ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Orwellian Educational Change under Obama: Crisis Discourse, Utopian Expectations, and Accountability Failures
Author: Thomas, Paul L.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Change,Neoliberalism,Discourse Analysis,Educational Policy,Expectation,Accountability,Failure,Educational Legislation,Federal Legislation,Politics of Education,Ideology,Presidents,Federal Government,Government Role,Public Agencies,Policy Formation,Federal Programs

Beginning with the Reagan administration and perpetuated by Obama's presidency are patterns of public speeches--crisis discourse and Utopian expectations--and educational policy that began with 1983's &quot;A Nation at Risk,&quot; accelerated through Goals 2000, and codified without much critical concern as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) under George W. Bush and Secretary of Education Paige. This article explores the neoliberal assumptions driving the language and policies related to education that came from the Obama administration and guided by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The examination unpacks Duncan's speeches and the realities of the ideologies the administration supports through policy and public messages. The dynamic established through crisis discourse about the public education system, combined with Utopian expectations for those schools, helps mask the neoliberal assumptions embedded in what Freire (1998) calls &quot;the bureaucratizing of the mind.&quot; The great failure being masked is that bureaucratic calls for school reform are perpetuating the labeling and marginalizing of teachers and students whose conditions in mechanistic schools parallel the inequities that the political elite are willfully ignoring both in their discourse and in their policies.
Learning Outcomes in an Online vs Traditional Course
Author: Stack, Steven
Date: 2015-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Online Courses,Conventional Instruction,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Criminology,College Students,Scores,Standardized Tests,Teaching Methods,Comparative Analysis,Student Attitudes,Grades (Scholastic),Student Surveys

Relative enrollment in online classes has tripled over the last ten years, but the efficacy of learning online remains unclear. While two recent Meta analyses report higher exam grades for online vs. traditional classes, this body of research has been marked by two recurrent limitations: (1) a possible problem of selection bias wherein students self select the mode of course delivery and (2) a relative lack of proctoring of exams in online sections. Both of these confounders contribute to observed differences in performance. The present study addresses these limitations. Data refer to 64 students enrolled in criminology classes at a Carnegie research extensive university. Due to an administrative error in the course schedule, which failed to list one section as online, students were unable to self select into the online section, creating a rare opportunity for quasi randomization of students into sections. Both sections were taught by the same instructor. The dependent variable is the score on the standardized final examination. All exams were proctored by the instructor. The central independent variable is method of delivery of content: online vs. the traditional classroom. Controlling for other constructs, there was no significant difference between exam scores. Also, student evaluations did not differ between sections. Controlling for selection effects and the proctoring of exams, the academic performance of online students was the same as that of traditional students. Future work is needed for other courses, other fields, and other types of academic institutions.
Using Reading Guides and On-Line Quizzes to Improve Reading Compliance and Quiz Scores
Author: Maurer, Trent W.
Date: 2015-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Introductory Courses,Child Development,Study Guides,Computer Assisted Testing,Reading Improvement,Scores,Reading Tests,Reading Assignments,Study Habits,Outcomes of Education,Statistical Analysis,Student Surveys,Likert Scales,Multivariate Analysis

This study compared students' daily in-class reading quiz scores in an introductory Child Development course across five conditions: control, reading guide only, reading guide and on-line practice quiz, reading guide and on-line graded quiz, and reading guide and both types of on-line quizzes. At the beginning of class, students completed a 5-item quiz over the assigned readings. With the exception of the control section, all students had access to an instructor-designed reading guide for each of the 20 assigned readings. Results revealed that reading guides significantly increased student learning as demonstrated by increased scores on the in-class reading quizzes, with marginal additional gains when practice quizzes were also utilized. The addition of online graded quizzes resulted in lower scores on in-class quizzes. Results held even after multiple subsidiary analyses controlling for time spent studying. These findings suggest that reading guides may be a valuable study aid for improving student learning.
The Evolution of a Big Idea: Why Don't We Know Anything about Africa?
Author: Meyer, Michael James
Date: 2009-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Units of Study,Secondary School Teachers,African Studies,Teaching Experience,Curriculum Development,Instructional Innovation,Teaching Methods,Grade 9,Learning Experience,Educational Practices,Educational Strategies

This article is about my experiences as a ninth grade history teacher trying to implement a &quot;big idea&quot; unit on ancient African history. My experiences as a first year teacher and also my experience in seeing this unit develop over three years are chronicled. I conclude that implementing a big idea strategy of instruction is possible in a &quot;real&quot; classroom, that this implementation is more of a journey than a destination, and that big ideas do help students to learn.
&quot;Leave Me and My Facebook Alone!&quot; Understanding College Students' Relationship with Facebook and Its Use for Academic Purposes
Author: Gettman, Hilary J.
Date: 2015-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Media,Teaching Methods,Student Attitudes,Technology Uses in Education,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis,Scholarship,Instruction,Learning,Focus Groups,Student Surveys,Online Surveys,Undergraduate Students

Facebook is by far the most ubiquitous social network in the world. While it has been studied extensively in its native social context, only recently has its use for academic purposes begun to be examined in earnest. In this study we utilize both qualitative and quantitative methodologies in multiple sections of required freshmen and senior courses at a liberal arts college (n = 245). To help delineate factors that cause students to accept (or resist) the use of Facebook by their professors, we draw from the well-established technology acceptance literature, adapting constructs known to predict acceptance and use of technology. Further, we develop new measures of &quot;appropriateness&quot; and &quot;social purposes&quot; to account for the unique context of integrating Facebook into college coursework. We provide recommendations for best practices, find a possible negative &quot;Facebook Effect,&quot; and show that the use of technology acceptance models is a promising avenue for future research.
Choosing Not to Cheat: A Framework to Assess Students' Rationales for Abiding by Academic Integrity Policies
Author: Kolb, Kenneth H.
Date: 2015-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Cheating,Integrity,Plagiarism,Pretests Posttests,First Year Seminars,Ethics,Semi Structured Interviews,Writing Processes,College Students,Qualitative Research

Writing intensive first-year seminars are well situated within the curriculum to teach about issues like cheating and plagiarism. Although most research on academic integrity focuses on how--and how much--students cheat, we take a different approach. We assess whether participation in writing intensive first-year seminars produces measurable changes in students' rationales for choosing not to cheat. Relying upon data collected via pre and post-test in-depth interviews, we propose a framework to measure these changes that is grounded in students' accounts of how they negotiated real-life opportunities to cheat on campus. In general, we find that writing intensive first-year seminars produce no positive qualitative changes in students' rationales for choosing not to cheat. In the conclusion, we offer a new perspective on the possible consequences of creating &quot;cheat proof &quot; tests and assignments on students' ethical development.
Building Connections through Contextualized Learning in an Undergraduate Course on Scientific and Mathematical Literacy
Author: Rathburn, Melanie K.
Date: 2015-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Scientific Literacy,Numeracy,Undergraduate Students,Interdisciplinary Approach,Relevance (Education),Foreign Countries,Required Courses,Student Journals,Social Environment,Social Problems

With increasing demands for universities to create graduates that are numerically and scientifically literate, it is important to determine effective ways to engage students so that they can acquire these literacies. Using an undergraduate, interdisciplinary course that focused on scientific and mathematical literacy, I examined how contextualization influenced students' abilities to build connections between their learning and their lives. In their written reflections, students connected course concepts with their social lives, academic pursuits and global or societal issues without specific prompting. I suggest that contextualization combined with reflection allows students to illustrate their understanding and apply this knowledge to novel scenarios.
SoTL Champions: Leveraging Their Lessons Learned
Author: Marcketti, Sara
Date: 2015-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Scholarship,Instruction,Learning,Higher Education,Teaching Methods,Qualitative Research,Semi Structured Interviews,College Faculty,Attitude Measures,Coding,Decision Making,STEM Education

The benefits of conducting SoTL impact individual faculty, staff, students, as well as disciplines, departments, and institutions. In spite of these benefits, colleges and universities, as well as faculty members, do not consistently embrace a broader vision of scholarship, including SoTL. This research explored individual experiences within the institutional framework of one land-grant institution to further institutionalize SoTL practice. A qualitative methodology of individual, semi-structured interviews was used to collect data. Eighteen faculty members with ranks from assistant to full professor revealed why they became involved in SoTL and the personal and professional benefits that went beyond those that &quot;counted&quot; for promotion and tenure decisions. Institutionalizing SoTL through definition and valuing in the faculty handbook and exempt review opportunities enabled SoTL work. Suggestions for strategically using SoTL to promote the university in efforts to increase recruitment and retention were offered.
Showing Up Is Half the Battle: Assessing Different Contextualized Learning Tools to Increase the Performance in Introductory Computer Science Courses
Author: Rolka, Christine
Date: 2015-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Introductory Courses,Computer Science Education,Context Effect,Grades (Scholastic),Teaching Methods,Robotics,Animation,Academic Achievement,Age Differences,Gender Differences,Ethnic Groups,Racial Differences,Comparative Analysis,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Predictor Variables,Attendance,Science Instruction,Focus Groups,Interviews,College Students,Regression (Statistics),Student Attitudes,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis

Contextualized learning is considered beneficial for student success. In this article, we assess the impact of context-based learning tools on student grade performance in an introductory computer science course. In particular, we investigate two central questions: (1) does the use context-based learning tools, robots and animations, affect student performance? (2) How do age, gender, and ethnicity impact performance? To explore these questions, we compare the impact of educational robots in conjunction with animations against a second group of students who use only animations, while controlling for the effects of gender and ethnicity. We find that the addition of robots did not improve the students' performance in our setting. Instead, our findings support the existing literature stating that gender and ethnicity are important predictors of student success. We also find that attendance is a strong predictor of student success.
Does Mechanism Matter? Student Recall of Electronic versus Handwritten Feedback
Author: Osterbur, Megan E.
Date: 2015-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Feedback (Response),Formative Evaluation,Retention (Psychology),Handwriting,Computer Mediated Communication,Undergraduate Students,Writing Assignments,Integrated Learning Systems,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Student Surveys,Scores,Statistical Analysis,Student Attitudes

Student consumption and recall of feedback are necessary preconditions of successful formative assessment. Drawing on Sadler's (1998) definition of formative assessment as that which is intended to accelerate learning and improve performance through the providing of feedback, we examine how the mechanism of transmission may impact student retention of feedback content. We proceed from the premise that such retention is necessary for feedback to function as a component of formative assessment. Although researchers have written extensively on best practices in feedback content (e.g., Nicol &amp; Macfarlane-Dick, 2006) and student and instructor attitudes toward electronic feedback versus handwritten feedback (e.g., Thomson, 2008), comparatively little research addresses whether the form of feedback influences student consumption and retention. Our research found that whereas students who preferred or received handwritten feedback recall more feedback (quantity), those who actually &quot;received&quot; electronic feedback recall comments more accurately (quality). We encourage instructors to working with either format to adhere to accepted standards for good feedback practice.
The Road to Ambitious Teaching: Creating Big Idea Units in History Classes
Author: Grant, S. G.
Date: 2009-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Units of Study,Social Studies,History Instruction,Instructional Innovation,Teaching Methods,Instructional Effectiveness,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Educational Practices,Secondary School Teachers,Essays,Content Analysis,Case Studies

Although the literature base is replete with ideas about how to develop and support rich social studies teaching, advocates have been unable to show a consistently positive effect. Good history teachers take no single shape. Grant (2003, 2005) suggests that it is the interplay of teachers' deep subject matter knowledge, knowledge of their students, and the challenging contexts they teach in which makes them ambitious teachers. In this article, based on Grant's framework, we describe four cases of ambitious history teaching using big ideas. The principal question driving the project was: How are ambitious teachers making use of big ideas to teach history? Initial findings suggest that ambitious teaching is no panacea; it is challenging, nuanced, and highly-contextualized work. Using big ideas to frame one's practice allows for richer and more complex subject matter, more varied teaching and assessment approaches, and more consideration of the interests and abilities that all students bring to class. At the same time, ambitious teachers must navigate a rocky road, one that includes the need to seize control of the curriculum, come to terms with the evolutionary nature of one's teaching practice, and respond to administrative realities. The ambitious teaching examples in this article add to the history education literature that demonstrates the kind of teaching that is possible in schools under real and perceived constraints.
Inquiry Practices in Malaysian Secondary Classroom and Model of Inquiry Teaching Based on Verbal Interaction
Author: Li, Winnie Sim Siew
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Inquiry,Secondary School Teachers,Chemistry,Science Teachers,Science Instruction,Questionnaires,Semi Structured Interviews,Video Technology,Audio Equipment,Statistical Analysis,Questioning Techniques,Secondary School Students,Classroom Observation Techniques

Purpose: Inquiry teaching has been suggested as one of the important approaches in teaching chemistry. This study investigates the inquiry practices among chemistry teachers. Method: A combination of quantitative and qualitative study was applied in this study to provide detailed information about inquiry teaching practices. Questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and field notes were used. 23 chemistry teachers participated in this study. 92 chemistry lessons were audio and video recorded, which subsequently were transcribed in verbatim. By applying descriptive statistics, the frequencies and percentages of each category in the observation instrument were determined. Findings: Most of the questions made by the teachers and students were closed-ended questions. Teachers in this study practised wait-time after asking questions. Meanwhile, it was found that most of the students' questions were followed by answers given by the teacher and the sequence after students' answers was followed by explanation from the teacher. Students were merely following teacher's explanation or procedures in text book before carrying out experiment. The mean of students' ability to provide further explanation was very low. Significance: A model of inquiry teaching based on verbal interaction was proposed as a guide for chemistry teachers to implement inquiry teaching in order to be in line with the Malaysian National Science Education Standards.
Homeless Education: Analyzing the Problematic Legal Remedies Available to Homeless School Children
Author: Tanabe, Clifton S.
Date: 2009-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Homeless People,Legal Aid,Access to Education,Legal Responsibility,Child Welfare,Child Advocacy,Statistical Distributions,Definitions,Barriers,Administrative Organization,Social Problems,Enrollment Influences,Federal Legislation,Student Transportation,Financial Support,Court Litigation,School Segregation,Criticism,Educational Practices

Given the extent to which our society values education, it is perplexing to learn that we continue to struggle to provide all children, especially homeless children, an adequate education. This troubling issue is the focus of this paper. Specifically, this paper will center around two basic questions; 1) what has the legal system done to ensure that homeless children receive an adequate education, and 2) what might be done, legally, to advocate for the educational well-being of such children? In addressing these two questions, this paper will begin by problematizing the definition of homelessness and by analyzing some national statistics on homelessness and homeless education. It will go on to discuss a few barriers to resolving the problem of homeless education. Then, it will examine two potential remedies to this problem. The first is the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The second is an alternative schooling arrangement that is uniquely designed to address the educational needs of homeless students. Ultimately, I hope to show that homeless children and families face a number of debilitating barriers to receiving an adequate education and that while the available remedies to these barriers (legal and non-legal) have offered some relief, they are not without problems.
Examining the Benefits of Interactive Read-Alouds on Young Children's Vocabulary Development: Pre-Service Teachers as Researchers
Author: Ceprano, Maria A.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Vocabulary Development,Preservice Teachers,Kindergarten,Grade 1,Elementary School Teachers,Urban Schools,Reading Aloud to Others,Field Experience Programs,Accuracy,Language Usage,Student Evaluation,Task Analysis,Teaching Methods,Instructional Effectiveness,Case Studies,Childrens Literature,Lesson Plans

Six pre-service teacher candidates TCs, each engaged in field experiences in Kindergarten or First Grade classrooms at an urban based elementary school compared the impact of interactive read alouds and simple read alouds on children's Tier two vocabulary meaning acquisition and usage. Each TC read a different trade book that contained at least 8 tier two words to 4 children from the classroom in which they had been assigned for field work. For two of the children, the selected text was read using 5 elaborations for each of the target words as it occurred in the text. For the other two children the same text was read without any elaborations on any of the words. Each child was then asked to retell what had been read. Each child's usage of the target words during the retelling was noted for occurrence and accuracy of usage. Findings revealed the superiority of the interactive approach in promoting vocabulary growth as well as comprehension.
Teacher and Students' Perceptions of Reading a Graphic Novel Using the Multiliteracies Approach in an ESL Classroom
Author: Pishol, Shahida
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Teacher Attitudes,Student Attitudes,Cartoons,Novels,Focus Groups,Journal Writing,Feedback (Response),Language Teachers,Reading Instruction,Reading Motivation,Student Interests,Multiple Literacies,Foreign Countries,Secondary School Students,Qualitative Research

Purpose: This article reports on the practical application of Learning Elements advocated by the multiliteracies approach to classroom practice. Its ideas are grounded in the multiliteracies pedagogical principles of teaching and learning that address issues on literacy and learning in today's globalised world. The main objective of this study was to analyse the perceptions of one ESL teacher and 24 students in reading a graphic novel using the multiliteracies approach in an ESL classroom. Methodology: The study involved the collection of qualitative data which was derived from focus group interviews and a journal writing activity. These instruments aimed to get feedback from the ESL teacher and students about their perceptions of reading a graphic novel using the multiliteracies approach in the reading classroom. The materials used for the focus group interviews and the journal writing activity. The data from the focus group interviews were analysed by using thematic analysis. Meanwhile, the data from the teacher journal entries were subjected to a micro analysis approach using the content analysis method. Findings: The findings showed that the students perceived the use of the graphic novel and the multiliteracies approach in their reading class positively because they felt that the lessons were engaging, enjoyable and interesting. This supported the views of the ESL teacher who advocated the inclusion of multimodal pedagogical practices in the learning context to promote positive outcomes. Significance: This study would benefit ESL students in terms of enjoyment in reading. Firstly, reading a graphic novel can tap into students' interest and can motivate them to read and write. Additionally, it would also motivate students to learn collaboratively with their peers. The findings of the study offer ESL teachers and researchers valuable insights of reading a graphic novel using the multiliteracies approach in reading classrooms, as well as planning effective lessons and integrating technology, in an effort to motivate students to read in English.