Rita Bailey, Communication Science & Disorders; Charlene Aaron, Mennonite College of Nursing
This poster will highlight a service-learning project that began in fall 2007 and involved students in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD), undergraduate nursing students, and community partner Heritage Manor in Normal. Over the past decade, several studies have determined that weight loss and undernutrition, often associated with eating and swallowing problems in the elderly, are prevalent among nursing home residents. A cost effective, easy-to-administer treatment approach that promotes oral food intake through Stefanie L. McAllister Brenda Jeffers Lisa M. Marinelli Sandra D. Burke Norman D. Durflinger Neil E. Sappington Rita Bailey Charlene Aaron 2008 ISU Teaching and Learning Symposium Program/Page 17 verbal cueing, touch and positioning during mealtimes is known to promote increased caloric and nutritional intake in nursing home residents. For this project, students in CSD and Nursing received training in evidence-based non-skilled methods to maximize independent feeding and swallowing skills in nursing home residents with a diagnosis of dementia, who required a variety of levels of support by nursing home staff members at mealtimes. A survey of graduate and undergraduate students and nursing home staff members' perceptions of the effects of the service-learning project on students learning and student and staff perceptions of the effects of the project on residents’ feeding and swallowing skills and abilities was completed. Results of the survey and recommendations will be included in the poster.
Thomas Critchfield, Psychology; Daniel M. Fienup, Psychology
"Reflective thinking," as defined by John Dewey, includes going beyond the information taught. The presenters have drawn on basic research about learning to create an automatic instructional module for promoting elementary "reflective thinking" about concepts of inferential statistics and hypothesis decision making. Laboratory studies show that students efficiently learn what the modules teach directly and that they also master some derived, but “untaught," concepts based on what was taught. The presenters have begun evaluating the contributions of this module to the teaching of a sophomore-level research methods course. This presentation will focus on two studies (built along the lines of a randomized controlled trial) that illustrate some of the complexities of this kind of applied effectiveness research.
Dianne Gardner, EAF; Joe Pacha, EAF; Paul Baker, EAF
Professional learning for leaders, teachers, and staff is at the heart of reforms proposed for schools and districts, and leading professional learning remains one of educational administration’s fundamental challenges. Preparing educational administration students to become leaders in schools and districts requires that theories of professional development be examined in light of practitioner perspectives. This empirical investigation of 58 school and district professional development projects resulted in the development of an elaborated professional learning model for application. This heuristic model was then tested by university researchers and principal and superintendent candidates in a collaborative action research project that included document analysis and stakeholder interviews. Students in principal and superintendent certification courses were charged to use the model to study the professional learning arrangements in their schools and districts. Sources of data included interviews and document/artifact analyses. Students brought the results of their school or district self-studies for critical analysis with classmates.
Grace Foote Johns, Physics
Illinois State University has a rich history of educational excellence and providing access to education for underrepresented groups throughout its 150 years. This exhibit is a snapshot of the women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) who blazed trails in women's education at ISU—as students, faculty or staff. Looking toward a future of increased representation of women in STEM careers and education, it is appropriate to reflect upon and honor those pioneers. This exhibit was initially created for the Oct. 5, 2007 event, Celebrating 150 Years (1857 to 2007) of ISU Women in STEM History Exhibit and the AWIS-HOI Women in STEM Career Pen Pal Mentor Recognition Ceremony and can be viewed at www.phy.ilstu.edu/AWIS-HOI. The Oct. 5th event was co-sponsored by the Association for Women in Science (Heart of Illinois Chapter), the ISU Physics Department, the ISU Mathematics Department, ISU's College of Arts and Sciences and Dr. Carol Struck.
Jessie Krienert, Criminal Justice Sciences
One of the first questions criminal justice students ask each semester is, "What can I do with a CJS degree?" Or, more specifically, "I don’t want to be a prison guard. Is there anything else I can do in corrections?" Many students come into the field with starry-eyed dreams of being federal agents, but soon realize that's not a feasible goal for all. This year, the presenter used a hybrid podcasting/interactive web technology design to help students find answers to their questions concerning CJS career choices. Correctional career podcasts were made available to students throughout the semester. Each podcast contains an interview or discussion with a current worker in the field of corrections and links to other employment resources for the selected career. Podcasting allows students to spend out-of-class time discovering and exploring career opportunities in the field. In addition to gaining valuable information about potential careers, students also gain a better understanding of how the correctional system works through the first-hand knowledge of those currently working in the system. Because the information is available "to go," students have the potential to listen and/or view podcasts in a multitude of settings.
Thomas Lucey, Curriculum & Instruction
Extending the Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom: The Association of Teacher Educators (Lucey - PowerPoint)
A college of education depends upon its faculty to ensure that the preparation of teachers derives from a sound understanding of recent scholarship and innovative practice. Fulfilling these expectations requires that faculty reach beyond university classrooms to network and learn about current teaching and research ideas. Through these processes, faculty discover and assemble current information about best practices and convey them to college students through university teaching. The Association of Teacher Educators represents one organization through which these experiences can occur. The Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) is a national organization that boasts membership from state government agencies, school districts, and institutions of higher learning to offer members regulatory, practitioner, and scholarly perspectives about issues concerning teacher preparation. This poster highlights the benefits available to teacher educators by providing an overview of the association, describing sample sessions from some recent meetings, and identifying opportunities for involvement.
Phyllis McCluskey-Titus, EAF; Wendy Troxel, EAF; Jodi Hallsten, Communication
This poster session will present results from a three-year SoTL research project on a collaborative service learning activity between first year undergraduates and graduate students. The purpose of this research is to present evidence of the real learning benefits associated with volunteer service. In addition, the presenters hope to better understand students' experiences in a class requiring service and the value of this project to their learning and development in the context of the college environment. The expected and unanticipated learning outcomes resulting from this project are depicted through the words of student participants and photographs of them engaged in the various service activities. This poster will help Symposium participants understand what students gained through participation in this project and identify ideas about how to replicate this process with their own classes in order to meet important learning outcomes.
Hedda Meadan, Special Education; Kelli Appel, Special Education
In recent years students entering institutions of higher education have become increasingly diverse, and their learning needs become increasingly complex as well. The components of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can assist teachers in meeting the needs of students with a wide range of abilities and characteristics. UDL has several components, but can be implemented at various levels. This poster will offer examples of the ways in which the UDL components of learning community, flexible use of course content, equitable use of information/course materials, and simple and intuitive learning were incorporated into a 6-credit hour course in Special Education. In addition, student perceptions of the use of UDL and instructor challenges/benefits will be addressed.
Jessica Murphy, Agriculture
The potency of agriculture relies heavily on colleges and universities to ensure an on-going supply of qualified individuals who are properly prepared for employment in the industry. At the same time, the rapid advancement of the agriculture industry in conjunction with the lack of autonomous learning research in agriculture education calls for further exploration of the use of autonomous learning techniques in the applied science curriculum. It seems particularly important to establish a practical autonomous learning model that can be utilized within agriculture education, more specifically, in the food animal curriculum. For these reasons, the development of a curriculum that fosters greater learner autonomy in applied science classes was the overall goal of a study involving food animal science classes at Illinois State University. The study was designed to explore whether providing students the opportunity to be trained assessors of quality measurements for food animal products links the theory and practice of product quality evaluation. The poster will provide information about this ongoing study.
Do-Yong Park, Curriculum & Instruction
In the summer of 2007, ISU hosted a Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Workshop that trained 6 science educators at the elementary, secondary, and university levels and over 88 pre-service elementary science teachers to use modules of GLOBE protocols to gather scientific data about the Earth’s environment (e.g., Surface Temperature, GPS Measurement, Digital Multi-Day Max/Min/Current Air and Soil Temperature, and Cloud). This poster will provide specific information about the GLOBE program and its content, including the results of the measurements, feedback, and the ongoing efforts of the GLOBEtrained teachers. The GLOBE workshop was made possible by a Provost's Office Faculty Excellence Initiative Fellowship.
Cara Rabe-Hemp, Criminal Justice Sciences; Susan Woolen, Criminal Justice Sciences; and Gail Humiston, Criminal Justice Sciences
This poster will focus on a study conducted to determine how students' expectations impact their experiences, performances, and satisfaction in an online environment. The research was conducted in conjunction with an online course offered by the Department of Criminal Justice Sciences during the summer of 2007. It was hypothesized that students' expectations, in addition to prior knowledge of, beliefs regarding, and dispositions to online learning would affect their course experiences and overall satisfaction with the course.
Amy Roser, EMAS; Michelle Schuline, EMAS; Bert Klunder, EMAS
Learn how the Office of Enrollment Management and Academic Services developed and implemented a comprehensive, required probation program that changed the campus culture. Learn about the program components, the program's impact on student success, and the program's impact on university reinstatement decisions. Understand how Project Success changed student attitudes about Academic Probation at Illinois State.
Jean Sawyer, Communication Sciences & Disorders; Rita Bailey, Communication Sciences & Disorders
Researchers in many fields have reported positive results of online instruction. In the field of Communication Sciences and Disorders, however, student perceptions of instructional quality with the use of this medium have not been reported. Additionally, the effects of these instructional mediums/settings on student learning outcomes such as course grades, department grade point averages (GPA), and instructor evaluation ratings have not been reported. This study assessed student perceptions of an online/hybrid course in Communication Sciences and Disorders, comparing student perceptions of that course with the same course taught in a traditional format over a two-year period. The instructors who taught the course online also taught the course in a traditional format, and the course content, tests, and activities were virtually the same across both years of instruction. The purpose of this study was to 1) determine students' perceptions of quality and efficacy of online instruction, 2) compare student course grades from one year of on-campus teaching to one year of online/hybrid teaching, and 3) compare teacher evaluations for online and on campus teaching. This poster will provide survey results as well as a comparison of course grades and teacher evaluations for the online and traditionally-taught courses.
Jeffrey Walsh, Criminal Justice Sciences; Donna Vandiver, Texas State University
The research the presenters conducted was designed to evaluate the utility of the "research project model" for teaching research methods courses in criminal justice. Specifically, they were interested in the value of the tiered active learning assignments in facilitating autonomous learning in students.
