(2013). Toward New Data and Information Management Solutions for Data-Intensive Ecological Research. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Texas at El Paso. Ecosystem health is deteriorating in many parts of the world due to direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures. Generating accurate, useful, and impactful models of past, current, and future states of ecosystem structure and function is a complex endeavor that often requires vast amounts of data from multiple sources and knowledge from collaborating researchers. Ecological data collection has improved rapidly over the past few decades due to the development, innovation, and large scale deployment of automated sensors, which are capable of measuring a gamut of ecosystem properties over broad spatiotemporal scales. Although complex ecosystem models and analyses are increasingly parameterized with data from such sensors, the challenges of managing, analyzing, and sharing large data sets remain for this field of research. The goals of this research were to: 1) better identify and understand challenges that academic ecological research groups face when incorporating automated sensors… [Direct]
(2010). Promoting Hybrid Learning through a Sharable eLearning Approach. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, v14 n3 p13-24 Nov. Educational technology is developing rapidly, making education more accessible, affordable, adaptable, and equitable. Students now have the option to choose a campus that can provide an excellent blended learning curriculum with minimal geographical restraints. We explored ways to maximize the power of educational technologies to improve teaching efficiency and cut costs without sacrificing high quality or placing an extra burden on faculty. This mission was accomplished through adaptable e-learning content design and development. We developed scalable, shareable, and sustainable e-learning modules as textbook chapters that can be distributed platform independently. The resulting e-learning building blocks can automate the assessment processes, provide just-in-time feedback, and adjust the teaching material dynamically based upon each student's strengths and weaknesses. Once built, these self-contained learning modules can be easily maintained, shared, and re-purposed, thus cutting… [PDF] [Direct]
(2010). The Oral History of Evaluation: The Professional Development of Marvin C. Alkin. American Journal of Evaluation, v31 n2 p266-277. Over the past 7 years, the Oral History Project Team has conducted interviews with individuals who have made signal contributions to evaluation theory and practice, tracing their professional development and contextualizing their work within the social and political climates of the time. By capturing the professional evolution of those who have contributed to the ways in which people understand and practice evaluation in the United States today, we hope to create an oral genealogy of program evaluation. This article presents an interview with Professor Marvin C. Alkin, who is currently Professor Emeritus in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1995, Alkin received the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award for outstanding contributions to the development of evaluation theory from the American Evaluation Association. In this interview, Alkin chronicles his life experiences related to evaluation, ranging from the development of Center for the Study of… [Direct]
(2018). Psychological Applications and Trends 2018. Online Submission This book contains a compilation of papers presented at the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) 2018, organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (W.I.A.R.S.). Modern psychology offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and groups (mental functions and behavioral standpoints), from this academic and practical scientific discipline, aims ultimately to benefit society. The International Conference seeks to provide some answers and explore the several areas within the Psychology field, new developments in studies and proposals for future scientific projects. The goal is to offer a worldwide connection between psychologists, researchers and lecturers, from a wide range of academic fields, interested in exploring and giving their contribution in psychological issues. We take pride in having been able to connect and bring together academics, scholars, practitioners and… [PDF]
(2012). Formalism over Function: Compulsion, Courts, and the Rise of Educational Formalism in America, 1870-1930. Teachers College Record, v114 n1. Background/Context: Though the impact of the legal system in shaping public education over the last sixty years is unquestioned, scholars have largely overlooked the impact of the legal system on the early development and trajectory of public schools in America. Scholars have given particularly little attention to the period in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, when states began passing laws requiring that children attend school for some portion of the year. These laws brought an end to the era of voluntary schooling in America while posing a difficult set of legal and educational questions for judges who had to interpret and apply them. The evolving logic of these decisions subsequently shaped the role, purpose, and form of education in America. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This article offers a legal history of compulsory education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In doing so, it seeks to understand the role that courts… [Direct]
(2011). Ubiquitous Learning (U-Learning) Awareness among the Tuticorin District B.Ed., Trainees. Journal on School Educational Technology, v6 n4 p26-31 Mar-May. The rapid development of information and communication technologies during the past two decades has had many points of contact with education and training. The use of technology in colleges and schools is not new. Teacher training often includes computer-assisted learning along with other multimedia presentation techniques. The power of ICT over other technologies lies in the "information" and delivery capabilities (Peak, Berge & Zane, 2006). The global network brings learning outside the classroom at any time, any place. Interactive communication without time constraint between and among students and teachers–from local to global level–allows sharing of ideas and experience more easily. Wireless connectivity, notebooks, PDAs and their design and use, a transition from electronic learning (e-learning) to mobile learning (m-learning) is one of the challenges being faced by educational institutions. The recent trend of e-education is called as ubiquitous learning. That… [PDF]
(2011). Envisaging New Educational Provision: Innovative Organisation in the Age of New Modernism. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, v16 n2 p155-171. In the "age of austerity", educational institutions in many countries are under pressure from a variety of sources to work more closely, reduce costs and raise educational performance. There are a number of possible outcomes that follow on from developing closer institutional ties: sharing of professional expertise through best practice networks, developing greater coherence within the local curriculum and opportunity for students' progression within the education system, and of course, ultimately merger and take-over. The environment within which institutions operate is in a state of flux but is moving clearly towards meeting the challenges presented by Central Government. There has been a shift in British Government policy during the past three decades which has been influenced by ideas drawn from economic instrumentalism, New Public Management and Public Choice theory. Colleges are increasingly viewed by Central Government as a convenient vehicle for local, economic and… [Direct]
(2010). Facebook-Driven Newark Overhaul Lurches Forward. Education Week, v30 n6 p1, 14-15 Oct. What began as a swashbuckling move by the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, the state's governor, and a newly minted billionaire to reshape the beleaguered Newark school system has turned into a tangle of blowback and counterpunches as skeptics contend the plan would violate state law. At issue is the power-sharing arrangement proposed by the three men. In a series of media appearances, including a kickoff announcement on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Sept. 24, they said New Jersey Governor Chris Christie would "partner" with Mayor Cory A. Booker over the next five years on a district turnaround, drawing on the millions Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will provide, through a new foundation, from his own Facebook stock. The prospect that the mayor could wield decisionmaking power, however, has alarmed education law experts, who maintain that state law would prohibit such a power shift. David G. Sciarra, the director of the Education Law Center, said that no New Jersey… [Direct]
(2011). Engaging Students in Science Courses: Lessons of Change from the Arctic. Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, v42 n2 p105-136 May. Where you live should have something to do with what you teach. In the Arctic, the idea of place-based education–teaching and sharing knowledge that is needed to live well–is central to the UARCTIC consortium and the 4th International Polar Year educational reform effort. A place-based issue oriented context can engage students in chemistry concepts when it intersects with their experience and lives. This article examines the rationale and means of integrating local concerns such as world view, culture, traditional knowledge, and policy into both general and specialized chemistry courses. More broadly, capacious place-based issues should be widely adapted by all curriculum reform efforts to demonstrate the connectivity between science and societal understanding of technological options. A case in point is the inclusion of indigenous perspectives in a non-majors general chemistry course when the concepts of scientific method, ice and water resources, genetic engineering, and so… [Direct]
(2009). The Role of Community Book Club in Changing Literacy Practices. Literacy Teaching and Learning, v13 n1-2 p25-56. Community Book Club began as an experimental approach intended to combine professional development for teachers and family literacy for the parents of the preschoolers involved in an Early Reading First project. We collected data on 11 book club meetings over a 2-year time period. Meetings were held at local churches and at each meeting, participants discussed two books: an adolescent/adult book and a similarly themed children's book. We interviewed participants, videotaped meetings, collected field notes, and kept attendance sheets. Data analysis began at the first meeting and continued throughout the project. We coded data from all sources and identified four major themes: (1) Changes in the membership of book club; (2) Changes in reported home literacy practices of the participants; (3) Sharing the \lived experience\ of reading; and (4) Changes in manner of participation that led to the emergence of new, situated literacy practices. We found that over time teachers, parents, and… [PDF] [PDF]
(2008). Disc Golf Play: Using Recreation to Improve Disruptive Classroom Behaviors. Journal of School Counseling, v6 n2. This study examined the use of disc golf as a creative, recreational play intervention for improving classroom behaviors in disruptive children. Twenty-two elementary students were randomly selected for either a treatment or control group and rated at pre- and post- by their teachers on the use of nine positive classroom behaviors (e.g., sharing, raising hand, and compliance). Results of a two-way ANOVA with repeated measures and one between-subjects factor revealed a significant difference (p less than 0.0001) between both groups over time. Implications are discussed. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)… [PDF]
(2017). The Millennial Generation: Common Experience Guiding Them into Adulthood. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Southern New Hampshire University. The Millennial Generation, those born from 1980-2000, see the world from a different viewpoint. This distinctive cohort has structured their lives in a different manner than preceding generations. The introduction and influence of social, political, and technological changes over the past few decades have structured Millennials' unique and sometimes unclear characteristics and behaviors. Dividing and defining people by their birth years can seem like a subjective generalization. However, Howe and Strauss (2000) argue that shared experiences during formative years within a cohort result in a distinctive generational bond resulting in common attitudes and behaviors. Millennials have been labeled as one of the most overprotected and enabled generations in history, and mentors are uncertain how to beneficially nurture this generation as they transition into adulthood (Lykins & Pace, 2013: Twenge et al.).Generations are shaped by the dynamic interplay of history and popular culture,… [Direct]
(2010). Designing for Innovation around OER. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, . This paper argues that designing collections of "closed" educational resources (content and technologies) for use by specific student cohorts and collections of open educational resources for use by any "learner" require different design approaches. Learning design for formal courses has been a research topic for over 10 years as the ever growing range of digital content and technologies has potentially offered new opportunities for constructing effective learning experiences, primarily through greater sharing and re-use of such content and technologies. While progress in adopting learning design by teaching practitioners has appeared slow so far, the advent of open educational resources (OER) has provided a substantive boost to such sharing activity and a subsequent need for employing learning design in practice. Nevertheless there appears to be a paradox in that learning design assumes a reasonably well known and well defined student audience with presumed… [PDF]
(2012). I Am a Chameleon in Pearls: How Three Select Female Superintendents Perceive Their Professional Lives. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Texas A&M University. The public school superintendent is the least progressive position in education at integrating women and balancing the scales of equitable representation. Statistical data indicates there are far fewer females than males serving as superintendents. Current statistics show women make up: 1) over 70 percent of all public school educators; 2) nearly half of all principals; and 3) almost 60 percent of all central office administrators. Yet today, female superintendents in our nation total only 20 percent. Despite the perceived oppression of the marginalized, gender study research on women in the superintendent/Chief Financial Officer (CFO) position is limited and built on a narrowly focused foundation. Most of the work on this topic has been done to study the barriers women encounter when attempting to become a public school administrator, rather than to explore their role as a modern day superintendent/CFO. The purpose of this qualitative study will be to build on prior research, which… [Direct]
(2012). Who Gets to See Published Research?. Chronicle of Higher Education, Jan. The battle over public access to federally financed research is heating up again. The basic question is this: When taxpayers help pay for scholarly research, should those taxpayers get to see the results in the form of free access to the resulting journal articles? Actions in Washington this month highlight how far from settled the question is, even among publishers. A major trade group, the Association of American Publishers, has thrown its weight behind proposed new legislative limits on requiring public access, while several of its members, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) press, have publicly disagreed with that position. The White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy just closed a period of public comment on public access to what it called "peer-reviewed scholarly publications resulting from federally funded research." The office has not set a timetable for what happens now, but its next moves could also determine whether federal… [Direct]