Video Technology,Instructional Innovation,Hypothesis Testing,Statistical Analysis

Collaborative learning is well-established as a method to improve student learning and retention in engineering classrooms. One problem with collaborative learning is difficulty maximizing engagement of all students during group activities. We tested a change in implementation of collaborative problem solving sessions (Workshops) in a first-year Calculus for Engineers course. Previously, students sat at tables and worked together in small groups to solve provided problems, with each student ending the class period with her or his own written solution. The innovation in this study had students solving the same problems in the same small groups, but working together on the chalkboards, with each group ending the class period with a mutually agreed upon solution. Data collection to assess the innovation included student surveys, TA feedback, and observation and video recording of Workshop sections. The data support this innovation as a way to increase student collaboration and engagement during collaborative problem solving.