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10% for Attendance & Participation: Evaluating Assessment Practices in Undergraduate Courses
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| Presenter(s):
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| Susan Rogers, State University of New York at Albany, susan.rogers.edu@gmail.com
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| Kristina Mycek, State University of New York at Albany, km1042@albany.edu
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| Abstract:
Instructors who are otherwise rigorous may succumb to the inclusion of a “participation” grade in the course syllabus. Is this practice valid? Is it widespread? What are the implications? While there is an assumption in the literature that many undergraduate instructors do assign a grade for participation, there is a scarcity of research exploring this phenomenon. Evaluations in higher education often focus on overall program goals, however assessment in the classroom is a key indicator of design and delivery of education in the university. The current paper investigates the heretofore unconfirmed ubiquity of grading participation in undergraduate classes. Instructor practices are assessed through the use of an online survey instrument (n=352), and explored through the use of principal components analysis. Findings suggest that particular pedagogical attitudes may be related to how – and why – participation grades are assigned. Implications for evaluation in higher education are explored.
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Tables and Chairs: The Effects of Classroom Design on Students and Instructors in Higher Educational Settings
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| Presenter(s):
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| Martin Wikoff, Krueger International, martin.wikoff@ki.com
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| Susan Rogers, State University of New York at Albany, susan.rogers.edu@gmail.com
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| Abstract:
Optimizing formal learning environments has been the province of researchers and educators for many years. The design of so-called Learning Spaces has also caught the attention of architects and interior design professionals. The purpose of this research is to evaluate effect of classroom design on learning outcomes and attitudes of students and faculty. Three classrooms were structured in different formats: 1) Highly Flexible 2) Moderately flexible and 3) Traditional. A mixed methods approach was used to collect data from a variety of sources. Analyses were conducted to determine if these structures impacted student learning (as measured through course test scores), and student and instructor attitudes, measured using Burgess and Kaya’s (2007) Classroom Attitude Scale. Multiple observations were conducted to document the actual use of the furniture in the classrooms. Findings and implications for institutions of higher education, as well as evaluations conducted in university settings, are discussed.
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