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Understanding the Context of Teaching English Learners: Evaluating a National Professional Development Project in a Teacher Education Program
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| Presenter(s):
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| Cindy Shuman, Kansas State University, cshuman@ksu.edu
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| Martha Foote, Texas A&M University, martha_foote@tamu-commerce.edu
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| Chris Green, Texas A&M University Commerce, chris_green@tamu-commerce.edu
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| Abstract:
This paper will focus on the external evaluation activities of a National Professional Development grant at a Midwestern university. The project was designed to help bilingual, ESL, and general education teachers meet the needs of English Learners (ELs). To do this, one of the project's main goals is to infuse content about the teaching of ELs into courses taken by all undergraduates seeking K-12 teaching certificates enrolled in the teacher education curriculum at the university. Participants in the project include university faculty, pre-service and in-service teachers in the teacher education program, and teachers and administrators in partner school districts. The paper will focus on the mixed method design of the evaluation used to collect baseline information as well as documenting progress and measuring impact as the project moves into its third year of implementation.
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The Use of In-test Mnemonic Aids (a.k.a. Cheat-sheets) in Higher Education To Improve Student Learning and Performance
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| Presenter(s):
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| David Larwin, Kent State University Salem, dlarwin@kent.edu
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| Karen Larwin, University of Akron, drklarwin@yahoo.com
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| Abstract:
Few things are dreaded more than college-level exams. The goal of the present evaluation is the first attempt to investigate the impact of In-test Mnemonic Aids (IMAs), or what some call 'cheat sheets,' on students' learning and performance. The present investigation explores several hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the potential benefit of using IMAs during examinations. The findings presented here suggest that IMAs can improve student performance and learning. Specifically, the creation of IMAs in preparation for an exam, rather than simply their use during an exam, seemed to be responsible for the beneficial effects of IMAs on the dependent measure. Consistent with the student engagement hypothesis, the preparation of IMAs provided students with an additional opportunity to explore and master course materials. A follow-up survey of student participants suggests that the use of IMAs served to offer students a greater sense of comfort and sense of preparedness for their exam.
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Studying Teacher Education Reconsidered: Contributions From Evaluation
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| Presenter(s):
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| Xiaoxia Newton, University of California Berkeley, xnewton@berkeley.edu
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| Heeju Jang, University of California Berkeley, heejujang@berkeley.edu
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| Nicci Nunes, University of California Berkeley, nunesn@berkeley.edu
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| Elisa Stone, University of California Berkeley, emstone@berkeley.edu
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| Rick Ayers, University of California Berkeley, rick-ayers@earthlink.net
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| Abstract:
The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation has created an unprecedented interest in using high-stakes testing to monitor the performance and accountability of teachers and schools. The ripple effect of this singular focus on using pupil test scores as measures of teacher effectiveness has also reached higher education institutions, which face increasing pressure to demonstrate their effectiveness through pupils' learning gains in classrooms where the graduates of the programs teach. The link between the two (i.e., teacher candidates' learning in education programs and pupil learning in classrooms) implicit in the policy discourse suggests a straightforward one-to-one correspondence. In reality, the logical steps leading from what teacher candidates learned in their programs to what they are doing in classrooms that may contribute to their pupils' learning are anything but straightforward. In this paper, we illustrate how critical concepts from scholarship of program evaluation have guided a team of evaluators and program staff to collaboratively design a longitudinal evaluation approach to studying the process and impact of an undergraduate math and science teacher education program.
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Program Assessment in Nonprofit Management Academic Programs: The State of the Field
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| Presenter(s):
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| Ann Breihan, College of Notre Dame of Maryland, abreihan@ndm.edu
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| Marvin Mandell, University of Maryland Baltimore County, mandell@umbc.edu
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| Abstract:
This empirical study will ascertain which approaches to program assessment are currently in use in nonprofit management programs in institutions of higher education the US. The findings will be derived from surveys of randomly selected programs, stratified by program type (full graduate degree programs, graduate programs with concentrations in nonprofit management, and undergraduate majors), region, funding pattern (public and private institutions), and size. The data will be used to address the questions: what approaches to program assessment are currently in use, and what are the predictors of program assessment approaches?
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Making Educational Engagement Visible: Toward Practical Means for Evaluating Engagement in Higher Education
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| Presenter(s):
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| Rick Axelson, University of Iowa, rick-axelson@uiowa.edu
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| Arend Flick, Riverside Community College, arend.flick@rcc.edu
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| Abstract:
Engagement has been widely regarded as an essential condition for student learning. There appears to be near unanimity in the teaching and learning literature that many of our educational system's ills could be cured by making learning more 'engaging' for students. It is far less clear, however, precisely what that means and how it could be accomplished. The multiple meanings of the term engagement and its rather sketchy linkages to learning theory make it difficult for practitioners to design and effect engaging learning environments. In this session, we propose conceptual frameworks for studying engagement in different teaching-learning contexts (e.g., adult education, communities of practice) and show how they can be represented in logic models. By incorporating theory-based engagement mechanisms in logic models, we aim to enhance discussions about engagement with stakeholders and facilitate efforts to cumulate findings about how engagement can be promoted across various educational contexts.
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