ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
From Beginning to End: How Engineering Students Think and Talk about Sustainability across the Life Cycle. Research Brief
Author: Kilgore, Deborah
Date: 2009-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Mixed Methods Research,Longitudinal Studies,Undergraduate Students,Engineering,Engineering Education,Sustainable Development,Design,Semi Structured Interviews,Student Attitudes

The Academic Pathways Study (APS) is a multi-institution, mixed-methods, longitudinal study which examines engineering students&apos; learning and development as they move into, through, and beyond their undergraduate institutions (Atman et al., 2008; Sheppard et al., 2004). It is part of the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE), a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded higher education Center for Learning and Teaching (ESI-0227558). The present study examines how students think and talk about sustainable development, as well as the extent to which they consider life cycle while engaged in engineering design. Sixty-four students across the four APS institutions completed the same engineering design task in their second and fourth years. Fifteen of those students at one of the institutions (Large Public University or LPU), participated in a semi-structured, qualitative interview in their senior year, in which they were asked to talk about sustainable development and other concepts related to engineering. Questions about sustainable development were posed to these students shortly after they had completed the engineering design task. Analysis of the students&apos; conceptions of sustainable development was accomplished in tandem with coding of their written answers to the engineering design task. Study results showed that students&apos; conceptions of sustainability as an issue of limited resources ranged from very vague, arguably unlike the aspirations of policy makers for engineers in the coming decade, to rather promising in terms of exhibiting the kinds of knowledge, skills and attitudes about sustainability and sustainable development that are hoped for among the engineering education community. Their narratives suggested varying degrees of sophistication in their conceptions of sustainable development as a question of limited resources.
Identifying and Investigating Difficult Concepts in Engineering Mechanics and Electric Circuits. Research Brief
Author: Streveler, Ruth
Date: 2007-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Engineering Education,Difficulty Level,Fundamental Concepts,College Seniors,Delphi Technique,Electronics,Mechanics (Physics),Schemata (Cognition),Interviews,Expertise,Scientific Concepts,Concept Formation

This study extends ongoing work to identify difficult concepts in thermal and transport science and measure students' understanding of those concepts via a concept inventory. Two research questions provided the focal point: &quot;What important concepts in electric circuits and engineering mechanics do students find difficult to learn?&quot; and &quot;How can we describe students' mental models of the concepts identified in the previous question?&quot; The research was conducted in two parts. The team first determined what concepts are difficult as judged by engineering faculty and content experts and second, focused on measuring students' understanding of these difficult concepts. In the first step, a Delphi methodology was used to determine which concepts in electrical circuits and in engineering mechanics were important, and yet difficult to learn. The Delphi method elicits and refines ideas about difficult concepts from a panel of engineering faculty experts. The method draws upon the experts' knowledge and collective opinion through a series of questionnaires interspersed with controlled opinion feedback. In the next part of the experiment, the team gathered data about the degree of understanding of these concepts by seniors in Mechanical/Civil and Electrical Engineering. Seniors at Colorado School of Mines with a specialty in either electrical, civil, or mechanical engineering were recruited in two rounds via an e-mail to the engineering seniors' e-mail list. Results suggest that concepts rated as important and well-understood by the Delphi participants are NOT understood by students. Analysis of the data indicated that these students do not fully understand many fundamental concepts.
What Brings Women to the Table? Female and Male Students&apos; Perceptions of Ways of Thinking in Engineering Study and Practice. Research Brief
Author: Kilgore, Deborah
Date: 2007-08-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: College Graduates,College Students,Engineering,Engineering Education,Gender Differences,Females,Student Attitudes,Student Surveys,Interviews,Research Universities,Problem Solving

Women represent only one-fifth of engineering Bachelor&apos;s degree recipients in the U.S. This gender gap has stubbornly held for the past several years. The authors&apos; study uses survey and interview data to examine the experience and perspectives of 40 first-year women and men intending to study engineering at a public, research extensive university. Findings from this study present a complex picture suggesting why women as a group may be less likely to be attracted to engineering study in the first place.
&quot;Strategic Review of FY06 District &amp; School-Level Resources&quot;. In Fulfillment of a Memorandum of Understanding between: The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and The Unified Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA). Phase II- Final ERS Report. An Executive Summary and Management Brief Series
Author: Frank, Stephen
Date: 2007-05-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: School Districts,Urban Schools,Educational Finance,Resource Allocation,Expenditures,Educational Equity (Finance),Financial Support,Professional Development,School Based Management,Educational Improvement,Teacher Competencies,Interviews,Administrators,School Personnel,Expenditure per Student,Time Factors (Learning),Income,Operating Expenses,Special Needs Students,English Language Learners,State Aid,Intervention,Instructional Program Divisions,Faculty Development

In the fall of 2006, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the Unified Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that called for a third-party research firm to analyze resource use across the Los Angeles school system. Education Resource Strategies (ERS) was chosen to conduct this analysis. The study was organized into two phases. Phase I of the study called for a six-year historical review of spending in the district to examine how spending patterns had changed and specifically whether or not central expenses had grown while spending on teachers had declined. The findings of phase I were released publicly in November of 2006 and presented to the Board of Education of LAUSD. Phase II of the study explores spending and use of resources more deeply to identify opportunities for more strategic use based on research and comparison to other urban school districts. This management brief series presents Phase II key findings and recommendations. This document includes an executive summary that provides a concise summary of Phase II findings and describes the top 5 actions that flow from ERS's detailed recommendations. This summary is followed by three management briefs that supply detailed answers to key questions as well as additional recommendations and questions for further leadership discussion: (1) Brief #1--Distribution and Use of System Resources: Analyzes the overall funding level in LAUSD as well as the way time, people, and money flow to schools and students, focusing on questions of equity, strategy, flexibility, transparency, and efficiency, with comparisons to other urban districts; (2) Brief #2--Time, People and Money in Schools: Describes how LAUSD schools currently allocate their time, people, and money and compares findings with practices often found in high-performing urban schools; and (3) Brief # 3--Professional Development: Analyzes LAUSD's overall investment in professional development and compares it to patterns and practices found elsewhere, focusing on whether the overall mix of initiatives aligns with district needs. (Contains 7 footnotes.)
&quot;Toward a Strategic Use of Resources in Saint Paul Public Schools&quot;: A Review of the SPPS FY2006 Spending Strategy with Recommendations
Author: Frank, Stephen
Date: 2007-05-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Public Schools,Resource Allocation,Educational Resources,School Districts,Expenditures,Costs,Academic Achievement,Strategic Planning,Budgets,Special Education,Grouping (Instructional Purposes),Accountability,School Administration,Administrator Role,Professional Development,Operating Expenses,English Language Learners,At Risk Students,Benchmarking,General Education

In the Fall of 2006, Education Resource Strategies (ERS), a nation-wide leader in helping school systems make the most of their resources, was invited by Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) to study the use of resources in the district and create priority recommendations to inform the district's strategic plan. Saint Paul is in a situation where overall enrollment is
declining while key subgroups (students in poverty, English language learners, students with disabilities, and students of color) are increasing as a percentage of district enrollment. In this context, the analysis focused on three key questions: (1) How much money does SPPS spend and how are the resources distributed? (2) Does SPPS empower strategic use of school-level resources to improve student performance? and (3) Does SPPS use district resources in a way that supports schools in promoting student success? This report summarizes the key findings and priority recommendations regarding strategic resource use in SPPS. (Contains 13 footnotes.)
Do Disadvantaged Students Have Equal Access to Effective Teaching? NCEE Study Snapshot. NCEE 2014-4001
Author: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (ED)
Date: 2013-11-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Disadvantaged Youth,Equal Education,Teacher Effectiveness,Instructional Effectiveness,Student Diversity,School Districts,Teacher Influence,Low Income Groups,Minority Group Students,Achievement Gap

This study snapshot offers a summary of &quot;Access to Effective Teaching for Disadvantaged Students. NCEE 2014-4001,&quot; the first report from a study initiated by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to examine access to effective teaching for disadvantaged students in 29 diverse school districts. The study compared the average effectiveness of teaching experienced by disadvantaged students to other students, using value-added analysis to measure effective teaching. It then compared the
average value-added of the teachers of disadvantaged students to the average value added of the teachers of all other students. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was used to identify disadvantaged students. The 29 districts included in the study are geographically diverse and have similar characteristics to the 100 largest districts in the United States. Findings included: (1) Disadvantaged students received less effective teaching than other students in the 29 study districts on average across three school years; (2) Access to effective teaching varied across study districts; and (3) Access to effective teaching was more related to the placement of teachers and students across schools than the way that students were assigned to teachers within schools. (Contains 2 exhibits.) [For the full final report with technical details: Isenberg, Eric, Max, Jeffrey, Gleason, Philip, Potamites, Liz, Santillano, Robert, Hock, Heinrich, and Hansen, Michael (2013), &quot;Access to Effective Teaching for Disadvantaged Students&quot; (NCEE 2014-4001), see ED544345.]
Guiding Principles: A Resource Guide for Improving School Climate and Discipline
Author: Department of Education (ED)
Date: 2014-01-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Educational Environment,School Culture,Discipline,Prevention,Planning,Evidence,Best Practices,Student Behavior,Social Development,Emotional Development,Academic Achievement,Staff Development,Professional Development,Student Participation,Agency Cooperation,School Community Relationship,School Safety,Police School Relationship,Expectation,Family Involvement,School Policy,Disabilities,Grievance Procedures,Equal Education,Educational Improvement,Disproportionate Representation,Social Justice

Developing positive school climates and improving school discipline policies and practices are critical steps to raising academic achievement and supporting student success. However, there is no single formula for doing so. Rather, the growing body of research and best practices in the field should inform locally developed approaches to improving school climate and discipline policies and practices. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is issuing this resource guide to assist states, school districts, charter school operators, school staff, parents, students, and other stakeholders who are seeking to develop school climate and school discipline policies and practices that are both locally tailored and grounded in recognized promising practices and research. ED's work with a wide range of safe and successful schools, review of research and evaluation, and consultation with the field and federal partners have revealed that a broad range of high-achieving schools typically share a number of common approaches to creating safe and supportive conditions for learning. These schools take deliberate steps to create positive school climates and prevent student misbehavior; ensure that clear, appropriate, and consistent expectations and consequences are in place to prevent and address misbehavior; and cultivate an expectation of continuous improvement driven by data and analysis to ensure fairness and equity for all students. Drawing from these common approaches, ED has identified three guiding principles for policymakers, district officials, school leaders, and stakeholders to consider as they work to improve school climate and discipline: (1) Create positive climates and focus on prevention; (2) Develop clear, appropriate, and consistent expectations and consequences to address disruptive student behaviors; and (3) Ensure fairness, equity, and continuous improvement. They also identify applicable action steps and relevant research and resources for each guiding principle. (Contains 50 endnotes and 4 footnotes.) [Appendices (&quot;Directory of Federal School Climate and Discipline Resources&quot; and &quot;Compendium of School Discipline Laws and Regulations for each of the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico&quot;) are not included in the ERIC version of this publication.]
WWC Review of the Report &quot;National Charter School Study: 2013.&quot; What Works Clearinghouse Single Study Review
Author: What Works Clearinghouse (ED)
Date: 2014-01-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Charter Schools,Academic Achievement,Correlation,Achievement Gains,Reading Achievement,Reading Improvement,Mathematics Achievement,Elementary School Students,High School Students,Measures (Individuals),Scores,Statistical Significance,Evidence,Longitudinal Studies,Demography,Effect Size,Comparative Analysis,Institutional Characteristics,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Intervention

The study reviewed here examined the effect of charter schools on annual student achievement growth in reading and math in 25 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City. The study primarily used data on students in grades 3-8, but additional elementary and high school grades were included for several states. The authors reported that charter school students in the sample had annual reading score growth that was 0.01 standard deviations higher than that of students in traditional public schools. This difference was statistically significant. There was no statistically significant difference between charter school students and traditional public school students in their year-to-year gains in math. The research described in this report meets What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards with reservations. This study was a large, multi-year analysis in which the authors matched charter school students with traditional public school students based on observed demographic characteristics and test scores. However, unobserved differences between the two groups may have existed. In addition, the study's results do not have a straightforward interpretation because they blend the 1-year gains students experienced during their first year of charter school attendance and 1-year gains during subsequent years. Finally, the effect sizes reported in this study (which are based on an analysis of achievement gains) are not directly comparable to effect sizes reported by other studies that analyzed achievement levels. The following are appended: (1) Study details; (2) Outcome measures for each domain; (3) Study findings for each domain; and (4) Supplemental findings by domain. A glossary of terms is also included. (Contains 2 endnotes.) [The following study is the focus of this review: &quot;Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO). (2013).&quot; National Charter School Study: 2013. Stanford, CA: Author.]
Spelling Mastery. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report
Author: What Works Clearinghouse (ED)
Date: 2014-01-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Spelling,Spelling Instruction,Elementary School Students,Direct Instruction,Educational Strategies,Teaching Methods,Learning Disabilities,Summer Programs,Evidence,Writing Achievement,Standards,Intervention,Writing Tests,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Comparative Analysis,Effect Size,Outcome Measures,Program Effectiveness,Statistical Significance

&quot;Spelling Mastery&quot; is designed to explicitly teach spelling skills to students in grades 1 through 6. One of several Direct Instruction curricula from McGraw-Hill that precisely specify how to teach incremental content, &quot;Spelling Mastery&quot; includes phonemic, morphemic, and whole-word strategies. The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) identified two studies of &quot;Spelling Mastery&quot; that both fall within the scope of the Students with Learning Disabilities topic area and meet WWC evidence standards. These two studies meet standards without reservations. Together, these studies included 70 students with learning disabilities in grades 2 through 4 in three elementary schools or receiving instruction at a summer program. The WWC considers the extent of evidence for &quot;Spelling Mastery&quot; on the writing achievement of students with learning disabilities to be small for one outcome domain--writing. There were no studies that meet standards in the eight other domains, so they do not report on the effectiveness of &quot;Spelling Mastery&quot; for those domains in this intervention report. Appended are: (1) Research details for Darch &amp; Simpson (1990); (2) Research details for Darch et al. (2006); (3) Outcome measures for the writing domain; (4) Findings included in the rating for the writing domain; and (5) Description of subtest findings for the writing domain. An explanation of the WWC rating criteria and a glossary of terms are also included. (Contains 5 endnotes and 5 tables.) [The two studies examined in this intervention report are: (1) Darch, C., &amp; Simpson, R. G. (1990). &quot;Effectiveness of visual imagery versus rule-based strategies in teaching spelling to learning disabled students.&quot; &quot;Research in Rural Education,&quot; 7(1), 61-70; and (2) Darch, C., Eaves, R. C., Crowe, D. A., Simmons, K., and Conniff, A. (2006). &quot;Teaching spelling to students with learning disabilities: A comparison of rule-based strategies versus traditional instruction.&quot; &quot;Journal of Direct Instruction,&quot; 6(1), 1-16.]
Alabama Education Quick Facts: Plan 2020
Author: Alabama Department of Education
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Public Schools,Educational Finance,School Size,Enrollment Trends,Transportation,Lunch Programs,Breakfast Programs,School Personnel,Graduation Rate,Student Evaluation,English (Second Language),English Language Learners,Access to Education,Distance Education,Income,Federal Aid,State Aid,Local Government,Teacher Salaries,Gender Differences,Racial Composition,Teacher Characteristics,Special Education,Career Education,Technical Education,Racial Differences,High School Graduates,Taxes

This brochure presents state statistics for the following categories; Alabama public schools, 2012-13; Alabama State Board of Education members; financial data, FY 2012; public school size and enrollment, 2012-13 school year; transportation, 2012-13; school meals, 2011-12; school personnel, 2012-13; graduation rates, 2010-11; graduation requirements, 2011-12; student assessment 2011-12; additional enrollment; ESL students, 2011-12; access distance learning.
2013 Alaska Performance Scholarship Outcomes Report
Author: Rae, Brian
Date: 2013-01-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Merit Scholarships,Eligibility,High School Graduates,Enrollment,College Attendance,Academic Persistence,Geographic Regions,In State Students,Out of State Students,Paying for College,College Readiness,Remedial Instruction,Ethnicity,Economically Disadvantaged,Student Characteristics,Student Surveys,Employment

In accordance with Alaska statute the departments of Education &amp; Early Development (EED) and Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD), the University of Alaska (UA), and the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education (ACPE) present this second annual report on the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS). Among the highlights: (1)  In the public high school Class of 2012, 2,175 out of 7,985 graduates (27.2%) were eligible for the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS). Of the eligible students, 812 (37.3%) began using their scholarship in fall 2012. Fifty-six private school or home-school students were eligible, and 44 have begun using their scholarship. (2) More than 2,600 other graduates from the Classes of 2011 and 2012 remain eligible for the APS; they can use their scholarship in participating Alaska postsecondary institutions in the six academic years following high school graduation. (3) The vast majority of recipients are using the APS to pursue bachelor's degrees full time at the University of Alaska, with only a few recipients attending other schools, pursuing certificates, or attending school part time. (4) Students with an APS are much more likely to attend college and to pursue their studies in Alaska than their non-APS peers. (5) University of Alaska students with an APS took far fewer remedial classes and enrolled in more total credit hours on average than their non-APS peers. Appended to this report are: (1) Data Sources for the 2013 APS Outcomes Report; (2) Determining APS Eligibility; (3) Approved ACPE Institutions and Programs of Study; (4) AY12 Alaska Public High School Graduates Attending Postsecondary  Education by State Where Enrolled; and (5) Sample APS Recipients' Comments to Survey. (Contains 25 exhibits and 23 footnotes.) [This document was also presented by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.]