Browsing by Subject "curriculum and instruction"
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Item Analysis of the College in the Schools Program Impact Survey: A survey of participating teachers, principals, and guidance counselors(University of Minnesota, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2004-08-24) Wahlstrom, Kyla; Riedel, Eric; Center for Applied Research and Educational ImprovementThe College in the Schools (CIS) program delivers introductory-level University of Minnesota courses to high school junior and senior students in their local high schools. These courses are taught by their high school teachers and are a means of providing advanced curriculum to those students who are ready for highly challenging content. The survey asked about participants’ experiences after high school including whether they attended college, whether the University credit received was recognized at their college, and how CIS did or did not prepare them for college. These are survey results and analysis of the CIS program.Item Anoka-Hennepin Compensatory Education Pilot Program Year 1 Report(University of Minnesota, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2007-01) Wahlstrom, Kyla; Hornbacher, Judy; Dretzke, Beverly; Peterson, Kristin; London, Rachel; Center for Applied Research and Educational ImprovementThe Year 1 Report of the Anoka-Hennepin Compensatory Education Pilot Progam reviews student achievement results from the pilot schools and a matched set of control students, levels of implementation of the project in classrooms, impact of strategies on outcomes and changes in teacher and staff attitudes toward the project. Shifting the traditional allocation of funds allows the district to provide a major intervention in three schools with high populations of at-risk students. The intervention includes program structures for mathematics and reading, changing instructional delivery methods in math and reading, providing intense professional development for teachers in math and reading, coaching follow-up at each site, and significant oversightItem Arts for Academic Achievement: A Descriptive Report on the Development of an Embedded Course on Observational Drawing and Science(Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2007-11) Ingram, DebraDuring the 2006-2007 school year Arts for Academic Achievement (AAA) established a work group of high school science teachers, district science curriculum specialists, a visual artist, and AAA staff to develop an embedded course on integrating observational drawing and science instruction. The new course would join the embedded courses on Readers’ Theatre and Tableau that were being offered by AAA for the first time during 2006-2007. The embedded courses were distinct in that they trained teachers in specific arts-integration strategies. As part of a larger study of AAA, program staff asked the University of Minnesota’s Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) to document the course development process. The purpose of this report is to describe: 1) the process AAA staff used to develop the course, and 2) how two teachers, who were involved in developing the course, integrated drawing into their science instruction.Item Charting a New Course: A Study of the Adoption and Implementation of Standards-Based Mathematics Curricula in Eight Minnesota School Districts: Final Report to Sci MathMN (Fall 2001)(University of Minnesota, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2001) Michlin, Michael; Seppanen, Patricia; Sheldon, Timothy; Center for Applied Research and Educational ImprovementAcross the state of Minnesota, school districts have adopted a variety of new mathematics curricula developed in the 1990s with the support of the National Science Foundation. As of spring 2000, more than 100 districts in Minnesota were using one of these standards-based curricula at the elementary, middle and/or high school levels. This is the final report of the multi-year study of implementation and impact of standards-based curricula in Minnesota in several district settings.Item College in the Schools Follow-Up Student Survey: A survey of alumni five years after participation(University of Minnesota, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2004-08-24) Wahlstrom, Kyla; Riedel, Eric; Center for Applied Research and Educational ImprovementThe College in the Schools (CIS) program delivers introductory-level University of Minnesota courses to high school junior and senior students in their local high schools. These courses are taught by their high school teachers and are a means of providing advanced curriculum to those students who are ready for highly challenging content. The survey asked about participants’ experiences after high school including whether they attended college, whether the University credit received was recognized at their college, and how CIS did or did not prepare them for college. These are survey results and analysis of the CIS program.Item Differentiating the Curriculum: What Difference Does it Make?(University of Minnesota, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2002-04) Lehmann, Roxane L.; Center for Applied Research and Educational ImprovementThis randomized experiment at the middle school level examined the differential effects of the "one-size-fits-all" approach to instruction and the instructional practice of differentiating the task so the "task fits individual" in a teacher-assigned and a student-chosen condition. The study examined the effects of these three conditions on a variety of achievement and reasoning behaviors for students of various skill levels.Item Dissemination With Impact: What Research Suggests for Practice in Career and Technical Education(University of Minnesota, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2001-09) Seashore, Karen; Jones, Lisa M.; Center for Applied Research and Educational ImprovementThe purpose of this review is to examine what we know about dissemination, based on both the literature that refers specifically to Career and Technical Education (CTE), and that which is drawn from education and related fields. Ricketts' (1982) literature review indicated that research on the dissemination of vocational education products was "slightly negative to strongly negative," and that "The understanding of dissemination's role in the process of innovation and change is much too weak" (3). After reviewing the published literature in the field, it appears that his assessment of nearly two decades ago cannot be easily challenged. Thus, our purpose is to introduce dilemmas that may advance the CTE dissemination field rather than to validate current "best practice."Item EOA best practices clearinghouse directory 2019 (5th ed.)(Educational Opportunity Association, 2019-12-31) Arendale, DavidThe purpose of this directory was to identify, describe, and evaluate evidence that the education practices improve academic performance, close the achievement gap, and improve persistence towards graduation for low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented 6th grade through college students. (Method) The sample for the directory was derived from TRIO and GEAR UP professionals located in the upper Midwest region that are affiliated with the Educational Opportunity Association (EOA). EOA and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota created a clearinghouse to disseminate evidence-based practical activities and approaches to improve success of students who are low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented in education. http://besteducationpractices.org The administrative and education best practices in this publication have been reviewed and approved by multiple members of an external expert panel of qualified reviewers. Each practice has been approved as promising, validated, or exemplary based on the level of evidence supporting it. The rigorous standards applied during the review process are similar to previous national evaluation efforts by the U.S. Department of Education (Results) The approved education practices of this 570 page directory represent each of the five major federally-funded TRIO and GEAR UP programs: (a) Educational Talent Search, (b) Upward Bound, (c) Educational Opportunity Centers, (d) Disability Services, (e) Student Support Services, (f) Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement,; and (g) GEAR UP, The directory is arranged by the following topical areas: (a) Academic Advising and Counseling [Advising Syllabus, Academic Improvement Plan, Academic Advising Management System, Podcasting Academic and Career Counseling for Post 9/11 Veterans, and Student Academic Needs Assessment]; (b) Academic Support [Integrated Learning Course for Entering SSS College Students, Tutoring for Students with Disabilities, Tutor Training and Professional Development, Structured Study Hall Days at College Campus by UB Students, and PAL Group Tutoring Program Training Manual]; (c) Assessment and Evaluation [Post Assessment Evaluation Tool for EOC Programs]; (d) Career Exploration [Senior College Experience for UB Students]; (e) Coaching Students [Coaching TRIO Students and Peer Coaching Handbook]; (f) College Tours and Field Trips [Emergency Field Trip Contingency Plan, and Planning Effective College Tours for High School Students]; (g) Curriculum [High School Financial Literacy, Integrated Approach to First Year College Experience, Summer Enrichment Program Curriculum for Middle School Students, and McWrite: Developing Scholarly Writing Skills]; (h) Disability Services [Access College Today Program]; (i) Global Studies Curriculum and Tour Procedures [Horizons Study Abroad Experience, Evaluation Tools for a Study Abroad Program, Procedures for a Study Abroad Program, and Creating Global Experiences for First-Generation and Limited Income College Students]; (j) Orientation Programs [Right Start to College Seminar for Adult Learners]; and (k) Policies and Procedures [Educational Talent Search Policies and Procedures Handbook. (Implications) Rather than looking to others for solutions, the federally-funded TRIO and GEAR-UP grant programs have the expertise needed to solve vexing problems with student success. These programs are incubators of best education practices that can be implemented elsewhere. Detailed information is provided about the education practice purposes, educational theories that guide it, curriculum outlines, resources needed for implementation, evaluation process, and contact information. Educators need to investigate these education practices to discover effective learning practices that can be adapted and adopted for use in supporting higher student achievement, closing the achievement gap, increasing persistence to graduation, and meeting the needs of culturally-diverse and historically-underrepresented students. (Additional Materials) Appended to the directory are: (1) Profiles of TRIO and GEAR UP Programs with Best Practices; (2) EOA Clearinghouse External Expert Panelists; and (3) Procedures for Evaluation of Submissions to the EOA Clearinghouse. [This directory is a revised and expanded version of ED589760.]Item Executive Summary: Analysis of College in the Schools (CIS) Surveys(University of Minnesota, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2004-08-24) Wahlstrom, Kyla; Riedel, Eric; Center for Applied Research and Educational ImprovementThe College in the Schools (CIS) program delivers introductory-level University of Minnesota courses to high school junior and senior students in their local high schools. These courses are taught by their high school teachers and are a means of providing advanced curriculum to those students who are ready for highly challenging content. The survey asked about participants’ experiences after high school including whether they attended college, whether the University credit received was recognized at their college, and how CIS did or did not prepare them for college. These are survey results and analysis of the CIS program.Item In-Class History Simulation: Mid-1940s India Conference of the Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims(2018) Arendale, DavidStudents are to seek agreements so that the Jews and Palestinian Arabs have a home. This history simulation takes place before the modern nations of Israel and Jordan were created and recognized by the United Nations. Discard everything known about the conflict in Middle East for the past fifty years. This region had been controlled by the Ottoman Empire until 1922 and then the British managed the area as a “mandate” until the Jews and Palestinian people could create one, two, or more new countries. A major learning objective is to understand the point-of-view of a world leader based on their group’s history. While leaders have their own personalities that impact their style of communication, understanding their country’s history provides deeper influences on their desires for their homeland. The United Nations was added to this simulation to avoid a deadlock between the Jews and Palestinians. The U.N. does have its own agenda which is not necessarily aligned with the desires by individual countries or ethnic groups in this simulation with the Jews and Palestinians. While students share a common Google document among the four or five, a student’s grade is solely depended on their own work. Students are placed into a small group so it is easier to see what other students are doing and perhaps receive some encouragement and ideas. The other small group Google documents are open to view as well. Students write interaThe simulation receives high approval by the students, often listed as their top learning experience. As noted above, an evaluation form is completed by the students. It is partially a reflection on what they learned and partially an evaluation with suggestions to change. Often, those changes are reflected in the curriculum which is updated annually. This simulation has been used each semester for over seven years. It has been effectively used in classes of 95 to 25.Item In-Class History Simulation: Mid-1940s Middle East Conference Among the Jews, Palestinian Arabs, and the United Nations(2018) Arendale, DavidStudents are to seek agreements so that the Jews and Palestinian Arabs have a home. This history simulation takes place before the modern nations of Israel and Jordan were created and recognized by the United Nations. Discard everything known about the conflict in Middle East for the past fifty years. This region had been controlled by the Ottoman Empire until 1922 and then the British managed the area as a “mandate” until the Jews and Palestinian people could create one, two, or more new countries. Students are members of the Middle East Conference negotiation teams representing leaders from the Jews, Palestinian Arabs, and the United Nations. To provide three parties for negotiations, the United Nations was added to avoid deadlock between the groups representing the Jews and Palestinians. Also, it was decided to add the U.N. since their priorities are not always the same for either or both of the other groups in real life. Students know the decisions made will be important for cultural harmony in the region. Students are to focus on the needs of their group. The timeframe for this negotiating session is in the mid-1940s before the Jewish people declare formation of the nation of Israel. A major issue for the simulation is that students must discard their current knowledge of the situation of the Middle East and place them in a different time period when decisions could be made before war was near constant in the region. The simulation receives high approval by the students, often listed as their top learning experience. As noted above, an evaluation form is completed by the students. It is partially a reflection on what they learned and partially an evaluation with suggestions to change. Often, those changes are reflected in the curriculum which is updated annually. This simulation has been used each semester for over seven years. It has been effectively used in classes of 95 to 25.Item Lessons learned in 2020 about postsecondary online peer assisted learning (PAL) groups from previous research publications and recent survey of PAL program administrators(2020) Arendale, David R.This publication identifies lessons learned from moving traditional face-to-face peer study groups to online operation. Two sources were consulted. First, previous publications concerning online peer study groups were studied to identify approaches, equipment and software used, and reports of effectiveness. Second, during May 2020 administrators involved with managing peer-assisted learning (PAL) programs were invited to complete an online survey concerning their experiences with operating online in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. (Methods) The individual actions, activities, and approaches recorded in the publications and the 45 surveys were broken into individual units which results in nearly 800 individual pieces of data were created and then they were reorganized into themes and topics for this report. (Results) This data analysis made the identification of best practices more clear since the frequency of them was identified. Eight major themes were identified. (Implications) Lessons have been learned from past experience with offering student-led peer study groups online that can increase the success of students with higher grades and higher rates of persistence towards graduation. It is likely that many or most institutions will begin the fall academic term online and these lessons will be valuable not only for academic assistance, but also with instruction and other student services.Item Lessons learned in 2020 from taking postsecondary peer assisted learning programs online: Raw survey data(2020) Arendale, David R.With the end of the spring 2020 academic term, a national survey was conducted to identify best practices of college educators regarding how they moved their traditional face-to-face tutoring and small group tutoring programs online due to Covid-19 pandemic. This document contains the results of that survey. (Methods) In early May 2020, invitations to complete a brief survey on postsecondary peer assisted learning (PAL) programs and their operation online in response to Covid-19 were posted to several national and international email listservs. Directors from 45 programs completed the survey. Since the survey was anonymous, it is impossible to know the institutional type and their locations. It is a reasonable guess that most respondents were from the U.S. with others from Australasia, Europe, and North America. As promised, the survey results are presented as they were received without data analysis. It is with deep gratitude to the program directors for taking time from the busiest time in the academic term in the middle of this pandemic to share valuable information with our world community of PAL professionals. (Results) Their comments were candid and honest about the things that went well and those that did not. The survey statements were grouped into six categories that included: needed equipment and meeting software, approaches and activities, program evaluation, expectations for participants and students leaders, and more. (Implications) Best education practices for providing online academic support were shared that can be studied by others as they make plans for fall 2020 academic term which may be offered online.Item Minneapolis Public Schools 2001 Social Studies Best Practices Grant: Linking Authentic Instruction to Students’ Achievement Using Peer Coaching. Evaluation Report(University of Minnesota, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2001-07-15) Avery, Patricia G.; Freeman, Carol; Bargainer, George; Gustafson, Kathy; Center for Applied Research and Educational ImprovementIn an effort to improve teaching and learning and to assist teachers in implementing the graduation standards, the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning sponsored a project called Linking Authentic Instruction, which provided a group of predominantly secondary social studies teachers in the Minneapolis School District the opportunity to participate in a series of professional development seminars. The goals of the seminars were for teachers to be able to: 1) Translate the theoretical framework that links the Minnesota High Standards and authentic pedagogy (instruction and assessment) into practice; 2) Create peer-coaching teams to embed the authentic instruction criteria into daily practice at each participating site; 3) Implement model lessons and score their own students' work. This report is a result of an evaluation done to answer these questions.Item Monarch Monitoring: A Teacher/Student/Scientist Research Project. Final Report(University of Minnesota, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2001-10) Freeman, Carol; Jeanpierre, Bobby; Center for Applied Research and Educational ImprovementThe Monarch Monitoring Project was a field research experience designed to enhance the capacity of middle and high school teachers to incorporate active research into classroom teaching. Active research was defined as students involved in formulating questions and/or designing research protocol, collecting and interpreting data, and reporting results.Item Monarch Monitoring: A Teacher/Student/Scientist Research Project. Case Studies(University of Minnesota, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2001-10) Freeman, Carol; Jeanpierre, Bobby; Center for Applied Research and Educational ImprovementThe Monarch Monitoring Project was a field research experience designed to enhance the capacity of middle and high school teachers to incorporate active research into classroom teaching. Active research was defined as students involved in formulating questions and/or designing research protocol, collecting and interpreting data, and reporting results.Item Online History Simulation: Apply Gandhi Protest Principles to a Present Day Protest Issue Curriculum(2018) Arendale, DavidThis history simulation follows a unit on the nonviolent protest movement in India against the British. Students identify his individual protest activities and sort them into six principles of protest. This creates a toolkit they can use and adapt for a protest issue that is important for their small group. The small group selects a modern protest issue, adds new specific protest activities that fit within the six broad categories, and develops a detailed action plan. This allows the immediate application of what they had just learned in the unit about Gandhi to a real-world issue that they select. Some students report that they have used parts of these plans with their own community activism. The simulation receives high approval by the students, often listed as their top learning experience during the course. As noted above, an evaluation form is completed by the students. It is partially a reflection on what they learned and partially an evaluation with suggestions to change. Often, those changes are reflected in the curriculum which is updated annually. This simulation has been used each semester for the past seven years. It has been effectively used in classes of 30 by dividing the students into smaller groups.Item Online History Simulation: Contemporary Genocide Investigative Report Curriculum(2018) Arendale, DavidThere are numerous genocides occurring throughout the world today. Tragically, all of them follow the same ten-stage pattern as outlined from the Genocide Watch website. They follow a predictable pattern that can be recognized early before the persecution and deaths occur. Learning Goal: Understand the common pattern that genocides follow and use that information to predict when and where intervention is needed by the outside world to stop the process before the persecutions and deaths occur. This activity is focused on mastering the ten stages of genocide and not an in-depth study of the genocide. Method: Apply the ten-stage genocide template developed by Genocide Watch to information learned about a present-day genocide. This application of the ten stages to a real-life situation makes clear the systematic steps that genocides follow. Seven genocides were identified and information resources provided for: Armenia, Bosnia, Cambodia, Darfur Sudan, Rohingya Muslims, Rwanda, and Somalia. Students assume the role as an investigator for the International Criminal Court (ICC), https://www.icc-cpi.int/ The establishment of an international tribunal to judge political leaders accused of international crimes was first proposed during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 following the First World War by the Commission of Responsibilities. The issue was addressed again at a conference held in Geneva under the auspices of the League of Nations in 1937, which resulted in the conclusion of the first convention stipulating the establishment of a permanent international court to try acts of international terrorism. The United Nations have a separate process for investigating similar crimes. The ICC is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal that sits in The Hague in the Netherlands. The ICC has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. This activity was first conducted during spring 2018. Students had requested opportunity to study other genocides during contemporary times rather than a deeper study of the Holocaust which most have heavily studied in middle or high school. The activity received a median score of 4 (scale range 1, low to 5, high) as a meaningful learning activity. The median score for level of understanding of the ten stages of genocide was 5 (scale range 1, low to 5, high).Item Online History Simulation: Mid-1940s India Conference by the Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims(2018) Arendale, DavidBefore the horrific partition of India in 1947 with the deaths of nearly one million Hindus and Muslims, students serve as members of the India Conference to find a more peaceful solution. They are randomly assigned to one of three negotiation teams representing leaders from the Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims. Students know the decisions made will be important for cultural harmony in the region. Students are to focus on the needs of their religious identity group and also consider the greater good for all current citizens. Among the questions that this simulation explores is whether there were alternatives to the terrible consequences to the power vacuum within India when the British departed and the U.N. decision to create Pakistan without adequate safeguards for safe passage, resolving land ownership, and simply the emotional trauma of splitting apart families, friends, and ethnic group that had lived together for centuries. Over the years, students in this simulation have created options for India preserving its current boundaries and more often actions to spin off one or more new countries. Despite India being composed of many ethnic groups, this simulation focuses only on the Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims. The bargaining positions for these three groups are sometimes more dramatic than reality simply to create a more energized negotiation environment. Many other ethnic groups would have been possibilities, but sake of simplicity only three groups were selected for the history simulation. The simulation receives approval by the students. As noted above, an evaluation form is completed by the students. It is partially a reflection on what they learned and partially an evaluation with suggestions to change. Often, those changes are reflected in the curriculum which is updated annually. This simulation has been used each semester for over one year. It has been effectively used in face-to-face and online classes of 30. They often share comments similar to face-to-face Yalta Conference negotiations simulation, some students find this activity a stretch since it relies on creative writing which is unfamiliar for some.Item Online History Simulation: Mid-1940s Middle East Conference among the Jews, Palestinian Arabs, and the United Nations(2018) Arendale, DavidStudents are to seek agreements so that the Jews and Palestinian Arabs have a home. This history simulation takes place before the modern nations of Israel and Jordan were created and recognized by the United Nations. Discard everything known about the conflict in Middle East for the past fifty years. This region had been controlled by the Ottoman Empire until 1922 and then the British managed the area as a “mandate” until the Jews and Palestinian people could create one, two, or more new countries. A major learning objective is to understand the point-of-view of a world leader based on their group’s history. While leaders have their own personalities that impact their style of communication, understanding their country’s history provides deeper influences on their desires for their homeland. The United Nations was added to this simulation to avoid a deadlock between the Jews and Palestinians. The U.N. does have its own agenda which is not necessarily aligned with the desires by individual countries or ethnic groups in this simulation with the Jews and Palestinians. While students share a common Google document among the four or five, a student’s grade is solely depended on their own work. Students are placed into a small group so it is easier to see what other students are doing and perhaps receive some encouragement and ideas. The other small group Google documents are open to view as well. Students write interactive dialogue among the three conference negotiators.