Raising Blended Learners Year 1 Evaluation Report

Raising Blended Learners is a statewide initiative to seed and scale personalized learning across Texas in an effort to improve student achievement across diverse demographics, particularly among schools and districts with persistent achievement gaps.As part of this initiative, Raise Your Hand Texas commissioned FSG to conduct a 4-year evaluation of the program's impact on students and schools and the success of the initiative as a whole. Last year, FSG wrote about the 2015-2016 planning and selection year of Raising Blended Learners, how the program was designed, and how the planning process was experienced by participants.In Year 1 Evaluation Report, we share our developmental evaluation of the 5 demonstration sites to understand the early stages of how models are being implemented, how sites are defining success, and how early success and challenges are being experienced

A Study of How Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Project-Based Learning (PBL) Can Improve Student Engagement

Schools and teachers are facing a difficult challenge of how to keep students engaged in mathematics and students’ lack of engagement is common nationally. The research conducted for this study focused on the effects of STEM PBL on student engagement. The drive for the present study was to understand the effects STEM PBL instruction has on student engagement compared to non-STEM PBL instruction. There has been growing evidence that STEM PBL instruction increases student engagement and enhances the academic learning across demographic demarcations. In order to cognize how engagement is influenced by instructional methods an experimental design was used where three conditions were established and students were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions. Confidence intervals were used to compare means across 8 engagement structures within the three conditions. These results suggest that student engagement as measured by engagement structures can be separated across teachers and that lesson type may influence student engagement as measured by the same instrument. Those 8 structures were then subjected to an exploratory factor analysis that produced two-second order factors allowing for a separation between academic and behavioral engagement. These results showed more specifically the influence of STEM PBL on students’ academic engagement. Overall it is suggested that student engagement was greater with the STEM PBL instructional strategy than the other two

Leading Edge Online Classroom Education: Incorporating Best Practices Beyond Technology

Educators often struggle with delivering top-notch online courses that create a climate for a fulfilling classroom experience, provide content that translates into immediate action and application, and blends relevance, rigor and a personal touch to the classroom setting. Based on research studies of human intelligence also known as multiple intelligences by cognitive scientist Howard Gardner, and secondary sources focused on functions of management, the art and science of using technology and multiple intelligence practices to deliver leading edge online classroom education is examined. Furthermore, this empirical study through a lens of instructing and observing as a teacher and administrator, over 80 online courses comprised of learners seeking undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees during 18 years at public and private universities, explores a myriad of implications resulting from using technologies to deliver stellar online classroom education to include: (a) human psychology, (b) medium, (c) information, and (d) instructional design.  The article concludes with a perspective on the challenges and opportunities of using technologies to deliver leading edge online classroom education.  The content can be used to assist current and future educators with developing or strengthening the online classroom using technologies and incorporating multiple intelligence practices for a more fulfilling classroom experience.&nbsp

The Integration of Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Academic Curricula: An Effective Model for Teachers

Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Anchorage in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CAREER AND TECHICAL EDUCAITONThe Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Career and Technical Education (CTE) Acts from 1990, 1998, and 2006 include federal directives for CTE programs and curriculum to be integrated with academic content. Each reauthorization and review of the Carl D. Perkins Act has provided a more inclusive and expanded definition of integration, with the intention that learning become relevant, rigorous, and effective in preparing students for a career and/or college. My CTE project examines the literature on integration, discusses its important role in CTE, outlines implications to education, and creates an integrated CTE curriculum guidebook and website for teachers. The objective of this project is that teachers will use the guidebook and accompanying website as instructional tools in their implementation efforts. The intended benefits include increasing teachers’ instructional abilities, enhancing student learning, and supporting ongoing integration efforts.Abstract / Acknowledgements / Dedication / Introduction / Review of the Literature / Method / Discussion / Conclusion / References / Appendix A: Integrated CTE and Academic Curriculum Guidebook / Appendix B: Integrated CTE and Academic Curriculum Websit

A How-To Guide for Student Generated Video

The type of assessment used by the instructor is a major consideration that must be taken into account when designing a third level course. The importance of assessment can be understood if one frames it not only as assessment of learning but also as assessment for learning. In this new framework, in addition to measuring students’ knowledge of the material, assessment can be thought of as a tool used for providing feedback, for defining academic standards, and for directing student learning (Harris, 2005). There is currently a movement calling for a shift away from traditional high-stakes assessment towards alternative assessment practices based on the increasingly diverse student population, constructivist learning theory, and the need for more authentic evaluations of student performance (Anderson, 1998). Within this trend, it is important to consider the potential of technology. The use of student-generated videos as assessment tools can be one way to incorporate technology into the classroom when taking a blended learning approach. This can increase student motivation, improve attitudes and learning behaviors, and increase learning performance. Generating videos is a move from passive to active learning. This project aimed to produce a how-to guide for the creation of video assignments within a specific module. We intend this guide to serve as a resource for lectures to aid the students when using this innovative assessment method. The graphic nature of the resource makes it easy to follow and student-centred, especially when compared to existing resources which tend to be text-based and more difficult to follow. In addition, it is our hope that our guide can encourage uniformity, be reusable, and provide a clear process that students can follow when taking on video assessments

The examination of the implementation of blended learning instruction on the teaching and learning environment in two west Michigan school districts

Blended learning instruction is emerging as one of the most promising instructional practices in educational settings. Blended learning instruction combines two learning environments: traditional face-to-face instruction and online instruction. Most research concerning blended instruction has been conducted at the postsecondary level. This study was conducted at the high school level and examined the implementation of blended instruction in a high school setting. It explored and considered the perspective of teachers and students as they experienced the blended environment for the first time. The study was conducted at two comprehensive high schools in West Michigan. The study collected qualitative data by using multiple data points. The data came from focused interviews with teachers, teacher narrative writing statements, student surveys, online course interaction, direct observation, and the grade distribution of students enrolled in the blended courses. The data were collected over two trimesters during the 2009-2010 academic school year. The results of this study indicated several important findings that should be considered while implementing the blended instructional model at the high school level. Results showed that it was critical for each high school to have a vision and purpose for adopting the blended approach. This had important implications for the type of blending each school would adopt and practice. Interaction between students and teachers was different than students experienced in the traditional face-to-face classroom setting. Teachers were able to provide more individualized instruction, and students felt that their peers should have an opportunity to learn in a blended setting. Yet it was critical that teachers were adequately prepared for the rigors of teaching that were different in the blended setting. Significant time and training were needed prior to implementation of blended instruction. Results also indicated that teachers needed support after initial training to reflect and deal with the different working conditions they faced in the blended classroom setting. While blended instruction has the potential to fundamentally redraw the instructional setting of future high school classrooms, it remains critically important that blended teachers’ instructional strategies and lesson designs are the foundation for engaging students in meaningful and relevant learning experiences

Inclusive or Exclusive? Methodological Practice and Policy for Organisationally and Socially Relevant IS Research

In this research essay, we argue that IS researchers demonstrate a high degree of methodological exclusiveness in their preference for a relatively small selection of research methods that primarily follow the positivist tradition. Such exclusiveness is unethical because it severely and unreasonably limits the extent to which IS research and researchers can contribute both to pressing organisational problems and the scholarly literature. We synthesise our position in four arguments that guide our discussion of the nature and consequences of methodological exclusiveness as well as possible solutions. We end the paper with an exposition of steps that could be taken to address the current situation

The Grand Challenge of Preparing OD Scholar Practitioners for Grand Challenges

This doctoral dissertation investigates a set of problems in the field of organization development (OD) that I believe have become barriers to innovation in the field and to OD professionals doing more inspired work. These include the problem of exclusion, the problem of marginalization, the problem of integration and the problem of relevance. Using Weick’s (1989) concept of theorizing as disciplined imagination, I apply the methodologies of radical theorizing to imagine OD differently, to make novel interpretations of the work of Kurt Lewin, and to conceive of new approaches to OD practice. A conceptual framework that encompasses the diverse and fragmented elements of the study and practice of OD is presented as (a) an OD scholar practitioner mindset, (b) a different way of thinking, (c) a new vocabulary, and (d) a new belief system. A model for the OD scholar practitioner that based upon the alignment of integrated thinking, practice-based theory and philosophical pragmaticism is proposed

Concept Mapping and the Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) Approach As An Intervention Framework for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Individuals who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience a range of difficulties that impact their daily occupational performance. The current body of research identifies the importance of occupational engagement and competence as fundamental elements in facilitating an individual’s social connections, development of personal autonomy and overall wellbeing. This dissertation explores the use of concept mapping embedded within the meta-cognitive framework of the Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) approach, to engage adolescents with ASD in meaningful occupations. This thesis contains three manuscripts, an introductory and a final reflection chapter. The first manuscript is a methodological paper that outlines a qualitative concept mapping framework that can be applied within the field of occupational science. The second manuscript explores how concept mapping can be theoretically embedded with the CO-OP approach to facilitate the engagement, occupational competence, relatedness and autonomy of adolescents with ASD. The third manuscript presents the findings of a focused sensory ethnography exploration that explores the personalized and socio-cultural perceptions of adolescents with ASD while participating in a novel intervention. The third manuscript is analyzed using an occupational science framework, and highlights the themes identified by the participants through their concept maps and personal reflections. The data were analyzed using the qualitative concept mapping framework presented in the first manuscript, and through deductive thematic analysis using a theoretical codebook derived and highlighted in the third manuscript. This thesis contributes new knowledge to shaping the development and delivery of interventions focused on enhancing the occupational performance of adolescents with ASD in meaningful goals important in the transition to adulthood. It has expanded the limited research that approaches the topic from the frameworks of qualitative research, multi-modal and multi-sensory methods. It also uniquely explores the concept of human occupation as it relates to culture of ASD, and the development of meaningful life skills within a group environment. This work has implications for the future methodologies and research questions for studies exploring the lives of adolescents with ASD, the CO-OP approach, and the use of visual methods in exploring occupational meaning