The Impact of Dual Credit as a School District Policy on Secondary and Postsecondary Student Outcomes

This study estimates the effects of dual credit on outcomes that trace a student’s journey from high school to undergraduate and graduate degree completion. Dual credit is a model program that allows high school students to enroll in college-level courses and simultaneously earn high school and college credit. This study investigates the potential for improving the design of dual-credit programs by exploring heterogeneous effects by program attributes. The study investigates if dual credit effects vary across course subjects. For a limited set of outcomes, the study investigates heterogeneous effects by the instructor’s highest degree earned, instruction mode, and location of instruction. Using panel data with school district fixed effects, this study finds that increases in the share of students earning dual credit are associated with increases in high school graduation; increases in university application, admission, and enrollment; shortened time to degree completion; and increases in degree completion. Districts that increase their average dual credit earned improve outcomes with each increase. Furthermore, dual credit courses produce larger increases in bachelor’s degree completion rates as compared to AP. Finally, evidence suggests that schools can most greatly amplify dual credit effects by prioritizing certain subjects.Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resource

I wish I could believe you: the frustrating unreliability of some assessment research

Many practitioner researchers strive to understand which assessment practices have the best impact on learning, but in authentic educational settings, it can be difficult to determine whether one intervention, for example the introduction of an online quiz to a course studied by diverse students, is responsible for the observed effect. This paper uses examples to highlight some of the difficulties inherent in assessment research and suggests some ways to overcome them. Problems observed in the literature include: assuming that if two effects are correlated then one must have caused the other; confounding variables obscuring the true relationships; experimental approaches that are too far removed from reality; and the danger that self-reported behaviour and opinion is sometimes different from student’s actual behaviour. Practical solutions include: the use of an experimental or pseudo-experimental approach; the use of mixed methods; and the use of meta-analysis

Assessing Vocabulary of Children: Investigating the Evaluation and Instruction of Basic Concepts

Vocabulary knowledge of preschool children is a key factor in predicting literacy success in elementary school (Hammer, Farkas, & Maczuga, 2010). However, few deliberate attempts to teach basic concept vocabulary have been studied (Bowers & Schwarz, 2013; Wilson, 2004). The purpose of this research is to determine if large group explicit instruction with interactive activities of specific basic concept vocabulary will increase preschool children\u27s understanding of basic concept terms when measured by a standardized basic concept assessment. This research will also assess the validity of a basic concept-curriculum based measure (BC-CBM) as an efficient tool to monitor a child\u27s understanding of basic concept vocabulary over time. There were 30 preschool children (M age=53.8 months) who participated in this experiment. Results demonstrated the standardized assessment and BC-BM raw scores improved through intervention. Further research is supported to evaluate the BC-CBM on a larger scale and control for more factors, which influence vocabulary development in children. Keywords: basic concept, vocabulary, preschool, assessmen

Inspiring the Wonderment: Emotional Intelligence in Higher Education

The purpose of this research was to shed insight on the degree to which instructor Emotional Intelligence (EI) may moderate the student/teacher relationship. Interviews were conducted to gather qualitative data on the experience of several students at a private university in the Midwest. The findings suggest that there appears to be a positive relationship between instructor EI and a positive academic experience by the student. Further research on this topic may indicate that institutions may also benefit from incorporating the tracking and evaluating of EI in their faculty body to enhance academic success student

The aptness of tangible user interfaces for explaining abstract computer network principles

The technological deployment of Tangible User Interfaces (TUI) with their intrinsic ability to interlink the physical and digital domains, have steadily gained interest within the educational sector. As a concrete example of Reality Based Interaction, such digital manipulatives have been successfully implemented in the past years to introduce scientific and engineering concepts at earlier stages throughout the educational cycle. With difference to literature, this research investigates the suitability and effectiveness of implementing a TUI system to enhance the learning experience in a higher education environment. The proposal targets the understanding of advanced computer networking principles by the deployment of an interactive table-top system. Beyond the mere simulation and modelling of networking topologies, the design presents students the ability to directly interact with and visualise the protocol execution, hence augmenting their ability to understand the abstract nature of such algorithms. Following deployment of the proposed innovate prototype within the delivery of a university undergraduate programme, the quantitative effectiveness of this novel methodology will be assessed from both a teaching and learning perspective on its ability to convey the abstract notions of computer network principles

Getting immersed in teacher and student perspectives?: facilitating analytical competence using video cases in teacher education

The ability to analyze and understand classroom situations through the eyes of not only teachers but also students can be seen as a crucial aspect of teachers’ professional competence. Even though video case-based learning is considered to have great potential for the promotion of analytical competence of teachers (i.e., becoming immersed in student and teacher perspectives as well as applying conceptual knowledge to better understand classroom situations), only a few studies have investigated the effects of corresponding instructional support. This empirical field study examines the effects on analytical competence of two types of instructional support—hyperlinks to multiple perspectives and hyperlinks to conceptual knowledge—by using a 2 × 2 factorial design in a computer-supported video case-based learning environment inspired by cognitive flexibility theory and participatory design. The study examines collaborative learning processes to discover what specific kind of instruction may help to counteract some of the known deficits of case-based learning and teacher thinking, such as limited perspective-taking. From a participatory design point of view, training novices to become immersed in teacher and student perspectives can be considered as an alternative for direct involvement of teachers and students in the design process. The study was realized as a four-day university course for pre-service teachers (N = 100). ANCOVAs of learning processes (small-group discussions) and outcomes (written case analyses) provide evidence that both types of instructional support (i.e., hyperlinks to multiple perspectives and conceptual knowledge) are beneficial. In particular, hyperlinks to multiple perspectives affected small-group case discussions and written post-tests as they led to increased immersion (i.e., perspective-taking). Hyperlinks to conceptual knowledge furthered the application of this knowledge, especially in the written post-tests. Implications for teacher education, participatory design, and further research are discussed

The aptness of tangible user interfaces for explaining abstract computer network principles

The technological deployment of Tangible User Interfaces (TUI) with their intrinsic ability to interlink the physical and digital domains, have steadily gained interest within the educational sector. As a concrete example of Reality Based Interaction, such digital manipulatives have been successfully implemented in the past years to introduce scientific and engineering concepts at earlier stages throughout the educational cycle. With difference to literature, this research investigates the suitability and effectiveness of implementing a TUI system to enhance the learning experience in a higher education environment. The proposal targets the understanding of advanced computer networking principles by the deployment of an interactive table-top system. Beyond the mere simulation and modelling of networking topologies, the design presents students the ability to directly interact with and visualise the protocol execution, hence augmenting their ability to understand the abstract nature of such algorithms. Following deployment of the proposed innovate prototype within the delivery of a university undergraduate programme, the quantitative effectiveness of this novel methodology will be assessed from both a teaching and learning perspective on its ability to convey the abstract notions of computer network principles

Collaborative Partnerships Between Community Colleges and High Schools

A key concern in education today is the overwhelming number of students who leave high school unprepared for college in the core courses of English and Math. As a result of student unpreparedness, more and more students are entering college having to take developmental courses. A high number of those students are students in the state of Mississippi. The purpose ofthis qualitative case study was to explore how educational stakeholders perceive the need for implementation of college preparedness and developmental education courses for students with developmental deficiencies in urban high schools in Mississippi. In the study, the researcher used Tinto’s (1993) theory of integration and retention, Astin’s (1993) theory of student involvement, and Bandura’s (1993) theory of self-efficacy to outline the conceptual framework that supported the assumption that educators would perceive that a collaborative means for remedial and developmental education prior to high school graduation (e.g. grades 9-12) will result in a positive and significant impact on student college success and retention. The study consisted of 20 educators from three high schools and two community college branches in urban Mississippi. The researcher conducted research using three data collection tools: Phase I Qualtrics Survey, Phase II Face-to-Face Interviews, and Phase III Focus Group Sessions. The results of the study indicated that educators from both the community colleges and high schools perceived the need for identification and intervention early in student’s academic career in order to reduce the lack of college readiness. The findings also indicated the need for a revamping of high school curriculums to mirror college expectations, in addition to a closer collaboration between the two institutions of learning to reduce the number of students who graduate underprepared

THE EFFECTS OF THE LANGUAGE! LITERACY INSTRUCTION ON THE READING COMPREHENSION AND MOTIVATION TO READ OF STRUGGLING MIDDLE SCHOOL READERS

This study investigated the impact of the LANGUAGE! literacy instruction on the reading comprehension and motivation to read of struggling middle school readers compared to that of a balanced literacy instruction. A convenience sample of sixth, seventh and eighth grade students (n=175) from a small, suburban middle school in Connecticut participated in the study. The sample was chosen from a population of reading and language arts students having scored in the lower 30th percentile (levels 1 and 2) of the reading portion of the Connecticut Mastery Test, as well as below goal (as defined by the district) on the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) assessment administered during the first month of the school year. The study was quasi-experimental pre- and post-test comparison group design using intact groups. Reading comprehension was measured using the DRP and motivation to read was assessed using the three subscales (value of reading, instruction of reading, and self concept of reader) of the Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile-Revised (AMRP-R). The scores of those students in the LANGUAGE! literacy curriculum (experimental) were compared to those of the students in the balanced literacy curriculum (comparison) to determine whether a statistical difference existed in the mean scores between the two groups after treatment. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the first research question concerning the impact of instructional program on reading comprehension. The results indicated that there was a significant difference in the reading comprehension scores of the two groups, with the balanced literacy participants scoring higher than those having received LANGUAGE! literacy. However, the effect size indicated only a marginal practical significance between the two groups. A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used to analyze the mean scores on the three subscales of the AMRP-R. No statistically significant difference was observed for any of the variables between groups. The current study adds to the vast body of extant reading research by exploring the impact of balanced literacy instruction in comparison to LANGUAGE! literacy instruction, and though only nominal differences were observed for reading comprehension, follow-up investigations are merited

Elementary Student Knowledge Gains In The Digital Portable Planetarium

Immersive environments provide unique and heightened sensory experiences that focus a learner’s attention, and thus may be useful learning platforms.  In particular, portable planetariums may be useful in advancing conceptual knowledge about the night sky, because they afford learners with Earth-based views of celestial motions, and give learners a sense of “being there.”  We demonstrate here that students make gains in knowledge about both apparent celestial motion and general astronomy concepts after viewing a 25-minute planetarium presentation.  However, the planetarium presentation did not appear to increase interest in astronomy and space science.  Our results suggest that the portable planetarium may be a useful strategy in supporting learners as they struggle with reconciling observed patterns with underlying, non-observable motions of the Earth, and with visualizing concepts such as the speed of planetary orbits relative to their position with respect to the sun