ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Why Theories of Change Matter. WCER Working Paper No. 2015-2
Author: Connolly, Mark R.
Date: 2015-07-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Educational Change,Educational Theories,STEM Education,Educational Quality,Access to Education,Relevance (Education),Partnerships in Education,Science Course Improvement Projects,Best Practices,Change Strategies

In 2009, a pair of meetings launched an ambitious initiative to link communities engaged in improving STEM education with those engaged in global sustainability. The organizers of the initiative, &quot;Mobilizing STEM Education for a Sustainable Future&quot; (details of which may be found at http://mobilizingstem.wceruw.org/), selected &quot;critical advisors&quot; to attend the meetings and guide discussion. These critical advisors, with expertise in relevant domains in higher education, such as professional development for faculty, curricula development, and policy and practice, were asked to propose new or adapted theories of change that can accomplish a vision for higher education. In this paper, therefore, we review theories of change already used in efforts to improve quality and access in STEM education. We consider why some STEM reform efforts based on particular theories of change (whether implicit or stated) may be more or less successful than others. To this end, this paper argues that theories of change are powerful yet often unacknowledged guides for human action for change. We first explain what a theory of change is. Then we present our findings from a preliminary study of theories of change inferred from a small sample of projects that the National Science Foundation solicited and subsequently funded to improve STEM education. We conclude by discussing the implications of unarticulated theories of change for the nation's efforts to improve STEM education. (NOTE: this WCER working paper is a version of a 2009 paper resulting from the Mobilizing STEM Education for a Sustainable Future initiative.)
Comparing CALL and VAL-ED: An Illustrative Application of a Decision Matrix for Selecting Among Leadership Feedback Instruments. WCER Working Paper No. 2015-5
Author: Goff, Peter
Date: 2015-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Comparative Analysis,Measures (Individuals),Feedback (Response),Psychometrics,Leadership Styles,Accountability,Feasibility Studies,Program Implementation,Educational Indicators,Matrices,Decision Making,Leadership Effectiveness,Transformational Leadership,Social Justice,Surveys,Reliability,Validity,Correlation,Administrator Evaluation

Initiatives to increase leadership accountability coupled with efforts to promote data-driven leadership have led to widespread adoption of instruments to assess school leaders. In this paper we present a decision matrix that practitioners and researchers can use to facilitate instrument selection. Our decision matrix focuses on the psychometric properties of the instrument; the model of leadership used to construct the instrument; the feasibility of implementation; and the extent to which feedback lends itself to changes in behavior (actionability). We apply this decision matrix to two of the most prominent leadership feedback instruments, CALL and VAL-ED. We find substantial similarities between the instruments, yet each has unique strengths and drawbacks. We discuss the implications of the comparative strengths and drawbacks of the two instruments and how they might be most effectively deployed to improve leadership practices.
What Adds Up?: Math Enrollment and Graduation
Author: Utah System of Higher Education, Office of Planning, Finance & Facilities
Date: 2015-09-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: College Mathematics,Required Courses,College Freshmen,Public Colleges,Enrollment Trends,Mathematics Achievement,Student Characteristics,Graduation,At Risk Students,Course Selection (Students),Remedial Mathematics,Dropouts

College students struggling to pass a college level math course required for Quantitative Literacy (QL) credit1 has been a common issue facing many institutions in higher education. In the fall of 2014, the Utah State Board of Regents solidified a statewide initiative that set goals for each of the Utah System of Higher Education institutions (UU, USU, WSU, SUU, SNOW, DSU, UVU, and SLCC) to improve their students' success rates in earning Quantitative Literacy (QL) credit. This report seeks to provide a more comprehensive understanding of what Utah students are experiencing in their journey to earn QL credit. This report focuses on 14,938 first time students who enrolled within 12 months of high school graduation (i.e. &quot;FH students&quot;) at one of the public higher education institutions during Fall 2007-Spring 2008. This analysis followed these students from their initial enrollment through the end of academic year 2013. This report consists of two parts: (1) descriptive information focusing on students' math enrollment patterns and outcomes; and (2) information focused on student disposition in 2013 broken out by their math enrollment patterns.
Personalization in Practice: Observations from the Field. WCER Working Paper No. 2015-8
Author: Halverson, Rich
Date: 2015-12-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Individualized Instruction,College School Cooperation,Praxis,Educational Practices,Elementary Secondary Education,Active Learning,Time Perspective,Intervals,Space Utilization,Program Content,Teacher Role,Technology Uses in Education,Computer Assisted Testing,Teaching Methods,Instructional Innovation

Personalized learning places the interests and abilities of learners at the center of their education experience. Educators develop environments in which students and teachers together build plans for learners to achieve both interest-based and standards-based goals. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education worked with leaders at the Institute for Personalized Learning (IPL) to identify five K-12 schools for a 6-month research project documenting what personalized learning looks like in these schools. This research report presents the initial findings. The central questions and findings that guide this report are: How do IPL schools encourage students to be active participants in their learning? Educators in the IPL schools attempt to create a culture of agency by designing opportunities for students (and educators) to collaboratively control the time, pace, space, place, content and goals of their learning. How do IPL schools shift the role of educators to support personalization? IPL schools enable educators to engage in regular, data-driven consultation with students to construct learning pathways and set learning goals. How are learning technologies used in IPL schools? IPL schools develop socio-technical ecologies, that is, environments where technologies are selected by educators to address the interests and needs of all learners. The ecologies have three dimensions: (1) all schools provide information technologies that allow students to coordinate and document learning processes and outcomes; (2) all schools provide computer-adaptive assessment and curriculum programs that individuate skill and content development learning in math and reading; (3) some schools create digital media spaces to foster creativity in activities such as gaming, coding, performance, production and making. Across the IPL schools we found a shared vision of teaching and learning that framed the practices to provide students with agency over their learning, the interactions of teachers and students, and the selection and use of technologies. Commitment to a core pedagogy of student ability to design, track and assess a learning program pervades our observations at the IPL schools.
Studying the Study Section: How Group Decision Making in Person and via Videoconferencing Affects the Grant Peer Review Process. WCER Working Paper No. 2015-6
Author: Pier, Elizabeth L.
Date: 2015-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Participative Decision Making,Videoconferencing,Peer Evaluation,Grants,Program Proposals,Scores,Interrater Reliability,Differences,Public Agencies,Scientific Research

Grant peer review is a foundational component of scientific research. In the context of grant review meetings, the review process is a collaborative, socially mediated, locally constructed decision-making task. The current study examines how collaborative discussion affects reviewers' scores of grant proposals, how different review panels score the same proposals, and how the discourse practices of video conference panels differ from in-person panels. Methodologically, we created and videotaped four &quot;constructed study sections,&quot; recruiting biomedical scientists with U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) review experience and an NIH scientific review officer. These meetings provide a rich medium for investigating the process and outcomes of such authentic collaborative tasks. We discuss implications for research into the peer review process as well as for the broad enterprise of federally funded scientific research.
From Autonomous to Peer E-Learning: How the FReE Team Turned ePortfolio Into a Social Network Between First and Final-Year Modern Languages Students
Author: Penet, Jean-Christophe
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Case Studies,Electronic Publishing,Electronic Learning,Educational Technology,Social Media,College Students,Second Language Instruction,French,Portfolios (Background Materials),Curriculum Development,Foreign Countries,Language Skills,Vocational Interests,Student Motivation,Employment Qualifications,Questionnaires

In this case study, I will show how I redesigned the curriculum of a post-A Level French module in order to improve students' career awareness and their soft--interpersonal and transferable--skills through autonomous e-learning. In the first phase of the project (2012/13), students were encouraged to start thinking in French about their career ambitions by making use of the University's ePortfolio. The feedback from this phase showed that the dual objective to boost students' linguistic progress while making them more career aware had been reached, but that their motivation, however, tended to flag over time, especially in semester 2. A second phase of the project (2013/14) therefore aimed to remedy this by turning ePortfolio into a social networking site between first- and final-year students. Blending peer-learning with e-learning, the team of final-years was tasked with giving the project a real presence on ePortfolio by replying to the first-year's posts on employability. It is believed that FRE1071 students' motivation was increased by the team of final-year students' open dialogue with first-years about their employability tasks on ePortfolio. [For the complete book, &quot;10 Years of the LLAS eLearning Symposium: Case Studies in Good Practice,&quot; see ED577046.]
Dyslexia in Modern Language Learning: A Case Study on Collaborative Task-Design for Inclusive Teaching and Learning in an Online Context
Author: Motzo, Anna
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Dyslexia,Case Studies,Online Courses,College Students,Inclusion,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Distance Education,Second Language Instruction,Meetings,Cognitive Processes,Auditory Discrimination,Visual Stimuli,Auditory Stimuli,Mnemonics

In recent years, universities have been involved in developing new strategies to promote widening participation in higher education, and consequently they have been focusing on increasing the variety of support offered to students with disabilities for a more inclusive and widely accessible learning environment. However, there is a common feeling amongst practitioners and learners that learning disabilities are harder to recognise than physical disabilities, and therefore less prioritised. Such is still the case with dyslexia, a learning difference (term chosen here by the authors to describe a difficulty in the cognitive processing of information), which unlike most physical disabilities, is not always identified and therefore addressed with appropriate dyslexia-friendly learning materials and approaches. Furthermore, the staggering growth in the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education raises questions about how the new technologies can support an inclusive learning approach. This case study provides an outline of the Dyslexia in Modern Language Learning (DMLL) collaborative project, aimed at bridging the gap between language learning and learning differences (specifically dyslexia) in an online distance learning framework. [For the complete book, &quot;10 Years of the LLAS eLearning Symposium: Case Studies in Good Practice,&quot; see ED577046.]
Learning to Swim in New Waters: A Meta-Narrative about the Design and Implementation of a Virtual Learning Environment for Language Learning and Teaching
Author: MacKinnon, Teresa
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Blended Learning,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Second Language Instruction,Program Development,Integrated Learning Systems,Action Research,Higher Education,Telecommunications,Social Media

In the past 5 years, the Language Centre at the University of Warwick has designed and implemented a blended learning environment in order to meet two important challenges to our Institution-Wide Language Programme (IWLP) language teaching mission. These were to connect teachers and learners together online in order to better support progress where class contact time was limited, and to provide effective support to teaching colleagues with little or no experience of e-learning. Designing the portal, known as Languages@Warwick, involved a complex process of needs analysis, technical and financial understanding and interaction with many stakeholders. Progress in the use of the platform was regularly reviewed and shared with the tutor community in order to inform next steps. This chapter will present an emerging understanding of the nature and impact of the developments set against the rapidly changing technological and pedagogical landscape. One which can perhaps best be described not as a community of practice, as had been expected, but rather as a collection of participatory communities known as collectives. [For the complete book, &quot;10 Years of the LLAS eLearning Symposium: Case Studies in Good Practice,&quot; see ED577046.]
Sound Literature: The Pedagogy of Reconnection through Student-Authored Audiobooks in the Spanish Curriculum
Author: Lorenzo-Zamorano, Susana
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Case Studies,Undergraduate Study,Student Projects,Second Language Instruction,Spanish,Cultural Awareness,Study Abroad,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Audio Books,Language Skills,Student Attitudes,Questionnaires

This article is based on a case study I presented at the elearning Symposium 2014 and focuses on an undergraduate project which had received the Teaching Enhancement and Student Success Fund at the University of Manchester two years before. The project was conceived as an outreach activity complementing the final year core language classes and aimed at engaging students with both reading and listening to advanced texts and enjoying literature through weekly reading groups and audiobooks. Ultimately, through reading and creating literature, the objective was to foster students' intercultural competence after the year abroad. It was thus a student-centred and task-orientated project involving the creation of an audiobook by its participants. To this end, different forms of technology were introduced, each serving a particular purpose and fitting into specific learning goals. In this article I will report on the use of tablet PC technology for marking and giving feedback as well as on the benefits of audiobooks for language teaching in the context of higher education, where they have not yet had an extensive use. [For the complete book, &quot;10 Years of the LLAS eLearning Symposium: Case Studies in Good Practice,&quot; see ED577046.]
Using Blackboard Wiki Pages as a Shared Space for Simulating the Professional Translation Work Environment
Author: Vine, Juliet
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Integrated Learning Systems,Web Sites,Collaborative Writing,Web 2.0 Technologies,Undergraduate Study,Simulation,Translation,Cooperative Learning,Second Language Learning,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Teaching Methods

The Work-Integrated Simulation for Translators module is part of a three year undergraduate degree in translation. The semester long module aims to simulate several aspects of the translation process using the Blackboard virtual learning environment's Wikis as the interface for completing translation tasks. For each translation task, one of the students is the translator and the other student is the reviser and evaluator. The Source Text (ST) is sent to the students with a translation brief, and they have to co-ordinate between themselves via the Wiki to ensure the whole task is completed within one week. The feedback from the language tutor is also uploaded onto the Wiki, so that both students are able to access the feedback on all parts of the task. The students are also required to reflect on the experience through the journals tool in Blackboard. [For the complete book, &quot;10 Years of the LLAS eLearning Symposium: Case Studies in Good Practice,&quot; see ED577046.]
Tapping Technology in Creating Product Development Studies: Reflections on an ESP-Business Project
Author: Yeh, Aiden
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: English for Special Purposes,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Video Technology,Marketing,Creativity,Teacher Attitudes,Student Projects,Active Learning,Teaching Methods,Business Administration Education,Continuing Education,Technology Integration,Learning Processes,Foreign Countries,Blended Learning,Brainstorming,Handheld Devices

This paper describes a teacher's reflections on a technology-enhanced project-based learning approach to teaching an ESP-business lesson on product development, which is part of the curriculum for Conference English and Meetings Practice (CEMP), a business-track course for the Adult Continuing Education program at a private university in southern Taiwan. The project aimed to provide students with the opportunity to simulate the process of creating an improved product concept based on target market needs and produce a marketing campaign. Students worked on blending traditional materials with technology throughout the learning process from brainstorming, sketching, and presenting visually creative layouts. One of the caveats of undertaking this project was the time involved in production. Similar to real-life marketing scenarios, the crucial element was shooting and editing the videos and the making of the product prototype. Nonetheless, they were able to overcome those challenges and their product studies showed their flair for creativity and ingenuity. [For the complete book, &quot;10 Years of the LLAS eLearning Symposium: Case Studies in Good Practice,&quot; see ED577046.]
The e-Learning Tool Voxopop and Its Benefits on Oral Skills: Activities for Final Year Students of German
Author: Stollhans, Sascha
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Case Studies,German,Second Language Instruction,Language Skills,Oral Language,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Interaction,Computer Mediated Communication,Cooperative Learning,Study Abroad,Student Surveys,Student Attitudes,Teaching Methods,College Students

This case study demonstrates how Voxopop, a voice based e-learning tool, can be used to practise oal skills in the target language by presenting activities which have been developed for students of German at the University of Nottingham. The focus lies on an ongoing innovative project designed to improve final year students' oral skills by having them interact with each other on Voxopop, specifically in the context of debriefing them on their year abroad experience. Like many Internet forums, Voxopop is a platform to exchange ideas and engage in discussions. However, this is done in oral instead of written form and is therefore an opportunity to practise oral performances in the target language. The key advantage of Voxopop lies in the fact that it is self-explanatory, user-friendly and accessible online so students can use it anywhere, with minimal equipment (e.g. their laptop or smartphone). It creates an environment where students do not feel under pressure as they can practise, listen back and re-record themselves before uploading their contributions. This also gives students the opportunity to reflect on their own output and find out about their strengths and weaknesses when producing the target language orally. [For the complete book, &quot;10 Years of the LLAS eLearning Symposium: Case Studies in Good Practice,&quot; see ED577046.]
Learning Foreign Languages with ClipFlair: Using Captioning and Revoicing Activities to Increase Students&apos; Motivation and Engagement
Author: Baños, Rocío
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Second Language Learning,Student Motivation,Learner Engagement,Electronic Learning,Audiovisual Aids,Social Media,Learning Activities,Secondary Education,Postsecondary Education,Educational Resources

The purpose of this paper is to present the rationale and outcomes of ClipFlair, a European-funded project aimed at countering the factors that discourage Foreign Language Learning (FLL) by providing a motivating, easily accessible online platform to learn a foreign language through revoicing (e.g. dubbing) and captioning (e.g. subtitling). This paper will reflect on what has been achieved throughout the project and the challenges encountered along the way, in order to share our experience and inspire other FLL tutors in secondary and tertiary education. The focus is on the main outputs of the project: a) ClipFlair Studio, an online platform where users (both tutors and learners) can create, upload and access revoicing and captioning activities to learn a foreign language; b) ClipFlair Gallery, a library of resources containing over 350 activities to learn the 15 languages targeted in the project; and c) ClipFlair Social, an online community where learners, teachers and activity authors can share information. [For the complete book, &quot;10 Years of the LLAS eLearning Symposium: Case Studies in Good Practice,&quot; see ED577046.]
Collaborative Production of Learning Objects on French Literary Works Using the LOC Software
Author: Penman, Christine
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Case Studies,Second Language Learning,French,Second Language Instruction,Open Source Technology,Cooperative Learning,Learning Activities,Instructional Materials,Computer Software,College Students,Foreign Countries,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Communities of Practice,French Literature,Computer Simulation

This case study situates the collaborative design of learning objects (interactive online learning material) using the LOC (Learning Object Creator) software in the context of language activities external to the core learning activities of language students at a UK university. It describes the creative and pedagogical processes leading to the creation of a series of learning objects on French literary works by and for students who do not formally study literature as part of their language degree. The study documents the initial set-up of projects and pragmatic constraints and affordances to team-based design. It reports on perception of this work by students and academic staff and reflects on the journey to building an open source library of discovery tools for a programme-based community of learners. [For the complete book, &quot;10 Years of the LLAS eLearning Symposium: Case Studies in Good Practice,&quot; see ED577046.]