Core Curriculum Operating Manual

This document serves as the companion to the Original Core Document (June 2005); it contains updated information about the mission of each area, the constitution and duties of advisory committees and provides implementation information for both curriculum development and assessment. Information of special importance to advisors, including policies regarding exemptions, variances and transfer credits are also included. The manual will be updated annually; substantive changes must be approved by the Core Curriculum Committee; minor changes (such as typographical errors, broken links, or changes to maintain conformity) shall not require the approval of the Core Curriculum Committee, rather only an annual notification

Students Teaching Students: A Method for Collaborative Learning

The Student Small Group Presentation (SSGP) model, a student-centered approach, is introduced and applied to learning communities. Similar to the jigsaw classroom, small groups of students in learning communities are responsible for teaching material to their peers. Unlike other jigsaw techniques, presentation groups in the SSGP teach an entire lesson based on collaborative work conducted outside of class. Presenters are responsible for thorough analysis of course material as they lead a discussion among a small group of peers. Students meet with the same small group throughout the semester, creating a feeling of intimate community within the larger learning community. By challenging students to become well versed on a section of course material, SSGPs promote student confidence, enhance critical thinking skills, and provide the opportunity to work as a member of a team. Jean Halley is an Associate Professor of Sociology at College of Staten Island, CUNY, in Staten Island, NY. Her most recent book is The Parallel Lives of Women and Cows: Meat Markets (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012). Amy Eshleman is a Professor of Psychology at Wagner College in Staten Island, NY

Developing Educators for The Digital Age: A Framework for Capturing Knowledge in Action

Evaluating skills and knowledge capture lies at the cutting edge of contemporary higher education where there is a drive towards increasing evaluation of classroom performance and use of digital technologies in pedagogy. Developing Educators for the Digital Age is a book that provides a narrative account of teacher development geared towards the further usage of technologies (including iPads, MOOCs and whiteboards) in the classroom presented via the histories and observation of a diverse group of teachers engaged in the multiple dimensions of their profession. Drawing on the insights of a variety of educational theories and approaches (including TPACK) it presents a practical framework for capturing knowledge in action of these English language teachers – in their own voices – indicating how such methods, processes and experiences shed light more widely on related contexts within HE and may be transferable to other situations. This book will be of interest to the growing body of scholars interested in TPACK theory, or communities of practice theory and more widely anyone concerned with how new pedagogical skills and knowledge with technology may be incorporated in better practice and concrete instances of teaching

FROM DISLOCATION TO DISENGAGEMENT: THE EXPERIENCES OF LOW-INCOME AND FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS

In this thesis, I examine the experiences of low-income and first generation college students who are enrolled members of the TRiO Student Support Program at the University of Montana. This program is designed to cater to the specific academic struggles of low-income and first generation college students. There is a wealth of scholarly literature concerning this population of students and their risk of dropping out of college. Researchers have found these students are susceptible to habitus dislocation, which causes many of these students to feel torn between acclimating to college and forfeiting their membership in the working-class. One of the main contributors to habitus dislocation is campus authority figures’ use of the hidden curriculum. This type of unconscious instruction teaches disadvantaged students how to “fit in” at college by adopting middle-class values and habits. Much of the research on the hidden curriculum is focused on the K-12 experience. In this study, I use qualitative data to assess how the TRiO program imparts the hidden curriculum to low-income and first generation college students. How does the program help low-income and first generation college students succeed in college? In what ways does the TRiO staff help TRiO students overcome habitus dislocation? Can the hidden curriculum actually benefit these students? The findings of this study indicate that some components of the TRiO program cause students to experience habitus dislocation, which in turn causes students to academically disengage from their instructors. Even though TRiO is designed to help low-income and first generation college students throughout their academic careers, the TRiO instructors’ use of the hidden curriculum exacerbates some of their students’ habitus dislocation

Improving the Teaching Staff Capacity to Integrate EdTech in the Teaching and Learning Processes at Eduardo Mondlane University

Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) has been implementing training courses in the use of technologies in the teaching and learning process. However, despite the efforts made by the university, the use of these technologies by lecturers at UEM is limited, particularly in faculties outside the main campus. In response to the above-mentioned problem, a new multifaceted, constructivist approach was implemented at UEM, referred to here as the EdTech sub-program. This thesis is the result of the investigation of the effect of the new approach to integrating educational technology at UEM. In 2019, a series of four workshops were piloted through the EdTech sub-program with the purpose of promoting the use of educational technology by lecturers in teaching and learning. This qualitative study was carried out in four faculties. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 participants: 15 lecturers, who took part in the workshops of the EdTech sub-program, distributed across four faculties (Education, Veterinary, Engineering and Sciences) and two members from the EdTech sub-program. Three theories have been explored in this study. The workshops were based on social constructivist learning theory where participants (lecturers) were encouraged to create learning activities in a real-world setting to design learning activities in an authentic context.. Despite this theory-informed workshop design, lecturers did not all change their practice. This can largely be explained by the fact that the participants are adult and had varied skills with educational technology; they felt their courses were too complicated to be delivered only online; assessment structures were not clear; and some lecturers were resistant to change. The second theory is adult learning theory. This theory focuses on the “characteristics” of adult learners and what they bring to the learning process in the form of their experiences, which helps to explain the diverse response to the workshop. Community of practice theory was used as the third theory to explain how some faculties were willing to embrace educational technology and had history with previous projects. In these examples participants shared understandings concerning what educational technology is and how they have motivated other colleagues to use it. Barriers can be overcome through collaboration between the most active users and the most resistant ones to motivate them to use and promote a community of practice of educational technology users. Key findings also indicate that there is a certain resistance among lecturers to the use of educational technologies, justified by the complexity of courses in some disciplines; however, there are also lecturers who rely on technologies in their teaching practices and report that the results are satisfactory and encouraging

Blended Learning in Higher Education: Exploring Students' Perceptions of Course Design, Pedagogical Approaches, and Use of Technology in an Undergraduate Visual Arts Course

Arts educators have been experiencing the pressures of current and emerging technologies and technological tools that are transforming the teaching and learning process in visual and performing arts fields in higher education. Literature demonstrates that more studies are needed on the experiences of instructors and students, and the course design choices, implementation, and uses of blended learning in higher education in the creative disciplines. Existing research on blended learning indicates that more studies on student perceptions of blended learning are needed. This qualitative case study investigated an introductory course in art history offered in the blended format to students not majoring in visual arts. I explored three research questions on the types of pedagogical and technological choices the instructor made when designing and teaching the course and the ways in which students responded to these decisions, as well as what aspects of the course were associated with student engagement. In order to investigate these research questions, I interviewed 24 students enrolled in the course, three teaching-assistants (TAs), and the course instructor, I observed face-to-face tutorials, and reviewed the course and tutorial sites in learning management system (LMS). I argue that although students prefer the flexibility that blended course design offers, interaction with the instructor is a significant aspect to maintain student engagement. Innovative means of assessment that is using the social media microblog, Twitter, for one of the assignments engaged students in writing about art and added to their satisfaction in the course. Recommendations and areas for future research are discussed

Masters project curriculum modification

Proposal describes modifying the 6 credit Master’s Project sequence (SWK 630 Master’s Project Development—3cr [fall semester] & SWK 631 Master’s Project Implementation—3 cr [spring semester]) into a 3 credit clinical interventions course [fall semester] and a 3 credit Master’s Thesis course [spring semester]. Accepted - Implementation Effective Date: May 1, 201

Educational Technology Integration Among Community College Instructors

Over the last two decades, educational technology (ET) integration has become an increasingly important aspect of higher education, particularly with the growth of online, distance and hybrid courses and degree programs. Furthermore, accrediting agencies such as the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) are paying close attention to online and hybrid courses and degree programs, making effective use of ET even more important to colleges and universities. Even in traditional, on-campus classrooms, some instructors are not using ET effectively to augment teaching and learning. The main purpose of this research study was to examine a holistic view of educational technology integration into teaching and learning among community college instructors. Additionally, the study aimed to identify some positive and negative factors of educational technology integration and the ways in which those factors affect technology integration among faculty. The study concentrated on identifying facilitative conditions that influence ET integration among instructors at five community colleges. Elyâs (1999) Conditions of Educational Technology Implementation (CETI) theory served as a theoretical framework for this research study. Ely\u27s (1999) CETI framework is based on the comprehensive perspective of ET integration and implementation. Elyâs (1999) theoretical framework includes eight conditions of educational technology implementation (CETI): Availability of time, Existence of knowledge and skills, Leadership, Participation, Availability of resources, Commitment, Rewards, Dissatisfaction with the status quo. The research study used and applied quantitative research methods of data collection. The data was collected from 307 instructors who were teaching at five Midwestern state community colleges at the time of survey completion. Data collection was accomplished through the use of an electronic survey. There were two sections in the survey questionnaires. The first was a personal demographic questionnaire to collect demographic information from participants of the study. The second was the educational technology integration questionnaire, which included 60 questions and used six-point Likert-like scale items (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = slightly disagree, 4 = slightly agree, 5 = agree and 6 = strongly agree) for data collection purposes. An open-ended question was also included at the end of the survey to collect additional comments about instructorsâ self-perceptions of educational technology integration and facilitative factors that influence them to integrate educational technology. The research study specifically investigated the effects of these predictor variables (degree program, gender, academic rank, education level and facilitative conditions) by addressing the following research questions through null hypothesis: 1. Are there differences in instructorsâ beliefs about educational technology integration into teaching and learning based on discipline (degree program)? There was a statistically significant difference between English, Education, and Humanities disciplines and Engineering, Technology, and Energy disciplines. The ANOVA showed statistical significance with the following F (9,297) = 1.93, p =.047) values. Therefore, H-null:1 was rejected due to the differences in between disciplines. 2. Are there differences in the factors related to educational technology integration into teaching and learning between male and female instructors? There was no statistically significant difference in means and standard deviation scores between male and female instructors based, on the sample t-test analysis. The t-test examination revealed the following results: (t 305 =1.074; p=.284 \u3e0.05). Therefore, H-null: 2 was retained due to no statistical differences between male and female instructors in terms of educational technology integration. 3. Are there differences in competencies in educational technology integration among instructors based on academic ranks (professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, lecturer, and other)? Overall, there were small differences in mean scores between instructor ranks in terms of educational technology (ET) integration. However, the ANOVA test showed no statistically significant differences between faculty ranks. The one-way ANOVA was equal to F (5,301) = .793, p =.555). Therefore, H-null: 3 was retained, due to no statistical differences between instructors based on faculty ranks. 4. Are there differences in technology integration into teaching and learning based on the facilitative conditions (time, skills, leadership, participation, resources, commitment, rewards, and dissatisfaction with the status quo)? Based on ANOVA results, there were statistically significant differences between community colleges in terms of facilitative factors. The one-way ANOVA had a F value of (4,302) = 3.817, p =.005). Therefore, H-null: 4 was rejected due to statistical difference between community colleges in terms of facilitative conditions. 5. Are there differences in educational technology training needs of instructors based on educational level (trade/technical/vocational training, associate degree, bachelorâs degree, masterâs degree, professional degree, or doctorate degree)? Based on the ANOVA result, there was a statistically significant difference between groups in terms of technology training needs. The ANOVA test had an F value of (2,304) = 5.929, p =.003). Therefore, H-null: 5 was rejected due to statistical differences between instructors based on the educational level