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JOURNAL OF SCHOLASTIC INQUIRY: EDUCATION Fall 2013, Volume 1, Issue 2

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Editor-in-Chief Dr. Jamal Cooks

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Editorial Advisory Board Shirley Barnes, Alabama State University Joan Berry, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Brooke Burks, Auburn University at Montgomery Timothy Harrington, Chicago State University Mark Wesolowski, Practitioner-Chicago Public Schools Lucinda Woodward, Indiana University Southeast

Peer Reviewers Bradford Allison Joan Berry Brooke Burks Sally Creasap James Wightman Kevin R. Mackin Rachel Trinkley Gilbert Duenas Glenn Koonce Kenneth Kohutek

Charles Eick Bonnie Sullivan Kelli Fellows Miguel Fernandez Timothy Harrington Cynthia Valenciano Mark Wesolowski Jerome Fischer John Hanes Sherry Long

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Publication Agreement and Assurance of Integrity Ethical Standards in Publishing Disclaimer of Liability Research Manuscripts

8 9-172

The Professional Exploration Program: An Alternative Law School Admission Process Linda K. Kisabeth, Thomas M. Cooley Law School

9

The Impact of Sensemaking and Socialization on the Retention of Novice Teachers Joan M. Berry, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor

27

Rural Field Experiences with Urban Pre-Service Teachers Miguel Fernández, Chicago State University Cynthia Valenciano, Chicago State University Timothy Harrington, Chicago State University Mark Wesolowski, Chicago State University Angela Logwood, Chicago State University Diana Carrasco, Chicago State University

43

Instructional Impact on Achievement of Economically and Learning Disadvantaged Students at Two Ohio Middle Schools Sherry A. Long, Alice Lloyd College

71

Exploring Inquiry Principles of Art to Teach Mathematics Lisa Douglass, Ohio University Matthew Conley, Ohio Dominican University Rachel Trinkley, Columbus Museum of Art

107

Ethically Constructing Common Grounds One Cyber Latte' at a Time: A Thought Leadership Examination of Emergent Ethical Dilemmas in Designing Technologically Based Nontraditional Graduate Student Social Support Kelli L. Fellows, Pfeiffer University

120

Building a Pathway to Optimal Academic Achievement and Educational Attainment for Our Children: Values and Expectations of Rural African American Parents Sonja Harrington, Alabama State University Shirley Barnes, Alabama State University Dyann Bayan, Alabama State University Drusilla C. Caudle, Alabama State University

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Teaching Critical Skills: The Influence of 3D Virtual World Simulation Lisa G. Smith, Indian River State College

153

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The Professional Exploration Program: An Alternative Law School Admission Process Linda K. Kisabeth Thomas M. Cooley Law School

Abstract When the Thomas M. Cooley Law School’s liberal admission criteria increased, it resulted in a smaller qualified applicant pool, particularly from underrepresented populations. To allow access to a legal education, Cooley developed an alternative admission program. It was internally evaluated to determine if it was effective and whether it should continue. Applicants who are denied admission because they do not meet Cooley’s minimum entrance criteria due to low Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores or low undergraduate grade point averages are invited to the week-long program based on an evaluation of their LSAT writing sample, and if they are successful, they are granted admission. Over 800 students have been admitted through the program in a ten-year period. To evaluate the program, it was necessary to study the success rates of students who gained admission through the program. This was done by comparing the students’ academic standing to the scores received on their LSAT writing sample and to the scores received on various tests conducted during the program. The evaluation’s result indicated that the higher a student scored on the tests during the program, the more likely they were to be successful. When evaluated, the success rate was 79%. The results indicate that Cooley is doing a good job of predicting who will be successful in law school from a student population that was originally denied access. Cooley is consistently selecting three out of four individuals who are successful in law school despite their not qualifying for admission through the traditional process. Cooley has opened the door to success for many prospective students who would otherwise not have had the opportunity to study law.

Keywords: law school admission, alternative, underrepresented populations

The Thomas M. Cooley Law School (“Cooley”) was founded in 1972 in Lansing, Michigan, by then Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, Thomas E. Brennan, Sr. Judge Brennan left a prestigious judicial career to create a law school for the average person and not the academic elite (Brennan, 2013). His philosophy was that everyone, regardless of social class, previous academic performance, or financial ability, should have the opportunity to attend

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law school and receive a Juris Doctor degree if they were hardworking enough to commit the time and energy it takes to complete such a rigorous postgraduate curriculum (Brennan, 2013).

The law school was named for Thomas McIntyre Cooley, a legal scholar and practicing attorney of the 19th century. He was Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court from 1864 to 1885. Cooley Law Schools’s mission “is to prepare its graduates for entry into the legal profession,” which includes “providing broad access to those who seek the opportunity to study law.” Cooley’s founding principles were based on access to legal education for all who sought it. Cooley flourished over the next 40 years and, by design, became the largest American Bar Association accredited law school in the country.

In 1972, an African American police officer enrolled at Cooley and became its first African American student and its first African American graduate. That graduate later became the first African American district court judge in Ingham County, Michigan. Little did the school founders know that Cooley Law School would one day become the largest accredited law school in America or that it would consistently enroll and educate more African American law students than any other law school in the nation, including celebrated, historically African American colleges and universities such as Howard and Texas Southern (Brennan, 2013).

Cooley has been admitting and granting law degrees to people from underrepresented populations since its inception. Approximately 30% of Cooley’s student population is made up of minorities. It is noteworthy, however, that 2% of the population’s race/ethnicity is unknown, and 6% are classified as nonresident aliens, which likely include additional minorities (Thomas M. Cooley Law School, 2012). Currently, the Diverse Issues in Higher Education website ranks Cooley first in the nation for awarding more law school degrees to minorities than any other institution (Diverse Magazine, 2012).

Considering Cooley’s mission, it is no surprise that the entrance standards to enroll as a student at Cooley while it was in its infancy were fairly low, which enabled the majority of those who applied to be granted admission. However, over Cooley’s 40-year period of growth these entrance standards slowly crept upward in response to various requirements of the American Bar Association, Cooley’s accrediting body, and the desire to maintain adequate bar passage rates.

This rise in entrance standards logically resulted in a smaller applicant pool from both minority populations and majority populations. In an effort to capture these lost prospective students, who may have been granted admission under the early entrance standards, Cooley developed an alternative admissions mechanism, namely a qualifying program.

The idea for an alternative admission program began in July 2001 when Cooley’s Associate Dean of Faculty and its Coordinator of Institutional Research developed an informal, internal study to determine whether the standardized Law School Admission Test (LSAT) writing sample could be used as an assessment tool in the admission process instead of focusing on the standardized test score itself. Currently, the LSAT score and the undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) are the only two factors used to determine the entrance index at Cooley, which is the standard for admission eligibility. The entrance index is calculated by multiplying an applicant’s cumulative UGPA by fifteen and then adding the highest score the applicant

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received on the LSAT. To be granted admission to Cooley, an applicant must achieve a minimum entrance index of 186 or have a minimum LSAT score of 144. Applicants whose credentials do not meet the criteria are denied admission because they either have a low UGPA or score below 144 on the LSAT. On average, the academic attrition rate for students with low LSAT scores is high, but some students with low LSAT scores do tremendously well and succeed (Oates, 1997). This informal study tested the following hypotheses: (1) students with good writing skills have a higher probability of law school success, and (2) the LSAT writing sample could be an effective assessment tool for admission to Cooley.

The study seemed to indicate that the writing sample is a strong predictor of academic success and first-year law school grade point averages (GPA). The results offered some support for including an assessment of the LSAT writing sample in the admission criteria. Furthermore, the results also suggested that consideration be given for using the LSAT writing sample as a key criterion for participation in an alternative admission process or “qualification program”.

Taking those study results to heart, Cooley formally developed its alternative admission program in 2003 and called it the Professional Exploration Program (PEP). While other law schools have qualification programs, they often place conditionally admitted, or academically “at-risk,” students in two or more substantive law classes and then formally admit them on the basis of their grades in those courses, which corresponds with a fail-or-succeed framework (Green, Kordesh & Spanbauer, 2009). Cooley wanted its qualification program to be different and incorporate additional, important components other than simply placing a prospective student in a law school classroom to see if they would fail or succeed.

Alternative admission programs are not unique to law schools, and they seem to stem from the idea that there is a problem with standardized tests that are used in higher education for admission criteria because they measure a limited range of attributes, namely verbal and quantitative ability, and they may not be an accurate indicator of a student’s academic ability or academic potential (Sedlacek, 2003; Fuller, McNamara & Green, 1978; Texas Higher Education, 2000). The controversy surrounding the use of standardized tests gives higher education institutions the opportunity to develop different ways of assessing student ability to insure the broadest possible access to this level of academia while simultaneously ensuring that students who enter higher education will be successful (Fuller et al., 1978; Texas Higher Education, 2000).

While the origin of law school academic support and alternative admission programs can be traced to affirmative action admission programs set up in the late 1960s, more recent influxes of these programs resulted from a call by the American Association of Law Schools and the Law School Admission Council (the administrator of the LSAT) to enhance recruitment of minority students to law schools. (Mencer, 2003). This call was made because many of the minority students were admitted under affirmative action or special minority admission programs based on lower than average LSAT scores (Mencer, 2003). Academic support programs, which can take the form of alternative admission programs, refer to educational programs intended to improve the academic performance of traditionally at-risk students and provide early, or preadmission, academic assistance to students who are actually at risk of not succeeding.

Because the programs have roots in minority-based outreach programs, many law schools

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identify program participants based on LSAT scores, UGPAs, or ethnic or racial classifications (Garfield, 2001).

Over the years, almost all law schools have devoted resources to creating or expanding existing academic support programs or alternative admission programs for at-risk students who are admitted to law school with lower entrance scores than their classmates (Green et al., 2009; Garfield & Levi, 2004; Schmidt & Iijima, 2006; Suni, 2004). While the overarching purpose and target population of academic support or alternative admission programs seems to be consistent throughout all the law schools that have these programs, there has been little agreement on the form that the programs should take (Garfield & Levi, 2004; Schmidt & Iijima, 2006; Suni, 2004). Many programs are administered and taught by nontenured individuals, and some schools hire directors of academic support programs who are nonregular faculty. In a few schools, those teaching academic support programs are tenured or tenure-track faculty (Suni, 2004). The forms of the offered programs vary significantly. Some of the preadmission programs focus on prematriculated law students who are “at risk” academically, some are geared toward first-year law students who are deemed “at risk” academically, and some are geared toward upper-level law students (Garfield & Levi, 2004). Some programs offer support in the forms of legal skills training, substantive law classroom instruction, introduction to legal writing, tutoring, workshops on studying, exam skills, note-taking or case briefing, time management instruction, or individual counseling. Many offer a combination of two or more of these services. Some of the components are optional, and some of the components are mandatory (Boylan, 2002).

While law schools have invested significant resources into developing and offering academic support or alternative admissions programs, few studies have been conducted to evaluate these programs’ effectiveness or success (Garfield & Levi, 2004; Schmidt & Iijima, 2006, Suni, 2004). Conducted studies have posted positive results even if some were only based on anecdotal evidence (Garfield & Levi, 2004; Green et al., 2009; Schmidt & Iijima, 2006). One of the main reasons for this scarcity of studies is that “success” can be a highly subjective term that program institutions measure differently (Garfield & Levi, 2004). A suggested model for evaluating programs included variables that would seem to add substance to the evaluation including gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, LSAT score, law school GPA, UGPA, legal writing assessments, and evaluation of legal reasoning skills (Garfield & Levi, 2004; Mencer, 2003).

Cooley seems to have found a way to incorporate an academic support program into its alternative admissions program with positive results. Cooley’s program was developed to include legal analysis skill instruction, substantive law instruction, reading comprehension and vocabulary testing, personality and career-interest assessments, and participant self-evaluation of one’s fitness to study law. The program, over the course of a week, includes 12 hours of legal analysis skill training and 10 hours of substantive law instruction. At the end of the week, participants take a quiz on the legal analysis skill information and a final exam on the substantive law topic. After the program, the participants are evaluated by a PEP selection committee. If the participants pass, they are invited to matriculate based on the outcome of their overall efforts to be successful in a simulated law school environment provided by the PEP. The PEP selection committee consists of the Associate Dean of Students and Professionalism, the Assistant Dean of Admissions, the Associate Dean of Enrollment and Student Services, the Associate Dean of

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Faculty, the director of the school’s Academic Resource Center, the faculty member who taught the program, and PEP staff members, which have included a skills instructor and a coordinator.

To determine who is eligible to participate in Cooley’s alternative admission program, Cooley assesses and scores an applicant’s LSAT writing sample that is submitted with the individual’s application for admission. Unbeknownst to them, individuals who apply to Cooley but are denied admission because they do not meet the required LSAT or UGPA entrance index for regular admission have their respective writing samples evaluated. Individuals who score 2.5 or better out of 5.0 possible points on the writing sample are offered an opportunity to participate in the program. When an applicant is invited to participate in the PEP, they are informed of their writing sample’s review that precipitated their invitation.

Between the PEP’s inception in 2003 and the end 2012, 55 programs were conducted.

During this period, 1,425 participants attended the programs, and, ultimately, 829 participants, or 58%, were granted admission to the school based on their performance. The success rate of those admitted is significant and is the basis for continuing this alternative admission process.

Using the success rate as a benchmark, the question posed for evaluation to determine if the PEP is a viable alternative admission process is whether the LSAT writing sample serves as a predictor of first-term academic success and overall academic success. The other, and more related, question posed was whether the results of the legal analysis skills quiz and final exam administered during the program serve as a predictor of first-term success and overall academic success. First-term academic success is defined as earning a passing grade, C (2.0) or better, in first-term courses that typically include Torts I, Criminal Law, and Contracts I, which also results in a first term GPA of 2.0 or better. Overall academic success is defined as: (1) graduated and received a Juris Doctor degree; (2) in good academic standing with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above; (3) transferred to another institution while in good academic standing (cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above); or (4) withdrew from Cooley while in good academic standing (cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above).

Conversely, academic unsuccessfulness is defined as: (1) academically dismissed; (2) academic probation (cumulative GPA below 2.0); or (3) withdrew from Cooley while on academic probation (cumulative GPA below 2.0).

Academic success and unsuccessfulness were determined by evaluating information through the last semester of 2012 (September 2012 through December 2012).

Program Selection Process - LSAT Writing Sample The LSAT writing samples of those who apply to Cooley but do not meet its minimum entrance index standards are evaluated and given a score that ranges in nine steps from 1.0 to 5.0 (1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, or 5.0). The chairperson of Cooley’s Research and Writing Department, who is a national leader in law school writing programs, developed the scoring rubric for evaluating the LSAT writing sample through a comprehensive and extensive writing sample study. In order to ensure the evaluation’s validity and reliability and the sample’s

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scoring, a trained PEP staff member assesses and scores the writing samples. The LSAT writing sample rubric is summarized as follows:  SCORE 5.0 - A five paper presents a cogent, well-articulated analysis of the complexities of the issue and demonstrates mastery of the elements of effective writing.  SCORE 4.0 - A four paper presents a well-developed analysis of the complexities of the issue and demonstrates a strong control of the elements of effective writing.  SCORE 3.0 - A three paper presents a competent analysis of the issue and demonstrates adequate control of the elements of writing.  SCORE 2.0 - A two paper demonstrates serious weaknesses in analytical writing and contains numerous errors in grammar, usage, or mechanics that interfere with meaning.  SCORE 1.0 - A one paper demonstrates fundamental deficiencies in analytical writing skills.

The LSAT writing sample is the primary factor considered in choosing the participants who might attend the PEP, and, while all who score 2.5 or higher are invited to be participants, some invitees decline the invitation. Currently, about one-third of those invited choose to take advantage of the opportunity to attend this alternative admissions program with the possibility of being granted admission to Cooley. Table 1 sets out the number of writing samples reviewed and assessed since the PEP’s inception in 2003 through the end of 2012. It should be noted, however, that a variable exists in the categorization of the writing sample scores. Since 2003, there have been approximately three different Cooley employees (faculty or lawyer staff) who have scored the writing samples. These individuals predated the lawyer staff member who has evaluated the writing samples since 2007. While each employee used the rubric to evaluate the writing samples, there may have been some variation in the interpretation of the sample itself and the score’s application.

While almost 10,000 LSAT writing samples were evaluated, it is noteworthy that 5,783 of them fell below the 2.5 score using the writing sample rubric. These individuals who fell below the bright line of 2.5 represent 58% of the population of scored samples. These individuals were not invited to attend the alternative admissions program because it was logical to infer that individuals who scored 1.0 or 2.0 on the writing sample would be more likely to have academic difficulty as law students than individuals who scored 2.5 or higher.

Of the remaining 4,116 samples that were evaluated, 2,910, or 71%, scored at the 2.5 level in the rubric. While the samples demonstrated weakness, this would indicate that they did not demonstrate fundamental deficiencies in analytical writing skills. The remaining 1,206 samples scored 3.0 or better as defined by the rubric. There were no writing samples in the pool that scored at level 5.0 in the rubric.

All 4,116 applicants whose writing samples were scored 2.5 or higher were invited to attend the program. Approximately 65% of those invitees did not respond to the invitation or

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declined the invitation and presumably chose other career or educational options. Several invitees accepted the invitation but did not ultimately attend the program because their entrance index scores increased sufficiently between the time they were invited to attend the program and the scheduled date of the program, so they were granted admission to Cooley, or other institutions, through the regular admissions process. Most of those that were granted admission through the regular process, rather than attending the PEP, retook the LSAT and received the minimum 144 score or higher thereby satisfying the entrance criteria. A small number of individuals came to the program but then left during the programs’ course and did not complete it for various personal reasons. An even smaller number of individuals completed the program but were subsequently granted admission through the regular process due to an increase in their LSAT score, which resulted in an increase in their entrance index. These individuals retook the LSAT after they completed the program and received a score of 144 or higher making them eligible to matriculate through the regular process instead of through the PEP process. These individuals were not included in the population studied for purposes of this evaluation. There were 1,425 individuals, or 35%, of the 4,116 who were invited and accepted the invitation, participated in the program, completed the program, and were voted on by the PEP selection committee to determine whether they should be granted admission to the school.

Of the 1,425 individuals that accepted the invitation and completed in the program, 829 of them, or 58%, were granted admission to the school. Conversely, 596 individuals, or 42%, completed the program and were not granted admission to the school. Currently, over half of the 829 participants, specifically 66%, that were granted admission are categorized as academically successful. In fact, this percentage is only a partial snapshot of the status of those 829 participants. Approximately 136 individuals from this group, or 16%, do not have an academic classification because they did not accept the invitation to matriculate, accepted the invitation but have not yet matriculated, or have matriculated but have not yet received first-term grades.

Therefore, these 136 individuals were removed from the information evaluated to determine success rates, thereby leaving 693 participants that could be classified academically. Of the 693 participants that have a classification of academically successful or unsuccessful, more than three-quarters of them, specifically 79%, are classified as academically successful. The information evaluated to determine academic success included student grades and GPAs through the last semester of 2012 (September 2012 through December 2012). This seems to demonstrate that Cooley is finding participants for the program with the potential to succeed in law school.

Cooley selects participants for the program who demonstrate the highest probability for success as law students.

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Analysis Age The average age of all 1,425 participants who attended the program from 2003 through 2012 is 28 years. They have an average UGPA of 2.68 and an average LSAT score of 138. The average LSAT writing sample score for this group is 2.6. The averages in these categories for the 829 participants who were ultimately granted admission are almost the same as the overall participant averages. The average age of the 829 participants that were granted admission is 27 years, the average UGPA is 2.71, the average LSAT score is 139, and the average LSAT writing sample score is 2.7.

Gender and Ethnicity The population studied for this evaluation’s purposes includes 829 students who were granted admission to law school through the PEP process. This population includes 494, or 60%, females and 335, or 40%, males. One of the program’s goals is to attract underrepresented populations to Cooley. Out of the total population, 519 that were invited to matriculate, or 63%, are from underrepresented ethnic populations, and 310 that were invited to matriculate, or 37%, are white, non-Hispanic. The ethnic breakdown of those 519 (or 63%) that attended the PEP during this period and were granted admission is 317 African American (38%), 66 Asian (8%), 56 Other Hispanic (7%), 40 Other, multiracial (5%), 15 Mexican American (2%), 14 Not Indicated (2%), 8 Puerto Rican (1%), and 3 Native American (less than 1%).

Because Cooley is determining who will be invited to attend the PEP based on the LSAT writing sample score, it seems logical to investigate whether there is a relationship between that score and first-term academic success and overall academic success. Furthermore, because Cooley is determining which PEP participants will be invited to matriculate based on the results of the legal analysis skills quiz and the final exam, it also seems logical to investigate whether there is a relationship between those results and first-term academic success and overall academic success.

LSAT Writing Sample Score, Skills Quiz, and Final Exam Analysis LSAT writing sample score analysis. Of the 55 programs that were conducted between 2003 and 2012, the average LSAT writing sample score of those participants who were invited to matriculate was 2.7. Interestingly, the average writing sample score of those that matriculated and are categorized as academically successful students is also 2.7. Of the 55 programs conducted, only 54 programs had students that could be categorized as successful or unsuccessful. The last 2012 program consists of 18 participants who were invited to matriculate and are enrolled, but have not yet started their first term of study, or have matriculated but do not

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yet have an academic classification. Therefore, their writing sample score was not compared to the overall participants’ average writing sample score.

In comparing writing sample scores of all those who were invited to matriculate to those who did matriculate and were academically successful, it is noteworthy that 45 of the 53 applicable programs had participants who became successful students whose writing sample average score was either the same as or higher than the overall average of all participants invited to matriculate. Table 2 lists the average writing sample score for all participants who were invited to matriculate, the number of matriculants who are successful students, and the average writing sample score for matriculants who are academically successful.

Of the 829 participants who were invited to matriculate, 136 were removed from the data evaluated to determine success rates because these participants do not have an academic classification. These individuals cannot be classified because (a) they did not accept the invitation to matriculate, (b) they did accept the invitation but have not yet matriculated, or (c) they have matriculated but have not yet established an academic standing. Removing 136 individuals from the evaluated population leaves 693 participants with an academic classification. Of the 693 participants who matriculated, 463 had a writing sample score of 2.5 and 230 had a writing sample score above 2.5. The academic success rate of those who scored at the 2.5 level was compared to the academic success rate of those who scored above the 2.5 level.

Table 3 lists the writing sample scores and the corresponding academic categories.

As displayed in Table 1, 359, or 78%, of the 463 who scored 2.5 were successful, and one hundred four, or 22%, of the 463 who scored 2.5 were unsuccessful. The information evaluated to determine academic standing classification included student grades and GPAs to through the last semester of 2012 (September 2012 through December 2012). There were 198 participants with a writing sample score of 3.0. One hundred sixty-five of them, or 83% of that group, were successful, and 33 of them, or 17% of that group, were unsuccessful. There were 25 participants with a writing sample of 3.5. Seventeen of them, or 68% of that group, were successful, and eight of them, or 32% of that group, were unsuccessful. Lastly, there were seven participants with a writing sample of 4.0. Four of them, or 57% of that group, were successful students, and three of them, or 43% of that group, were unsuccessful. There were no participants in these categories of programs (June 2003 through end of the year 2012) with a writing sample score higher than 4.0.

The comparison revealed that those students with higher writing sample scores were no more likely to be academically successful than those with lower writing sample scores. The participants who scored 2.5 on the writing sample succeeded at a rate of 78%. Those who scored 3.0 on the writing sample succeeded at a rate of 83%. Those who scored 3.5 on the writing sample succeeded at a rate of 68%. Finally, those who scored 4.0 on the writing sample succeeded at a rate of 57%. It is interesting to note that those who scored 3.0 on the writing sample had the highest rate of success, and those who scored 4.0 on the writing sample had the lowest rate of success.

Comparing participants’ writing sample scores to first-term grades and first-term GPAs produced varied results. Participants who are invited to matriculate and become students at

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Cooley typically take three first-term courses: Torts I, Contracts I, and Criminal Law. (Firstterm students are also required to take an Introduction to Law class, which is a pass/fail course and is not given a letter or numerical grade. Therefore, it is not factored into their first-term GPA.) Only 693 of the 829 participants who were invited to matriculate received first-term grades because the remaining 136 students did not accept the invitation to matriculate, did accept the invitation but have not yet matriculated, or accepted the invitation and have matriculated but have not yet received their first-term grades. The average first-term GPA for students enrolled at Cooley through this alternative admissions process is 2.31, which is the upper end of a “C” average. Most of these students took three first-term classes. Table 4 outlines the average firstterm grade and GPA for those participants who were invited to matriculate, and they are categorized by writing sample score. In comparing the average grades for these courses and the average first-term GPA with the writing sample score categories, it is interesting to note that the group with the highest first-term grades and GPA were the participants who scored 3.0 on their LSAT writing sample, and those with the lowest first-term grades and GPA were the participants who scored 4.0 on the writing sample.

What this seems to suggest is that those with higher writing sample scores are, on average, no more likely than those with a lower writing sample score to be academically successful in their first term of law school. This could be attributed to the fact that the question prompt on the writing sample portion of the LSAT only directs the test-taker to make a generic argument about a particular fact pattern, which equates to simply identifying the positive and negative aspects of two different alternative outcomes to a given situation. The question prompt does not direct the test-taker to formulate legal arguments through a legal analysis process based on applicable laws or legal theories as participants are taught to do in the PEP Skills quiz analysis. During the course of the program, the participants are given a quiz that tests what they learned about the legal analysis process from the program’s legal skills portion. The average score on the skills quiz for those participants who were invited to matriculate beginning with the June 2004 program was 81%. Results were not archived for the first two programs, June 2003 and October 2003, so those programs were not factored into the average score. These averages do not include PEP participants who attended the program but were not invited to matriculate. In evaluating participant performance on the legal analysis skills quiz, the threshold score that is desired is 75%. And while the average score of all 818 participants who were invited to matriculate was 81%, 131 of them received a score below 75%.

While there were 829 overall participants from 55 programs invited to matriculate from 2003 to 2012, only 818 of those participants from 53 programs were studied because skills quiz scores were not available for the two 2003 programs. However, 78, or 59%, of the 131 that scored below 75% were still academically successful in law school, 39 of them, or 30%, were unsuccessful, and 14 of them, or 11%, did not enroll after being accepted to the institution, accepted the invitation to enroll and have not yet matriculated, or have matriculated but have not yet established an academic standing. Table 5 categorizes the skills quiz results by percentage and identifies the corresponding academic success categories after removing 136 of them from

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the pool because of the lack of academic classification. The results indicated that participants who scored in the 50% range on the skills quiz succeeded at a rate of 46%. Those who scored in the 60% range succeeded at a rate of 64%. Those who scored in the 70% range succeeded at a rate of 74%. Those who scored in the 80% range succeeded at a rate of 84%. Finally, participants who scored in the 90% range or higher succeeded at a rate of 86%. These results seem to indicate that the higher a participant scores on the skills quiz the more likely they are to become a successful student.

The average first-term grades and GPAs for those participants who were invited to matriculate partially based on their skills quiz score are similarly suggestive of potential success.

It appears that the higher a participant scores on the legal analysis skills quiz, the more likely they are to be successful in their first term of law school. For these participants who matriculated, the higher they scored on the legal analysis skills quiz, the higher their first termgrades and GPAs were. While program participants who scored in the 50% range on the legal analysis skills quiz averaged a first term GPA of 1.99, each higher category of quiz results corresponded with a higher first-term average GPA. Those participants who scored the highest on the skills quiz, in the 90% to 100% range, also had the highest average first-term GPA. This progression is demonstrated in Table 6. This seems to indicate that participants’ performance on the legal analysis skills quiz might be a credible predictor of first-term academic success and overall academic success.

Final exam analysis. At the program’s conclusion, the participants are given a shortened version of a typical law school final exam. Participants attend three class sessions (approximately 10 hours total) that cover a substantive law topic, and the final exam consists of questions related to that topic. The exam includes 14 multiple choice questions worth two points each and one essay question worth 40 points for an overall total of 68 possible points. Some of the records were not maintained on previous tests, so those programs are not factored in to the analysis. The overall average score on the final exam for the applicable programs is 38 points out of 68 possible points, or 56%. More importantly, it seems that the higher a participant scores on the final exam the more likely they are to be academically successful.

For those participants for whom the test results allowed them to be academically classified as either successful or unsuccessful, it seems that the higher a participant scores on the final exam the more likely they are to be successful students. Table 7 lists the final exam scores and corresponding academic categories. Those who scored in the 20-point range on the final exam succeeded at a rate of 78%. Those who scored in the 30-point range succeeded at a rate of 81%. Those who scored in the 40-point range also succeeded at a rate of 82%. Those who scored in the 50-point range succeeded at a rate of 92%. Finally, the individual who scored in the 60-point range succeeded at a rate of 100%. This seems to indicate that the higher a participant scores on the final exam the more likely it is that they will be successful law students.

For those participants who matriculated, the higher they scored on the final exam, the higher their first-term grades and GPAs were. There seems to be a predictable relationship between

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PEP final exam results and first-term academic success, which is demonstrated in Table 8.

While program participants who scored in the 20-point range on the exam had an average firstterm GPA of 2.28, each higher category of exam results seemed coincident with a higher firstterm average GPA. The participant that had the highest score on the final exam, in the 60-point range, also had the highest average first-term GPA. This also seems to indicate that participants’ performance on the final exam appears to be a credible predictor of first-term academic success and overall academic success.

Conclusion After looking for relationships among the participants’ LSAT writing sample scores, first-term grades, GPAs, and overall academic success, it seems that the writing sample might not be as strong a predictor of first-term academic success or overall academic success as the participants’ performance in the alternative admissions program itself. By evaluating the results of the skills quiz and the final exam scores and comparing them to first term-grades, GPAs, and overall academic success, it appears that the alternative admissions process is working and predicts which participants are more likely to be successful law students. The program is finding individuals who do become successful law students more times than not. The overall success rates seem to support this assertion. Six hundred ninety three of the 829 PEP participants who were invited to matriculate at Cooley matriculated and were classified academically. Five hundred forty five, or 79%, of those 693 are classified as successful, and 148, or 21%, are classified as unsuccessful.

The success rate of individuals who have an academic standing classification is significant. More than three-quarters of the participants who matriculated through this alternative admissions program and have an academic standing classification are classified as academically successful.

The profile below indicates that the participants who matriculate into the school through this alternative admissions process have the following characteristics:  An average score of 2.7 on the LSAT writing sample.  An average 139 LSAT score.  Are primarily from underrepresented populations.  Have earned an average GPA of 2.71 at their undergraduate institutions.  Are, on average, 60% female and 40% male.  Average 27 years of age.  An average first-term law school GPA of 2.31.  In addition, and most critically, 79% are successful in law school.

The PEP appears to be a viable alternative admission process. Not only is the PEP a viable and alternative way for Cooley to admit students, it is an alternative way for prospective students to gain access to law school, which gives them a chance to become attorneys. By

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allowing the PEP participants who successfully completed the program to matriculate, Cooley has opened the door to success for many prospective students who would otherwise not have had the opportunity to study law. The PEP embodies the school’s mission and allows hundreds of individuals, particularly those from underrepresented populations, to achieve a goal that might not have otherwise been attainable.

Author Biography Linda Kisabeth received her J.D, cum laude, from Cooley Law School and simultaneously earned a Certificate from the Institute on International & Comparative Law at University of San Diego School of Law while studying at Oxford University in England. Prior to law school, she earned a B.S. from Eastern Michigan University and an A.B.A. from Cleary College. She is currently a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Oakland County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. She is admitted to practice in the Federal District Courts of Michigan (Eastern & Western). She is a current board member of the Sixty Plus Elderlaw Clinic at Cooley Law School and is an Oakland County Bar Foundation Fellow.

She currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Torts Department at Cooley Law School.

Prior to her position at Cooley, she served as Associate General Counsel for Delta Dental Plan of Michigan, was a former associate attorney at Hubbard Law Firm in Lansing, Michigan, was a former Adjunct Professor at Lansing Community College and Cooley Law School. Prior to these positions, she spent 10 years as a paralegal at Fawcett & Cavanaugh law office in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Author Note The views expressed in this article are solely those of Professor Kisabeth and not Thomas M. Cooley Law School. This article makes no attempt at statistical correlation and none should be inferred. All percentages referenced herein are rounded to two digits. Special thanks to Cooley Law School staff, Sherry Dennis and Michelle Cancino, for their assistance in assembling the data contained in this article.

References Boylan, J. (2002). Crossing the divide: Why law schools should offer summer programs for nontraditional students. Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Minority Issues, 5, 27-35.

Brennan, T. E., Sr. (2013). Starting a law school. Retrieved from http://www.cooley.edu/about/thomas_brennan.html Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. (2012). Diverse issues in higher education: Top 100 graduates. Retrieved from http://diverseeducation.com/top100/GraduateDegreeProducers2012.php?ComparisonTyp e2_1=%3-D&degreetype=First+Professional&ComparisonType1_1=%3-

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D&MatchNull1_1=N&school=zip&ComparisonType2_1=%3D&MatchNull2_1=N&state=zip&ComparisonType3_1=%3D&MatchNull3_1=N&major=Law&ComparisonType4_1=%3D&MatchNull4_1=N&race=Total+Minority.

Fuller, B., McNamara, P. P., & Green, K. C. (1978). Alternative admissions programs. New Directions for Higher Education, 23, 3-18. doi:10.1002/he.36919782303 Garfield, L. Y. (2001). The academic support student in the year 2010. UMKC Law Review, 69, 494-495. Retrieved from https://lawschool.westlaw.com Garfield, L. Y., & Levi, K. K. (2004). Finding success in the “cauldron of competition:” The effectiveness of academic support programs. Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal, 1-3, 7 & 47. Retrieved from https://lawschool.westlaw.com Green, S. B., Kordesh, M. S., & Spanbauer, J. M. (2009). Sailing against the wind: How a preadmission program can prepare at-risk students for success in the journey through law school and beyond. The University of Memphis Law Review, 39, 309-311. Retrieved from https://lawschool.westlaw.com Mencer, O. E. (2003). New directions in academic support and legal training: Looking back, forging ahead. Southern University Law Review, 31, 47-48 & 59-60. Retrieved from https://lawschool.westlaw.com Oates, L. C. (1997). Beating the odds: Reading strategies of law students admitted through alternative admissions programs. Iowa Law Review, 83, 139. Retrieved from https://lawschool.westlaw.com Schmidt, C. & Iijima, A.L. (2006). A compass for success: A new direction for academic support programs. Cardozo Public Law, Policy and Ethics Journal, 4, 651-653. Retrieved from https://lawschool.westlaw.com Sedlacek, W. E. (2003). Alternative admissions and scholarship selection measures in higher education. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 35, 263.

Retrieved from http://0go.galegroup.com.library.cooley.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA98709828&v=2.1&u=lom_ thomcls&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w Suni, E. Y. (2004). Academic support at the crossroads: From minority retention to bar prep and beyond – Will academic support change legal education be fundamentally changed?.

UMKC Law Review, 73, 498, 504. Retrieved from https://lawschool.westlaw.com Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. (2000). Report on alternative admissions criteria study, executive summary. Retrieved from http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/reports/pdf/0314.pdf Thomas M. Cooley Law School. (2012). Report to the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar (ABA Consumer Information Standard 509 Report). Retrieved from http://cooley.edu/consumerinformation/

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Table 1 Number of LSAT Writing Samples Read and Assessed With the Corresponding Rubric Score Rubric Score

Number of Samples in the Score Range 170 1,375 1,398 2,840 2,910 1,042 123 38 3 0

0 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 Total Writing Samples Read

9,899

Table 2 Average Participant Writing Score Comparison for Successful Students Program

Average Participant Score 3.1

Number of Successful Students 0/3

Successful Student Average Score N/A

October 2003

2.6

6/7

2.7

June 2004

2.6

4/4

2.6

October 2004

2.7

8 / 15

2.6

2.8

7 / 13

2.8

2.6

11 / 16

2.6

2.7

18 / 20

2.6

October 2005 2

2.7

8 / 13

2.7

June 2006

2.8

13 / 17

2.8

2.8

8 / 15

2.8

2.7

13 / 18

2.7

October 2006 2

2.7

17 / 21

2.7

January 2007

2.8

3/9

2.7

February 2007

2.6

12 / 17

2.6

June 2007

2.6

13 / 20

2.6

October 2007

2.5

16/ 21

2.6

November 2007

2.6

5/8

2.6

January 2008

2.6

14 / 17

2.6

June 2003

June 2005 June 2005

nd

2

October 2005 nd

June 2006

nd

2

October 2006 nd

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February 2008

2.7

9 / 11

2.7

March 2008

2.8

6/8

2.8

April 2008

2.8

5/6

2.9

2.8

5/5

2.8

2.7

7/9

2.7

2.7

5/6

2.6

2.6

7/8

2.5

July 2008

2.7

9/9

2.6

August 2008

2.7

9 / 13

2.9

October 2008

2.5

3/4

2.5

November 2008

2.7

5/5

2.6

January 2009

2.6

5/6

2.7

March 2009

2.5

9 / 10

2.6

April 2009

2.7

13 / 14

2.7

May 2009

2.7

8 / 11

2.8

June 2009

2.8

11 / 15

2.7

July 2009

2.7

13 / 15

2.7

October 2009

2.8

21 / 26

2.8

November 2009

2.9

21 / 26

3.0

January 2010

2.7

14 / 18

2.7

February 2010

2.8

15 / 15

2.8

April 2010

2.6

13 / 16

2.6

May 2010

2.8

6/6

2.9

June 2010

2.7

10 / 13

2.7

July 2010

2.5

8 / 10

2.5

August 2010

2.7

16 / 18

2.7

October 2010

2.7

14 / 19

2.7

January 2011

2.6

21 / 24

2.7

March 2011

2.8

18 / 20

2.8

July 2011

2.8

8 / 10

2.8

August 2011

2.6

7/7

2.6

October 2011

2.7

15 / 16

2.7

2.6

a

2.6

a

2.6

May 2008 May 2008

nd

2

June 2008 June 2008

nd

2

January 2012 March 2012 June 2012 July 2012

2.6 2.6 2.7

12 / 15 12 / 16 a

2.6

a

2.8

b

N/A

5/5 4/4

October 2012

N/A

0/0

Overall Average

2.7

545 / 693

2.7

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Â

Notes: Writing sample averages of participants invited to matriculate (by program) compared to average writing sample averages of matriculants who became successful students. a Some students in these programs have either matriculated but have not yet received first semester grades in order to classify them as successful or unsuccessful, or they have accepted the invitation but have not yet matriculated. b None of these students have matriculated.

Table 3 Comparison of Writing Sample Scores to Success Rate Writing Sample Score 2.5 = 463 students 3.0 = 198 students 3.5 = 25 students 4.0 = 7 students Total: 693 students

Successful Students 359 165 17 4 545 (79%)

Unsuccessful Students 104 33 8 3 148 (21%)

Success Rate 78% 83% 68% 57%

Table 4 Comparison of Writing Sample Scores to First-Term Course Grades Writing Sample Score

Average FirstTerm GPA

Average Torts I Grade

Average Crim Law Grade

Average Contracts I Grade

2.5 = 463 students 3.0 = 198 students 3.5 = 25 students 4.0 = 7 students

2.32 2.47 2.14 1.93

2.3 2.5 2.2 1.9

2.4 2.5 2.0 1.9

2.3 2.5 2.2 2.0

Table 5 Comparison of Skills Quiz Scores to Success Rate Skills Quiz Score 50%-59% = 13 students 60%-69% = 42 students 70%-79% = 213 students 80%-89% = 335 students 90%-100% = 80 students No Score = 10 students Total: 693 students

Successful Students 6 27 157 280 69 6 545 (79%)

Unsuccessful Students 7 15 56 55 11 4 148 (21%)

Success Rate 46% 64% 74% 84% 86% 60%

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Â

Table 6 Comparison of Skills Quiz Scores to First-Term Course Grades Skills Quiz Score

Average FirstTerm GPA

50%-59%= 13 students 60%-69% = 42 students 70%-79% = 213 students 80%-89% = 335 students 90%-100% = 80 students No Score = 10 students

1.99 2.21 2.26 2.43 2.50 1.94

Average Torts I Grade 2.0 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.3

Average Crim Law Grade

Average Contracts I Grade

2.3 2.2 2.2 2.5 2.5 1.9

1.9 2.2 2.3 2.5 2.4 1.8

Table 7 Comparison of Final Exam Scores to Success Rate Final Exam Score (68 Points Possible) 20 - 29 = 37 students 30 - 39 = 293 students 40 - 49 = 178 students 50 - 59 = 26 students 60 - 69 = 1 students N/A = 158 students Total: 693 students

Successful Students 29 236 146 24 1 109 545 (79%)

Unsuccessful Students 8 57 32 2 0 49 148 (21%)

Success Rate 78% 81% 82% 92% 100% 69%

Table 8 Comparison of Final Exam Scores to First-Term Course Grades Final Exam Score (68 Points Possible)

Average FirstTerm GPA

20 - 29 = 37 students 30 - 39 = 293 students 40 - 49 = 178 students 50 - 59 = 26 students 60 - 69 = 1 student No Score = 158 students

2.28 2.37 2.45 2.63 3.00 2.19

Average Torts I Grade 2.3 2.3 2.5 2.6 3.0 2.3

Average Crim Law Grade

Average Contracts I Grade

2.5 2.4 2.5 2.7 3.0 2.1

2.1 2.4 2.5 2.6 3.0 2.2

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The

Impact of Sensemaking and Socialization on the Retention of Novice Teachers Joan M. Berry University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Abstract

Teacher attrition is costly for districts, both financially and in terms of student achievement.

Districts often address teacher attrition by focusing on induction programs or mentors for novice teachers. However, novice teachers continue to leave the profession at alarming rates. This qualitative case study provides insight into how beginning teachers cope with the frustrations of entry-level teaching. Based on interview data, the study examines the experiences of twelve novice teachers from urban secondary schools in three states. The study focuses on novice teacher perceptions developed prior to their entry, the frustrations they experienced, how they made sense of what was happening, and how they adapted in response to their experiences.

Viewed within a theoretical framework developed by Meryl Louis (1980) for examining the newcomer experience, the data suggest that traditional group approaches to supporting novices fail to address the highly individual way in which newcomers “make sense” of teaching. The study indicates that “stayers” think about teaching in practical ways instead of idealistic ways, demonstrate the ability to be analytical and dynamic rather than static, acquire some form of insider support, and experience a sense of empowerment and efficacy. A better understanding of how novice teachers assign meaning to the frustrations they encounter and how this sensemaking impacts their decision to stay in teaching or leave the profession could be used in designing support systems for novice teachers, including orientation programs, mentoring approaches, professional development, and other strategies for dealing with new hires.

Keywords: teacher attrition; teacher retention; sensemaking; socialization of newcomers

Teacher attrition is a subject of nationwide concern. Thirty percent of those entering the teaching profession leave the classroom within three years, and between 40 and 50% of those entering the profession leave before the end of five years (Feiman-Nemser, 2003; Ingersoll, 2001; Ingersoll & Smith, 2003; Tapping the potential: Retaining and developing high-quality new teachers, 2004). Teacher attrition is costly, both financially and in terms of student achievement (Johnson, Berg, & Donaldson, 2005; Tapping the potential: Retaining and developing high-quality new teachers, 2004). School administrators need effective approaches for supporting and retaining teachers (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003), who often report isolation and

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inadequate support as reasons for their disillusionment with the profession (Brock & Grady, 2007; Rogers & Babinski, 2002).

Data collected through a qualitative study involving 12 novice teachers may be of some value. The experiences of the teachers in the study are presented in a series of patterns or themes based on (1) their prior expectations about teaching, (2) the aspects of teaching they found most surprising and frustrating, and (3) the ways in which they dealt with those frustrations and the people who assisted with this process. Embedded within their experiences are clues about why some teachers stay in the profession and why others choose to leave. This is critical information for a profession currently suffering from a growing student population and a shrinking teacher workforce.

While previous studies have centered on the reasons for leaving cited by teachers who have left the profession, none have considered the proposition that novice teachers are more apt to continue in the profession if they are able to make sense of the frustrations they encounter.

The intent of this study was to examine how twelve novice teachers in urban secondary schools made sense of the frustrations of entry-level teaching, and the impact of that sensemaking on their decisions to either leave teaching or remain in the profession.

Traditional approaches to beginning teacher support include mentoring, orientation and induction programs, peer assistance programs, and school/university partnerships (Brock & Grady, 2007). Most of these approaches are provided in a uniform, systematic way for all new employees, and most occur only during the first year (Riordan, Self, Vandenberg, & Weatherly, 2001). Much research has been devoted to the reasons teachers give for leaving the profession.

However, a better understanding is needed about how individual newcomers in the profession assign meaning to events, conflicts, and frustrations that they encounter, and the relationship between this “meaning-making” and their decision to stay in teaching or leave the profession.

Such understanding could be used by districts in recruiting methods, orientation programs, mentoring approaches, professional development, and in ongoing peer and administrative support to new hires.

According to Louis (1980), such an understanding could lead to “designing organizational structures that facilitate newcomer transitions” (p. 239). Because little research has been done to provide this, documenting the sensemaking strategies of a group of novice teachers as they progress through a year of teaching contributes to that understanding and could facilitate the creation of a model for supporting and retaining novice teachers.

Literature Review The need to support and retain novice teachers is supported by the literature. According to Ingersoll and Smith (2003), between 40 and 50% of those entering the teaching profession leave the classroom before the end of five years. A report from the Alliance for Excellent Education indicates that the teacher attrition level is highest in economically disadvantaged areas, and it is more acute in inner city and remote rural schools than suburban districts (Tapping

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the potential: Retaining and developing high quality new teachers, 2004). In schools in highpoverty areas, the rate of teacher attrition is as much as 50% higher than in affluent school districts (Ingersoll, 2001).

Novice teacher attrition has created a teacher shortage that impacts states in critical ways.

First, staffing all classrooms with highly qualified teachers is difficult if not impossible for school districts with high turnover rates. Secondly, teacher attrition is expensive (Carroll, 2007).

Nationwide, the cost of teachers leaving the profession is estimated at $4.9 billion (Tapping the potential: Retaining and developing high quality new teachers, 2004; Carroll, 2007). Moreover, student achievement is negatively impacted by high teacher attrition. Experienced teachers (having taught more than five years in the classroom) have a greater impact on student achievement than teachers with less than five years of experience (Darling-Hammond, 1999, 2003; Stronge & Tucker, 2000). Across the nation, student achievement is lower in schools with a high percentage of teacher turnover (Murname & Steele, 2007). Finally, teacher attrition contributes to an existing, critical shortage of teachers.

One approach to countering this trend is through socialization. Riordan, Self, Vandenberg, and Weatherly (2001) found a positive correlation between investiture socialization practices and enhanced employee job satisfaction. Greenhaus (1999) defines socialization as the process through which “the organization teaches the newcomer the skills of the new job and the norms and values or organizational culture that guide behavior and enhance the newcomer’s performance” (p. 315). He contends that increased socialization strategies have a positive correlation with improved attitudinal outcomes among new employees. This has implications for novice teacher support systems. However, most traditional approaches are standardized for all new employees, while the individual nature of novice teachers’ concerns, as identified by Veenman (1984) and Johnson (2004), suggest that a single approach applied in all situations is ineffective.

A framework for examining the experience of newcomers within any organization has been developed by Meryl Reis Louis (1980), and it is within this framework that this research study is positioned. Louis (1980) and Weick (1995, 2005) developed theories regarding how newcomers in organizations make sense of their new environment. Sensemaking is defined by Weick (1995, 2005) as a recurring cycle during which people form assumptions and test those assumptions when they are being socialized into a new organization. Louis (1980) proposes that newcomers are frustrated when they have unrealistic or unmet expectations about their teaching assignments. She identifies a series of stages through which newcomers pass, including anticipatory socialization (when the employee has not yet joined the organization but is developing notions about what he or she will experience in the new role), the encounter stage (when the newcomer begins to learn the culture and processes of the organization), and the adaptation stage (when the individual begins to feel a part of the organization and is considered an insider). These closely align to stages identified by Fuller (1969).

Louis (1980) says the newcomer in the organization encounters three distinct experiences as he moves through the various stages. The first stage is change as the newcomer adjusts to

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new surroundings, new equipment, new requirements, and a new hierarchy of authority. The second stage is contrast as the newcomer finds himself or herself in situations that are different from his or her expectations, or situations that are different from the newcomer’s previous experiences. The third is surprise, which can occur when conscious expectations about the job are unfulfilled or when the employee’s expectations about his or her ability to do the job successfully are unrealized (Louis, 1980).

Louis (1980) proposes that it is because of the surprise element that newcomers engage in “sensemaking,” which she explains in this way. Much of the time, individuals operate in patterns of behavior that are automatic or scripted. However, when an individual encounters something that is in contrast with the script, the individual attempts to assign meaning to the surprise, based on past experiences, personal characteristics, or cultural assumptions . This process of assigning meaning is called sensemaking. According to Weick (1995, 2005), this sensemaking is an inherent part of entering any new environment, and it is through an understanding of how novices make sense of the new environment that organizations can build structures to support and retain employees.

Methodology Data Collection For this study, the researcher utilized a qualitative case study approach (Merriam, 1998).

Data were collected through observations, field notes, document review, and interviews. Semistructured interviews using a set of pre-established questions (Guba & Lincoln, 1985) centered around factors frequently associated with teacher attrition, including the teacher’s expectations about teaching along with perceptions of support provided by administrators, the level and type of support provided by peers, student behavior, student academic achievement, self-efficacy, and professional development/educator preparation. The interviews were taped, transcribed, and coded for recurring themes. Classroom observations provided additional insight into the teaching experience of participants. The observations were documented through field notes and later coded for recurring themes and subthemes.

Data Sources and Context The study involved 12 novice teachers who exhibited characteristics typical of those leaving the profession in high numbers. Studies indicate that the typical teacher who leaves the profession is female, under 30 years of age, and teaching in a secondary school in an urban district (Marvel, Lyter, Peltola, Strizek, & Morton, 2007). The percentage of teacher attrition is higher in southern and western states. While teacher attrition among teachers of color is not significantly different from the novice teacher population as a whole, the number of teachers of

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color recruited into the profession is extremely low when compared to the teaching population as a whole. This makes attrition among teachers of color of great concern.

Similarly, while attrition of female teachers is slightly higher than it is for male teachers, males are significantly underrepresented in the teaching force when compared to the general teacher population. For this study, data were collected from a group of 12 full-time novice secondary teachers from three urban school districts in Texas, Arizona, and Louisiana. Urban schools are defined as the largest districts located in urban areas (counties of 650,000 or more) and serving student populations with high poverty rates and high proportions of students of color or limited English proficient students. Several factors drove the selection of Louisiana, Texas, and Arizona as the contexts for the interviews. In part, they were selected because of researcher proximity and because they are located in the southern and western parts of the United States, where teacher attrition is the highest. In addition, each of the states is dealing with teacher shortages. In order to address specific “high-need” groups, the source group included four males as well as seven teachers of color.

During data analysis, the source group was divided into “stayers” (those who were highly satisfied with their teaching experience and had no plans to change professions at the year’s end), “undecided” (those who had a difficult experience but who had decided to remain for at least one more year), and “leavers” (who had decided not to remain in the teaching profession).

Data Analysis Participant interviews served as the unit of analysis. The initial interviews were conducted using a standard set of springboard questions, building on individual responses to move in new directions or acquire more specific meaning. After the initial interview, subsequent face-to-face or email interviews were conducted to clarify points, gather additional information in a specific area, or extend the researcher’s understanding of the participants’ original statements.

Merriam (2002) says that in addition to interviews, documents are informative sources for case studies. In this study, additional data were collected through a document review of standardized test scores, district and campus demographics, school web pages, and documents provided by individual teachers during interviews. The primary information revealed by these sources was demographic. However, in some cases the document review was helpful in revealing the teacher’s perspective toward peers, students, or administrators.

Another informative source for case studies, according to Merriam (2002), is the observation. While teachers in the study were not formally observed, many invited the researcher into their classrooms. In the classrooms, the researcher was able to observe six of the 12 teachers interacting with students and five teachers interacting with other teachers. In addition, the researcher was able to observe the classroom climate established by the teachers as well as the facilities and equipment that were provided to the teachers.

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A coding process was utilized based on the factors most commonly associated with novice teacher attrition, including salaries, working conditions, student factors, school leadership, peer support, available resources, facilities, and safety perception ( Loeb & Page, 2000). A constant-comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) allowed the researcher to view the findings against existing research about socialization and sensemaking. Denzin and Lincoln (1998) describe the constant-comparative analysis as one in which a theory is initially generated from data. The theory is then modified and extended or altered as more data are gathered, resulting in a “continuous interplay between analysis and data collection” (p. 158).

A qualitative thematic strategy was utilized to categorize the data and interpret the findings, identifying commonalities or themes in the way teachers approach surprises in the environment and to what factors they attribute these experiences. According to Boyatzis (1998), several stages occur as the researcher generates themes from the data. The first is the ability to “sense” themes and recognize “codable moments” as data are collected (Boyatzis, 1998). Clues to meaning are often conveyed through subjective forms that are not evident from the words spoken. The participant’s body language, facial expressions, and gestures may help the researcher identify themes.

The second stage identified by Boyatzis (1998) is to be consistent in examining the data across all participants and all data. If a researcher maintains consistency, the same data should convey the same information to the researcher if viewed again on another day (Boyatzis, 1998).

The third stage involves what Boyatzis (1998) refers to as capturing the “essence of their observations” (p. 10), during which the researcher develops a code to classify observations or center on truly significant themes (Boyatzis, 1998). The fourth stage involves interpreting the themes and codes in a way that leads to meaning and a translation that is applicable in creating new theory or contributes to existing knowledge about the topic (Boyatzis, 1998).

Reliability and Trustworthiness Trustworthiness was established through the saturation and triangulation of data, the use of multiple data sources, reviewer reflection, and peer review (Merriam & Associates, 2002).

The researcher established reliability through the use of an explicit code, through fidelity to the themes appearing in the data, and through consistency in the methods used to interpret the data.

The study was conducted from both an “insider” perspective and an “outsider” perspective because the researcher is a white female educator who began her 25-year teaching career as a secondary teacher in a southern state’s urban district.

A number of factors limited the study. In the first place, while participants were assured anonymity, some mistrust of the researcher may have been present, and some participants may have been reluctant to be totally open about their administrators or district policies. An additional limitation involves the nature of case studies. According to Merriam (1998), readers may misinterpret case studies as being representative of the whole rather than as an examination of some part of the whole. The findings only represent the experiences of a small group of

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teachers. Also, because the researcher is the primary instrument of data collection and analysis, “the investigator is left on his or her own instincts and abilities throughout much of the research effort” (Merriam, 1998, p. 42), and this may lead to unethical, unreliable, or invalid data. In this study, the triangulation of data from a combination of extensive interviews, document review, peer review, and research reflection is intended to offset these potential problems.

Findings Theme 1: The Impact of Prior Expectations on Job Satisfaction Louis (1980) contends that new members of a group go through a series of stages. The first is “anticipatory socialization” when the novice develops expectations about what the job will entail, and these expectations create the foundation for sensemaking. When the expectations are erroneous, inadequate, or absent, job satisfaction is negatively impacted (Louis, 1980). One finding evident from the data is that during the anticipatory socialization stage, novice teachers who have practical and realistic images of teaching instead of idealistic images are more satisfied with the entry-level teaching experience.

Although the teachers in the study were interviewed after they had been teaching for several months, most recalled the anticipation they felt before their first day. Among the study’s participants, the stayers and those in the undecided group said they expected teaching would require more time than a typical 40-hour workweek, and they expected lesson planning, grading papers, monitoring hallways, attending athletic events, preparing materials, and attending meetings would be part of the job. They were concerned about student behavior, and they worried about how they would handle difficult students. They felt teaching would be difficult but rewarding. In other words, they thought about and talked about teaching in ways that focused on the practical aspects of teaching.

On the other hand, the leavers said they had not thought extensively about the “work” of teaching, and they had idealistic views about the relationships they would form with students rather than focusing on the teaching itself. They felt that they would be able to “help kids,” “build relationships with students,” and “find out how to help failing schools,” but they spent little or no time considering what lesson planning, grading, extracurricular activities, or materials preparation might be like prior to becoming a teacher. They envisioned themselves lecturing and “delivering” instruction, and they believed students would be “willing to learn.” They did not worry about student discipline. They believed that most students would follow their direction, and they anticipated that administrators would handle the more difficult students. In other words, they thought about and talked about teaching in idealistic ways, and they expected teaching to be more transmissive in nature with students as passive learners.

Across groups, the teachers in the study formed their prior expectations about teaching based on many factors, including their own personal experiences, input from teachers in the field, their teacher education programs and student teaching experience, and prior career

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experiences. However, the difference between the leavers and the stayers was that the leavers experienced many surprises and conflicts in their first year, while the stayers reported few surprises and conflicts with their prior expectations. Louis (1980) and Weick (1995) contend that when newcomers are faced with too many conflicts and surprises, they may find the job too frustrating to continue. The data seem to indicate a correlation between practical or realistic prior expectations and job satisfaction.

Implications for practice. The findings about prior expectations suggest the importance of helping preservice teachers develop realistic images of teaching in practical, workload-related ways. Unfortunately, providing a totally realistic picture of teaching assignments may be viewed as problematic by administrators and personnel directors because they must weigh the need for keeping novice teachers against the danger of scaring them away. However, even when novice teachers were concerned about the challenges they might face, those with the most realistic prior expectations fared better than those with unrealistic expectations.

Both university-based and alternative certification programs share the burden with districts in providing realistic views of teaching. Teacher education programs must provide preservice teachers with student teaching experiences that are reflective of what they will actually encounter in the classroom. These experiences should involve both formal and informal expectations of teachers because meetings, sponsorship of organizations, and other duties outside of the school day were viewed by leavers as especially frustrating.

It seems reasonable to expect that student teaching might provide a realistic view of the teaching experience. However, most participants said that their student teaching was at a school far removed (both geographically and demographically) from the one to which they were later assigned. Only one of the participants was placed as a first-year teacher on the campus where he completed student teaching. One leaver said a district representative had taken her on a tour of a school prior to assigning her there as a first-year teacher. However, they visited only one “specially selected” classroom, and they left before students were released into the hallway for the passing period. She later said that she wished she had seen the students en masse, and she wished she had gone to the school at night. She felt the district did not reveal the truth about the school or the students.

Theme 2: The Impact of Ownership and Empowerment on Job Satisfaction Louis (1980) says that once they are on the job, newcomers enter the “encounter” stage when they are exposed to situations they had not previously considered, and they may be overwhelmed by surprises in the new environment. In keeping with Louis’s (1980) theory, members of all three groups (stayers, leavers, and undecided) encountered surprising elements in their new situations. When this occurred, all assigned meaning or “blame” to the frustrations they felt, resulting in what Louis (1980) terms “sensemaking.” For the study’s participants, the surprises they encountered were primarily in four areas: lack of administrative support,

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inadequate resources, difficult student behaviors, and low academic achievement. One finding evident from the data is that during the encounter stage, novice teachers who changed as a result of the surprises were more apt to stay than those who remained static.

Among the participants in the study, stayers were more apt to accept personal responsibility for problem areas, adjusting their behaviors in search of better management strategies, materials, or instructional methods. As the stayers made sense of the conflicts they encountered, there was a tendency to rationalize or justify each of the problems they faced and take action themselves to address the problem. Rather than blaming students, administrators, or parents, they felt that each of these groups was behaving in an understandable way given the circumstances. While the stayers saw many problem areas, they tended to focus their efforts on the areas they felt they could change, especially within their own classrooms.

For example, when asked about administrative support, the stayers admitted they did not receive as much support from administrators as they expected. However, they characterized administrators as overwhelmed by the demands of accountability systems, parents, and paperwork. Therefore, they said they “didn’t deal with them much,” and they found alternate methods for dealing with inappropriate student behavior rather than writing referrals or relying on administrative intervention.

In terms of inadequate resources, all participants reported a lack of adequate materials, textbooks, and technology. However, the stayers inferred that districts operated under limited funds, so they found ways to repair equipment or acquire materials on their own. When they talked about student behavior or academic achievement, they felt student behaviors were understandable given the poverty in which the students lived, and stayers took steps to find more effective management and teaching strategies. In other words, the stayers made conscious decisions to change their own behaviors in response to conflicts they encountered. They looked for opportunities to implement positive changes.

On the other hand, the leavers primarily blamed unsupportive administrators, “out-ofcontrol” students, the community’s culture, and inadequate teacher preparation programs for the conflicts they found most frustrating. They viewed their circumstances as totally out of their control to change.

In terms of administrative support, leavers were less forgiving than stayers. Throughout the year, the leavers continued to send students to the administrators they viewed as “ineffective” because they felt it was the administrators’ responsibility to maintain discipline. They maintained this practice, even though they admitted it had not improved student behavior. In terms of supplies, they managed to “get by” with fewer resources and inadequate materials rather than looking for sources outside their own buildings. They blamed the students for choosing to misbehave or fail. They did not believe that changes on their part would result in improvements in discipline or resources. They believed that the parents of “these kids” did not value education and were to blame for students failing to do homework or being inadequately prepared.

In other words, the leavers blamed administrators, students, and the culture surrounding the school community for the problems they encountered. Because they saw each of these

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factors as out of their control, they failed to make any changes in their own behaviors. They seemed to be waiting for someone else to improve things.

Bandura (1998) purports that when members of any organization are able to exercise control over their environment, they feel a sense of efficacy and are motivated to maintain effort in spite of difficulties. Similarly, Johnson, Berg, and Donaldson (2005) found a high correlation between teacher efficacy and job satisfaction. A finding evident from the data is that novice teachers who feel empowered to make changes based on their sensemaking attain a greater sense of efficacy and are more satisfied with entry-level teaching.

The importance of efficacy or empowerment is documented in the literature. Bandura (1998) found that job satisfaction is significantly enhanced by success in an experience, especially if the success occurs in the midst of difficult circumstances. All of the stayers talked about teaching in terms of success and accomplishment. However, although their preservice expectations about teaching centered on practical knowledge (lesson planning and classroom organization), the stayers measured their success in terms of how they were perceived by students. They said students “melt your heart” and that teaching gives you a “sense of accomplishment” because you make a difference in the lives of others.

Despite the fact that their students scored poorly on state assessments, they felt confident that they had made a difference in their students’ achievement levels. The stayers came into teaching believing that it would require a great deal of effort, but they felt confident they had made the right career choice and were committed to continuing. They exhibited forward thinking, often speaking of how they would do things differently “next time” or the plans they were making for next year. They spoke of teaching as “rewarding” and “gratifying.” When asked if they had considered other career options after entering the teaching profession, these teachers said they had not.

On the other hand, the leavers found it difficult to pinpoint ways in which they had made a difference for the school or the students. When they were asked to describe their success as a teacher, it was more often in terms of student attitude or involvement than student achievement.

They felt their students liked them better by the end of the year. Some felt they had helped by assisting with student organizations or activities. However, despite the fact that there was no significant difference in the academic achievements of students in their classes compared to students in the stayers’ classes, none of the leavers felt the level of accomplishment described by the stayers.

Among the leavers, there was originally some hope that teaching would be a good career choice, but the teachers in this group felt that the personal sacrifices required of teachers were excessive. They tended to focus more on what had happened in the past than on the possibility of changing things in the future, and they saw themselves as victims.

Implications for practice. The data suggest the value of district induction programs that empower novice teachers in the areas of management, curriculum design, and delivery of instruction instead of programs that provide training on policies, procedures, and existing

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curricula. In addition, the data suggest that observations of beginning teachers and opportunities for professional development should focus on opportunities for teacher-driven changes. The novice teachers who served on committees and who were involved in campus-wide or gradelevel decision-making were more satisfied with the teaching experience.

The fact that all three groups identified lack of administrative support as problematic suggests a significant opportunity to positively impact the experience of all novice teachers. The data suggest that districts may need to reexamine the level of availability and support provided to beginning teachers by administrators. This might be accomplished through better training for administrators on how to support novice teachers and through raising the expectations in the district about how and when administrators will be available to assist novice teachers. It also seems to suggest that even strong mentoring programs are not sufficient in providing support for novice teachers if novice teachers perceive administrative support as inadequate or nonexistent.

While perceived as less critical than administrative support, teachers in the study also identified a lack of resources as a source of surprise and frustration for them. Within this category they included supplies, technology, books, and personnel (such as teacher aides). The establishment of district “media centers” where teachers could check out equipment on a more equitable basis or the involvement of novice teachers in establishing priorities for supply budgets might diminish the problems they perceived with regard to resources.

Some of the problems the teachers encountered are not within the immediate control of the administration or the school district. No amount of support will change the economic deprivation from which students come. In large districts like those in the study, administrators’ hands are often tied with regard to teacher-student ratios, funds for new equipment, or suspension and expulsion policies—all things described by the teachers in the study indicating “lack of support.” Novice teachers might benefit from a better understanding of the limitations placed on administrators.

However, many of the teachers (including the stayers) felt inadequate support with student behavior issues, and many felt the administrators were unable or unwilling to listen or provide assistance. Several felt that there were inconsistencies between what the administrator told them and what they read in district policy documents. In several instances, the teachers indicated that a word of approval or encouragement would make a significant difference to them.

These factors seem to be within the control of district leaders, who may assume the mentor teachers are providing all the support needed to new hires.

In addition, because satisfaction may be enhanced by a sense of efficacy, the data support the involvement of novice teachers in campus decision making, collaborative teams, school improvement initiatives, and leadership roles.

Theme 3: The Impact of Insider Support on Job Satisfaction Louis (1980) says that during the “encounter” stage, newcomers draw on many sources to help them make sense of the surprises and frustrations they encounter. Sometimes, they are

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assisted in the transition by insiders or other employees who help them better understand their job. Studies by Brickson and Brewer (2001) and Riordan et al. (2001) emphasize the importance of collaboration between the newcomer and the inner group. A third finding evident from the data is that during the encounter stage, novice teachers who rely on guidance from an insider are more satisfied with the experience of entry-level teaching than those who do not rely on an insider for support. In fact, stayers considered support from an insider as the most significant factor of all the factors that lead to job satisfaction.

There was a difference between a mentor and an insider. All of the teachers in the study had officially designated mentors. The mentors were perceived by participants in the study as valuable for providing the logistics of teaching but not valuable on a social or emotional level.

The teachers in the study viewed the evaluative role of the mentor as prohibitive in terms of forming a close bond. In addition, officially designated mentors were often assigned to multiple mentees. This meant they were unable to visit often, and they did not necessarily share a content area with the newcomer. In most cases, they were housed in an office at another location.

According to Varlas (2013), mentors are ill prepared and under trained in many districts, and while steps are being taken to create effective mentoring systems, this is not the norm.

However, all of the stayers and those in the undecided group found an unofficial mentor or insider at their campuses, and it was this person they viewed as most critical in helping them navigate the new culture of teaching. Insiders commiserated with the novice teachers, shared ideas and experiences, and served as sounding boards and resource sources. Their rooms provided a safe environment in which newcomers felt free to complain, laugh, cry, or plan.

The insider shared information that an official mentor might not have shared, such as the history behind why certain procedures were in place, which teacher unions were favored by administrators, or which conversations to avoid in the teacher’s lounge. They also helped the novice teachers feel that they were experiencing the same things others were facing. This validated novice teachers’ feelings and helped them realize that they were in a position to change things for the better. The insider’s role was supportive and friendly and never judgmental or evaluative.

No patterns were evident in the data regarding how the connection between the novice teacher and the unofficial mentor developed. Variations existed in terms of gender, age, and content area. Some unofficial mentors were beginning teachers as well. Others were veteran teachers. The common thread, however, was that the novice teachers felt they could talk to the insider about any problem and be understood, and they relied on the insider for emotional and social support instead of relying only on the insider’s instructional support. One stayer described how the person she viewed as an insider helped her raise money needed to support her family.

Another described meeting her unofficial mentor between classes to commiserate about problems, brainstorm solutions, talk and laugh. She said this interaction alleviated her frustrations. The type of support the stayers described was beyond the scope of the typical campus mentor. True insider support involved a personal, friendly bond between the individuals.

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Implications for practice. Behrstock and Clifford (2009) found that novice teachers, especially those under the age of 30, learn best in collaborative atmospheres and are more satisfied with teaching when they feel a part of a learning community. The data from this study indicate a need to facilitate multiple opportunities for novice teachers to form bonds with other teachers in a less-structured environment than the school setting. In addition, veteran teachers should be trained and encouraged to support beginning teachers in social and emotional ways as well as practical ways.

The dependence of the stayers on their unofficial mentors suggests the need to rethink how mentoring programs are structured, including examining how official mentors are selected, mentor characteristics that are most highly valued by novice teachers, how mentors are paired with novices, the possibility of self-selection of mentors, and what role mentors play (if any) in teacher evaluation. Again, the support of the insider was the greatest factor of all the factors considered significant by stayers.

Conclusion Louis (1980) says that when newcomers are able to navigate successfully through the sensemaking process and complete the “encounter stage,” they move into the “adaptation” stage, in which they adapt their behaviors to align with the system inherent within the organization.

They begin to feel comfortable in the environment and even behave as “insiders” themselves.

One finding evident from the data is that the leavers were teachers who were unable to reach the “adaptation” stage. They were unable to overcome erroneous or unrealistic prior expectations, they remained static in their response to challenges in the new environment, and they failed to secure the assistance of insider support in the way that stayers did. Therefore, they never reached the “adaptation” stage alluded to by Louis (1980). This failure among the “leavers” to adapt to frustrations inherent in teaching lies at the study’s heart.

Recommendations Future research might provide additional insight into how novice teachers might be helped to reach the adaptation stage. Because this study only examines the sensemaking activities of novice teachers in urban secondary public schools in Texas, Louisiana, and Arizona, future studies might examine data gathered from teachers in other contexts. Other contexts include teachers who have already left the profession rather than teachers currently teaching because the teachers interviewed for this study may not have felt safe to be completely open. In addition, future studies might focus on novice teachers in remote rural areas because these schools have difficulty finding enough highly qualified teachers for all classrooms. In addition, this study’s results might be applicable in other contexts and domains. It is possible that newcomers in industry or business may follow the same pattern as exhibited in the study. If

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studies in other areas replicate the findings here, structures might be created to support new employees in other career fields.

Because the study indicates the importance of practical knowledge rather than idealistic thinking among preservice teachers, further examination of the structure of internships and field experiences, the nature and context of student teaching programs, or the implementation of school to university partnerships might be beneficial. Because the participants in the study seemed highly frustrated by the lack of administrative support, additional studies about the characteristics of administrators who are perceived by novice teachers as supportive in contrast to the characteristics of administrators who are perceived as nonsupportive might reveal ways to improve higher education programs in educational administration. In addition, research about the factors impacting this perception (i.e., age, years of experience, ethnicity, and gender) might be beneficial to districts in placing the most supportive administrators with novice teachers.

Also, an examination of the characteristics of teachers seen as effective insiders might be of great value in designing and maintaining more effective mentoring programs. Because the support of the “insider” or unofficial mentor was such a significant factor for the stayers, further studies examining the differences between official mentors and insiders might be of value to those who design induction and support programs for novice teachers.

As explained, teacher attrition is costly for districts, both financially and in terms of student achievement. Districts often address teacher attrition by focusing on recruitment practices or by offering induction programs and mentoring for novice teachers. Such approaches appear to be inadequate because novice teachers continue to leave the profession at alarming rates. The data in this study suggest three approaches for improving teacher retention: enhancing teacher preparation programs to provide preservice educators with more practical and realistic expectations, assisting and empowering novice teachers to be change agents on their respective campuses, and facilitating connections between novice teachers and “insiders” in ways that transcend the traditional mentor and mentee relationship.

Author Biography Dr. Joan Berry (jberry@umhb.edu) received her Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of North Texas and a Master of Arts in English with Reading Specialist certification from the University of Texas/Austin. She holds a doctorate in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University. From 1970–1995, she was a public school teacher.

She received the State of Texas Master Teacher designation in 1991. She was Director of Curriculum at the Education Service Center in Waco from 1995–2007. She is currently Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, 900 College, Belton, TX 76513. Her research interest is teacher attrition.

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References Bandura, A. (1998). Self-efficacy. In V. E. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (pp. 71-81). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Behrstock, E., & Clifford, M. (2009). Leading gen Y teachers: Emerging strategies for school leaders. Washington, DC: National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality.

Boyatzis, R. E. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Brickson, S., & Brewer, M. (2001). Organizational identification: Psychological anchorage and turnover. In M. A. Hogg and D. J. Terry (Eds.), Social identity processes in organizational contexts (pp. 131-147). Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.

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Darling-Hammond, L. (2003). Keeping good teachers: Why it matters, what leaders can do.

Educational Leadership, 60(8), 6-13.

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1998). Strategies of qualitative inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Feiman-Nemser, S. (2003). What new teachers need to learn. Educational Leadership, 60(8), 25-29.

Fuller, F. (1969). Concerns of teachers: A developmental conceptualization. American Educational Research Journal, 6, 207-226.

Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago, IL: Aldine Publishing.

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Ingersoll, R. M. (2001). Teacher attrition: The uphill climb to staff the nation’s schools. Santa Monica, CA: Rand.

Ingersoll, R. M., & Kralik, J. (2004). The impact of mentoring on teacher retention: What the research says. Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States.

Ingersoll, R. M., & Smith, T. M. (2003). The wrong solution to the teacher shortage.

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Johnson, S. M. (2004). Finders and keepers: Helping new teachers survive and thrive in our schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Johnson, S. M., Berg, J. H., & Donaldson, M. L. (2005, February). Who stays in teaching and

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why: A review of the literature on teacher retention. Boston, MA: The Project on the Next Generation of Teachers, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Loeb, S., & Page, M. (2000). Explaining the link between teacher wages and student outcomes: The importance of alternative labor market opportunities and non-pecuniary variation.

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Louis, M. R. (1980). Surprise and sense making: What newcomers experience in entering unfamiliar organizational settings. Administrative Science Quarterly, 25, 226-251.

Marvel, J., Lyter, D. M., Peltola, P., Strizek, G. A., & Morton, B. A. (2007). Teacher attrition and mobility: Results from the 2004-2005 teacher follow-up survey. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, U. S. Department of Education.

Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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Riordan, C. M., Self, R. M., Vandenberg, R. J., & Weatherly, E. W. (2001). The effects of preentry experiences and socialization tactics on newcomer attitudes and turnover. Journal of Managerial Issues, 13, 159+.

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Rural Field Experiences with Urban Preservice Teachers Miguel Fernández Chicago State University Cynthia Valenciano Chicago State University Timothy Harrington Chicago State University Mark Wesolowski Chicago State University Angela Logwood Chicago State University Diana Carrasco Chicago State University

Abstract Urban preservice teachers often only have experiences in classrooms and schools that are very similar to the ones they attended as P–12 students. This lack of diverse experiences leads preservice teachers to see elementary education in a very limited scope. Most existing studies examining education systems are focused on urban education systems. While this is still an area for research, the lack of meaningful multicultural preparation and the fact that most teachers come from isolated ethnic groups create problems for functional multicultural understanding.

The partnership between two universities from different states (one rural and the other urban) allowed preservice teachers from both areas to spend one week within the other state’s P–12 schools tutoring, observing, and teaching in order to understand the differences and similarities between urban education and rural education. The collaboration helped better define learning outcomes that urban preservice teachers experience when exposed to varied field experiences.

Qualitative data have been collected through student discussions and reflective journals, and the data show that urban preservice teachers’ beliefs and practices fundamentally changed due to the experience. They were exposed to a variety of pedagogies and disciplinary measures that were

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both new and effective. Findings include the students’ initial biases prior to the experience and how they evolved. Empirical evidence is presented to support recommendations for program improvement and preservice teacher learning in the area of diversity.

Keywords: Rural and urban education, teacher preparation, cultural awareness, bias.

According to Melnick and Zeichner (1995), most teacher preparation programs seek a pluralistic view of education, yet they provide their candidates with only a single view. In other words, teacher preparation programs believe in providing multicultural education from various perspectives (i.e., urban, suburban, and rural) yet only have their candidates complete fieldwork in one setting. Because of current economic challenges, this phenomenon continues. Few colleges of education can offer their preservice teachers cultural exchanges as a part of their training without an established funding source, which requires institutions to substantiate their practices with research.

Most of the existing studies examining the education system are focused on urban education systems. Therefore, the state of rural education systems is greatly under researched.

Very few attempts to close the rural and urban educational achievement gap have been made (Whittle & Denaux, 2007).

The lack of meaningful multicultural preparation and the fact that most teachers come from isolated ethnic groups usually exclude direct, meaningful interaction with different cultures, and this creates problems for functional multicultural understanding (Cannella & Reiff, 1994; Fereshteh, 1995; Gay, 1993; Russo & Talbert-Johnson, 1997). Meaningful interaction entails sufficient exposure to other types of students so that teacher trainees gain an understanding that there are cultural differences and commonalities between themselves and other students in terms of general worldviews and how families are organized and disciplined. Having this knowledge of others can surely facilitate communication between teachers and students of other cultures, which may lead to healthy relationships, student satisfaction, and positive learning climates for both teachers and students.

This article presents recommendations for effective teacher preparation in the area of diversity, and it will enhance the ability to describe practices for program approvals to gain National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) accreditation, and Specialty Professional Association recognition for standards concerned with diversity. The methodology and outcomes originate from an appreciation of multiple perspectives that are shaped by the active role of each subject in the project.

Background Several years ago the College of Education of Institution 1, where the authors of the present article work and study, established a partnership with another institution from a rural

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environment (Institution 2). The partnership concept originated while discussing diversity issues at an NCATE conference in the fall of 2006. During one of the discussions, it was noted that one aspect of diversity that may have been overlooked was the location (urban, suburban, or rural) of schools. Most of the teacher candidates from the urban institution had gone to school and done their fieldwork in an urban environment, and they were not as well rounded as they could have been. They had limited exposure to different populations from suburban and rural locations.

Institution 1 proposed that their candidates might have preconceived biases about rural populations, rural teaching, and rural schools that should be explored.

Institution 2 had, at that time, been bringing their teacher candidates from the rural environment to the city where Institution 1 is located in order for the teacher candidates to have an urban experience during their teacher preparation program. Through this partnership, a program was developed in which teacher candidates were offered an opportunity to participate in field experiences in a different setting. It was decided that Institution 1 would explore sending teacher candidates to a rural area to engage in a weeklong immersion model as well. This would conclude with the candidates teaching a lesson within the school(s) and classroom(s) they were placed in.

Consequently, Institution 1 sent several administrators to the area where Institution 2 is located to look at schools and develop partnerships that could lead to such an experience. The representatives initially looked at three schools, and they selected two for the candidates to begin the program. It was decided to hold the first experience over spring break in 2007 so there would be little disruption to the candidates’ coursework. As a result, a fall exchange was established in which rural preservice teachers come to Institution 1 to discuss their experiences in urban schools, and a spring immersion week at rural/tribal schools has occurred each year since 2007.

Literature Review There are three essential concepts that have guided this study: (1) rural education versus urban education, (2) bias, and (3) diversity, cultural awareness, and acceptance. A discussion of the three areas is presented below.

Rural Education versus Urban Education Does it make sense to take urban preservice teachers to rural schools to become better teachers who develop the capacity to meet the needs of diverse learners? The precursory answer may seem to be an easy, “No.” After all, rural schools face unique student populations (Barley & Bringham, 2008). Their unique set of circumstances are high poverty, low-education levels of parents, a need for teachers to have expertise in several subject areas, and an economic difficulty in offering varied content courses.

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However, McCracken and Barcenas (1991) conclude that it might be wise to require preservice teachers to have clinical field experiences in rural schools. After studying responses of seniors and high school administrators from 10 rural schools and five urban schools in Ohio, they note: It appears that there are disadvantages to being either very large or very small. The challenge is to provide stimulating learning environments with the broad educational programs characteristic of large urban schools along with the supportive social structure characteristic of small rural schools. (p. 39) Both rural and urban schools claim difficulties in the recruitment of highly trained teachers. Teacher turnover and economic hardships are major obstacles for providing quality education to their students (Barley & Bringham, 2008; Ingersol & Merrill, 2010). It appears that the struggle to provide meaningful teacher training or the purview of a particular location is not new. In a report about the annual convention of the New England Educators published in the Journal of Education (Winship, 1920), conclusions were made that rural teachers need specialized training to meet their students’ needs. Truscott and Roden (2006) claim that the need for specialized training to meet the mismatch of urban students and their teachers as one measure is needed to offset high teacher attrition rates in urban schools. A common conclusion is the call for preservice teachers to spend more time in the classroom in order to know the students, their parents, and the communities despite the school’s location (Barley & Bringham, 2008; Ingersol & Merrill, 2010).

A study from the U.S. Department of Education released in 2012 discusses survey results of over 15,000 first-year teachers in 2009. Data breakdowns by rural, urban, and suburban school locations demonstrate that urban teachers (52.3%) are less likely to be teaching subjects that they are certified to teach than their rural (68.9%) and suburban (63.1%) counterparts.

Grade point averages show no discernible difference at 3.4 for urban and rural teachers, while 39% of urban teachers (and only 21% of rural teachers) reported attending a highly selective university.

The literature seems to point to a long-standing need for teacher training in the field, and even though there are differences in rural and urban education, there are also commonalities that are still worth exploring.

Worldview Development and Bias According to Koppelman (2014, p. 9), bias is “a feeling in favor of-or opposed toanything or anyone.” This is contrasted with stereotypes that “always refer to people.” Therefore, an educator could be biased towards any aspect of education: pedagogy, curriculum, geographical region, standards, classroom setup, management techniques, and/or students, to name a few.

Biases contribute to a person’s outlook. Coben and Ratner (1983, p. 5) correlate bias and cultural tendencies when they indicate:

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Members of a society share the prevailing cultural tendencies in different degrees. These differences can be traced to factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, nationality, and social class…cultural variations in the United States can also be traced to distinctions between urban and rural life and between geographical areas.

Hence, a myriad of diverse and complex factors interact to influence how people view the world. Both environments and various constructs (i.e., religion, culture) shape a person’s reality.

As Schlitz, Vieten, and Miller (2010, p. 18) state, “genetic tendencies, religion, culture, and geographic region, together with all the experiences people have both internally and in relationship to their environments, give rise to their worldview, or their general way of viewing themselves and the world around them.” Worldview, then, is a construct of biases from one’s own reality. For instance, an educator from a minority group in an urban environment will have a different worldview (set of biases) than a Caucasian educator from a rural environment.

Grey indicates that teachers often “have great difficulty understanding the community and the social or academic settings in which they find themselves” (2010, pp. 1-2), and teachers’ beliefs greatly affect how and what material is delivered to students (Reys, Lindquist, Lambdin & Smith, 2009; Richardson, Anders, Tidwell, & Lloyd, 1991). Therefore, biases formed from a worldview towards rural or urban education can very easily exist, and they can dramatically affect what a teacher expects to see as well as what is delivered to students in these settings.

Diversity, Cultural Awareness and Acceptance In his work, Koppelman defines diversity as “The presence of human beings with perceived or actual differences based on a variety of human characteristics” (2014, p. 15).

Traditionally, diversity has been associated with ethnicity and nationality (Naisbitt, 1984).

However, diversity can be viewed from a more functional perspective that may have implications about how school cultures work and learn together. Other individual differences are age, marital status, parental status, educational status, geographic location, physical characteristics, and factors that influence individual personality and behavior. Two crucial concepts connected to diversity are cultural awareness and acceptance. According to Kimmel (2006), there are four different levels of cultural awareness: cultural chauvinism, tolerance, minimization, and understanding. Conflict occurs at the cultural chauvinism level because at that stage people think that their own culture is superior, and they are reluctant to learn about other cultures.

Disagreement may also occur at the tolerance and minimization stages to a certain degree. Only at the understanding level do people become open to sharing their own beliefs, or they learn and accept other cultures.

Acceptance is one of the key elements (together with tolerance, respect, affirmation, solidarity and critique) of multicultural education according to Nieto and Bode (2012). The concept of acceptance can be perceived from two different perspectives: self-acceptance and acceptance of others. On the one hand, self-acceptance is a common problem that minority students face at some point in their lives. Their own perception of their differences creates some

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conflict that prevents them from identifying with the rest of their peers in the classroom, and, in many cases, they deny their background in order to accept the mainstream culture as their own.

When referring to ethnicity in particular, Aronowitz (1997, 2010) views it as “a temporary condition on the way to assimilation.”

On the other hand, acceptance of others is highly influenced by our own beliefs and values. For Kniker (1977), beliefs are inferences about reality that are descriptive, evaluative, or prescriptive, and a set of beliefs shapes our attitude. He further states that values are “combinations of attitudes which generate action or deliberate choice to avoid action” (Kniker, 1997, p. 33). Hence, a positive or negative attitude influences the ways in which people perceive cultural differences in their acceptance of others. There is evidence that attitudes and perceptions vary depending not only on individual personalities, but also on the setting (urban, suburban, or rural) where people were raised. In a study about service learning as a pedagogical strategy for developing preservice students' dispositions for urban teaching, Andrews (2009) describes how the action-reflection process differs for students from urban home and schooling backgrounds in comparison to students from suburban home and schooling backgrounds.

An important element of the process is effective communication, which is influenced by (1) attitudes toward people or groups, (2) observations and assumptions, (3) conclusions and judgments, and (4) verbal and nonverbal actions (Koppelman, 2014, p. 52). First, individual attitudes toward people and groups guide the interactions. People behave differently with different groups depending on factors such as relationship, ethnicity, or prejudice. Second, observations and assumptions about other people also affect communication with them, which may be influenced by their appearance or behavior. Third, people use their values and judgments to draw conclusions about others. Based on these values, people have different opinions about others, which may be based on shallow assumptions. Finally, the last step includes both verbal and nonverbal communication, which is affected by the three first stages.

Diversity in the classroom. Diversity has become a matter of great importance for educators in the classroom, who are facing new challenges as they serve children from many different backgrounds. Consequently, teacher preparation programs are now confronting the task of preparing their candidates in this area because they need to ensure that candidates (1) encounter diversity from many different standpoints and (2) accept and ‘understand’ (using Kimmel’s definition) cultural differences. A study conducted in 2010 by Lee, Eckrich, Lackey, and Showalter revealed that participation in a course redesigned to focus on urban education significantly increased or enhanced participating preservice teachers’ intentions to teach in an urban setting, their perceptions of urban education, their attitudes toward diversity and multiculturalism, and their efficacy toward urban teaching. However, it is important to guarantee that preservice teachers not only participate in courses designed to address diversity issues, but also complete field hours in settings with diverse populations.

The public school system in the United States is characterized by many inequalities, and it is our obligation to provide an equal opportunity for all children to learn (Banks & Banks,

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2003). Proper teacher preparation can have a positive impact in closing the so-called ‘achievement gap’ between students from racially, culturally, and linguistically marginalized low-income families and the rest of the country’s mainstream students. One of the approaches presented in the literature is culturally responsive teaching, which “addresses the goal of changing school practices that marginalize nontraditional students” (Koppelman, 2014, p. 334).

It contributes to building a strong foundation for all students to engage and learn, and it provides teachers with the necessary tools to learn about a student’s backgrounds, promote positive perspectives on parents and families, and bridge cultural differences through effective communication.

Research Questions As stated by Barley (2009), research is needed to evaluate the success of programs intended to prepare teaching candidates who accept positions in rural areas. Additionally, there is evidence for the need to investigate preservice teacher preparation as a means to begin combating the variety of racial and cultural issues currently confronting the field of education (Smiley, 2006). The need for research in the area of diversity on teacher preparation programs and the researchers’ interest in preteachers field experiences in urban and rural settings prompted Institution 1 to conduct this study. The research questions emerged from experiences with prior preservice teacher exchanges and the theories presented above.

1. What do faculty and students from the urban setting believe about the rural/tribal school setting before the learning experience?

2. What do faculty and students from the urban setting believe about the rural/tribal school setting as a result of learning and teaching in the rural school setting?

3. In what respects do these preconceived notions facilitate and/or hinder the ability for the subjects to have an impact on K–12 student learning?

4. Can a weeklong immersion into a diverse setting produce detectible, positive learning that makes it feasible and fiscally responsible to continue offering cultural exchange opportunities to our students?

5. What recommendations emerge for teaching in urban and rural settings as a result of a comparative view of the two settings?

Methodology This qualitative study sought to capture the perceptions of urban preservice teachers who self-selected the weeklong immersion into rural school environments as a method to potentially give them experiential learning to become more effective teachers in urban school settings. Its design attempts to give a voice to the preservice teachers and their professors who collected data together by using several tools, shared daily-guided reflections, and sifted through the qualitative artifacts upon their return. The constructivist methodology of epistemology, through the

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autobiographical sketches of subjects, stems from several researchers who wish to tell stories with informants, not for informants. Therefore, constructivist methodology often triangulates data by searching for similar answers from different perspectives (Freire, 1973; Green, 1992; Willis, 1995). Quintero and Rummel state that “Personal narrative lets us listen to the voices of the participants -students and authors in their cultural contexts- as they tell about their experiences and explain ongoing efforts at agency and transformation” (1998, p. 5).

The data collection/analysis process, tools, setting, and findings used in this study are based upon the assumption that preservice teachers have the capacity to help improve teacher preparation programming.

Data Collection Process Qualitative data were collected following the four methods identified by Marshall and Gretchen (2006): (a) participating in the setting, (b) observing directly, (c) interviewing in depth, and (d) analyzing documents and material culture. The process was facilitated by the following:  Daily Seminars. Preservice teachers attended an interactive seminar class taught by the university professors each evening. These seminars focused on specific topics for reflection.  Moodle. Preservice teachers used Moodle to upload daily assignments and participate in discussion forums with their colleagues.  Email. Communication before, during, and after the weeklong immersion experience was enhanced and documented through the use of email to collect personal narratives, reflections, and field notes.  Dropbox. The article’s development was shared through Dropbox, a file hosting service, to hold literature review sources and written contributions to the final article.

Instruments As a means to triangulate the data from different points in time and varied perspectives, researchers utilized multiple instruments to address the research questions. These instruments included the following: My Stories. Prior to embarking on the trip, preservice teachers provided a personal narrative of their own educational experiences, stating what pushed them to be a teacher and why they wanted to be part of the research.

Reflection Prompts. Each evening, following classroom observations and engagement but prior to the seminar class, preservice teachers engaged in free-form reflection on topics

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identified by the group as important, including cultural diversity, bias, management, differences between urban and rural education and pedagogy.

Discussion Forums. Preservice teachers were assigned a small group in order to reflect and interact with their colleagues when presented with various topics, pedagogical and multicultural research, and shared experiences.

Field Notes. University professors, cooperating teachers, and preservice teachers took notes during the school day as both the cooperating teachers and the preservice teachers taught the lessons.

Setting Field experiences occurred in March 2012 in four schools located in three different settings. Two of the schools are located in a university town (population 5000). The third school is in a town of 300 residents, and the last school is on a tribal reservation. Each student was placed with a cooperating teacher and given the opportunity to see the school and classroom and reflect upon the school and classroom culture prior to teaching. The preservice teacher candidates were required to be tutors/teacher aides and teach a lesson during their weeklong experience. Every evening, a seminar was held at the hotel conference room to discuss the day’s events and identify trends that were similar and different from the urban environment. Biases were identified as preservice teachers wrote papers describing what they thought they would see and experience. A faculty member from Institution 2 joined one of these seminars, and she was central in making the placements at Schools 1 and 2.

School 1. This elementary school was recently built after many years of trying to pass a referendum. It is attached to the high school (School 2), and it is a main meeting area in town. It has a “pod” design with all students of the same grade in one specific area of the school. Lower grades are downstairs and upper grades are upstairs. There are approximately two to three teachers per grade. Three to five candidates could be initially placed at School 2. There is very little diversity, and most students come from Midwest farming communities that are historically white/Scandinavian.

School 2. It is the high school that is attached to School 1. The two schools are separated by a series of hallways, classrooms, and a practice space set aside for the music program. The elementary school and high school have an extensive music program that is shared in this space. The students in the high school mostly come from the attached elementary school, so the demographic population is similar to School 1.

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School 3. It is located in a very small town. This school, which includes K through 6th grade, is made up of approximately 80 students and four teachers. Consequently, the teachers teach multiple grades in one classroom. It was decided that no more than two candidates would be placed here as to not disrupt the standard routines. The students in School 3 are similar to the students in Schools 1 and 2 in terms of demographics. This school has no permanent principal, and the teachers gave up their health-care benefits to keep the school open.

School 4. It is a tribal school. It is on a reservation, and it services Native American children that live on the reservation. This school takes the architectural form of an eagle, which is representative of the school’s culture and philosophy tied to nature and human growth. One wing is the elementary school, and the other wing is the high school. Students are bussed in from great distances to attend this school. There are very few native language speakers left in the community. Consequently, the heritage language center requires all employees, students, volunteers, and visitors to participate in language lessons taught by tribal elders each day. The elementary school’s principal, a tribal member, is concerned that the language and, therefore, the cultural heritage, could be lost forever without this requirement.

Subjects In the fall of 2011, candidates from five different programs (bilingual education, early childhood, elementary education, secondary education, and special education) in the College of Education at Institution 1 were informed about the opportunity to participate in a weeklong immersion experience in rural schools and a tribal school in another state. Each program went through a selection process, and applicants were interviewed. Once the preservice teachers were identified, an initial meeting was held to provide information about the research and the expectations. Ultimately, 10 students, two from each program, were selected to participate.

Student 1. He has a master’s degree in special education as well as a bachelor’s degree in public relations. His daughter was born 7 weeks premature and was eventually diagnosed with sensory perception disorder, which motivated him to enter the special needs field. His hobbies include photography and writing, and he has travelled to a number of countries for the enjoyment and learning that foreign cultures can bring. He continues to pursue professional and foreign experiences in order to develop increased understanding of human cognitive development tied to one’s culture.

Student 2. She is a special education graduate student. She is a mother of four children, and one of her children has been diagnosed as special needs. Her child’s negative experiences in education prompted her to pursue a career in the special needs field. She homeschooled two of her children for three years before returning to school. She has utilized all of her observations to

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have an impact in special education in the urban environment, which is why she decided to be part of the program.

Student 3. She grew up in the countryside of South America. In her early teens, she moved to the United States and lived in an urban area. She did a lot of transitioning in her schooling, and she received certificates in accounting as well as an Associate Degree of Arts.

She then decided to become a bilingual teacher based on her own experience dealing with the issues that she experienced in school. She wants to motivate and help students to succeed, particularly bilingual students. She wanted to participate in the immersion program because she thought the experience would take her out of her comfort zone.

Student 4. Certified as a paraprofessional for the past 12 years, Student 4 has worked with both culturally and linguistically diverse students in a number of settings including traditional schools, residential facilities, and rescue care. These professional experiences, as well as her ongoing educational experience in early childhood, drive her interest in becoming a fulltime teacher. As she pursues her undergraduate degree, she continues to work with children and adults aged 5 through 21 years old on the development of life skills.

Student 5. His interest in teaching young children physical education (PE) comes from his own youth experiences as a basketball assistant and tutor. As a young man, his basketball coach took him to an elementary school to tutor children in sports. This experience led him to appreciate the art of leading others. It has translated into his professional pursuit of teaching young children and coaching children’s sports. He decided to participate in the immersion program to see the contrast between urban and rural settings in PE in order to increase his pedagogical knowledge.

Student 6. She was born in an African country. When she was six, her mother moved to the United States, and she followed her mother one year later. She began her education in the United States in a private, religious educational setting. She had difficulty with English in school and was often teased by her peers. As a result, she began acting out until one day she met a special teacher that created a safe and supportive environment. That transformative experience made her want to also be a teacher.

Student 7. A native speaker of Spanish, Student 7 is pursuing a BA in Bilingual Education. She came from a homogenous ethnic neighborhood within an urban city. Her parents immigrated to the United States from another country and were not afforded many educational opportunities. Their lack of educational opportunities, the continuous growth of English language learners, and the high need for qualified bilingual educators prompted her to go into teaching. She has worked with diverse populations since she started working as a special

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education teacher's assistant in a large urban school system. This has allowed her to understand the varying levels of student abilities.

Student 8. She is an early childhood major. Upon completion of her degree, she will be a second-generation teacher. Her mother has been a teacher for more than 20 years, and she has volunteered in her mother’s classroom for many of those years. She tutors many of her friends’ children nearly every day, and she wanted to participate in the program to have experience in a rural setting.

Student 9. He grew up in a suburban area, and upon graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as an active-duty, in which he served for six years. After his return, he enrolled in a Bachelor of Music Education program. His experiences working with children are based on observations in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms. He has also taught individual guitar lessons. He decided to participate in the program to take advantage of opportunities in which he could gain experience as a music educator.

Student 10. She has been a motivator since she was a child. She began working in accounting and began mentoring girls afterwards. She started teaching workshops once a month and that was the ammunition she needed in order to change her career path. She wanted to participate in the immersion program to engage in classrooms that she did not have access to because the experience would open one of many doors on her road to being a good teacher, serving all types of children in all types of settings.

Data Analysis During the trip, the attending university professors went through the assigned “My Stories” and field notes in order to create reflection topics, seminar discussion points, and discussion board agendas. The majority of the analysis was done after the trip. All the data were reviewed by three of the 10 preservice teachers who decided to continue working on the research project along with the university professors. As the data was analyzed, the student researchers looked for patterns and continuous or discontinuous trends that relate to their own experiences.

This yielded the student researchers personal case studies. The trend data and the case studies were analyzed with respect to the five research questions. During the process, researchers had biweekly meetings to interpret data, present results, and draw conclusions.

Results This section presents an analysis of the qualitative data collected in the study. The first part focuses on three case studies written by three of the preservice teachers who participated in

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the study. The second part attempts to answer the five research questions identified for this investigation.

Case Study 1 No individual, regardless of their experiences, can resist the natural urge and inclination toward self-preservation. For example, the reader of this text, an “observer,” brings his or her own comprehensive experiences and preferences that have been shaped by (creating) life experiences that are pleasant, comfortable, and/or agreeable to his or her own nature. This also produces observational outcomes for the observer to generate future inclinations and bias.

Science recognizes that self-preserving bias exists in the natural world of biology, physics, and chemistry, of which all humans are a part. These are the biophysiological reactions at the most basic levels of life that have existed since the dawn of time. Long before human beings populated the Earth, communication tied to self-preservation occurred between microorganisms, amoebas, electrons, atoms, and quantum-level energy sources just as they do today (Urry, Cain, Wasserman, Minorsky, & Jackson, 2011). For humans, inclinations in the form of “bias” have evolved along with all of nature and tie us to emotion-stirring biological reflexes, which can be accepted or rejected depending upon our psychological patience and willingness to look past foreign stimuli—all of which happen within the context of self-preservation. In the same sense, it is up to each individual to recognize how they themselves are viewed, how people “like them” are viewed, and how they can rise above these perceptions.

Student 1 was prompted to do both pre- and postreflections in reference to visiting a rural, Native American school outside his comfort zone. Pre-reflections featured cognitive biases derived from typical “Hollywood” stereotypes, media-driven images of “drunken,” destitute natives, and personal experiences in formative history education. It is important to note that Student 1 was a preservice special education teacher who, as part of his master’s program, participated in activities and coursework that prepare teacher candidates to engage diverse student populations. Expectations and preconceived notions consistently emerge as powerful frames of reference when preparing and planning educational experiences with diverse populations (Smiley, 2006). Student 1’s pre-reflection contained the same elements and deficit views found consistently in preservice (as well as seasoned) educators, which can hinder student outcomes while perpetuating the same bias-driving dynamics.

Within the context of communication are complex and consistent cause-effect relationships that bind like elements together while simultaneously pushing undesirable elements apart. Cause-effect relationships include dynamics related to aspects such as past experience, emotion, preferred expectations, and biologically-driven self-preservation. During the experiential reflection portion of the weeklong experience, Student 1 reported on “reverse bias” and stereotypes that were thrust upon him by the population being engaged and observed.

Student 1 felt an obligation to dispel such reverse bias by learning about the community beforehand and by exuding openness and humility within their presence while remaining open to

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being pleasantly surprised. One member of the community communicated their own preconceived notions about Student 1 and the visiting preservice group, sharing ideas and feelings that turned out to be, as they said, ‘untrue.’

As discussed, what is “true” within human inclinations is often the result of dynamics tied to emotion, experience, and expectations. Moving minds beyond these dynamics and emotions is the challenge of educators and learners, because they hinder both personal and collective outcomes. Student 1 worked to dispel his hosts’ preconceived notions and bias by preparing himself with information and naturally conveying an “excited” openness to the experience. It is important to note that Student 1 is a Hispanic male who expressed his own experiences about being stereotyped while growing up in a predominantly Caucasian environment. He discussed being the subject of certain stereotypes that still drive his efforts to overcome and dispel others by taking control of his own “image.” Student 1 feels strongly that it is as much his responsibility to act “above” (Hispanic) stereotypes as it is for others to rise above their own bias-driving inclinations.

Student 1 wrote the following reflection, which includes the elements discussed above: Prior to departing for our trip we were asked to reflect on our biases and/or perceptions.

My preferred placement on the tribal school was granted, and I was left to consider a “Hollywood” imaged atmosphere of warring Native Americans, varying degrees of destitution, drunkenness, and history stories of 21st century olive branches from the Federal Government to the Sioux, which always exude a certain level of mystery and distrust. I knew, from a “general experience” and reflective point of view that things are rarely as romantic, awful, or wonderful as we think (or remember) them to be, so I willingly and patiently kept a “know nothing mind”, open to being pleasantly surprised.

From a personal point of view, my own bio-physiological inclinations toward selfpreservation keep me from being overly judgmental, although I can be quite critical of others when engaged with them in “real time.” That is, I “wait” to see what is communicated to me by others before initiating certain “biases.” That’s not to say that I don’t also generate them beforehand, but I also leave myself open to learning something new. This “ability” may or may not have been learned, yet I know that it exists within me without knowing which comes first: the innate or experience driven ability to be open minded, or having an open mind which allows me to pursue new people and experiences despite my initial fears. One thing I can say for sure, which was supported by my experiences on tribal reservation, is that the more people and experiences I pursue and encounter, the better prepared I am the “next time” I am presented with something new or foreign, outside of my comfort zone. (Student 1, personal communication, March 13, 2012) Student 1 went on to reflect upon similar emotional struggles, which drift from the realm of “education” and into “business” in which the same dynamics are driven by comprehensive experiences, fears, and psychological processes (decision making). These are elements that are continuously tugged at by biophysiological reflexes, and they cause initial “fight-or-flight”

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responses within nature. These may be realized on a superficial level as bias, stereotyping, and/or racism, which, interestingly, cause humans to gravitate toward those who “look like us,” “act like us,” and “agree with the things we believe.” Because this has not been comprehensively addressed on the educational level, learners become the adults who perpetuate these superficial levels of classism and bias, which have their roots deeply engrained within our human biological sphere. Student 1 went on to reflect: Upon meeting the residents, this was all too clear. Not only did I bring bias to the encounter, so did they! There is a certain level of humor to knowing this, yet it is “dangerous” in that while my (our) stereotypes may have included thinking of them as destitute, poorly educated, and/or strange, they initially viewed me (us) as slick, untrustworthy, and snobbish (community member personal communication). Without actually having the opportunity and pleasure of experiencing each other, we may have never ventured outside of our comfort zones and “in to each other’s lives.” Therefore, while bio-physiological processes rightfully work toward (our) self-preservation, they may hinder us if we don’t also couple them with psychological processes – all of which can be learned and nurtured within the context of education and experiential opportunities. (Student 1, personal communication, March 15, 2012) The impact on one’s teaching philosophy, pedagogy, and student outcomes cannot be understated. Because experience and outlook are comprehensive in nature, educators, candidates, and, indeed, all humans can benefit exponentially when they rise above hindering inclinations tied to bias. Psychological processes are the next steps beyond emotion and physiological processes that personally, professionally, and culturally stagnate our progress and growth. Today’s cultures that are haphazardly tied together by competing elements of need, bias, expectation, and experience can be caused to evolve into cultures tied together by shared experiences, interaction, and participation in activities that bring diverse communities together.

This includes taking personal responsibility for one’s image, what one displays, and what one can “do” about what others perceive them to be. Student 1 found that as he participates in bias so do others. In the same regard, Student 1 works to dispel others’ preconceived notions of him, expecting (perhaps hoping) others do likewise. Student 1 considers this to be a vital cog in the dynamic in which individuals take control of their own image, what one can do about others’ perceptions, and how they prepare for foreign experiences, which can spur either growth or stagnation. As an extension, Student 1 states that greater opportunities for shared experiences will systematically reduce stagnating levels of bias driven by preconceived notions that hinder human cognition, emotion, and growth.

Case Study 2 One never knows what to expect when entering unfamiliar territory. Student 2 was assigned to a special education resource room in School 1. On her first day, she was introduced to the students and given the opportunity to answer any questions they wanted to ask. They were

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curious about where Student 2 came from and why she was at their school. The students did not appear to have prior knowledge of her reason for visiting the school. They asked her several questions, such as, “Did you come here in an airplane?” Then one question puzzled Student 2, “Do you know Harriet Tubman?” Although Student 2 responded to the student, she could not stop thinking about the question for the remainder of the visit: Now that I have had time to think about why the student asked me that question, I realize that the student related me to a character she may have read about in a book or seen in a movie because they may have been her only exposure to African Americans. At the time I thought the school could have possibly studied slavery in the month prior to my visit because it was Black History Month. I feel that her question was very honest because the student had no idea she would see me that day. In fact, I was originally assigned to another classroom; however, the teacher was absent on the first day of my visit and I was sent to the resource room as a last minute decision. Therefore, the teacher had no time to prepare the students in her class for my visit. (Student 2, personal communication, March 14, 2012) Student 2’s expectation for the opportunity to teach in a rural environment was to have an experience outside a familiar environment. She was excited to be able to meet and learn from teachers from a different atmosphere. She went into the experience with a mix of fear and excitement. She thought the rural education system would be much different than the urban education system especially concerning student attendance. She was under the impression that student enrollment would be low and that the students would be unruly. Being a special education major, she was hopeful that there would be special education classrooms within the school building. She also thought the school would be lacking technology both inside and outside the classroom.

To her surprise, Student 2 found a very well-populated school. In addition, the school had computers in every classroom, a computer lab, and a utilized projector for lesson implementation in most classrooms. She did not find any self-contained classrooms within the school; however, there were three special education resource rooms in the building for students to visit for various subjects throughout the day. The school population was predominantly Caucasian with the majority of staff members also being Caucasian. There was one African American family, and a small population of Hispanic students.

Student 2 noticed that there were similarities and differences within the rural and urban school settings. For example, one similarity was the classroom size in the rural school, which was consistent with urban schools. The curriculum was also very similar because it is driven by state standards and is slowly moving toward the Common Core. One of the differences in the settings was student behavior. Although the teacher felt that the school had more student behavior problems than in the past, the comparison to the urban schools system seriously overshadowed the behavior problems of the students in the rural setting. Student 2 did not witness nor hear about any major behavior issues or fights throughout her entire visit, and students were very well-mannered compared to students in urban schools. The curriculum also

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varied in the rural setting because students received music instruction every day. Music had been taken out of many of the schools in the urban city where Student 2 lived. Student 2 imagined that the transition from elementary school to high school is also much smoother in the rural setting than it is in the urban setting because the elementary schools in urban settings are K–8, housed in different buildings from high schools, and located in different areas. The rural school building housed K–12 grades in different sections within the same school building. It would be very easy for elementary school teachers and high school teachers to communicate about students, whereas elementary and high school teachers in the urban setting rarely meet or have the opportunity to discuss students transitioning from one location to the next.

In conclusion, after the experience, Student 2 felt that opportunities such as having the ability to visit unfamiliar environments should be taken advantage of whenever available. If possible, students should attend schools where there are a variety of students and staff so that they are familiar with other cultures. In addition, preservice teachers should have the opportunity to visit and work with a diverse population of students. A diverse experience prepares students for college because they are likely to attend a university with a diverse population. Likewise, a preservice teacher may have a future position in a school populated with a culture that is not consistent with his or her own; therefore, he or she must prepare for the situation. Student 2’s recommendation for teaching in urban and rural settings is that each atmosphere provides a valuable experience. She felt that the experience had an impact on her future career as an educator because she learned new techniques to utilize in the classroom. For example, she learned to differentiate instruction by using the learning environment to create unique learning experiences for individual students. As a result, she is considering teaching in an environment other than the urban setting in which she was raised.

Case Study 3 Student 3 grew up in a rural area outside the United States. She came to the United States when she was 13 years old, leaving behind her parents, siblings, and the country where she grew up. Being in a country with different customs, traditions, and language was not easy for her. As a minority and bilingual student, she faced many obstacles in the process of adapting and assimilating into the new culture. It took her several years to acculturate in the United States. Student 3 remembered that the first time she registered in a community college that she was very excited to start this new episode in her life. However, at that time she did not know what she wanted to major in, and the simple fact of being in college was a big accomplishment for her. She went to register for classes, and the man who worked in admissions asked her “What is your major?” She responded, "I don't know,” undecided. He looked at her transcripts and laughed saying "I don't think that with [English as a second language] ESL classes you should be in college," but he continued to register her. About two years ago, Student 3 went back to that college for some records she needed for her university, and there stood the same man who did not believe that an ESL student could obtain a college degree because her first language

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was not English. Yet, he, who spoke English "perfectly," was still doing the same job while the ESL student kept moving forward.

When Student 3 found out about the internship in a rural/tribal school, she decided to take part in this learning opportunity. She thought that this experience would be similar to her childhood living in a rural area outside the United States and her adolescence as a bilingual student in the United States. She thought that the school setting in a tribal school was going to be very similar to what she experienced in her home country: a small school with some grade levels, overpopulation, while others have a few students; scarce resources that hinder students' learning, and prevalent poverty issues. In her home country, students call teachers by their first names and tend to have very close relationships with them. Students treat teachers with care and respect as if they were family members. Student 3 remembered that her teachers went to her house many times to visit her and have dinner with her family. Teachers’ roles were to teach and discipline students. In some cases, teachers even used physical force to correct students’ behavior with the parents' approval. At the same time, she thought that a tribal school environment would be similar to a bilingual classroom where students’ cultures, traditions, beliefs, and native languages are valued and celebrated. She also expected that the tribal school curriculum would promote bilingualism and value the importance in preserving students’ native language.

In her learning and teaching experience in a tribal school setting, Student 3 saw that the education system there was to some extent similar to some urban schools and culturally diverse.

Some urban schools offer special programs such as bilingual and ESL pullout programs to support students' needs; she discovered that the tribal school offered heritage language classes as an attempt to conserve the tribe’s native language. In both heritage language and bilingual programs, students' culture, language, and traditions are respected and accepted, but there are also some differences. Student 3 found it interesting that boys and girls were segregated during their heritage language and physical education classes. According to one of the tribal schoolteachers, boys and girls are segregated during their heritage language classes because there is a difference at the end of each word if the word is pronounced by a girl or boy. Cultural traditions have a great impact in the physical education classes. Boys and girls are segregated, and girls have a female teacher while boys have a male teacher. During the physical education class, boys practice playing the drums and singing for the morning ceremonies. On the other hand, girls are not allowed to play the drums nor sing in the ceremonies.

Although Student 3's preconceived notions about the tribal school setting were, to some extent, different than what she expected, she never predicted that a tribal or rural school would have better technology than an urban school. In the tribal school, all classrooms had smart boards and at least two computers for students. She noticed that most of the students are technology wise, and they even helped the teacher when she was having difficulties with the smart boards. She also observed that the locals are very united and supportive within their own people. She did not see the same imminence, sympathy, and respect toward the teachers and herself from some of the staff members and students at school. As a bilingual, and a minority

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student to a certain point, she felt more vulnerable to discrimination and rejection by the dominant group. On the other hand, she sympathized with some of the local people’s point of view. Native Americans might see immigrants as invaders of their land to which she did not condemn them for this reaction because they have been rejected by society in their own country for many decades.

In the end, Native Americans and immigrants are trying to be accepted in a culture in which prejudices among dominant groups will always exist. At the same time, Student 3 believes that her background experiences and culture will facilitate her ability to have an impact on student learning. She believes that the fact that she comes from a minority group will facilitate her ability to teach other minorities because she can identify with them. On the other hand, she thinks that her culture also facilitates her ability to teach to a dominant group, but it would be a little challenging because prejudices among people will always exist.

Many times, teachers will be asked to work in fields where they do not feel comfortable or in areas out of their comfort zones. Having the experience of being part of the tribal/rural school internship allowed Student 3 to be less orthodox, change, and be more open to new challenges. According to Student 3, each student that participates in the learning experience at the tribal/rural schools can benefit from it, and this will be reflected in their teaching philosophy and pedagogy. A weeklong immersion into a diverse setting seems to be a short period of time, but it is enough to have a positive outcome and create awareness among preservice teachers.

Experiences outside of their comfort zone could help preservice teachers reduce bias and be more sensible with people from other cultures. Preservice teachers should be exposed to different settings and work in schools that are culturally diverse. Having the experience to work with students from different cultures and be more knowledgeable about cultures helps preservice teachers reduce biases and have higher expectations for students.

Research Question 1 Preservice teachers attending the immersion trip were consistent in their personal narratives captured prior to departure. Patterns emerged when preservice teachers wrote that they sought ‘new experiences’ or wanted to see an environment ‘outside’ of their comprehensive experiences to date. Most of the subjects expected to find small classroom sizes and limited resources including a lack of technology infused into the lessons. Student 6 stated that she had been to rural areas when she visited relatives in her native country, where there are dirt roads and families living in huts. Student 6's reflection are somehow similar to Student 3, who believed the rural school setting could be similar to her early school years outside the United States.

According to Student 3, students in rural school settings have a closer relationship with their teacher, are exposed to nature, and have a greater knowledge of their surroundings.

Some of the preservice teachers were going to student teach in the fall semester; therefore, they were looking forward to using this experience as a step towards student teaching.

Before participating in the program, some of the preservice teachers had limited experience in

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the classroom, and they were very nervous about speaking in front of people. They were equally eager to learn from the experience.

Student 2 indicated her openness when she commented, “I also feel that learning can go both ways” (Student 2, personal communication, March 14, 2012). She went on to discuss the ways people can learn from each other. Student 7 also expected to see something completely new and different from the urban school setting, but she also expressed a desire to know a new culture and compare that culture to her own by focusing on the students, their families, and strategies teachers use to teach in tribal schools. She also set expectations for herself as a student by placing learning in the students’ hands: Students must set goals for themselves, whether they live in rural or urban areas. I always believed that there is no such thing as a bad school; I think it is within the student whether they desire and have the hunger to learn. (Student 7, personal communication, March 11, 2012 Preservice teachers did express a philosophy that students are the common denominator in the urban/rural exchange: I believe that when you get to the root of it children are children. Although names, races and the location in which they live may vary greatly, they pretty much behave the same no matter if it’s good or bad. Education has never been about location or the funds your school can procure. It is more about exposure. (Student 4, personal communication, March 14, 2012) Student 8, while equally enthusiastic, indicated a hope to “see something completely different, which could be brought back to (her) classroom.” The emergence of expectations that are both open and contrastingly expectant of “something” that is not yet known is evident here.

While “openness” is a favorable characteristic, “expectations” may predispose someone to both surprise and regret depending on the ultimate experience itself. What was ultimately found in the end were dramatically contrasting feelings, which depended almost entirely upon the expectations set by each participating individual. A number of students commented that they had never been outside of Illinois or experienced a rural setting (Student 8). Prior to departure, all preservice teachers communicated their enthusiasm for the experience, although each indicated some predispositions that fell in categories ranging from “stereotypical” to “open” depending on their personal range of experiences with various cultures.

Research Question 2 Attending preservice teachers indicated a range of opinions regarding their mid-week conclusions. However, many of them felt that teaching in the rural setting was not much different than teaching in the urban setting. Some of them had already completed observation hours in the suburbs, and they related their experiences in those schools to that of the rural school they visited.

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Student 10, for example, indicated her pleasant surprise of having “students “cling” to (her)” because she initially felt they might not work with her due to her African American background. She felt that exposure in an exclusively Caucasian environment would spur resistance in the students, which turned out to be completely false. She went on to say, “They have clung to me like glue. They are so caring and sweet. I am really enjoying working with them” (Student 10, personal communication, March 15, 2012). She went on to comment that her rural students were “not much different” than students she had worked with at home in the urban environment. Another insight was garnered when she stated, Initially I said that rural education is very involved and calculated. I was correct! The community and parental involvement, immensely surpasses that of the urban schools I have visited. Everyone knows one another. I can tell that they care about their children and community. (Student 10, personal communication, March 16, 2012) Here, the urban preservice teacher experienced something concrete, which can be “brought home” to the urban setting and perhaps translated to her classroom, making positive, long-term effects.

On the other hand, Student 5 indicates how his biases changed throughout the week. He initially felt that the rural setting would be far behind that of the urban, and he goes on to state: Based on my previous expectations my biases have changed. I wanted to come to this trip to find out if there is a significant difference in student behavior. Based on my findings over the past two days, the student’s behavior and mannerisms are similar to those of suburban students around the city where I come from. Students appear to get along with their peers and teachers… students deal with divorces, family dysfunction, and struggle with social status. All of these issues are similar to those around the city where I live. In addition, I originally thought that the physical education program would be different. However, I found that they follow the same NASPE national standards used in our schools. Overall, my biases were incorrect and the school exceeded my expectations. (Student 5, personal communication, March 15, 2012) Again, a pattern is seen here in which initial expectations (bias) can reach a positive conclusion based on experience and willingness to understand something “new.”

Students 3 and 7 faced opposition from the students. They expected to feel at home with the students as they initially met their classes. Student 7 wrote this reflection: The school is similar to what I expected. People are very humble and very friendly.

Their culture is not similar to mine but I can tell that the school itself is very prideful of their Native American culture just like some schools in my city are very prideful of our Hispanic culture. (Student 7, personal communication, March 14, 2012) Students 3 and 7 found the teaching environment to be very challenging because the grade school students were not accepting of these two outsiders, while Student 1 was accepted by his male, special needs students.

Some preservice teachers were surprised to notice greater parental involvement in the school than in some urban areas. Other students made references to school environment and

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students' behavior. However, when it comes to educating children, Student 8, in one or her reflections, mentioned that "teachers in rural schools go to the same lengths to do what’s best for their children as urban teachers" (Student 8, personal communication, March 13, 2012).

Research Question 3 Almost everyone went into the experience thinking that they were from a big city that was different from the rural setting. Therefore, they expected to bring a lot of information and experience to the students because they were from a more advanced setting. However, some of the preservice teachers learned that the rural school was not different from the suburban schools in their state. Some participating preservice teachers were disappointed after the first two days because they felt that this experience was not as unique as they had hoped. Some of them had unrealistic expectations that resulted in negative attitudes, therefore, hindering their ability to have an effective learning experience from the students, teachers, and the environment. Student 1 did research on the setting where he would be placed, so he may have been more prepared about what he would see and experience than many of the preservice teachers. As a result, he made a connection with his teacher and his students that many of the preservice teachers were unable to obtain. Those students who wanted to see educational settings that were completely different were the least satisfied with the time and effort spent in the rural setting. Many preservice teachers had obligations to family and other courses at home, which heightened their desire to have an experience that had a high impact and immediacy of applicable learning strategies.

Student 6 hails from South Africa (Nigeria), and, as such, she spoke often of her appreciation for diversity and life experiences that keep her open to new cultures and ideas.

Interestingly, she considers her “own culture” to be a mixture of American and Nigerian influences, which predisposes her to working with students of all backgrounds. In this regard, she considers herself a ‘human first’ working to quickly learn each student’s name and something about them before jumping to conclusions about their character or background. She states, “I quickly learned the student’s names - and I realized that all those little things made it possible for them to open up to me and accept me. I noticed that when I did not involve myself with the students they were also distant” (Student 6, personal communication, March 16, 2012).

Here, preconceived notions can also hinder the preservice teacher with little to no exposure of diverse cultures. On the other hand, a range of cultural experiences and immersions can benefit the preservice teacher immensely when getting to know new students and gaining their trust.

While some preconceived notions could hinder the ability to have an impact on students' learning, other students' preconceived notions could facilitate it. Preservice teachers with an open mind had a more positive attitude toward what they could get out of this learning experience. As Student 4 said, "This has allowed me to experience different aspects of life with optimism. Having the ability to accept differences has impacted my ability to teach" (Student 4, personal communication, March 15, 2012).

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Research Question 4 There was a wide range of responses when preservice teachers were asked the relevance of a weeklong immersion experience in the rural setting. In fact, 70% of the subjects found little to no relevance when debriefed at the week’s conclusion. Thirty percent of the subjects found a range of relevance with the experience to include ideas and experiences that could be translated to their careers. On the surface, this is important regarding respondents who found little value in the experience because it can be seen that their opinions evolve as their teaching experience continues. In other words, they may have been affected in ways they do not yet realize. Here, their willingness to “know new things” by experiencing them (cognitively or physically) may also grow over time. As Student 1 points out in his reflection, As they say, the grass is not greener, it just exists in varying shades…as for my future as an instructor, this experience has been immense for both my short and long term goals. If I’d not come here to the tribal school, I would not have truly known the ‘shades of green’ that exist. (Student 1, personal communication, March 15, 2012) This speaks to gaining from one’s experience with new people and new places. Without going there, one will likely never truly “know.”

It can be concluded that a weeklong immersion into a diverse setting can be beneficial to all preservice teachers if they go into the experience with the willingness to learn. If one thing does not fit the preservice teachers’ expectations, they must learn to find other things that they may not have considered at all so that they are looking at the big picture. Students generally do not enter the teacher certification program with a contingency contract for hire; thus, they do not know where their careers may take them. This experience can prepare students to work in diverse settings where things may vary from the norm. Some preservice teachers learned from their cooperating teachers, and they were able to pick up new teaching techniques to use in the classroom.

For some preservice teachers, a weeklong immersion into a diverse setting seems to be a short period of time. On the other hand, there were some subjects who were subjugated by their bias and emotions that prevented themselves from getting a positive learning experience, and they considered it a waste of time as Student 5 specified in one of the debriefing seminars.

Experiences outside of their comfort zone could help preservice teachers reduce bias, have higher expectations for students, and be more sensible with people from other cultures. Student 7 mentioned that the experience helped her to be very open minded toward her students or anything in the school and that, as educators, they need to learn how to fit not only in their cultures, but also in other cultures. Other students thought that it was a lifetime of experiences that will have an impact in students' learning and that it will be reflected in their teaching philosophies and pedagogies.

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Research Question 5 Student recommendations were to let go of any biases when teaching in any setting. In order to teach in any setting, teachers must have an open mind. Students must learn not to set their expectations too high prior to the experience, so they will not find themselves disappointed in the middle of the experience. Student 2 recommends that all preservice teachers have an experience in a different setting than what they are familiar with.

Student 4 indicates what one may conclude as a “closed perspective” when she states that teachers should ‘simply use techniques which they are comfortable with in an environment that is suitable to them.’ Although her statement was not a pervasive conclusion or indicative of the entire group, it indicates that teachers can be very resistant to change even if they self-select an experience dedicated to contextualizing perspectives. Student 4 seems to feel comfortable doing what suits her in ways that are easy for her as well. Students cannot excel under these guidelines of professionalism when the “use whatever is close by” attitude prevails.

On the other hand, Student 10 communicated that the “feeling of being needed” motivated her to go above and beyond for her students. She exudes a sentiment that needs to pervade education when she says, I recommend that future teachers in either setting come into the experience with an open mind. I also think that they should be able to adapt to the environment, and find ways to have students share their concerns and express their fears. Most of all make sure you know what the experience entails and be a willing party to participate. (Student 10, personal communication, March 17, 2012) This is indicative of the wide range of responses garnered on this experience when debriefing the group of preservice teachers.

In the concluding roundtable discussion, Student 5 indicated that the experience was “a waste of time”, and a number of others communicated the same sentiment. A smaller group, on the other hand, communicated the positive ways the experience would impact them and continue to impact them as they grow deeper into their careers. Here, expectations void of previous experience can also produce dramatically positive or negative results. The subjects with greater cultural experiences and/or openness to learning new things seemed to gain more from the immersion program than those who did not share the same openness. Student 1 indicated that he had gained new layers of insight based on the experience, and he had initially spoken of his enthusiasm and openness to the experience, void of expectations, and his eagerness to be pleasantly surprised.

From a practical sense, the professors recommend a need to have a required set of seminars scheduled a few weeks and a few months after the weeklong immersion in order to help the preservice teachers appreciate what they learn from their experiences. Field supervisors need to understand that while schools are highly regulated in their schedules, many unforeseen occurrences happen, and helping preservice teachers expect the unexpected is important. Having personal relationships with people from host schools is important because these ties help to

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navigate the unexpected. For instance, while preservice teacher biographies were sent to schools and teachers ahead of time, not all placements went according to plan due to illness and the passing of a loved one in an administrator’s immediate family. The partners persevered in helping researchers make adjustments to make the most of the weeklong immersion.

Conclusions and Limitations The findings underscore a number of elements that exist in varying degrees, depending upon each subject’s background. Although this may seem like an axiom, there is invariably “more to the story.” For example, each subject’s background includes past cultural experiences, including the desire for cultural experiences, which to date have been met or unmet. The elements that were found included natural bias and inclinations. They were based on shallow variables, which could not necessarily be quantified but were mined using qualitative evidence.

A subject’s willingness to experience “new things” outside of their comfort zone could be quantified in future studies in order to understand the degrees of bias that exist and under what circumstances. When an urban teacher may feel open to foreign experiences, understanding “why” they are open to it may be analyzed to discover whether their openness is tied to learning about concepts such as people, places, and things or experiences that exist in varying levels of excitement. Perhaps a “thrill-seeker” is “most open” to discovering new ideas, whereas an “intellect” is also open yet to a somewhat lesser degree. A preservice educator who has an acquiescent attitude may be open to new experiences, and he or she gains no personal or professional benefit in a setting outside of their own sphere. In other words, their “openness” does not translate to elevated levels of pedagogy. Questionnaires may be fashioned to measure “interconnectedness” between factors such as (1) attitudes toward people or groups, (2) observations and assumptions, (3) conclusions and judgments, and (4) verbal and nonverbal action (Koppelman, 2014, p. 52). Factors may be added to include real-life experiences with the same 4 categories to include written reflections and anecdotes, which support each subject’s reflective and attitudinal relevance.

While data were not analyzed by themes of learning in regard to preservice teachers’ psychological, sociological, and anthropological growth of understandings for this article, there are plans to dip back into data to ask these questions. These understandings will pinpoint preimmersion and postimmersion seminar topics.

Limitations also include elements such as misrepresentation, subject fallout, and cognitive variables ranging from extreme bias to extreme passivity. In addition, comprehensive forces acting upon individuals complicate ongoing experiences and reflections in “real time.” As it was found with a number of subjects in this experience, many may have “tuned out” in a matter of one to two days into the weeklong experience. The mined information was, for the most part, “leveled out” and weighted toward the negative. On the other hand, subjects who were deeply engaged generated the most qualitative evidence that can skew quantitative findings if not fully analyzed. Here, however, it is also found that the analysis is being mined by

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individuals (humans) with their own sets of biases and preferences that can further dilute the process. For these reasons, each detail must be attended to as a group prior to being agreed upon as being relevant.

Other limitations include the time frame and the inability to visit more than one school.

A longer immersion program would be ideal for a richer learning experience for both the students and the teacher candidates. In the future, perhaps teacher candidates will be able to complete student teaching in a rural setting. This opportunity could allow teacher candidates to build a relationship with students so that preservice teachers can have a richer learning experience.

Implications for Future Research Future studies may also include perceived implications of teacher beliefs. Preservice teachers may analyze their own image, what they display, and whether they themselves “act” counter to negative stereotypes of their own culture (or region). They may also consider the ways they “counter” what others perceive of them, how they counter it, and why (or why not) they counter it. In this regard, they may garner a third party point of view that can be translated to the classroom. Gaining understanding about “why” individuals and groups “act” certain ways, “do” certain things, or use mannerisms tied to such ideas as self-preservation, groupthink, or “just because (it’s the way things have always been done)” can offer great insight with the potential for reducing bias and stereotypes through self-awareness. Using internal and external validity, the varying degrees in which bias exists and under what circumstances, which can range from benign to destructive, can be discovered.

It can be concluded that to teach is a human act and to be a humane teacher takes extra “effort” and “experiences” that might not be appreciated by preservice teachers wherever they come from, but that is what we aspire to do. The immersion program is expected to improve because students’ voices are being collected and analyzed “with” them and not “for” them.

Immersion experiences are expensive and time-consuming endeavors, but they have the potential to help preservice teachers develop dispositions, knowledge, and skills to better meet the needs of the diverse learners they will encounter.

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Instructional Impact on Achievement of Economically and Learning Disadvantaged Students at Two Ohio Middle Schools Sherry A. Long Alice Lloyd College

Abstract Reading and math achievement gaps exist between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students. This quantitative, cross-sectional survey examined the effect of using a teachercentered approach and a student-centered approach on the reading and math Ohio Achievement Test scores of disadvantaged students in two similar middle schools. Sixth through eighth grade reading and/or math teachers completed the Principles of Adult Learning Scale survey. Results indicated that a student-centered approach was more effective in the reading classroom for all students identified as economically disadvantaged (ED), learning disabled, or both. In addition, a student-centered approach was more effective for students identified as only ED as well as students identified as only learning disabled in the reading classroom. A significant difference was not found between the instructional approaches in the math classroom. Results suggest that a student-centered approach may minimize the achievement gap that exists in disadvantaged students’ reading scores. By examining the factor scores attributed to the student-centered teachers, three classroom practices were found to be effective in improving student learning and achievement: personalizing instruction, relating to experience, and assessing student needs. To close the achievement gap that exists between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students, teachers and administrators can use the findings from this study. In addition to closing the achievement gap, disadvantaged students will be closer to achieving a proficiency rating, thus, helping schools meet accountability requirements.

Keywords: instructional approach; achievement; disadvantaged students

According to Singham (2003), “Effective teachers produce as much as six times the learning gains produced by less effective teachers, it should not be surprising that good teachers can have such a differentially positive effect on minority students” (pp. 589-590). Along this same line of thought, Tucker et al. (2005) emphasized that “teachers exert a potent influence over the achievement of all students, low-income culturally diverse students in particular” (p.

29). Tucker and fellow authors also explained that high-efficacy teachers tend to maintain

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higher levels of student engagement and generally perceive themselves as capable of working with a diverse student population. Therefore, whether looking at the achievement gap from an educational-reform stance, like Singham (2003), or from a more sociocultural perspective (Tucker, et al., 2005), teachers are a valuable resource.

Background of the Problem

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), passed in 1965, was part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty (Whilden, 2010). The important factor of addressing poverty was improving educational opportunities for minority families of preschooland elementary-aged children. In addition, the ESEA advocated for early educational intervention to compensate for the inequality present among disadvantaged families (Whilden, 2010). Federal funding from the ESEA Title 1 program provided Head Start with remedial math and reading programs for the educationally deprived child (deMarrais & LeCompte, 1999). The ESEA has since been reauthorized after 40 years to incorporate provisions established by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 (NCLB, 2002a).

Concern for the education of American children became an issue of concern in light of the advancement of technology and increased global competition specifically in the areas of mathematics and science. January 8, 2002, marked the date in which the NCLB Act of 2001 (2002b) became law. Four principles that address the achievement gap in schools include (a) educational accountability for student achievement results, (b) provisions for parents to make a choice of when and how children can receive alternative educational opportunities, (c) explanations of how school districts could obtain more local control, and (d) justification for making curricular and instructional decisions based on scientific research (NCLB, 2002b).

Additionally, the act focused on closing the achievement gap in education nationwide. Under NCLB (2002a), testing will increase in grades 3–8 with the aim to get all students to a proficient level by 2014. Under this legislation, schools are held accountable for making adequate yearly progress (AYP), which is measured yearly with a criterion-referenced test. The test holds schools accountable for the learning a student exhibits while attending the school. In the opinion of Simpson, LaCava, and Graner (2004), “by mandating that all students demonstrate annual yearly progress, NCLB serves as the most rigorous and exacting of standards-based strategies yet enacted for reforming schools” (p. 68). The ramifications of not meeting the AYP requirements for two consecutive years can result in sanctions or possible takeover by the state in an attempt to encourage schools and school districts to improve (NCLB Executive Summary, 2002).

Numerous studies focusing on the achievement gaps among diverse students reveal achievement gaps at all levels. Bali and Alvarez (2004) compared second-grade Stanford 9 test scores of Blacks and Hispanics to the test scores of Caucasian students in California. Findings indicated that only 23% of Blacks and 17% of Hispanics were proficient in reading compared to 50% of Caucasian students, while mathematic scores reflected a 29% proficiency rate for Blacks

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and a 30% proficiency rate for Hispanics compared to 61% for Caucasian students (Bali & Alvarez, 2004).

The U.S. Department of Education (2005) analyzed student characteristics specific to Ohio as part of the participation process with National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The number of students identified as economically disadvantaged (ED) accounted for 31.3% of the total enrollment. Data from the 2005 NAEP study indicated a gap in the average scaled scores for ED students compared to non-disadvantaged students in Ohio (U.S. Department of Education, 2005). On the fourth-grade math assessment, the average scaled score for ED students was 227, while 252 was the average for non-disadvantaged students. The difference in average scaled scores on the fourth-grade reading assessment is similar with ED students averaging a score of 206 and non-disadvantaged students scoring an average of 233. The eighthgrade assessments in math and reading in Ohio also demonstrate a gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students (U.S. Department of Education, 2005). The average math scaled score for eighth-grade ED students was 265, while a scaled score of 290 was the average for nondisadvantaged students. Reading scores at the eighth-grade level demonstrated similar findings.

ED students averaged a scaled score of 251 in comparison to the average scaled score of 274 for non-disadvantaged students.

The number of students identified as learning disabled accounted for 14.2% of the total enrollment. Data from the 2005 NAEP study indicated a gap in the average scaled scores for students with disabilities compared to nondisabled students in Ohio (U.S. Department of Education, 2005). The average fourth-grade math scaled score for students with disabilities was 223 compared to the 244 score of nondisabled students. Scaled scores from the fourth-grade reading assessment also demonstrated a gap with students with disabilities averaging 201, while nondisabled students scored an average of 224. The average scaled scores on the eighth-grade math and reading assessment demonstrated a gap between students with disabilities and nondisabled students according to the NAEP data (U.S. Department of Education, 2005). The average eighth-grade math scaled score for students with disabilities was 251, while nondisabled students received a 286 on average. The reading averages at the eighth-grade level also illustrated the gap between disabled and nondisabled students. Students with disabilities averaged a scale score of 231, while the nondisabled students at the eighth-grade level scored a 270 on average (U.S. Department of Education, 2005).

The teaching strategies employed by educators affect student performance (Milgram, Dunn, & Price, 1993; Odden, Borman, & Fermanich, 2004). Effective teachers are effective with all students even in a mixed classroom, while ineffective teachers can hinder the progress of similar and dissimilar students (Wright, Horn, & Sanders, 1997). Experiences students encounter “can promote or inhibit retention, interest, satisfaction, and internalization of a given problem” (VanTassel-Baska, 1998, p. 30). The method of delivery is crucial for student learning. Instructional techniques such as inquiry-based lessons, group problem-solving settings, independent investigations, and group discussions should be utilized to accomplish the objectives and the goals of the curriculum (Renzulli, 1977). Not only does attention have to be paid to the

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instructional techniques, but also to the organization of delivery. According to Phenix (as cited in VanTassel-Baska, 1988), educational institutions must acknowledge the relationship among concepts and ideas in order to organize instruction vertically (grade level to grade level) and horizontally (within the same grade level).

Statement of the Problem

Low academic achievement in reading and mathematics by ED and learning disabled students is resulting in an achievement gap in schools (Bali & Alvarez, 2004).

Achievement gaps exist between students of poverty when compared to the test scores of students not in poverty, and “for many high-poverty students, the middle grades are a period in which achievement gaps in mathematics become achievement chasms” (Balfanz & Byrnes, 2006, p. 143). Achievement gaps also exist in the state of Ohio. Achievement scores for ED and learning disabled students are lower according to the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) when compared to non-ED and non-learning disabled students taking the Ohio Achievement Test (OAT) (ODE, 2008).

There is a lack of knowledge about which instructional approaches are most effective in closing the achievement gap for each group of students. This quantitative cross-sectional survey research study investigated the relationship between achievement scores of students and the implementation of instructional approaches in two similar Ohio middle schools.

Purpose of the Study The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional survey study was to determine if instructional approaches affect achievement scores of ED and/or learning disabled students at two similar middle schools in Ohio in order to gain knowledge that could be used by teachers to minimize the achievement gap. The instructional approach used by teachers in the classroom represented the independent variable, while the dependent variable was the reading and math achievement test scores of students instructed by participating teachers. Instructional approach, teacher-centered or student-centered, was determined by the Principles of Adult Learning Scale (PALS) questionnaire (Conti, 1982) that was completed by teachers participating in the study who taught grades 6 through 8 reading or math in the two selected middle schools located in southwest and central Ohio. Achievement data routinely collected and distributed by the ODE concerning the reading and math scores of students completing the OAT at grades 6 through 8 were also examined in order to link the participating teachers with students identified as ED, learning disabled, or both.

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Significance of the Problem

The significance of the study was the acquisition of general and leadership knowledge to the educational discipline. With the passing of NCLB, schools and, ultimately, teachers are being held accountable for the achievement levels of specific subgroups (NCLB, 2002a). In light of these demands, their consequences, and the lack of funding, schools and current teachers are seeking methods to enable them to attain the accountability measures. The study provided educators with instructional approaches that are effective with diverse learners in order to close the achievement gap. The study also provided educators with an understanding of appropriate strategies to create an environment conducive to learning. In addition, the study provided an understanding of instructional approach’s impact on student achievement. By helping teachers recognize the problem and understand the approaches that aid underachieving students, students can gain the support and instruction necessary to improve academic achievement and close the gap between their performances and the performances of nondisabled or non-ED students. The study also provided important knowledge that will benefit individuals in a leadership position.

Leaders need to know what instructional practices promote higher achievement scores among ED and learning-disabled students in order to support teachers in the implementation of these strategies.

Nature of the Study The quantitative research study examined the impact of teacher-centered and studentcentered approaches (independent variables) on the reading and math achievement scores (dependent variables) of disadvantaged students in two similar Ohio middle schools. In order to answer the research questions in the study, achievement scores of ED and/or learningdisadvantaged students as well as the instructional approaches used by the teachers needed to be collected. Student achievement scores on the reading and math portions of the OAT are routinely collected and distributed to every school in Ohio using a secure website. Login information was obtained from each participating school in order to access data files, which provided the link between student and the teacher of record.

The study contained research questions that were specific and narrow in focus. To ascertain the impact of instructional approaches on the achievement scores of ED students and students with learning disabilities, instruments to measure these variables were used, thus, producing numeric results. A cross-sectional design was selected to examine practices and attitudes at one point in time (Creswell, 2002). In order to obtain the type of instructional approach used (teacher-centered or student-centered), the PALS questionnaire (Conti, 1982) was given to participating teachers through an online survey.

In order to analyze if instructional approaches impact student achievement of disadvantaged students in the middle school, a t-test was used to compare the mean reading and

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math scores for each group of disadvantaged students (ED, learning disabled, and both economically and learning disabled) as taught by a teacher-centered or student-centered teacher.

Theoretical Framework The conceptual framework of brain-based learning and constructivism was incorporated in the study. According to Green (1999), “Educators need a strong theoretical base for what they do... the strength of a brain-based approach to learning is that it is based on work from cognitive psychology and both educational and neurophysiological research” (p. 685). Understanding the tenets of brain-based learning provides educators with strategies to use in the classroom in order to meet the diverse learning needs of students. For example, strategies that can be implemented concerning Roberts’ (2002) principles include chunking the information, providing the big picture for students, using multimodal techniques such as simulations and role playing, incorporating multiple intelligences in the activities, and building relationships in the classroom between students and between students and the teacher.

Constructivists posit learning happens when students have the opportunity to engage in real-world problems that require the application of prior knowledge (Biehler & Snowman, 1997).

Therefore, teachers plan a wide range of experiences that encourage real-world application of knowledge. In addition, the experiences encourage students to participate actively in the construction of meaning (Gredler, 2004; Killoran, 2003; Schunk, 2004).

Review of the Literature

The problem concerning the growing achievement gap among diverse students raised in the previous discussion guides the structure of the literature review (Balfanz & Byrnes, 2006; Bali & Alvarez, 2004). The issues concern the growing diversity of students in educational settings (Lee & Bean, 2004) coupled with research that purports the impact teachers have on student performance (Milgram, Dunn, & Price, 1993; Odden, Borman, & Fermanich, 2004; Singham, 2003; Tucker et al., 2005; Wright, Horn, & Sanders, 1997). The research sought to find instructional approaches that positively affect student performance, thus, helping to reduce the achievement gap present among diverse student populations, particularly learning-disabled students and ED students.

Historical Overview of Educational Practices Learning theories and educational practice should be viewed as complementary to one another. This means that “theory provides a framework to use in making educational decisions” (Schunk, 2004, p. 25). Behaviorism, dominating in the 1950s, is still well suited to situations involving observable learned behavior; however, it is not as applicable to situations in which

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skills and knowledge, which are less observable, need to be cultivated (Swain, 2003). Since the 1960s, cognitive learning theories have had a major impact on instructional design focusing on the development of methodologies involving information processing and assimilation theory.

This involves not only the input, encoding, storage, and retrieval of information, but also the ability of the human learner “to integrate new information into the brain’s existing informational structure, organizing information into meaningful units” (Swain, 2003, p. 283). Gagné was instrumental in helping to translate learning theory into instructional theory (Swain, 2003).

Gagné’s Nine Phases of Learning not only combined information-processing theory with behaviorist concepts, but also provided a schema for lesson design.

Since the 1980s, constructivism has become prominent in the world of learning theory.

Constructivism is student-centered, and the teacher is a facilitator who promotes learning by providing opportunities for the student to interact with the environment (Swain, 2003). In addition, the brain’s biology and brain-based learning have added another dimension to learning and teaching as neuroscience is shedding light on how the human brain “receives and processes [sic] stimuli to effect learning” (Swain, 2003, p. 285). Lastly, why some students learn and attain educational goals while others do not remains a valid question. With the emphasis on achievement in the American school system, focusing on achievement-related behaviors from the student and teacher’s respective viewpoints is relevant (Tollefson, 2006).

The emphasis in the 21st century is on the development of educational systems and units of study that help people think critically and solve problems. Teachers should not only be knowledgeable of content, but should also be versed in how to guide and nurture the learning process through the application of appropriate learning theories (Alutu, 2006).

Educational Perspective of Brain-Based Learning

Applying the knowledge gained from studying the brain to the educational setting is the focus of the brain-based learning theory. Roberts (2002) reported three principles of brain-based learning: (a) the brain integrates new information into preexisting structures by organizing and categorizing the information through patterns and meaning making, (b) the brain is capable of performing multiple tasks and learns best “through rich, complex, and multi-sensory environments” (p. 282); and (c) learning is affected by challenging and threatening stimuli.

Three fundamental elements are gleaned from an analysis of brain-based learning principles (Gulpinar, 2005). First, a challenging yet nonthreatening climate is emotionally and socially optimal for learning. Jenson (1998) also asserted the need for the brain to be challenged.

However, educators must be careful that the challenge amount is appropriate to avoid having students give up because the challenge is too hard or to avoid having students getting bored because the challenge is too easy. Second, optimal situations for learning are created by immersing individuals in a rich and complex experience that is realistic. During the immersion, individuals need to be given time to reflect and construct meaningful connections. Dewey (1916, 1938) also believed that students need to be with educators who are capable of utilizing the

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surroundings, both physically and socially, to create a worthwhile experience for the students and find connections and meaning between students’ lives and the subject matter being taught.

Caine and Caine (2006b) further proposed that students would learn naturally from experiences in life and that these experiences are needed in order to survive. An educator’s role must become one of providing relevant experiences for students that blend both academic and natural learning without losing sight of the curriculum goals. Third, individuals who actively process experiences to “construct, elaborate and consolidate mental models/patternings” (Gulpinar, 2005, p. 302) are creating ways to consolidate learning. Students need to be actively involved in education to learn and retain the knowledge acquired through active participation. In addition, educators must allow students time to process information, especially with the introduction of new or complex material. Processing time strengthens the synaptic connection in the absence of external stimuli (Jensen, 1998).

Classrooms consist of diverse learners. Diversity does not only apply to students’ socioeconomic status or racial/ethnic backgrounds, but also to learning preferences and developmental levels. Adhering to one particular strategy in the classroom affects the students whose learning is different. Stress, loss of motivation, and decreased performance are some of the effects that can occur when the teaching strategy and learning preferences are inconsistent (Green, 1999). Gardner (1991) also supported the view that educators need to understand how students learn because “students possess different kinds of minds and therefore learn, remember, perform, and understand in different ways” (p. 11). Howard Gardner, an educational philosopher, transformed the educational system with the release of the multiple intelligences theory (Kezar, 2001). Gardner (1993b) purported that individuals possess certain components of all the eight intelligences; however, specific intelligences have more potential than others depending on the individual. Because classrooms consist of diverse students and, therefore, have the potential of having various multiple intelligences dominate, the classroom must become more student centered and less teacher and curriculum centered (Gardner, 1993b). Therefore, teachers need to vary teaching strategies to accommodate students’ various learning styles to enable learning to take place (Calhoun & Casey, 1995; Poon Teng Fatt, 2000). Varying teaching strategies is one method used in a differentiated classroom. According to Tomlinson (2004, 2005, 2007), the principles of differentiation are (a) students within a classroom are at various developmental levels and, therefore, should be met at those levels; (b) educators should use a variety of instructional strategies to reach students’ different learning modalities, (c) educators should incorporate students’ interests within the curriculum, (d) educators should vary the instructional rate as well as the complexity of the content, and (e) educators should link new information with students’ prior knowledge.

Teachers can help students prepare for learning by providing the students with the opportunity to assess learning styles and multiple intelligences through online, auditory, or paper-pencil tests (Green, 1999; Lock & Prigge, 2002). Discussing the results with students will help students understand how they prefer to learn as well as help teachers learn tips on how to use learning preference in the classroom. The teacher will also be aware of learning preferences

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and should incorporate various learning modes in instruction delivery. According to Dewey (1938), the needs and interests of every student should be examined and incorporated in the experiences and opportunities provided by the teacher. Reliance upon textbooks as well as drill and practice should not be the sole methods of instruction. Student participation in problemsolving activities permits analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information in order to form a judgment. These experiences are essential for students to participate in because similar experiences will occur during adulthood (Ediger, 1997; Gutek, 1997).

To focus and maintain the attention of students in the classroom, teachers can use various strategies. Physical movement by the teacher and the students increases attention and emphasizes social interactions (Becktold, 2001; Green, 1999; Lock & Prigge, 2002). Games, simulations, role playing, and the integration of novelty provide an emotional connection to learning, which holds the attention of students (Green, 1999; Lock & Prigge, 2002; Rose, 2003).

Teachers can help students increase memory and recall by making learning relevant to the students’ lives as the students encounter and attempt to understand new information because real-world experiences and enriched learning environments cause the human brain to reconstruct itself to maximize the human brain’s potential and capability (Gülpinar, 2005; Hall, 2005; Olsen, n.d.; Rushton, Eitelgeorge, & Zickafoose, 2003). Perceiving and generating patterns that make sense to an individual is a priority of the brain (Caine & Caine, 1990, 2004; Ozcelik & Yildirim, 2005; Rushton et al., 2003; Strother, 2007). Because the brain seeks meaning and patterns to learn, Tomlinson (2004) suggested that learning would occur more effectively if the experience is relevant to the student and engages the student’s emotions and senses. Relevancy is obtained by creating sensory associations through lessons that stimulate the student’s senses, emotions, and memory and through lessons with central themes (Becktold, 2001; Green, 1999; Jensen, 1998; Lock & Prigge, 2002).

Creating an optimal learning environment for students is an essential element for teachers to perform. Specific strategies to attain an optimal learning environment include developing a positive atmosphere that is safe and nurturing, using music in the classroom, providing an interactive environment through small group discussions, providing choices, and incorporating open-ended problems, challenges, novelties, interest centers, and time for students to reflect and evaluate individual learning (Becktold, 2001; Caine & Caine, 2006b; Green, 1999; Lock & Prigge, 2002; Rose, 2003). Feedback is also needed in the classroom. Feedback that is specific, multimodal, timely, or learner controlled helps to reduce the uncertainty students may feel in the classroom, which lowers the number of responses induced by stress (Jensen, 1998).

Student Achievement and Brain-Based Learning Research

An experimental design utilizing a two-group, pretest-posttest design was conducted by Farkas (2003) to determine the effects of a traditional-style approach versus a learning-style approach on achievement, attitudes, empathic tendencies, and transfer skills of 105 students in the 7th grade. The traditional approach included lecture, group discussion, and visual resources

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while a multisensory approach was used with the other group. Findings of the study indicated a significant increase in achievement, attitude, empathetic tendency, and transfer skills for students taught using the multisensory approach.

A study conducted by Wagmeister and Shifrin (2000) examined the implementation of brain-based learning that was supported by technology in an independent California school that “served children with language-based learning differences – such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia – in grades two through twelve” (p. 45). Commenting on the school’s view, Wagmeister and Shifrin (2000) state: At Westmark, we do not view our students as learning disabled, but as gifted young people who learn differently from others. As a result, we think and teach differently. We are nurturing students who will be vital community members. With our students, our only option is to be on the cutting edge of Brain-Based teaching. (p. 48) By applying the neurological research available, specifically the brain’s ability to change, the teachers at the school began incorporating the different learning styles of students into the curriculum as well as using instructional strategies that include different modalities. Technology was a method used to meet the diverse needs of the students, and the students thrived as a result of the technology use (Wagmeister & Shifrin, 2000).

In another study, Caulfield, Kidd, and Kocher (2000) analyzed the implementation of brain-based learning practices in a Kansas City elementary school that collaborated with Rockhurst University. To monitor the effects of the implementation of brain-based practices, three measurements were used: (a) the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test for grades one through five, (b) the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills for grades two and six, and (c) end-of-the-book math tests from Harcourt Brace and D.C. Heath for grades two through five (Caulfield et al., 2000). The results demonstrated improvement: (a) the MacGinitie Reading Test scores indicated almost a full standard deviation of improvement between first and fourth grade scores, (b) scores from the end-of-the-book tests increased from the fall administration to the spring administration in second grade for four years and in third grade for three years, and (c) scores from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills remained steady in reading, but the math scores significantly increased (Caulfield et al., 2000). Upon additional analysis of the data, Caulfield et al. (2000) discovered that there was “greater growth by students who scored lower on the beginning measures” (p. 65).

An examination of the literature reveals some research has been conducted concerning the impact of instructional strategies on student achievement; however, disaggregated data is lacking for students identified as learning disabled and/or ED. Therefore, a gap exists in the literature with reference to instructional approaches’ impact on the achievements of diverse middle school students.

Theoretical Influences on Instructional Approaches

Beliefs of curriculum developers influence the development of curriculum and instruction (Posner, 2004). Analyzing the tenets of behavioral, constructivist, experiential,

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and traditional theories as well as the societal and political influences, major criticisms, and examples of the perspectives applied to education provides a basis for understanding the teacher-centered classroom and student-centered classroom.

Behavioral. Behaviorism’s emphasis on observable behaviors coincided with the transition of “anecdotal methods to scientific observation” (“Behaviorism: The rise,” 1999, para.

1). Behaviorists believe the external environment’s influence contributes to the shaping of the individual’s behavior (Biehler & Snowman, 1997; Schunk, 2004). Behaviorism is the idea that learning occurs when new, observable behaviors or changes in behaviors are acquired as the result of an individual’s response to stimuli. Recognizable behavior represents the observable evidence of learning (Schunk, 2004). The behavioral perspective posits that the content of any curriculum encompasses statements about skills that clearly define how behavior is observed and measured (Posner, 2004). The educator’s judgment defines the curriculum’s purpose as long as the educator reduces the subject matter to “a set of discrete behaviors . . . that can be expressed as observable, measurable behaviors” (Posner, 2004, p. 100). The behavioral curriculum’s organization is a bottom-up approach whereby the presentations of elementary skills are in a prerequisite order (Posner, 2004). The teacher and student’s roles in a classroom with a behavioral approach can be described as active and passive, respectively (Magliaro, Lockee, & Burton, 2005). The student’s role is passive and only responds to presented stimuli. The student receives information in the form of instructional presentations from the teacher. The student is expected to use the information to react with the desired behavior, demonstrating the attainment of knowledge. The teacher’s role is active. The teacher’s role consists of presenting structured material in an effective manner.

Direct instruction is a common instructional strategy used in a behaviorist-dominated classroom whereby teachers provide information, opportunities for practice, and feedback (Magliaro, et al. 2005). The knowledge and skills presented in logical and limited steps are directly linked to the established learning objectives. The behavioral approach incorporates the idea of readiness for a given behavior, which results in the behavior becoming a rewarding experience (Schunk, 2004). Instructional design consists of strategies that recognize trial-anderror learning as one means of acquiring knowledge and skills (Magliaro, et al. 2005; Schunk, 2004). The learner responds to the presentation of a target stimulus. The response is met with consequences or reinforcement depending upon the desired response. Responses are elicited through a variety of ways including (a) instructional cues, (b) drill and practice, (c) reinforcement for correct responses, (d) fluency building, and (e) associations (Schunk, 2004).

Constructivist. Cognitive psychology, namely the contributions from Piaget, prompted educators to learn about the cognitive readiness of children and that learning occurs by assimilation and accommodation of new knowledge into prior knowledge (Posner, 2004). In the late 1960s, Ausubel further contributed to constructivism’s rise through his work on establishing meaningful learning whereby he viewed that “the single most important determinant of learning

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is what the learner already knows; ascertain that and teach him accordingly” (p. 63). Howard Gardner’s work about multiple intelligences also provided fuel for constructivism’s rise (Posner, 2004).

Constructivism promotes problem solving, collaboration, and reflection as the student constructs or builds knowledge (Terwel, 1999). Emphasis is placed on providing students with the opportunity to reflect on prior knowledge and how new information represents an extension or connection to knowledge learned in a previous setting (Brooks, 1986/1987). Learning occurs through interactions with the external world and the process of cognitive abstraction as the learner builds a personal interpretation of the world based on experiences and interactions (Schunk, 2004). The constructivist perspective considers the development of the mind to be education’s purpose whereby attention to meaning’s construction is needed to meet the goal (Posner, 2004). The content of curriculum, according to the constructivist perspective, (a) consists of the knowledge to be learned, (b) involves critical thinking and reasoning, and (c) possibly provides instruments for the thought process (Posner, 2004). The organization of curriculum based upon the constructivist perspective is determined by the cognitive element such as assimilation, accommodation, modalities, or thinking skills (Posner, 2004). The student’s role in a classroom that uses the constructivist approach is one of active participation in the creation of his or her own learning as students construct meaning based upon prior knowledge (Gredler, 2004; Killoran, 2003; Schunk, 2004). The student is also expected to apply knowledge in a meaningful context. The teacher’s role as a facilitator is a hallmark of the constructivist classroom. The teacher designs experiences that create an environment that encourages assimilation and accommodation as students engage in peer interaction and knowledge construction based on previously known concepts (Schunk, 2004). Gredler (2004) elaborated on the instructional design taken by the constructivist approach. Teachers encourage real-world application of knowledge using a variety of instructional strategies. Strategies include modeling, collaborative learning, coaching, scaffolding, and problem-based learning (Posner, 2004).

Experiential. Experiential education is a process whereby students internalize while constructing knowledge and skills resulting from direct experiences (Byerly, 2001; Bryan & Starr, 2005; Ives & Obenchain, 2006). The experiential perspective’s focus is applying theory to practice, so students experience the concepts in a real-world setting (Mitchell & Poutiatine, 2001; Byerly, 2001; Bryan & Starr, 2005). Education’s purpose, according to the experiential perspective, is to develop the student’s competence in the areas of “planning, finding and making use of appropriate resources, persistence at a task, coping with new ideas, conflicting opinions, and people who are different” (Posner, 2004, p. 97). The content of the curriculum should derive from the students’ experiences as well as contain potential problems that students can observe and judge (Dewey as cited in Posner, 2004). The experiential curriculum’s organization does not lend itself to preplanning because the activities are “typically sequenced according to the way it will be used in dealing with everyday problems, needs, and issues” (Posner, 2004, p. 147). The student’s role is one of active participation. Students are actively involved in directing learning

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as well as collaborating with the teacher. The teacher’s role in an experiential classroom reflects three components: (a) opportunities for students to direct individual learning, (b) the connection between the curriculum and real-world experiences, and (c) opportunities for students to engage in critical reflection (Ives & Obenchain, 2006). Byerly (2001) suggests the use of “modeling, collaborating, and simulating” (para. 3) to engage students in learning. Collaboration also provides feedback for students in addition to teacher feedback, which influences the shaping of skills, knowledge, and beliefs (Bryan & Starr, 2005).

Traditional. Stemming from an essentialist philosophy, the traditional perspective emphasizes that schools should be teaching the basics including reading, math, history, and science and that schools should not teach vocational or life adjustment courses (Ediger, 1995; Ediger, 1997; Gutek, 1997). Essentialism’s underlying basis is found in a conservative philosophy that stresses the transmission of the values and knowledge held by society.

According to Bagley (as cited in Ediger, 1995), teaching the essentials leaves no time for students to engage in other areas of interest.

A classroom using a traditional curriculum is characterized as having (a) one subject, (b) a teacher-centered approach, (c) worksheets, (d) written assessments, and (e) an importance placed on grades (Posner, 2004). According to the traditional perspective, the purpose of education is to “transmit the cultural heritage . . . [that] represents . . . the most timeless, established, and accepted facts, concepts, principles, laws, values, and skills known to humankind” (Posner, 2004, p. 97). The traditional perspective emphasizes recognition of terms and names used in communication, competence in basic skills, and acceptance of values deemed necessary for maintaining harmony in society. The curriculum, organized according to topics, includes facts, values, and basic skills. The student’s role is passive. Students are expected to listen to the presentation and be able to recount information to demonstrate learning. The teacher’s role in the traditional classroom is one of control. The teacher uses a lecture format to present the information deemed necessary to the students. The instructional approaches include drill and practice as well as the preferred lecture method (Posner, 2004). The student’s role is one of obedience, while the teacher takes on the role of transmitting knowledge for the student to learn (Ediger, 1995; Gutek, 1997). There is little regard for student interests or individuality because these will only take away from time on task for essential learning. The traditional classroom seeks to invoke a stable curriculum without making any accommodations for the learner.

Instructional Approaches The theoretical influences on instructional approaches found in the approach used by an educator may be teacher-centered, student-centered, or a combination of the two approaches (Conti, n. d.). The teacher-centered and student-centered approaches both “provide background data and content, and pose questions that students can use to create meaning” (Brown, 2003, p.

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53). The content’s instructional delivery is the difference between the two (Brown, 2003; Emes & Cleveland-Innes, 2003; McCombs, 1997; Tomlinson, 2000). The following provides a description of the two approaches’ differences.

Teacher-Centered. The teacher-centered approach is a factory model whereby the goal is optimal efficiency, and it utilizes a regimented process in order to transmit knowledge to the students (Brown, 2003; Tomlinson, 2000). According to Conti (n.d.), the teacher’s role in a teacher-centered classroom is “to design an environment which stimulates the desired behavior and discourages those that have been determined to be undesirable” (p. 77). The teachercentered approach places the educator in control of the learning taking place in the classroom because the educator has expertise in the content, thus, helping the students make connections; however, student achievement is the primary task, while student processing is secondary (Brown, 2003; Tomlinson, 2000). Student achievement is measured by the attainment of measurable outcomes or competencies using criterion-referenced or norm-referenced tests (Conti, n.d.).

The dominant instructional strategy used in the teacher-centered classroom is direct instruction (Brown, 2003; Veenman, Denessen, van den Oord, & Naafs, 2003). The process of delivering the content knowledge is the focus of direct instruction, which includes the “structure, sequence, and pace” (Veenman et al., 2003, p. 200). The benefit of a structured process is an educator’s ability to deliver complex content effectively and in a short period (Veenman et al., 2003). The structured process steps, according to Veenman et al. (2003), are (a) using demonstration and modeling, (b) providing guided practice with feedback, and (c) providing time for independent practice.

Student-Centered. The perception of inquiry and knowledge influenced the studentcentered concept’s development (Emes & Cleveland-Innes, 2003). The student-centered perspective focuses on the student as an individual who has unique qualities, experiences, and desires that need to be used by an educator when planning and engaging the student in learning experiences (McCombs, 1997). Metacognition is the focus of a student-centered classroom whereby the students actively participate in the development of learning activities as well as reflect upon learning, while the educator’s role is one of expertise in content and instructional knowledge (Brown, 2003; Emes & Cleveland-Innes, 2003; McCombs, 1997).

Being aware of each learner’s capabilities and how to create an environment that provides opportunities for students to find meaningful connections while learning is the educator’s primary task in a student-centered classroom whereas the students’ task is to construct learning (Brown, 2003). In order for the educator to provide opportunities that are meaningful and promote learning connections for students, the educator should utilize a variety of instructional strategies (Brown, 2003; Perkins, 1993; Tomlinson, 2000). Figure 1 provides an illustration of some instructional strategies that are common to a student-centered classroom (Brown, 2003; Perkins, 1993; Tomlinson, 2000). The strategies grouped under brain-based learning principles include (a) the need for socialization, (b) the uniqueness of the brain, (c) the

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need to make meaningful connections, and (d) the need for challenge (Caine & Caine, 2006a; Gulpinar, 2005; Jensen, 1998; Tomlinson, 2004).

Teacher Impact and Student Achievement Research

The results of recent research indicate that a correlation exists between teacher effectiveness and student achievement (Darling-Hammond & Young, 2002; Ding & Sherman, 2006; Milanowski, 2004; Odden, Borman, & Fermanich, 2004; Rowan, Chiang, & Miller, 1996).

Milanowski (2004) found a link between student achievement and teacher performance even when characteristics of the students were discounted. According to Sanders (as cited in Odden et al., 2004), the most important factor that influences student achievement is the teacher’s effectiveness. Odden et al. (2004) asserted that the research on teacher effectiveness and student achievement demonstrated “(a) students learn differential amounts during a normal academic year depending on their teacher and (b) individual teachers consistently produce—year after year—low, medium, or high learning gains for their classrooms of students” (p. 10). In addition, Rowan, Correnti, and Miller (2002) found effective teachers can influence student achievement by at least nine months. In other words, the student receives a year’s learning for a year’s instruction, while students who are in a classroom for two years in a row and are taught by ineffective teachers will not be able to regain the learning that was lost. Depending on student outcomes, different instructional strategies are found to be more effective (Rowan et al., 1996).

Direct instruction is more effective if the outcome is the student being able to perform on basic skills tests, while indirect teaching- or student-centered strategies are more effective for higherorder thinking outcomes (Odden et al., 2004; Rowan et al., 1996).

Method

Findings from the quantitative cross-sectional survey study could potentially increase the knowledge base regarding the relationship between the instructional approach and the achievement of middle school students who are ED or learning disabled. The purpose of the study was to analyze the teaching approach used by middle school reading teachers and math teachers and the achievement levels of ED and learning-disabled students in two similar districts in Ohio.

Population A total of 35 teachers identified from the OAT testing file were contacted to participate in the study. Of the 35 teachers, 31 completed the survey providing an 88.6% return rate. Teachers indicated their teaching assignments on the survey. Teachers (n = 9) who selected a math assignment equaled the number of teachers who selected both reading and math, while other teachers (n = 13) selected the reading teaching assignment. Of the 31 teachers who completed

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the survey, 272 students identified as ED and/or learning disabled were linked to the teachers participating in the study.

Instrument The PALS questionnaire (Appendix A) was developed by Conti (1979, 1983, 1985) to measure cognitive and affective constructs involved with teaching styles and their effect on student learning. The PALS is a 44-item, Likert-type scale instrument that relies on selfreporting and provides an indication of whether an individual prefers a learner- or teachercentered approach to teaching. Each item describes an action for which the respondent must indicate to what degree he or she practices the stated action. The Likert-type scale includes these responses: always, almost always, often, seldom, almost never, and never. The PALS questionnaire can be completed in 10 to 15 minutes (Conti, 1985). A respondent’s score can range from 0 to 220. The PALS questionnaire has a mean score of 146.0 while the standard deviation is 20.0 (Conti & Welborn, 1986). A high score on the PALS indicates a studentcentered preference, while a low score indicates a teacher-centered preference. An individual who uses elements from learner- and teacher-centered approaches will have a score close to the mean (Conti, 1985). Correlational studies of PALS scores and actual teaching behaviors indicate a positive relationship, and the analysis of over 778 cases supports the descriptive statistics of the PALS questionnaire (Conti & Welborn, 1986). Studies were conducted to establish the PALS questionnaire’s construction, criterion, and content validity. Reliability coefficients for criterion validity ranged from .79 to .85, while the reliability coefficient of .92 established the PALS questionnaire’s content validity.

Procedure Districts participating in the study provided a unique username and password to this study’s researcher in order to access the testing file for students who took the 2008 OAT. The file contained student names, achievement test scores for reading and math, identification of reading and math teachers, and identification of students classified as ED and/or learning disabled. Students who took the 6th, 7th, or 8th grade OAT were filtered to retain only those identified as ED and/or learning disabled. The teachers of record for the students represented the teacher sample.

An introductory letter was mailed to teachers inviting them to participate in the study. A second letter was sent to the teachers requesting a signed consent form to participate in the study.

Upon receiving a signed consent, this study’s researcher sent an email containing a link to the online survey was sent to the teacher. Each teacher participating in the study had two weeks to complete the survey. An email reminder was sent to teachers who had not completed the survey two days before the survey closed. Completed surveys and signed informed-consent forms were coded and recorded for analysis. The forms were also stored in folders within a locked box.

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The quantitative data was obtained from the completion of the PALS (Conti, 1979, 1983, 1985) questionnaire as well as the OAT scores of ED or learning-disabled students whose reading or mathematics teacher completed the PALS questionnaire. Because the locations of the research study sites were across the state of Ohio, the questionnaire was provided to study participants by using the Zoomerang (n.d.) website. The Internet is becoming a popular tool for administering an electronic version of a questionnaire (Creswell, 2002). Demographic questions were included in addition to the PALS questionnaire. Only participants who agreed to participate in the research study were invited via email to participate in the online questionnaire.

The questionnaire was uniquely coded for each school district participating in the research study, and it was available for two weeks.

Analysis In collaboration with a statistician, the teachers’ responses to the demographic questions and PALS questionnaire were entered in an Excel file. The data were then entered into the SPSS software to determine the teaching style. Once the teaching style was determined for each teacher, the achievement scores of students in the sample were analyzed in order to test each hypothesis. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the characteristics of teachers and students in the sample. A t-test was used as the main analysis procedure.

Research Questions The research questions for this quantitative cross-sectional survey study focused on the impact of teacher- and student-centered instructional approaches on student achievement as reported on the OAT. These are the research questions: 1. Do teacher-centered and student-centered instructional approaches affect student reading and math scores?

2. Which instructional approach is more effective for learning-disabled students?

3. Which instructional approach is more effective for ED students?

4. Which instructional approach is more effective for ED and learning-disabled students?

Hypotheses H10: There is no difference in the mean reading or math achievement scores of students based on instructional approach.

H1A: A statistically significant difference exists in the mean reading or math achievement scores of students based on instructional approach.

H20: There is no difference in the mean reading or math achievement scores of learning-disabled students based on instructional approach.

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H2 A: A statistically significant difference exists in the mean reading or math achievement scores of learning-disabled students based on instructional approach.

H30: There is no difference in the mean reading or math achievement scores of ED students based on instructional approach.

H3 A: A statistically significant difference exists in the mean reading or math achievement scores of ED students based on instructional approach.

H40: There is no difference in the mean reading or math achievement scores of ED and learningdisabled students based on instructional approach.

H4 A: A statistically significant difference exists in the mean reading or math achievement scores of ED and learning-disabled students based on instructional approach.

Results The purpose of the quantitative cross-sectional study was to determine if instructional approaches affect achievement scores of ED and/or learning-disabled students at two similar middle schools in Ohio. Although studies exist concerning instructional approaches, there was an absence of research focusing on how instructional approaches affect the achievement scores of disadvantaged students. Therefore, such a study was needed.

Teacher Characteristics The teacher sample consisted of 31 teachers who taught reading and/or math in grades six through eight in two similar school districts in Ohio and completed the PALS questionnaire.

Originally, 35 teachers were contacted to participate in the study. In addition to the items contained on the PALS, demographic information was gathered.

Demographics and teaching style. A majority of the teachers (83.9%) were female. A majority of the teachers (77.4%) had a master’s degree. A majority of the teachers (87.1%) indicated that they were between 26 and 55 years of age. Of this age group, 12 teachers (38.7%) indicated that they were between 36–45 years of age. Results from the PALS indicated that a majority of teachers (83.9%) were classified as exhibiting a teacher-centered teaching style. In addition, only one of the five teachers identified as practicing a student-centered approach was a math teacher.

PALS scores. Descriptive statistics are presented separately for the teacher-centered teachers (n = 26) and for the student-centered teachers (n = 5) in Table 1. High scores on a factor indicate agreement with the factor (Conti, 1985). The range of factor scores indicate that teachers classified as teacher-centered do not all score low on each factor and that studentcentered teachers do not all score high on each factor.

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Reliability. To assess the internal consistency reliability of the PALS items, Cronbach's alpha was computed for the total scale consisting of all 44 PALS items. The total scale showed excellent reliability (α = .89). Scales should have a reliability of at least .70 to demonstrate adequate reliability (Cronbach, 1951).

Student Characteristics

Demographics. The student sample consisted of 272 students who were identified as ED and/or learning disabled, and they had a reading and/or math teacher complete the PALS questionnaire. A majority of the students (79%) were identified as ED, while 39.3% of the students had an individualized education program (IEP) in reading, and 39% had an IEP in math.

A majority of the students (80.3%) had a teacher-centered reading teacher. In addition, a majority of the students (90.8%) had a math teacher who used a teacher-centered approach.

Ohio Achievement Test scores. Table 2 presents descriptive statistics for the reading and math portions of the 2008 OAT. Only scores of students in the sample were included. The mean and range of scores are similar for both the reading and math scores of students in the sample.

Tests of Hypotheses

Hypothesis 1. Research hypothesis 1 stated that a statistically significant difference would be found between the mean achievement scores of students who had teachers with teacher-centered styles and students who had teachers with student-centered styles. This hypothesis was tested separately for reading scores and math scores.

First, an independent t-test for unequal variances was computed comparing OAT reading scores for (a) students who had teacher-centered reading teachers (n = 192) and (b) students who had student-centered reading teachers (n = 47). The test for unequal variances was chosen because the two groups were identified by Levene’s test for equality of variance as having significantly different variances (p < .05). The results show the mean reading scores for the students with student-centered reading teachers are significantly higher than the mean reading scores for students with teacher-centered reading teachers (p < .001).

Next, an independent t-test was computed comparing OAT math scores for (a) students who had teacher-centered math teachers (n = 237) and (b) students who had student-centered math teachers (n = 24). The results show the mean math scores for the students with studentcentered math teachers are higher than the mean math scores for students with teacher-centered math teachers, but the difference is not statistically significant (p = .132). Thus, hypothesis 1 was supported for reading scores but not for math scores.

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Hypothesis 2. Research hypothesis 2 stated that a statistically significant difference would be found between the mean achievement scores of learning-disabled students who had teachers with teacher-centered styles and students who had teachers with student-centered styles.

There were no students who had teachers with student-centered math teaching styles; therefore, this hypothesis was only applied to reading scores. There were two classifications of learning disability: (a) IEP-reading and (b) IEP-math; however, the classifications were almost identical.

Still, this hypothesis was tested separately for IEP-reading-classified students and for IEP-mathclassified students.

First, an independent t-test was computed comparing OAT reading scores for (a) IEPreading-classified students who had teacher-centered reading teachers (n = 76) and (b) IEPreading-classified students who had student-centered reading teachers (n = 11). The results show that the mean reading scores for the IEP-reading-classified students with student-centered reading teachers are significantly higher than the mean reading scores for IEP-reading-classified students with teacher-centered reading teachers (p = .042).

Next, an independent t-test was computed comparing OAT reading scores for (a) IEPmath-classified students who had teacher-centered reading teachers (n = 75) and (b) IEP-mathclassified students who had student-centered reading teachers (n = 11). The results show that the mean reading scores for the IEP-math-classified students with student-centered reading teachers are significantly higher than the mean reading scores for IEP-math-classified students with teacher-centered reading teachers (p =.044). Thus, hypothesis 2 was supported with regard to reading scores for the subsample of learning-disabled students as identified by both the IEPreading classification and the IEP-math classification.

Hypothesis 3. Research Hypothesis 3 stated that a statistically significant difference would be found between the mean achievement scores of ED students who had teachers with teacher-centered styles and ED students who had teachers with student-centered styles. This hypothesis was tested separately for reading scores and math scores.

First, an independent t-test for unequal variances was computed comparing OAT reading scores for (a) ED students who had teacher-centered reading teachers (n = 149) and (b) ED students who had student-centered reading teachers (n = 39). The test for unequal variances was chosen because the two groups were identified by Leveneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s test for equality of variance as having significantly different variances (p < .05). The results show that the mean reading scores for the ED students with student-centered reading teachers are significantly higher than the mean reading scores for ED students with teacher-centered reading teachers (p = .002).

Next, an independent t-test was computed comparing OAT math scores for (a) ED students who had teacher-centered math teachers (n = 183) and (b) ED students who had studentcentered math teachers (n = 24). The results show that the mean math scores for the ED students with student-centered math teachers are slightly higher than the mean math scores for ED students with teacher-centered math teachers, but the difference is not statistically significant (p

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= .472). Thus, hypothesis 3 was supported for ED students with regard to reading scores but not for math scores.

Hypothesis 4. Research hypothesis 4 stated that a statistically significant difference would be found between the mean achievement scores of ED and learning-disabled students who had teachers with teacher-centered styles and ED and learning-disabled students who had teachers with student-centered styles. There were no students who had teachers with studentcentered math teaching styles; therefore, this hypothesis was only applied to reading scores.

There were two classifications of learning disability: (a) IEP-reading and (b) IEP-math; however, the classifications were almost identical. Still, this hypothesis was tested separately for IEPreading-classified students and for IEP-math-classified students.

First, an independent t-test was computed comparing OAT reading scores for (a) IEPreading-classified ED students who had teacher-centered reading teachers (n = 33) and (b) IEPreading-classified ED students who had student-centered reading teachers (n = 3). The results show that the mean reading scores for the IEP-reading-classified ED students with studentcentered reading teachers are significantly higher than the mean reading scores for IEP-readingclassified ED students with teacher-centered reading teachers (p = .033).

Next, an independent t-test was computed comparing OAT reading scores for (a) IEPmath-classified ED students who had teacher-centered reading teachers (n = 32) and (b) IEPmath-classified ED students who had student-centered reading teachers (n = 3). The results show that the mean reading scores for the IEP-math-classified ED students with student-centered reading teachers are significantly higher than the mean reading scores for IEP-math-classified ED students with teacher-centered reading teachers (p = .037). Thus, according to the independent t-tests, hypothesis 4 was supported with regard to reading scores for the subsample of learning-disabled and ED students as identified by both the IEP-reading classification and the IEP-math classification.

However, because of the extremely small sample size of the student-centered classification group (n = 3), nonparametric Mann-Whitney U tests were also conducted on the same data to determine whether support could be found for the hypothesis with a nonparametric analysis. For both analyses (IEP-reading and IEP-math), the Mann-Whitney U test was not significant (p > .05). Thus, hypothesis 4 should be considered unsupported and should be tested in the future with a larger sample.

Discussion of Results Â

Support of Null Hypotheses Results indicated that instructional approach made no difference in (a) reading or math scores of students identified as both ED and learning disabled, (b) math scores of ED students, and (c) math scores of students identified as ED, learning disabled, or both. Overall, 26 teachers

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indicated a preference for a teacher-centered approach leaving only five student-centered teachers. In addition, students identified as learning disabled or both ED and learning disabled all had teacher-centered math teachers. Therefore, support for the null hypotheses may be explained by the lack of sufficient numbers of students and student-centered teachers when specific disadvantaged groups were needed for analysis.

Rejection of Null Hypotheses Results indicated that a student-centered approach was more effective than a teachercentered approach in the reading classroom for all students identified as ED, learning disabled, or both. In addition, a student-centered approach was more effective in the reading classroom for students only identified as ED as well as students only identified as learning disabled. Therefore, the null hypotheses were rejected. The results were similar to previous research that examined the effect of different instructional approaches on students (Caulfield et al., 2000; Farkas, 2003; Wagmeister & Shifrin, 2000); however, previous research did not disaggregate the students to examine the effect on specific disadvantaged groups.

Further examination of teachers identified as student-centered was warranted to determine what specific methods might be used in the classroom. Student-centered teachers scored higher than the mean on five of seven factors when comparing the mean scores found in previous research studies with those obtained in this study (Conti, 1985). The three highest factors were personalizing instruction (factor 2), relating to experience (factor 3), and assessing student needs (factor 4). Each factor can be examined in more detail.

Student-centered instructional approaches that emphasize personalizing instruction for students are characterized by the use of a variety of materials, methods, and assignments that are based on the needs and abilities of individual students. In addition, students are encouraged to engage in self-paced instruction while cooperating with others if needed (Conti, 1985). Studentcentered instructional approaches that relate learning to experiences are characterized by creating learning opportunities based on real-world problems students may face. Before learning opportunities can be created, the teacher must become familiar with the experiential background of all students. In addition, opportunities are created for students to reflect upon new learning and then connect the new learning with past learning (Conti, 1985). Student-centered instructional approaches that emphasize the assessment of student needs are characterized by individualized conferences in which the teacher and student discuss the current performance level as well as any learning gaps. During the conferences, teachers also assist students in the development of short- and long-term goals. In addition to the goals, strategies for obtaining the goals are discussed (Conti, 1985).

Characteristics of the three highest factors for student-centered teachers (personalizing instruction, relating to experience, and assessing student needs) can also be found in research related to student-centered environment creation and brain-based learning strategies. According to the literature, using a variety of strategies promotes the attainment of learning connections for

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students (Brown, 2003; Perkins, 1993; Tomlinson, 2000). Additionally, teachers who use brainbased strategies (recall Figure 1) provide opportunities for socialization, making meaningful connections, and engaging in challenges (Caine & Caine, 2006a; Gulpinar, 2005; Jensen, 1998; Tomlinson, 2004).

Implication for Educators Upon closer examination of the learning and communication preferences of students when compared to the theoretical philosophies that may be practiced in a classroom with disadvantaged students, it is no wonder why disadvantaged students are underachieving. A conflict is taking place between classroom instruction and the way in which students learn. No matter which philosophy is practiced in the classroom, a group of students may not be able to achieve because of the clash between learning preference and teaching philosophy. As a result of these differences, teachers may view the student as unmotivated, disrespectful, or unable to learn when, in fact, the student can achieve only when the teacher acknowledges the differences that each student brings to the classroom door.

The theoretical philosophies of behaviorism and traditionalism have been predominantly used in educational classrooms, and with the advent of the NCLB Act of 2001, it appears these philosophies will continue because NCLB stresses the essentials. Given that these philosophies disregard the individual’s needs and interests, one can project that the achievement gap will continue unless there is a change in the way teachers interact with students, which is supported by the findings in this study. Although a majority of the reading teachers in the study preferred a teacher-centered approach, a significant difference was found indicating that a student-centered approach was more effective for disadvantaged students in the reading classroom. Therefore, educators need to implement student-centered strategies in the classroom including opportunities to (a) socialize in groups, (b) make connections between previous and new learning, (c) engage in higher-order thinking, and (d) take part in activities based on learning preferences and interests (Caine & Caine, 2006a; Gulpinar, 2005; Jensen, 1998; Tomlinson, 2004).

Implication for Educational Leaders Teachers practicing teacher-centered instructional strategies may have a difficult time incorporating instructional strategies of the student-centered approach. Therefore, educational leaders face the challenge of providing support for teachers because change is often difficult for individuals. By adhering to the principles of participation, communication, support, and time, educational leaders can address the natural tendency of internal and external resistance to change. Through an examination of literature related to difficulties resulting from change in an environment, Jarrett (2004) found two main reasons. The first reason deals with the organization’s leadership. When leadership fails to “communicate a compelling proposition, build a leading alliance, enroll the critical mass as well as create the systems to make it happen”,

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resistance will abound in the organization (Jarrett, 2004, p. 248). The second reason deals with individuals. Resistance to a proposed change may result from an individual’s “desire to stay in the comfort zone” and “reaction to loss of control and fear of the unknown” (Jarrett, 2004, p.

248).

Educational leaders who attempt to ignore resistance are setting the proposed change up for failure. Instead of ignoring the resistance, educational leadership needs to address these feelings. Goldman (as cited in Jarrett, 2004) referred to this as using one’s emotional intelligence. The change agent(s) must “engage with the emotions of the others, not to be frightened by them but to be in tune enough to listen and understand” (p. 250). Internal and external individuals will negate the feelings of resistance provided that they participate and communicate concerns about the proposed change as well as provide input about the change’s implementation.

Participation Teachers that are responsible for teaching the relevant content area should participate in a collaborative process. Endeavors to make changes in the educational setting will be fruitless if the teachers do not support the change, and participation is one method to gain teacher support.

Collaborative groups are an effective avenue to bring opposing viewpoints together to create new ideas and improve instruction and student achievement (Chen & Tjosvold, 2002; Clark & Clark, 2002). Studies have found that “teachers who participated in district-level curricular and instructional program decision making reported substantial gains in their own understanding of student learning and the instructional process that influenced the work of their students” (Clark & Clark, 2002, p. 53).

Communication According to Gordon (2004), “an infrastructure must be set up to provide communication among the curriculum designers, the school administration, the rest of the school, the community, and the central office” (p. 244). Collaborative teams consist of people who may have collaborative or competitive goals for being on the team. These goals will determine the interaction that takes place among the individuals as well as the endeavor’s outcome (Chen & Tjosvold, 2002). Collaborative teams develop a sense of empowerment when collective strengths are shared and differences are acknowledged and understood (D’Andrea-O’Brien & Buono, 1996).

Support and Time Educational leaders must demonstrate commitment to the process by supporting the collaborative group by “providing a caring, trusting work environment” (Clark & Clark, 2002, p.

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55). Along with support, time must also exist for collaborative team members to participate in the process. Providing time for teachers to meet and discuss standards, teaching, and student learning is critical to the change process.

Generalization and Utility Studies have been conducted in various industries in order to find the best method to ensure participant learning during training, educational sessions, or change implementation.

Reynolds (2009) focused on increasing the relationship between patients and healthcare workers in order to meet the patient’s unique needs, while Wilkinson et al. (1998) examined the methods used to teach nursing students. To enable the transference of learned knowledge to other situations in science and engineering, McLaughlan (2004) studied the effects on transference when learning through a role-play simulation game involving real-world issues. Likewise, Lamancusa, Zayas, Soyster, Morell, and Jorgensen (2008) also studied the effects of using realworld problems in business, manufacturing, engineering, and technology industries.

Corporations have also been studied in their use of management methods to introduce change (Querelle, Duwelz, Beaujouan, & Pignault, 2012).

Results from this study also provide usable information for a variety of industries including healthcare, engineering, manufacturing, business, and government. Regardless of the industry, individuals are expected to gain knowledge, apply knowledge, and adapt their knowledge when required. Increased learning will occur by actively involving individuals in the learning process as well as being mindful of the different knowledge levels, learning preferences, and interests. Active participation through socializing and engaging in challenges helps individuals make meaningful connections, which, in turn, increases learning and achievement (Caine & Caine, 2006a; Gulpinar, 2005; Jensen, 1998; Tomlinson, 2004). Active involvement also requires industries to arrange for support, time, and feedback while ensuring the existence of two-way communication.

Conclusion Although several findings from this cross-sectional study support previous research findings concerning the positive effect of teachers using a student-centered instructional approach in the classroom, findings linked to math achievement scores were not as conclusive for disadvantaged groups examined as a whole or individually. By examining the factor scores attributed to the student-centered teachers, three classroom practices were found to be effective in improving student learning and achievement, and these practices were also supported by research literature: (a) personalizing instruction, (b) relating to experience, and (c) assessing student needs. To close the achievement gap that exists between disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged students, teachers and administrators can use the findings from this study to implement in the classroom as well as in the school’s culture. In addition to closing the

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achievement gap, disadvantaged students will be closer to achieving a proficiency rating, thus, helping schools meet the accountability requirements of NCLB of 2001 (2002a; 2002b).

Although this study focused on middle school disadvantaged students, the findings are also applicable to other industries when individuals are expected to gain knowledge.

Limitations of Study Cross-sectional surveys limit the generalizability of results due to the data collection that occurs at one point in time; however, the selection of two Ohio middle schools that were demographically similar increases the chances that the results can be generalized to other middle schools with similar demographics. In addition, 31 out of 35 teachers who met the criteria participated in the study, which also increases the generalizability to similar middle schools.

Conversely, teachers (n = 26) with a preference for a teacher-centered approach outnumbered teachers (n = 5) with a preference for a student-centered approach. As a result, during the analysis of data, a determination was made that zero students identified as learning disabled had a student-centered math teacher. This was also the case for students identified as both ED and learning disabled. Therefore, the analysis was conducted using the students’ reading scores.

Nonetheless, the sample size of students (n = 3) who were identified as ED and learning disabled linked to a student-centered reading teacher was extremely small.

An additional limitation of the study concerns the reliability of the responses on the selfreporting PALS questionnaire. If teachers became aware of the survey’s true intention, response bias may have occurred. An examination was conducted of the responses’ reliability on the questionnaire in this study, and it revealed an excellent reliability rating (α = .89) on the Cronbach’s alpha analysis, which is consistent with previous research utilizing the PALS questionnaire.

Recommendations for Future Research Recommendations for future research are based on the findings from this quantitative cross-sectional study. Reflecting upon the study’s process and limitations can also assist in the development of recommendations for future studies. Four recommendations will be discussed.

The effect of instructional approaches on achievement scores has been the focus of some studies; however, examination of the effects on particular groups of students was lacking.

Because of the absence of studies focused on disaggregated groups, additional studies should be conducted focusing exclusively on ED students or learning-disabled students. In addition to examining the effect of instructional approaches on specific disaggregated groups of students, future studies should focus on instructional practices in the math classroom.

Limitations are inherent to research studies for reasons such as cost, location, small sample size, and/or analysis errors. Future researchers can learn from the limitations or weaknesses noted by studies so that limitations in future studies can be minimized. A key

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limitation to this quantitative cross-sectional study was the limited number of teachers who had a student-centered instructional approach. Although 31 out of 35 teachers completed the survey, only five teachers preferred a student-centered approach. Additional teachers are recommended to participate in a study to increase the probability that there will be more teachers who are identified as student-centered.

As a result of this study, questions arose concerning instructional practices of teachers that may be the focus of future studies. First, because of the stress of meeting accountability standards, do teachers prefer one instructional approach to another in order to meet state standards? Second, is there a correlation between years of experience and preferred instructional approach? Third, does the educational system affect the instructional approach used by teachers in later grades?

Reading and math teachers at two demographically similar Ohio middle schools were selected to participate in the study. The purpose of selecting similar schools was for generalizing the findings to other similar schools not participating in the study. Although the districts were similar and located in two different regions of the state, future studies should increase the number of regions and the number of schools within the regions to increase generalizability to demographically similar middle schools in the entire state of Ohio.

Author Biography Dr. Long holds a doctorate in education with an emphasis in curriculum and instruction, a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in gifted education, an educational leadership license, a bachelor’s degree in 1–8 education with emphases in mathematics and social studies, and an associate’s degree in arts and humanities. She has served the educational field for over 13 years as a gifted classroom teacher and gifted coordinator in the K–12 system for 10 years and currently serves as the education division chair and assistant professor at Alice Lloyd College in Kentucky. Her research interests include learning and teaching.

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Table 1 Descriptive Statistics for PALS Scores for the Teacher-Centered and Student-Centered Teacher Sample N

M

SD

Range

PALS total score Factor 1: Learner-Centered Activities Factor 2: Personalizing Instruction Factor 3: Relating to Experience Factor 4: Assessing Student Needs Factor 5: Climate Building Factor 6: Participation in the Learning Process Factor 7: Flexibility for Personal Development

26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26

124.15 29.35 28.04 20.00 12.77 13.96 10.46 9.58

12.40 4.06 4.36 2.97 2.55 2.46 2.55 2.37

101 – 144 22 – 39 22 – 36 14 – 25 7 – 17 8 – 18 3 – 14 5 – 14

Student-centered teachers PALS total score Factor 1: Learner-Centered Activities Factor 2: Personalizing Instruction Factor 3: Relating to Experience Factor 4: Assessing Student Needs Factor 5: Climate Building Factor 6: Participation in the Learning Process Factor 7: Flexibility for Personal Development

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

161.20 32.00 37.00 27.20 19.00 18.00 16.20 11.80

13.08 2.34 3.08 2.59 1.22 1.58 1.64 5.17

147 – 173 29 – 34 34 – 41 24 – 30 17 – 20 16 – 20 14 – 18 4 – 16

Teacher-centered teachers

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics for OAT Scores for the Student Sample N

M

SD

Range

OAT reading score

272

412.47

26.59

317 – 487

OAT math score

271

408.13

26.58

314 – 482

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Figure 1. Instructional strategies grouped by brain-based learning principles that may occur in a learner centered classroom.

Appendix A Principles of Adult Learning Scale Directions: The following survey contains several things that a teacher might do in a classroom. You may personally find some of them desirable and find others undesirable. For each item please respond to the way you most frequently practice the action described in the item. Your choices are Always, Almost Always, Often, Seldom, Almost Never, and Never.

Circle 0 if you always do the event; circle number 1 if you almost always do the event; circle number 2 if you often do the event; circle number 3 if you seldom do the event; circle number 4 if you almost never do the event; and circle number 5 if you never do the event. If the item does not apply to you, circle number 5 for never.

Almost Almost Always Always Often Seldom Never Never ______________________________________________________________________ 0 1 2 3 4 5 1. I allow students to participate in developing the criteria for evaluating their performance in class.

0 1 2 3 4 5

2. I use disciplinary action when it is needed.

0 1 2 3 4 5

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3. I allow students more time to complete assignments when they need it.

4. I encourage students to adopt middle-class values.

5. I help students diagnose the gaps between their goals and their present level of performance.

6. I provide knowledge rather than serve as a resource person.

7. I stick to the instructional objectives that I write at the beginning of a program.

8. I participate in the informal counseling of students.

9. I use lecturing as the best method for presenting my subject material to students.

10. I arrange the classroom so that it is easy for students to interact.

11. I determine the educational objectives for each of my students.

12. I plan units which differ as widely as possible from my studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; socio economic backgrounds.

13. I get a student to motivate himself/herself by confronting him/her in the presence of classmates during group discussions.

14. I plan learning episodes to take into account my students' prior experiences.

15. I allow students to participate in making decisions about the topics that will be covered in class.

16. I use one basic teaching method because I have found that most students have a similar style of learning.

17. I use different techniques depending on the students being taught.

18. I encourage dialogue among my students.

19. I use written tests to assess the degree of academic growth in learning rather than to indicate new directions for learning.

20. I utilize the many competencies that most students already possess to achieve educational objectives.

21. I use what history has proven that students need to learn as my chief criteria for planning learning episodes.

22. I accept errors as a natural part of the learning process.

23. I have individual conferences to help students identify their educational needs.

24. I let each student work at his/her own rate regardless of the amount of time it takes him/her to learn a new concept.

25. I help my students develop short-range as well as long-range objectives.

26. I maintain a well-disciplined classroom to reduce interferences to learning.

27. I avoid discussion of controversial subjects that involve value judgments.

0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5

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Â

28. I allow my students to take periodic breaks during the class.

29. I use methods that foster quiet, productive, deskwork.

30. I use tests as my chief method of evaluating students.

32. I gear my instructional objectives to match the individual abilities and needs of the students.

33. I avoid issues that relate to the student's concept of himself/herself.

34. I encourage my students to ask questions about the nature of their society.

35. I allow a student's motives for participating in continuing education to be a major determinant in the planning of learning objectives.

36. I have my students identify their own problems that need to be solved.

37. I give all students in my class the same assignment on a given topic.

38. I use materials that were originally designed for students in elementary and secondary schools.

39. I organize learning episodes according to the problems that my students encounter in everyday life.

40. I measure a student's long-term educational growth by comparing his/her total achievement in class to his/her expected performance as measured by national norms from standardized tests.

41. I encourage competition among my students.

42. I use different materials with different students.

43. I help students relate new learning to their prior experiences.

44. I teach units about problems of everyday living.

0 0 0 0

1 1 1 1

2 2 2 2

3 3 3 3

4 4 4 4

5 5 5 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5

0 0 0 0

1 1 1 1

2 2 2 2

3 3 3 3

4 4 4 4

5 5 5 5

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Exploring Inquiry Principles of Art to Teach Mathematics Lisa Douglass Ohio University Matthew Conley Ohio Dominican University Rachel Trinkley Columbus Museum of Art

Abstract With school districts facing tough curricular decisions and shrinking budgets, many administrators are removing the arts from middle school classrooms. Teacher educators in Ohio believe students should be aware of this reality and examined ways to integrate curriculum, particularly mathematics and the arts. A partnership with a local art museum was sought to apprise if the arts might alter the way middle childhood mathematics education courses are taught. Using a constructivist framework, the primary investigators worked together with the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) to integrate the strategy of observe, describe, interpret, and prove (ODIP) into the mathematics classroom. Over the course of three semesters, the students were trained in the ODIP model at the CMA, in the university classroom, and abroad (in Spain and Portugal) to integrate the arts with mathematics. Qualitative narrative analysis was used to interpret the data, which led to both practical and theoretical applications. The researchers conclude that the ODIP model was a beneficial pedagogical tool for the participants in this study and that it holds educational significance for the field.

Keywords: Integrated Curriculum, Mathematics Education, Art Education School districts face difficult curricular decisions every day. With shrinking budgets and an emphasis on test scores, many schools have opted to remove the arts from middle school classrooms (Davis, 2006; Israel, 2009). In an age of increased academic accountability, the argument to limit arts education is predicated on the belief that reading, math, and science instruction must take precedence over the perceived peripheral subject matter of music, fine art, and dance. There is, however, a growing body of literature that contradicts the notion that the

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arts are mere “add-ons” to the middle school curriculum. Arts education, it turns out, does more than teach empathy, self-expression, and creativity. Baker (2011), for instance, found eighth graders who were enrolled in music courses performed significantly better on high-stakes state tests than students not enrolled in music education. Other scholars have linked arts education to improved graduation rates (Israel, 2009), increased communication skills, and the fostering of a global perspective (National Task Force for the Arts in Education, 2009).

As teacher educators working with preservice middle childhood majors, the primary investigators of this study wanted their students to be aware of this reality. A curriculum analysis was conducted as a first step. Current syllabi, course objectives, and textbooks were analyzed generally for content integration and specifically for art integration. This analysis exposed that the university curriculum was organized into neat, content silos. The students took one semester of math methods and one semester of science methods but never a semester of art methods. Upon further analysis, it was found that the arts were not present in any significant way within existing methods courses. Accordingly, the leading questions of this study became “How will preservice teachers integrate the arts into their teaching if teacher educators have failed to model the practice with them?” And, “What strategies or support structures are available in this local context so that students might be able to practice content integration and, in turn, become advocates for an arts-infused curriculum?”

A middle childhood math methods course was selected as a starting point for experimentation. At the time, both scholarly reports and popular media opinion documented the ongoing scrutiny of math education in the United States (Dautrich, 2009; Hill & Ball, 2005; TIMMS, 2011) where reports of diminished returns in the field and falling behind in global standings of mathematics scores (US Department of Education, 2008) shaped the national dialogue. This dialogue prompted teacher educators to rethink how preservice teachers are prepared to be effective in math classrooms. Now more than ever, teacher educators are called on to find new and creative ways to bring content and pedagogy alive in the college classroom if future teachers are to meet the challenges of the field. One way to answer this call is through new approaches in content integration. Consequently, the primary investigators of this study sought out a new partnership between the university and the local art museum to explore the possibilities of an art-infused curriculum and to see if the arts might expand the way middle childhood math methods courses are taught.

Constructivist Approaches to Math Education This study is grounded in a constructivist framework. Constructivist approaches to learning actively involve students in meaning-making through guided discovery, dialogue, and critical thinking. Students are encouraged to initiate their own learning experiences through engaging in hands-on participation, posing questions, or solving a shared problem. The teacher’s responsibilities include facilitating a learning process and constructing an environment rich in discussion where free exchanges of ideas can take place (Beswick, 2006a; Beswick, 2006b).

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Teachers act as models and provocateurs and not as disseminators of knowledge. Specifically, a constructivist math classroom values a mathematical problem’s connection or concept to students’ prior knowledge and personal experiences. By eliciting students’ existing schemata, the teacher can actively support and extend students’ understanding. Carr and Hettinger (2003) encapsulate this approach by writing that “Constructivist theorists view mathematics strategy development as embedded within developing schemes and cognitive structures about mathematics. Strategies develop as a function of [students’] emerging knowledge about mathematics” (p. 47).

In a constructivist context, time spent on developing skills and conceptual-level knowledge takes precedence over isolated instruction and memorization. This stands in opposition to traditional math teaching that often privileges student passivity in which the teacher shares knowledge about facts and operations (Carter, 1997). Booker (1996) describes this opposition stating, constructivism suggests that the sharing or exchanging of mathematical thoughts and ideas is dynamic, reflecting a continually changing fit between the meaning-making of active interpreters of language and action, rather than as the result of a conduit from teacher to learner. (p. 382) Although constructivist views of learning, like Booker’s above, have been commonly accepted by researchers and mathematics educators alike, “learning mathematics in school still continues to be dominated by traditional transmission of knowledge” (Wood, Cobb, & Yackel, 1991, p.

601).

The student participants in this study, as is true for many preservice teacher candidates, struggled to dislodge their traditional beliefs about math teaching. Having experienced many successful years as students in classrooms that relied on passive methods of teaching, they naturally resisted constructivist approaches to mathematics instruction (corestandards.org, 2012).

Fostering a constructivist philosophy begins by troubling hegemonic beliefs so that new approaches to pedagogy might come into view. If teacher candidates are to be assisted in creating an alternative vision, dramatically different approaches are necessary. Integrating art into mathematics is one way to problematize existing views on math instruction. Art and mathematics are divergent fields of study. However, art is not antithetical to constructivism. In fact, multiyear museum programs funded by the U.S. Department of Education have provided evidence that looking at and talking about art can improve critical-thinking skills, creativity, collaboration and communication (Adams, Foutz, Luke & Stein, 2006; Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2009). These same skills are necessary in constructivist mathematical inquiry.

With this connection as the starting point, the local art museum was consulted to develop an interdisciplinary approach to constructivist math teaching. University faculty began by experimenting with the museum’s observe, describe, interpret, and prove (ODIP) model as a tool to upend the instructional approach currently being implemented in the math methods course.

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The ODIP Project The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) takes a learner-centered approach to museum education, understanding that each visitor has different expectations, motivations, and prior knowledge that he or she consciously or unconsciously brings to the museum experience.

Exhibitions and programs at the museum encourage participatory, active, social experiences such as “Join the Conversation” stations where visitors can leave their own thoughts about a work of art, an exhibition, or an idea on a post-it note and read and respond to other visitor thoughts. The CMA also designs activities and programs that are both relevant and personal to visitors. As Hein (1998) writes, “…learning is an active process, determined by the individual. [. . . .] If we accept modern theories of learning, then we inevitably need to accept the constructivist position on theory of knowledge at least to some degree” (p. 34).

The belief that learners construct their own knowledge also extends to the CMA’s approach to learning about works of art in the galleries. The CMA’s own thinking routine called ODIP fosters critical and creative thinking, nurtures rich group dialogue, and is designed to allow for multiple interpretations about a single work of art (see Figure 1). The ODIP strategy is in part a response to Barrett’s (2002) thinking and research about interpretation and also draws upon the theories of Dewey (1934), Hein (1998), Vygotsky, (1978) and Piaget (1978).

The four-step strategy first encourages close, slow looking. Visitors are given a few minutes to examine a single work of art and are instructed to look at it from different angles and viewpoints. Slowing the experience down is intentional: most visitors to art museums spend between 6-14 seconds on average looking at single work of art, but it is known that “thinking requires time” (Ritchhart, 2007). Next, visitors are asked to describe the work of art by focusing on data, facts, and careful observation. This step promotes the understanding that each individual has valuable observations and thoughts to contribute and that externalizing each person’s thinking is crucial to the development of the group’s interpretation of the work of art.

This step is also frequently difficult and reinforces the idea that good thinking and learning are rigorous: “Because the mind is designed to detect patterns and make interpretations, slowing it down to fully notice and just describe can be extremely challenging” (Ritchhart, Church, & Morrison, 2011, p. 7). After observations and descriptions have been voiced, the group is asked to interpret the work of art and discern what the work of art is about. This step works in tandem with the last step of “prove” because individuals are asked to back up their interpretations with visual evidence and their own knowledge as they interpret. Visitors are reminded that there is no one single interpretation for a work of art and that “meanings of artworks are not limited to what their artists intended them to mean” (Barrett, 2002, pp. 209-215). This expectation means that the group must learn to contend with or even be comfortable with ambiguity because there will not be a single right answer at the process’ end. Instead, the group constructs reasonable, thoughtful interpretations that might uncover new ideas about the work of art, reveal new questions or understandings, and, hopefully, relate the art to life experience, and, thus, speak to human experience. The facilitator carefully incorporates knowledge about the artist or the work

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of art as needed in order to expand, deepen, complicate, or provoke thinking. The facilitator also models the type of thinking and language he or she is hoping to establish within the group, praising when appropriate, encouraging always, and posing “authentic questions” to which he or she does not possess the answers (Ritchhart, 2007).

While the ODIP strategy was designed for use with works of art, it also has crossdisciplinary applications. The strategy is similar to what is commonly understood as the scientific method, and teacher educators from a variety of disciplines have employed it to study things such as literary works and historical documents. The ODIP strategy has been employed with kindergarteners as well as medical students (Jacques et al., 2012): the strategy is virtually the same process used by physicians to diagnose patients. The ODIP strategy has also been researched, and it has been shown to develop quantitative critical thinking skills, specifically in fifth graders, with the potential for greater qualitative critical thinking growth (Luke & Yocco, 2010).

Participants and Context Over the course of three semesters, several nontraditional experiences were integrated into the math methods courses required for middle childhood education majors at the university.

Students took the required courses at the university in the fall or spring semester. During their methods experience, students received ODIP training at the CMA and were introduced, in their university classroom, to constructivist approaches to teaching and content integration. Following their coursework, the primary investigators of this study traveled with 12 teacher candidates to Spain for a two-week immersion experience, which included a course on student-centered pedagogy with afternoon excursions to European landmarks and art galleries to further practice of the ODIP model. Participants consisted of seven female students and five male students. All student-participants were seeking an initial teaching license in middle school mathematics and identified as white, middle class, and having little or no Spanish language abilities.

Methods Data Sources Data sources included students’ reflective journal writings collected during their methods courses and in Spain. In addition, a summative reflection was required of participants following the trip abroad. At minimum, students wrote two journal entries at the university, two in Spain, and one post trip. Data also included videotape transcripts of students engaging the ODIP model at both the CMA and the university. In addition to student data, faculty kept field notes during their time abroad. The focus of these field notes was on the shared and respective pedagogies, centering on the students’ experiences. This included reactions to and questions about their writings as well as the discussions that arose while utilizing the ODIP model in Spain.

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Narrative Data Analysis In this research, a narrative approach to data analysis was utilized to look closely at participants’ writings collected throughout this investigation. The collected journals were read and reread as themes emerged from the data. This qualitative approach to data analysis is situated in the premise of “life as narrative” (Bruner, 2004), and it is situated in the notion that we do not simply live our lives but rather serve as active authors of our lives through the stories we share in discussion and in writing (Seidl, 2007; Seidl & Conley, 2009).

Narrative inquiry allows for an examination of experiences and moves individuals to greater self-awareness (Seidl 2007). The collaborative approach to narrative analysis was particularly useful in this study because it allowed for the possibility of multiple perspectives and interpretations that are only available within a diverse group (Clark & Moss, 1996; CochranSmith & Zeichner, 2005).

The analysis included a search for themes as students’ reflective writings and faculty field notes, as well as video transcripts of students engaging with the ODIP model, were reviewed. After analyzing the videos, writings, and field notes, several themes were identified that contained important characteristics of how the ODIP model was implemented and how students were conceptualizing constructivist math teaching in light of their experiences abroad.

Findings and Interpretations Process Application An initial theme found in the students’ writings highlighted their struggles to process and apply the ODIP model. That is, students demonstrated, through their writing, the cognitive disequilibrium they experienced while putting the ODIP model into practice in an authentic learning environment. Taylor’s initial in-country journal writing is representative of students who struggled to engage in the ODIP model’s process. Below, Taylor responds to the journal prompt, “How effective was ODIP in coming to a group interpretation of Gaudi’s La Padrera?”

Reflecting on my use of ODIP at La Padrera exposes my confusion! We were told Antoni Gaudi’s La Padrera was on the UNESCO World Heritage list and were asked to give a group understanding of his work. First, describing Gaudi’s architecture to someone else would be hard without actually being there and interpreting what his work means is pretty much a guessing game to me. It was hard even knowing what questions to ask at first. I admit I like right answers. So, talking about La Padrera, using ODIP, was frustrating – to not know what the “right answer” is. I found I am the type of person that likes the right answer given to me. [. . .] But, by knowing that I get frustrated, it could also help me to be more sensitive to when my students are getting frustrated. I felt like I needed a little more information about La Padrera in order to offer a good interpretation

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of it. It reminds me that my students will need a little more information from me to help support their learning from time to time. (Written communication, Davis, May 2012) Taylor’s reflective writing exposes his aggravation with the ODIP process. Like many students of mathematics, he prefers linear, objective approaches to learning. He describes the open-ended approach of the ODIP model as a “guessing game,” which causes him frustration and confusion. Other students used words like ‘hard’ and ‘challenging’ to describe their engagement with the process. Even though students had multiple opportunities to practice the ODIP model at the CMA and at the university, they seemed uncomfortable with the ambiguous nature of the group procedure. It was unrealistic for the teacher educators to expect students to adopt new strategies for learning and teaching without continued assurance. Early on, it was found that teacher candidates “need[ed] a little more information from [us] to support their learning” (Written communication, Davis, May 2012).

Practical Applications Another way that students demonstrated implementation of the ODIP strategy can be classified as a practical or pragmatic approach to integrating a new teaching strategy. In these instances, students came to relate the ODIP model to particular actions or activities for their teaching. For instance, Meghan’s journal writing is characteristic of how students envisioned utilizing the ODIP model in practical ways in their future math classrooms.

After exploring the ODIP model as a means to talk about Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, I really see the potential value of this process in the classroom back home. I am really excited about trying the ODIP strategy with students. The ODIP method could be used in any number of math lessons as a discovery tool for focusing on mathematical concepts not only in art integration but in other cross-curriculum ways too. An example would be to have students observe a photograph and log what they see. Then afterwards students could describe the photo as a small group, using only mathematical terms and concepts.

This might lead students to patterns in math and nature, conical curves, parabolas, etc.

This is definitely something I can use to teach math, especially geometry (Written communication, Smith, May 2012).

Meghan’s journal reveals how she plans to transfer a learning experience abroad to her future mathematics teaching. Meghan has taken the positive step of expanding her understanding of mathematics teaching to include alternative, creative approaches to instruction and content integration. She writes positively about the ODIP model as a potential strategy to aid her in lesson planning, implying that she will add the ODIP model to her pedagogical repertoire. Although expanding one’s repertoire is a crucial first step in moving any preservice teacher toward constructivist teaching, merely adding new techniques seemed insufficient in capturing the complexities of a student-centered mathematics classroom.

Other students engaged enthusiastically in discussions related to the ODIP model. They could envision utilizing the ODIP model to pique student interest or inspire motivation of a topic.

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Like Meghan above, they could see value in using the ODIP model as a teaching tool but sometimes failed to see their personal potential as change agents in the mathematics classroom.

Carrie writes, I used ODIP in my time abroad when viewing architecture of Gaudi and paintings and drawings of Goya. [. . .] ODIP forces the onlooker to observe with greater curiosity.

And, isn’t curiosity the gateway drug to learning? Students have to be interested in a topic before they can truly learn about it. There are many stories or ideas that could be constructed when looking at these works of art. Each of us offered our unique interpretation. At the time I remember thinking [ODIP] is an ideal tool for literature. It would have been a great tool for me to have while taking British Literature last semester!

In literature, multiple interpretations are valid and necessary to comprehension. I can also see [ODIP] being used in the science classroom, because there are similarities between ODIP and the science process skills. I would use it as a math teacher, but in math you have to teach facts and exact algorithms. There are right answers and there are wrong answers. It would be great to use to introduce a new unit of study in math to get students talking but for day to day teaching, it’s probably better suited to start a new unit of study or for other content areas (Written communication, Jones, May 2012).

Carrie has learned to engage with the ODIP model in personal ways by relating how it would be valuable in her own learning at the college level. In addition, she sees a path to integration in literature and science and a means to promote anticipation or set the stage for learning in her math classroom. Yet, she struggles to see how she might utilize it to support her math teaching or move beyond the teaching of facts and algorithms. Her previously held beliefs about teaching and learning, specific to the math classroom, have gone unchanged.

This type of resistance to changing pedagogical beliefs that Carrie displayed is seen in the work of others who study teacher change theory (i.e., Gregoire, 2003; Pajares, 1992; Patrick & Pintrich, 2001). Past reform movements have shown that teachers do not change their beliefs simply because it has been recommended; a powerful reason must be present for change to occur, and teachers must have a desire to change. One reason for this is that students of teaching are insiders; they have spent the last twelve or more years in a classroom, and it is familiar to them. Therefore, they believe that they already understand the classroom and do not need to discover alternative pedagogical approaches (Woolfolk, Hoy & Murphy, 2001). Pajares (1992) stated, “In learning to be teachers, they simply return to places of their past, complete with memories and preconceptions of days gone by, preconceptions that often remain largely unaffected by higher education...” (p. 46).

Theoretical Applications Although it was anticipated that students would take a practical approach to integrating the ODIP model, some of the connections that students made were surprising. It was expected that students would reflect on their experiences in concrete ways and would make connections to

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their own learning and their future teaching. However, much of the students’ reflective writing went beyond expectations. Several students quickly moved from the practical to the theoretical and philosophical. As an example, read Trent’s summative reflective writing: How many times have I heard my education professors say, “You have to relate your curriculum to the lives of your students?” And, “you have to integrate the state standards. If you teach the math standards one at a time, you will never complete all that needs to be done in a given year.” Well, finally, I see how I might actually do this.

ODIP really helped me turn the corner on my teaching philosophy and how I want to approach my teaching when I get my own classroom. [ODIP is] a wonderful way to work with other subjects and with other teachers to integrate multiple standards. This will help me plan as a teacher and show my students the relationship of math to the real world. [. . .]

I hate it when students say, “Why do we have to learn this?” Because, what they are really saying is that they see no purpose for learning the lesson at hand. I now have one approach to addressing this question. As an educator, [ODIP] proves useful because it poses a real life problem or question. It requires thought, discussion, and multiple skills that are used in daily life such as communication, strategic thinking, and group processing. It requires both me and my students to think together before talking and to elaborate on our approaches to solving a problem. I hope this will help my students not just be learners of math but productive members of society who are users of math.

(Written communication, Evans, May 2012) In his writing, Trent clearly moves beyond the practical integration of the ODIP model and the teaching of a single math concept or idea. He reflects more holistically on math teaching including how he will handle curriculum breadth and how he sees his role as working in collaboration with other professionals. Essentially, he seems to be approaching a personal philosophical position of what it means to be an educator.

Perhaps even more powerful is the way the ODIP model has opened up a new understanding of constructivist teaching for Trent. He relates his concerns of establishing purpose for learning and relating new learning to real-life application. Implied in these comments is Trent’s understanding that his role as a math educator is more than being a manager of information to be distilled down to students. Rather, he is as a facilitator of a shared learning space where he is responsive to students’ needs and interests. In addition, he describes math teaching as more than learning facts but as an active process that requires group thinking and discussion with his students.

Trent’s change of beliefs regarding mathematics teaching is also supported from research on teacher change. Gregoire’s (2003) cognitive-affective model of conceptual change explains that change in beliefs begins with a presentation of a reform message, such as exposure to the ODIP model, to explore constructivist or inquiry-based approaches. For preservice teachers who accept traditional pedagogical techniques, any new message can be difficult to hear because it

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suggests that traditional mathematics instruction is detrimental to students’ comprehension or poses a threat to their teacher identity. It is through this very threat to identity, however, when motivation to change one’s thinking can emerge. Trent did see the need for change when he was presented with a new pedagogical approach, and, at least from his responses, he intends to implement this inquiry-based approach in his mathematics teaching.

Educational Significance With academic accountability at the forefront of many schools districts’ curricular plans, the arts have increasingly been diminished or eliminated from middle school classrooms in favor of the traditional content areas of math and science. Given this reality, this study set out to intentionally integrate the arts into an existing middle childhood teacher preparation program.

This current research suggests that the arts can serve as a powerful tool to explore constructivist approaches to math education. The ODIP strategy proved a useful and beneficial tool for these students—some found the strategy personally relevant as learners, others saw its potential for application in the classroom, while others, who prefer linearity and ‘right answers,’ found the open-endedness frustrating. Each of these outcomes is promising in different ways. The strategy provoked students to rethink their own teaching philosophy and their own philosophy towards learning. In some cases it encouraged creativity, while it caused discomfort in other cases. It illustrated that the burden for learning and thinking is upon the student and not the teacher and that individuals construct their own understanding and value of knowledge and meaning. Further research is necessary to determine the lasting impacts of the ODIP model. It is unknown whether these future teachers are able to continue to develop constructivist approaches to teaching and learning in their future classrooms. Given a predominant school culture that does not always support alternative practice, further research is necessary.

The ODIP strategy was also an unexpected result from collaborating with the local art museum. From the onset, it was a surprise to find such an easy compatibility between the CMA’s philosophical position and the university’s goals and objectives. The ease of compatibility seemed to hinge on a shared desire to promote inquiry-based pedagogy. This research suggests that such collaborations can be worthwhile and mutually beneficial to all involved. Instead of integrating content about the arts into math education practice, it was found that educators who shared similar philosophies and beliefs about learning could share practical applications that transcend content. Ultimately, the collaboration was ‘transdisciplinary’ instead of ‘interdisciplinary:’ there was a common focus on the bigger issue of inquiry-based, constructivist teaching that applies to all disciplines and not just math or art.

Author Biographies Lisa Douglass has had sixteen years of experience as an elementary and middle school teacher specializing in mathematics. Her doctoral work at Ohio State University was in middle

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childhood mathematics and adolescent development. She is currently an assistant professor in the education department at Ohio University, teaching early and middle childhood mathematics courses as well as supervising student teachers. Her research interests include integrating inquiry-based mathematics into other academic areas.

Matthew Conley is an Associate Professor of Education at Ohio Dominican University.

He holds a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in education, teaching, and learning. His research interests include emergent literacy practice, assessment, and diversity and equity issues in teacher preparation. Prior to his work in higher education, he taught at the elementary and middle school level.

Rachel Trinkley is Assistant Director of Education for Teachers, Schools and Docents at the Columbus Museum of Art (Ohio). She oversees school partnership programs, teacher professional development, and continuing education for 120 volunteer gallery teachers, and she fosters critical and creative thinking, collaboration, and dialogue. She earned her BA from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, and her MA in art history from Ohio State University.

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Ethically Constructing Common Grounds One Cyber Latte at a Time: A Thought Leadership Examination of Emergent Ethical Dilemmas in Designing Technologically Based Nontraditional Graduate Student Social Support Kelli L. Fellows Pfeiffer University

Abstract As working adult enrollment rates in graduate programs steadily increase, a deeper understanding of this complex student population is critical. Adult learners face numerous academic, professional, and personal challenges that may impact degree pursuit and completion.

Academic organizations must remain mindful of student challenges while ensuring retention and quality curricular offerings. The current paper is a thought leadership exploration of ethical dilemmas associated with one institution’s desire to create and implement a theoretically grounded platform to facilitate quality academic and social support provision to the institution’s nontraditional adult graduate students. The proposed platform conceptualization reflects a blend of the levels of communication, the tenets of social identity theory, and integrated marketing communication principles. The overarching goals of the nonevaluative platform include (1) facilitating student/faculty engagement, (2) promoting course material and/or research discourse, (3) developing critical thinking skills, and (4) fostering a sense of community. Further, the proposed platform poises the academic institution to successfully attain associated academic and business goals. The paper explores potential ethical dilemmas that may emerge amid the various aspects of project conceptualization and planning.

Keywords: nontraditional adult graduate students; theoretically grounded project design; ethical dilemmas; higher education thought leadership; social media

As working adult enrollment rates in graduate programs steadily increase, a deeper understanding of this complex student population is critical. Adult learners face numerous academic, professional, and personal challenges that may impact degree program selection,

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degree pursuit and completion, identity construction, and goal attainment. However, sole focus on market share lacks adequate accounting of the larger rhetorical context in which this student population is situated.

Academic organizations face dual—often conflicting—goals in existing as a business (e.g., the associated profit driven goals implied therein, organizational branding and image) while maintaining commitment to higher-level rhetorical constructions of higher education. This dilemma is situated in the present moment’s context, framed by continuous technological evolvement. As engagement tools increase in number (e.g., Internet, smartphones, and apps), the participants’ expectations are shaped across contexts. Academic institutions have multiple channels to engage with the market place, while students retain the choice of the degree of engagement. The technological revolution may present a double-edged sword for both academic institutions and stakeholders. As organizations utilize multiple technologically-based means of having voice, these technological may lack a theoretical foundation that guides strategic planning and decision making.

Essentially, organizations may view the multiplicity of channels available as affordable strategic marketing. Implicit to this view is the expectation of increased market share and profitability with metrics of varying degrees of abstraction (e.g., request for program information, enrollment increase, and student retention). Hidden costs associated with such approaches remain. These costs span the continuum of abstraction (in definition and measurement). Potential costs include (a) technical, (b) technological, (c) metrics of success, (d) organizational goals, (e) student goals, (f) organizational brand, and (g) ethics.

Proposed Graduate Student Social Support Platform Academic institutions and marketplace members simultaneously navigate sensemaking and behavioral engagement processes within the rhetorically defined space of higher education, technology, and the marketplace. A technologically based cyber café—Common Grounds—is proposed to optimize these processes.

Common Grounds is a virtual coffeehouse for nontraditional graduate students attending the author’s academic institution. Thematically, the site is consistent with imagery reflective of physical coffee houses. These spaces foster relaxation, discourse, or quiet contemplation. Each individual patron may choose his or her degree of interaction with other patrons. Aesthetically, coffee houses create an inspirational atmosphere conducive to accommodate multiple individual preferences concurrently.

The proposed platform’s conceptualization reflects a blended theoretical design. A synthesis of the levels of communication, tenets of social identity theory, optimal distinctiveness theory, and integrated marketing communication principles culminate to achieve integrated site design and goal attainment metrics development. The site design encompasses multiple social media approaches. This foundation facilitates the organization and stakeholders’ co-construction of a rhetorical space in which to thrive.

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Thought Leadership Exploration of Proposed Project Dimensions The current paper is a thought leadership exploration of ethical dilemmas associated with one academic institution’s year-long journey to create and implement a theoretically grounded platform to facilitate quality academic and social support provision to the institution’s nontraditional adult graduate student stakeholders. Subsequent sections define the parameters of the current environment and the associated theoretical and contextual variables of influence.

Emergent ethical dilemmas prevalent in the juxtaposition of the aforementioned dimensions are critically assessed. Consideration of ethical dilemmas in the current project’s design process illuminates the complexity of available choices and the potential consequences.

Dual-Goal Attainment in Higher Education Goal duality may present challenges for organizational leaders’ consistent, equitable management of both business and academic operations. This dilemma is situated a “learning revolution” driven by and facilitated through technological advancement (Kidd & Keengwe, 2010, p. xvi). Careful consideration is paramount to ensure adequate accounting of the larger rhetorical context in which the organization and its various stakeholders are situated.

Prospective students and current students also face challenges within the technological revolution. As technological advancements transform the shape and delivery of education, students must navigate a morphing educational infrastructure (Angelaina & Jmoyiannis, 2012).

For adult learners, this navigation presents unique challenges and opportunities for both learners and academic institutions to optimize the learning experience (Brown, 2001).

Whereas an academic institution’s mission (strategic plan) provides a guiding vision, a significant volume of decisions cumulatively impact goal attainment across an organization’s hierarchy. It is critical to clearly articulate individual organizational members’ role in the successful accomplishment of identified goals.

On the surface, this task appears daunting at best. However, a sensemaking framework in which organizational members may find common ground and shared meaning facilitates both successful goal attainment and synergy across organizational units (Cornelissen, 2012; Kezar, 2013). Utilizing an integrated marketing communication (IMC) approach provides institutions an infrastructure that optimizes individuals, departments, and units. Essentially, this approach simultaneously optimizes individual strengths, celebrates innovative approaches within the organization, and facilitates coordinated organizational movement. Shimp and Andrews (2013) note five key aspects of this approach: “(1) identifying and focusing on the customer or prospect at the onset, (2) utilizing any (and all) available points of contact and influence, (3) speaking with a consistent, unified voice, (4) developing, nurturing, and building stakeholder relationships, and (5) identifying an action-based behavioral response” (Shimp & Andrews, 2013, p. 12).

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Continual focus on these aspects at a macro level informs academic institutions’ approach to effectively bridge the macro-level organizational mission with micro-level action steps.

Faculty, staff, and administrators singularly and collectively take steps that impact (positively and negatively) niche identification, market share, and retention (Cooper & Stevens, 2006).

Ultimately, academic institutions’ common goal is student recruitment and retention.

The Adult Learner and Nontraditional Graduate Student Niche Successful student recruitment and retention present an equitable challenge in a competitive higher education marketplace (Müeller, 2008). As student enrollment rates steadily increase and diversify, a deeper understanding of the complexities in various student populations across higher education institutions is paramount (Park & Choi, 2009). Currently, available higher education options continue to expand, and academic institutions must diligently identify programmatic and student niches to ensure sustainability (Schatzel, Callahan, Scott, & Davis, 2011).

In higher education, technology is expanding opportunities for equitable coexistence of multiple higher education institutions serving various niches (Zur & Zur, 2011). Adult learners represent a growing student population in this marketplace, and effective technology integration may enable institutions to reach and retain adult learners efficiently (Brown, 2011; Cain, Marrara, Pitre, & Armour, 2003; Müeller, 2008). An institutions’ awareness of variables that characterize and moderate adult learners’ desire and capacity to pursue an advanced degree is vital (Blair, Cline, & Wallis, 2010; Schatzel et al., 20011; Song & Hill, 2009). Although commonality across these factors may exist for adult learners as a group, each individual student may perceive his or her choice, and by extension his or her circumstances, as unique and like a silo (Carrier, 2010; Rovai & Ponton, 2005).

Furthermore, instruction modes (e.g., a seated class, an online class, and a hybrid class), a student’s connection with the institution, and a student’s perceptions of being a graduate student may individually exacerbate a student’s silo-like experience (Rovai & Ponton, 2005). Students may perceive a minimal sense of community specifically with fellow graduate students and generally with the academic institution (Kidd & Keengewe, 2010b; Müeller, 2008). Prior research suggests communication may mediate student experiences and provide an overarching frame to unify a fragmented student population (Carrier, 2010; Melrose & Bergeron, 2006).

Graduate Student Support Provision Nontraditional graduate programs tailor course delivery toward working adults. This flexibility affords adult learners the opportunity to complete higher degrees while managing ongoing, existing responsibilities. The drawback, though, is the divergent educational experience from their previous (or more traditional) education experiences. Plausible, negative impacts include an increased cognitive dissonance skewed sensemaking (e.g., questioning

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decision making and multiple identities), and overall frustration (e.g., disconnect with other concurrent life contexts; Cooper & Stevens, 2006).

Providing social support for nontraditional graduate students is a strategic option to aid in students’ successful degree pursuit and completion (Cain et al., 2003). Prior research suggests that desired graduate student support is psychosocial rather than technical or mechanistic (Melrose & Bergeron, 2006). Such support facilitates students’ development of a sense of community among peers and the support infrastructure. Furthermore, social support builds on the connection between a positive social dynamic and learning.

Theoretically Grounded Project Design Given the complex nature of the aforementioned influence variables, a theoretically grounded approach, which provides a collective and individualized approach to formal and informal social support, is desirable. A blended approach integrating levels of communication, the tenets of social identity theory, and integrated marketing communication principles is a plausible approach that may optimize benefits for both students and academic institutions within the rhetorical moment in time.

Role of the Levels of Communication The social-scientific exploration of speech communication suggests that a minimum of four levels of communication exist: (1) intrapersonal, (2) interpersonal, (3) small group, and (4) organizational. These levels provide a framework for understanding and interpreting a variety of social phenomena. Conceptualizing each level provides a common frame of interpretation and subsequent application for organizations and stakeholders.

Intrapersonal communication involves all communicative behavior that exists within each individual. Often referred to as self-talk, intrapersonal communication is the ongoing conversations, sensemaking, goal identification, and identity construction that germinate within each individual. Multiple variables contribute to these conversations, including previous experience (Brown, 2011), education, context, identity, and goals. Interpersonal communication encompasses two individuals interacting with each other. Small group communication refers to three to 15 individuals who collectively engage toward a common goal. Finally, organizational communication encompasses the overarching, higher-level infrastructure that provides the framework for the polis to exist. Organizational communication operates across contexts on a continuum of breadth and depth. For example, government service-specific organizations (e.g., accounting firm, academic institution, restaurant), and departments within an organization (e.g., marketing department, administration) exemplify the organizational level of communication.

Singular exploration of the four levels of communication provides a manageable framework to understand oneself (in theory) and communication’s role (in theory and practice).

This knowledge poises the individuals’ sensemaking of their experiential interconnectivity across

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academic, professional, and personal contexts. Communication (as a tool and process) enables individuals to develop, sustain, and terminate relationships (Tokunaga, 2011). However, in the context of nontraditional graduate programs, this ability may have a negative impact.

Theories of Identity Construction and Maintenance Social identity theory suggests that individuals have a fundamental drive for group membership (Fielding, Terry, Masser, & Hogg, 2008; Tajfel & Turner, 1979). This membership impacts individuals at both the intra- and interpersonal levels across cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions (Cornelissen, Haslam, & Balmer, 2007; Ezmekci & Casey, 2009). As the membership is internalized, it contributes to the individuals’ self-conception (Cornelissen et al., 2007). Thus, identity reflects psychological and social dimensions (Cornelissen et al., 2007; Ellemers, S pears, & Doosje, 2002; Ezmekci & Casey, 2009; Fellows & Rubin, 2006; Pittaway et al., 2005). In the context of adult learners, the role of group membership is paramount in identity construction, maintenance, and integration with existing identities (Fielding et al., 2008; Pittaway, Rivera, & Murphy, 2005; van Dick, Wagner, Stellmacher, Christ, & Tissington, 2006).

The identity tensions that exist for adult learners may poise them to align their focus on balancing existing identity tensions while minimizing their desire or ability to construct or integrate an adult learner/graduate student identity (Blair et al., 2010; Rao, 2009). Within these identity considerations, individuals may struggle with their integration in specific in-groups while maintaining their sense of individualism.

Optimal distinctiveness theory (ODT) (Brewer, 1991) refines SIT by focusing on individuals’ innate drive to find equilibrium between in-group assimilation with the desire to individuate oneself. SIT and ODT both consider that individuals have multiple identities that coexist (Egeland & Gressard, 2007; Tarrant, 2002; Wong, 2002). These coexisting identities may provide balance between identity tensions (e.g., opposing desires for group membership and individuation) and serve as the catalyst to merge and construct a new, unique identity.

According to ODT, minority groups experience stronger group identity ties, and, subsequently, a higher frequency of balancing identity tensions is anticipated (Pittaway et al., 2005; van Hiel & Mervielde, 2002). Adult learners represent a minority group in the higher education context (transcending the racial or ethnic composition of the adult learner population).

Attention to the various aspects that ascribe or associate this population as a minority is imperative in considering the larger context of identity construction.

Theoretically Informed Project Design Synthesizing the aforementioned research yields a theoretically grounded, integrated marketing communication approach that guides project conceptualization. Specifically, this approach facilitates actualization of multiple goals including (1) building community within a nontraditional graduate degree program, (2) facilitating the co-construction of a graduate student

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identity, (3) enabling students to engage with other students and faculty across the institution, and (4) providing a common theme unifying the organization (and organizational members) and stakeholders (Melrose & Bergeron, 2006). When considered together, social identity theory and optimal distinctiveness theory provide a holistic approach to engaging with both internal stakeholders and external stakeholders while attending to the four levels of communication.

While an overall identity affiliation with the academic institution is one overarching goal, the opportunity for subsets of identity construction exist and provide stakeholders a platform to engage with their various conceptualizations of employee roles, graduate student identities, and community member identities within the polis (Freishtat & Sandlin, 2010). Stakeholders’ active role in the co-construction of respective graduate student identities and associated expectations enhances their affiliation with the institution (Ezmekci & Casey, 2009).

The Present Rhetorical Moment in Time Since the Internet’s emergence in the 1990s, technological innovation has exploded into an integral, functional aspect of daily life. In today’s technologically entrenched environment, both exposure and utilization expectations shade individuals’ professional and personal experiences (and, by extension, identities). These advancements represent perpetually expanding platforms that may continuously refine organizational operations, foster social connections, and optimize both information access, and learning opportunities (Park & Bonk, 2007).

Role of Technology in the Emergent Marketplace One aspect of concern among this student population is the increasing digital divide (Rao, 2009; Rockett et al., 2010; Zur & Zur, 2011). Unlike individuals who have grown up in the current realm of available technology, adult learners must learn and integrate emergent technologies across their professional and personal contexts (Angelaina & Jmoyiannis, 2012).

Within this integration, individuals have various degrees of choice in tool utilization (Baylen, 2010; Kelly, 2007). For example, computer use is integral within contemporary organizational operations, and it concurrently facilitates and optimizes organizational function. On the other hand, individuals may choose their degree of engagement with computers in their personal lives.

Both examples highlight individuals’ acquisition and maintenance of specific skill sets to implement and integrate associated processes. Some individuals utilize technology as mandated (enough to perform job duties and maintain social connections), while others embrace and immerse multiple forms of technological connectivity.

Implementing an IMC approach centered about social identity enhances an organizations’ strategic decision making regarding technology integration within their marketing mix. By extension, social media refine these options by providing tailored opportunities to engage in dialogic communication across different niches.

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Social Media Social media collectively refer to Internet applications that facilitate user-generated content construction and dissemination (Angelaina & Jmoyiannis, 2012; Kaplan & Hanelein, 2010). George and Dellasega (2011) suggest that social media empowers individual users to participate in and guide the online dialogic experience. This movement reflects the Internet’s evolution from rudimentary information presentation to an interactive information construction and extension process (Hao, 2010). Individuals maintain the capacity to choose their involvement degree, specific social media, and affiliated identities (Angelaina & Jmoyiannis, 2012; Kelly, 2007).

The common thread uniting the plethora of offerings across social media is the ability to cultivate, maintain, or terminate relationships across contexts through user-generated content (Kang, Ki, & Ye, 2012). In this context, relationships include interactions with individuals, organizations, or information (Brown & Duguid, 1996). Existence boundaries dissolve as stakeholders and organizations collaboratively engage with each other through technology to define new interaction strategies (Brown & Duguid, 1996; Hao, 2010).

Technologically mediated communication channels provide the infrastructure to both engage and encourage users’ active presences (Kidd & Keengwe, 2010b; Sweetser & Weaver Lariscy, 2008). In this way, social media shifts individual users from a passive role to an active role in the asynchronous communication of information through user-generated content creation (Angelaina & Jmoyiannis, 2012; Brown & Duguid, 1996; Kelleher & Sweetser, 2012; Kidd & Keengewe, 2010b).

Social media’s overarching goal is to create a sense of community that transcends boundaries (e.g., geography, time, and space) through dialogic communication (Kelleher & Sweetser, 2012). Community is co-constructed by individual users via social media tools related to specific goals, experiences, and affiliations (Brown, 2011; Kidd & Keengewe, 2010b; Freishtat & Sandlin, 2010). For example, LinkedIn provides jobseekers and employers networking opportunities (Okoro, Washington, & Cardon, 2011), and Facebook provides social relationship development and maintenance (DiMicco & Millon, 2007; Tokunaga, 2011; Zur & Zur, 2011). Furthermore, sub-communities may emerge within these platforms.

The expansion (and prevalence) of social media within educational contexts is not surprising (George & Dellasega, 2011). Strategic social media integration facilitates learning community development and pedagogical goal achievement (King, Greidnaus, Carbonaro, Drummond, & Patterson, 2009).

Blogs and blogging. Blogging is a social media supportive of higher-level critical thinking skill development (Griffith & Woong, 2010). Through blogging, adult learners may integrate, present, and analyze course information, previous experiences, and the intersection of both through reflective practice (Griffith & Woong, 2010; Kidd & Keengwe, 2010). This reflective practice engages the student’s identity construction (consistent with the tenets of social

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identity theory) through the creation and consideration of user-generated content (Freitas, Rebolledo-Mendez, Liarokapis, & Poulouassilis, 2009; So, 2009). Thus, blogs may provide an effective means for providing graduate student support services while fostering the graduate community through peer connection and interactivity (Cain et al., 2003; Kidd & Keengewe, 2010b).

Utilizing a synthesized SIT and ODT theoretical foundation, in both design and the proposed Common Grounds site evaluation, will provide students the opportunity to apply and refine communication, relational development and management, and critical thinking skills in a nonevaluative, safe platform (Kelleher & Sweetser, 2012). This approach concurrently preserves their choice of involvement level with their graduate student identity construction (Angelaina & Jimoyiannis, 2012). Identity parameters may broaden as students’ participation across various aspects of the site extends to intra- and interdisciplinary connections across coursework and contextual experiences (Brown, 2011).

Recognizing the unique attributes of the adult learner niche at a nontraditional campus is informative to multiple aspects of the institution’s service delivery. Based on the consideration of an overarching IMC approach within the technological revolution, the theoretical foundations of social identity theory, optimal distinctiveness theory, and the levels of communication’s inherent role, the proposed Common Grounds site is poised to facilitate graduate student engagement and social support. This platform will facilitate students’ engagement capacity in four ways: (1) being able to nurture relationships with peers, (2) engaging in course and noncourse related discourse, (3) embracing the role of various forms of creative expression in the learning process through cognitive, affective, and behavioral engagement (Ezmekci & Casey, 2009; Lawrence, 2005; MacKenzie, 1996); and (4) applying knowledge obtained in class and life experience. Through this platform, students may explore attributes of a graduate student identity that extend beyond the confines of class-specific boundaries.

The intentional decision to separate the site from specific course affiliation preserves students’ ability to choose their degrees of participation. This choice is a critical component, particularly with respect to identity (Kelleher & Sweetser, 2012). Individuals’ ability to choose their degrees of participation empowers them to explore various attributes of an identity and consider alignment with, or divergence from, that identity. Participation choice supports the tenets of both social identity theory and optimal distinctiveness theory (Ezmekci & Casey, 2009).

Students may embrace their drive for group affiliation (according to SIT) while individuating themselves within the group (ODT). As part of a larger group, individuals impact other individuals through the four levels of communication across cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions. Through this interactive process, students may co-construct their graduate student identity, develop a sense of community, and create their niche within the community. By extension, the organization benefits through potential organizational goal attainment and sustainability through expanded relationships and behavioral engagement opportunities among stakeholders.

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Emergent Ethical Dilemmas of Proposed Project From a macro level perspective, the project goal is altruistic, fulfills organizational goal duality, and is consistent with the university’s mission. It provides a defined space for nontraditional graduate students to engage with each other and develop their own sense of community. Closer scrutiny, however, illuminates multidimensional complexities and emergent ethical dilemmas for consideration. These dimensions include research methodology, goal complexity, and technologically facilitated engagement.

Research Methodology From a methodological standpoint, three aspects warrant consideration: formative research, site design, and identity construct measurement. While SIT and ODT collectively provide a theoretical infrastructure to guide site design, designers must question what identity they desire to create and replicate within students. Social-scientific research methods – whether quantitative or qualitative – impacts participants. The mere questions posed to participants may arouse intrapersonal awareness of a given phenomenon. This process, at a minimum, engages cognitive consideration, introspection, and discernment of related attitudes.

By extension, exploring the notion of identities engages participants’ awareness and position establishment. Even if the researcher utilizes meticulous objective research methods, the participants’ intrapersonal dimension arousal remains. In this way, participants explore their perspectives, consider their position, and question why they hold this position, and intrapersonal persuasion may engage to solidify or justify this position.

Subsequent arousal may follow across the levels of communication. Essentially, participants may discuss various identity considerations interpersonally or in small groups. Such discourse engages the co-constructive process of identity formation (Freishtat & Sandlin, 2010).

Framing this discourse is information seeking behavior and identity alignment with other ingroups and out-groups at the organizational level. While the co-constructive identity formation process is inherent in participants’ experiences and existences, formative research participation that triggered or exacerbated consideration may inadvertently influence the individuals in a specific direction, thus, biasing these data.

From an organizational perspective, researchers must consider what characterizes the desired graduate student identity. This consideration relates back to organizational goal duality—academic and business. The academic institution must carefully consider what specific indicators reflect goal attainment. By extension, critical assessment of this project’s role is simultaneously supporting and detracting from that goal attainment.

Social media content is user generated (Freitas, et al., 2009). In the current project design, this content is added within a framework designed by the academic institution. Thus, specific ontologies define the boundaries of participation. In one respect, ontology is necessary to define the engagement space. However, this decision may prohibit full participation. This

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design decision process reflects pedagogical decision making—the balance between individual instructors’ teaching styles contrasted with students’ learning style variance. Clearly, there is no way to fulfill the needs of everyone, yet the desire to optimize engagement for the majority is paramount.

Identity Construct Measurement The notion of identity is considered across disciplines. Identity conceptualization, influence, and measurement vary both across and within disciplines. Cornelissen, Haslam, and Balmer (2007) provide a comprehensive overview of identity methodological challenges throughout the literature. Specifically, they highlight three key resolutions that apply to the current proposed project: (1) methodological pluralism, (2) identity formation process, and (3) macro level and micro level connectivity. Methodological pluralism calls for scholars to develop an appreciation of methodological validity that may differ from other scholars’ preferences.

Pooling data from vast methodological approaches and paradigms facilitates scholars’ holistic command of identity study.

The second resolution is to focus on the identity formation process itself. The challenges within this resolution suggest linguistic limitations that inherently bias data collection and process study. Finally, connectivity highlights the intrinsic complexity of the relationship between macro-level and micro-level identity. These resolutions illuminate fundamental challenges within identity research. Recognition of these resolutions and the inherent drawbacks of existing research practices confirm ethical quandaries associated with the Common Grounds proposal and the intra- and interdisciplinary debate’s value. Such discourse forges new conceptualizations and expands theoretical boundaries to encompass additional perspectives.

Goal Complexity Organizational goal duality is broadly conceptualized (in this manuscript) as academic and business. Below the surface of the goal categories is an intricate web of strategies, tactics, and stakeholders (e.g., students and local, regional, or national community). Each stakeholder maintains broad goal conceptualization and the appropriate means to accomplish and measure success. Individual stakeholders’ conceptualizations may guide the process. However, other individuals directly and indirectly participate in the process as well. Other stakeholders’ participation influences the process and adjustments. By virtue of such participation, the system is influenced overall. This co-constructive process reflects the perpetual flow of communication and its influence in the ongoing of society, and it is reflective across the levels of communication.

Students’ goal complexity warrants consideration—both in conceptualization and intersection with an academic institution’s organizational goals. Collectively, graduate students maintain a goal of higher degree completion. This goal is demonstrated by their enrollment in

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graduate school. However, students may identify different means to goal accomplishment. For example, some students may view degree completion as the ultimate goal, and that strategy is confined to the specified process outlined in the course catalog (e.g., complete x number of classes and associated course requirements to complete the degree). Engagement or involvement in other aspects of graduate student life may not exist.

Conversely, other students may also view degree completion as the ultimate goal, and they may see that engaging in multiple aspects of graduate student life is a critical component to goal attainment. In this example, students actively pursue participation in research or service opportunities (beyond course requirements). Both models facilitate successful goal attainment and are reflective of two opposing paths to accomplishment. Neither path is right or wrong, rather appropriate within each individual’s perception.

Consideration of these two opposing paths illuminates goal complexity, particularly when student goals intersect with organizational goals. This consideration illuminates additional methodological consideration with respect to the proposed Common Grounds site. Specifically, it is paramount to identify project goal attainment and success indicators. Designers must articulate the project’s overarching goals. In this way, the goals may reflect idealized abstract conceptualizations with concrete indicators to guide assessment metric development.

Technologically Facilitated Engagement Technological advancements continue to impact pedagogical strategy development and delivery (Carrier, 2010; George & Dellasega, 2011; Griffith & Woong, 2010; Rahman, 2010).

Instructional delivery platforms (e.g., BlackBoard and Moodle) provide learning opportunities that transcend the confines of the traditional seated classroom (Caline, Marrara, Pitre, & Armour, 2003; Rahman, 2010). As a process, learning is a user-driven choice that reflects an individual’s motivation and purpose (Griffith & Woong, 2010; Kasworm, 2005; Kelly, 2007).

Similarly, utilization of various social media is the individual user’s choice (Angelaina & Jmoyiannis, 2012). However, the prevalence and expectations of social media use informs or influences this choice. An individual’s motivation, uncertainty, or fear is equitably correlated depending on the point he or she exists on the technological assimilation spectrum. From a pedagogical perspective, integration of technology in general—and specifically social media— presents a desirable pedagogical tool to facilitate and extend learning opportunities (Kidd & Keengwe, 2010a; Kidd & Keengwe, 2010b).

However, organizations or individuals engaging in various forms of technology (specifically social media) because of sheer availability may diminish brand consistency or marketing message effectiveness. In turn, virtual presence may fail to yield desired results. As Peres and Pimenta (2010) note, Updated technologies give support to the construction of such a huge set of learning strategies and methods’ options that can be as large as our imagination.

All technologies should be viewed as work tools and not as an end itself. More

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important than choosing a tool is the selection of the learning strategy, in order to achieve the defined goals. (p. 90) Employing an IMC approach may optimize social media utilization choices. Academic institutions will benefit from a comprehensive and robust theoretical foundation that grounds social media tool selection, design, integration, promotion, and evaluation (Peres & Pimenta, 2010). Furthermore, the theoretical foundation provides an infrastructure to assess more abstract goals associated with learning, graduate student identity construction and maintenance (Ezmekci & Casey, 2009), and organizational brand positioning.

Conclusion The current project is an innovative approach to non-traditional adult graduate student platform of graduate student social support. It represents an interdisciplinary opportunity to explore multiple ethical dimensions that exist within the tripartite hallmark of the higher education construct—research, academics, and service. This project is a cognitive incubator poised to expand the interconnectivity of organizations, stakeholders, and the intrinsic role of communication (as exemplified and scrutinized across the four levels of communication).

Continuous critical thought leadership that is attentive to emergent ethical dilemmas throughout ongoing project development processes will contribute to a deeper understanding of the culminating, yet perpetually in flux, dynamic of the human experience.

Author Biography Dr. Kelli L. Fellows is an Assistant Professor in Pfeiffer University’s Graduate Division of Business Administration and Leadership. She received her Ph.D. in Speech Communication from the University of Georgia. Research interests include the role of identity within interpersonal and organizational contexts, creative methodologies in critical thinking skills development, and strategic decision making. Her research, professional consultancy, and instructional approaches integrate over 20 years of professional experience in corporate, nonprofit, and academic public relations and marketing capacities.

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Building a Pathway to Optimal Academic Achievement and Educational Attainment for Our Children: Values and Expectations of Rural African American Parents Sonja Harrington Alabama State University Shirley Barnes Alabama State University Dyann Bayan Alabama State University Drusilla Caudle Alabama State University Abstract The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine perceptions of parents’ values and expectations regarding the academic achievement and educational attainment of their children attending rural schools. A sample of 213 parents of third-grade, fourth-grade, and fifth-grade students attending rural public schools in the U.S. southeast region was studied. The sample was predominantly African American females. The sample’s demographics were parallel to the overall population of the rural area elementary schools being studied. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to address the research questions. Findings indicated that a majority of the responding parents had high academic expectations of their children at the elementary level and envisioned their children attaining at least a college degree. Other findings showed that parents who attained a high school diploma valued and expected their children to achieve similarly to parents who attended or attained a college degree or an advanced degree. Although research on parents’ expectations and aspirations of their children’s achievement and attainment has been applied to various aspects of learning (Fan & Chen, 2001), one line of limited research is the study of rural African American parents’ values and expectations that support their children’s school learning and future success. It is, therefore, important to investigate the family values and expectations that are more likely to influence school success (Epstein & Salinas, 2004; Henderson & Beria, 1995).

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Keywords: academic achievement, African American students, educational aspirations, educational attainment, expectations, parental involvement, rural schools, values

Research conducted on parents’ educational expectations and aspirations of their children’s achievement and attainment has been applied to various aspects of learning (Fan & Chen, 2001; Fan, 2001). One area of research on learning that is limited is the study of rural African American parents’ values and expectations that support school success for their children attending schools in rural locations (Semke & Shenden, 2011).

It has been noted that the school is one of the most important public institutions in rural areas. Moreover, schools in rural areas represent the economic livelihood of many rural communities. According to the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (2011b), the number of rural students increased by 11%, from 10.5 million to 11.7 million, between the 2004 and 2009 school years. During the 2009–2010 academic year, there were 98,817 public elementary and secondary schools, and 57% of the school districts were in rural areas (U.S. Department of Education, NCES, 2011a). Accordingly, rural schools are among the U.S.’s largest schools, and it is estimated that the number of rural schools and students are growing significantly (NCES, 2011a). Rural schools often have high percentages of minority students, namely African American and Native American students, and the percentage of Hispanic students is also increasing in many rural schools (NCES, 2011a; U.S. Department of Education, 2011b). Although minority students make up a substantial percentage of the growing student population in rural schools, very limited studies have focused on the values, expectations, and related parental involvement factors of rural African American students. The extant statistics suggest that there is a considerable need for more research with this school population (Johnson & Strange, 2009).

Values and Expectations Many parents value education and have high expectations for their children. As with many complex concepts and elusive constructs, “values” and “expectations” can be ambiguous definitions. However, when educators state or ask questions related to the values and expectations that parents have about their children’s education, the educators are generally referring to an array of interacting cognitive and affective activities. Researchers have indicated that most parents have high expectations for their children, particularly for academic success (Diamond & Gomez, 2004; Steinberg, 2005; Trotman, 2001; Williams & Baber, 2007).

Rural Education in the South The education of children in rural schools is greatly influenced by their parents. A study conducted by Deggs and Miller (2011) observed how rural youth were influenced by their

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family, friends, and peers relative to expectations of educational attainment. Findings revealed that citizens in rural communities valued education, wanted community identity and loyalty, valued social consciousness, valued religion and health, participated in leisure activities, and appreciated information access.

The educational expectation to attend college is different for rural school students as compared to nonrural school students (Deggs & Miller, 2011). The decision is not difficult for a nonrural student. However, with many rural students being first-generation college students, the decision becomes more difficult due to lack of preparation by families and schools. Therefore, academic and career expectations of rural students pursuing a college degree may be minimized by influences of families, schools, and communities (Burnell, 2003). Rural school students should be made aware of the benefits of achieving academically for the attainment of a college degree and beyond through efforts promoted by policy makers, educators, parents, and community (Deggs & Miller, 2011).

African American Families African American families have always been an integral part of the United States’ rich diversity. In the recent past, Johnson (1986) reported that, historically, African Americans placed very high values on education and on the schooling of their children. As Johnson notes …“Black parents have placed high values on their children’s education; have maintained a belief that education is a method of benefitting from the opportunity of the American society; …” (p.199). Similarly, Willie, Garibaldi, and Reed (1990) found that African American parents highly valued education and expressed high educational aspirations for their children.

McAdoo (1991) stated that when examining family values, children are highly valued in African American communities, and families and extended families continue to be valued.

Fields-Smith (2005), who has conducted extensive research on African American families, found that many “teachers often perceive African American parents as uninvolved and disinterested in their children’s education” (p.130); however, they “valued the education of their children and made it a priority in their lives” (p.133). Jeynes (2003), by contrast, found that achieving gradelevel academic performance, high school graduation, and attaining postsecondary educational opportunities represent some of the expectations many African American parents seek and focus on for their children.

The value of school is not a new phenomenon among African American parents (ArcherBanks & Behar-Horenstein, 2008; Jacobs, 2010; Jeynes, 2003; Lee & Bower, 2006). However, relatively little research has examined African American parents’ educational expectations, aspirations, and values that they have for the importance of their children’s education.

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Educational Overtone The value of African American children's academic achievement and the educational expectations that African American parents assign to this responsibility should be highlighted in many of the current educational themes. Emerging research suggests that African American families, in general, have always supported higher levels of education for their children, have supported postsecondary education aspirations, have high expectations for their children to finish high school, have increasing expectations of first-generation college graduates, and have increasing support for nontraditional college majors (Archer-Banks & Behar-Horenstein, 2008; Koonce & Harper, 2005; McAdoo, 1991; Wenfan, 1999; Williams & Baber, 2007).

The purpose of this research was to examine rural minority parents’ values and expectations of their children’s academic achievement and educational attainment. The research questions addressed in this study were: (1) What are the values and expectations of rural minority parents regarding their children’s academic achievement and educational attainment?

(2) To what extent do significant associations exist between rural minority parent values and expectations regarding the academic achievement and educational attainment of their children and their demographic characteristics?

Methodology Participants The sample for this study comprised of 213 parents of third-grade, fourth-grade, and fifth-grade students attending several small, rural public schools in the U.S. southeast region. All participants were volunteer parents. The sample was predominantly African American.

Instrumentation A self-developed survey, Parents are Important--Parents are Teachers, was designed to gather information regarding parent’s values and expectations of their children’s educational attainment. The Parents are Important--Parents are Teachers survey, a revised version of the Index of Educational Environment by Dave (1963), was devised to measure the relationship between the home’s learning environment and other related variables. Some of the items on the survey were extracted from Dave’s interview schedule. Items extracted were rephrased, and most of the items were written in statement form (Caudle, 1991). The instrument’s construct validity was established by Dave by examining the correlations between the learning environment and other related variables, which ranged between .273 and .799. The instrument’s reliability was established by using Hoyt’s method of estimating reliability by two-way analysis of variance. An estimate of the instrument’s internal consistency developed in the Dave study

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for the environmental measurement was .95 (Caudle, 1991), which indicates good internal consistency reliability.

This survey is comprised of eight parent-and-child demographic items as well as 43 closed-ended items on a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from Always (4) to Never (1). For the purpose of this study, select survey items were used. Of the eight demographic items, four were examined that directly related to parent characteristics, which include parent/guardian relationship to child, education of mother, education of father, and marital status. In addition, two demographic items studied were the child’s gender and grade level. Eight of the forty-three 4-point Likert-scale items were used that directly related the values and expectations of parents based on the children’s educational attainment. Statements related to the items regarding rural minority parents’ values and expectations (items 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38) are presented in the results section of this study.

Data Collection Permission to collect data was granted by a local university where the principal researcher was employed as a faculty member. In addition, school administrators granted approval for distribution of surveys to parents. A cover letter accompanied the survey informing parents that the research’s purpose was to examine practices in the home that rural minority parents use to help and support their children’s learning and achievement in school. This cover letter was included in the packet that asked parents to volunteer to participate in a research study to help gather information regarding family activities within their home. Surveys and consent forms were distributed to parents of third-grade, fourth-grade, and fifth-grade students. These packets were distributed by school staff at each elementary school within the district. Parents were asked to fill out the survey anonymously and to place the completed survey in a container that was secured in a designated location in the school administrator’s office. The survey required approximately fifteen minutes to complete.

Data Analysis Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze the research questions.

To address research question one, frequencies and percentages of rural minority parents’ values and expectations of their children’s educational attainment were presented for item analysis.

Research question two required the use of cross-tabulations of parents’ responses to the 4-point Likert-scale items relative to their values and expectations based upon their demographic characteristics (i.e., parent/guardian relationship to child, highest level of education of mother and father, and marital status) and their child’s demographic characteristic, gender. The Chisquare test for independence was utilized to determine significant associations between all aforementioned variables. In addition, because of unequal cell sizes for the demographic variables, the Chi-square test for independence was most appropriate. A preset alpha level of

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0.10 was used to determine statistical significance. Data from the Parents are Important-Parents are Teachers survey were analyzed using IBM SPSS Version 20.

Results Demographic Characteristics This study’s sample comprised of 213 parents of students attending public schools in a rural school district in the Southeast U.S. Of the 213 parents participating in the study, 189 (88.7%) were mothers, 9 (4.2%) were fathers, and 15 (7.0%) indicated having a relationship with the child such as grandmother or grandfather.

A majority of the students participating in the study were female (n=135, 63.4%) with a smaller percentage of participating males (n=78, 36.6%). Of the participating students, 84 (39.4%) attended third grade, 63 (29.6%) attended fourth grade, and 65 (30.5%) attended fifth grade. Missing data were reported for one (.5%) student.

Pertaining to the highest level of education received by a student’s mother, 5.6% (n=12) received an eleventh-grade education or less, while an equal number received, at most, a high school diploma or a college degree (n=58, 27.2%). A majority (n=69, 32.4%) reported receiving some college. Fourteen (6.6%) mothers indicated receiving an advanced degree (master’s degree or higher). Two (.9%) mothers did not report their highest level of education.

For fathers, the highest level of education results showed that 5.2% (n=11) received an eleventh-grade education or less, while a majority received a high school diploma (n=77, 36.2%). Thirty-five (16.4%) fathers reported attending college, while 47 (22.1%) indicated receiving a college degree. Eight (3.8%) fathers received an advanced degree (master’s degree or higher). Missing data were reported for the highest level of education of 35 (16.4%) fathers.

In reporting the ethnicity of the parents participating in the study, a large majority were African American (n=194, 91.1%), 8 (3.8%) were Caucasian, 2 (.9%) were Mexican American, and another 8 (3.8%) reported other. One (.5%) parent did not report their ethnicity.

The marital status of the responding parents showed that most parents were either married (n=92, 43.2%) or single (n=88, 41.3%), while few were divorced (n=23, 10.8%) or widowed (n=4, 1.9%). Missing data were reported on the marital status of six (2.8%) respondents. All demographic data are displayed in Table 1.

Addressing Research Question 1 In addressing research question 1, What are the values and expectations of rural minority parents regarding their children’s academic achievement and educational attainment, frequencies and percentages for items 31 through 38 were included in the analysis. Of the 212 rural minority parents responding to item 31, How important will education be in the life of your child, 93% of parents indicated very important (n = 196, 90.3%) or important (n = 6, 2.8%).

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Less than five percent of parents remained neutral (n = 2, 0.9%) or stated education was unimportant (n = 8, 3.7%) in their child’s.

In addressing Item 32, What grade do you expect your child to receive in his/her schoolwork, results showed that a majority of parents (n = 133, 61.3%) expect their child to receive As and some Bs on his or her schoolwork. Fifty-nine (27.2%) parents expect their child to receive all As. Less than 7% of parents expect B or C grades from their child.

For Item 33, How much schooling do you expect your child to receive, a high percentage (56.2%, n = 122) of parents expect their child to receive a college education, although only 17% (n = 37) of rural minority parents expect their child to receive postgraduate education.

Approximately one-fifth (n = 43, 19.8%) of parents expect a high school education plus additional training from their children.

Responding rural minority parents’ wants and expectations for the educational attainment levels of their children are virtually identical. For Item 34, How much education do you want your child to receive, nearly 80% of rural minority parents want their child to receive postgraduate education (n = 51, 23.5%) or college education (n = 120, 55.3%). Thirty-one (14.3%) rural minority parents want at least a high school education plus other training for their child.

Item 35, What is the minimum level of education that you think your child must receive, reveals that a majority of parents believe their child will receive at least a college education (n = 115, 53%), while 26.3% (n = 57) expect high school with additional training as the minimum level of education for their child. Less than a tenth (n = 21, 9.7%) of participating parents believe their child will receive, at a minimum, postgraduate education.

Item 36, Do you know your child’s best friends in the neighborhood/school, shows a high percentage of rural minority parents responding Yes (n = 166, 76.5%). A small percentage of parents indicated they know their child’s best friends in the neighborhood/school by responding No (n = 39, 18.0%).

For Item 37, How would you rate your child’s friends in their schoolwork, nearly onehalf (n = 104, 47.9%) of the responding parents rated their child’s friends in terms of their schoolwork as good students. Forty-one (18.9%) parents rated their child’s friends in the area of their schoolwork as average students. Less than 6% rated their child’s friends in terms of their schoolwork as either poor students (n = 8, 3.7%) or other (n = 3, 1.4%).

Results for Item 38, What is the highest level of education did most of your close friends/relatives receive, indicated that the highest percentage were college graduates (n = 74, 34.1%). Fifty-two (24.0%) of responding parents shared that most of their closest friends/relatives were high school graduates and have had other training. Responding rural minority parents stated that both a majority of their close family members and friends received postgraduate education or were only high school graduates at 7.4% (n = 16).

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Addressing Research Question 2 Results for research question two, To what extent do significant associations exist between rural minority parents’ values and expectations of children’s educational attainment and their demographic characteristics? show significant associations between the parent and child demographic characteristics: o Parent/Guardian Relationship to Child, and the following survey item: Q32: What grade do you expect your child to receive in his/her schoolwork, χ2(8) = 22.790, p = .004. o Education of Father and the following survey items: Q33: How much schooling do you expect your child to receive, χ2(12) = 20.534, p = .058; Q38: How far in school did most of your close friends and relatives go, χ2(20) = 43.202, p = .002. o Education of Mother and the following survey items: Q33: How much schooling do you expect your child to receive, χ2(16) = 24.078, p = .088; Q36: Do you know your child’s best friends in the neighborhood and school, χ2(4) = 8.035, p = .090. o Gender of the Child and the following survey items, Q34: How much education do you want your child to receive, χ2(4) = 9.070, p = .059; Q35: What is the minimum level of education that you think your child must receive, χ2(3) = 7.558, p = .056.

It is important to note that no significant associations were found for the demographic characteristics of marital status and grade level. The findings are displayed in Table 2.

Conclusions This study examined the values and expectations regarding the academic achievement and educational attainment placed on students by their rural minority parents. Demographic findings indicated that a high percentage of respondents were mothers, and a majority of the respondents were the parents of female students. An equal distribution of responding parents had children attending the third-grade, the fourth-grade, and the fifth grade. In comparison to the responding fathers, a higher percentage of mothers who attended college attained a bachelor’s degree or attained a post-baccalaureate degree. For marital status, a slightly higher percentage of responding parents were married compared to the percentage of parents responding to their marital status as single. The first research question was (1) What are the values and expectations of rural minority parents regarding their children’s academic achievement and educational attainment? This study’s findings suggested that a majority of the responding rural minority parents had high academic expectations of their children at the elementary level and envisioned their children attaining at least a college degree. Additionally, parents who attained, at most, a high school diploma valued and expected their children to achieve similarly to parents who attended college or attained a baccalaureate or advanced degree.

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In addressing the second research question, To what extent do significant associations exist between rural minority parents’ values and expectations of children’s educational attainment and their demographic characteristics?, a significant association was found between the parent’s relationship to their children and their grade expectations of their children. This finding suggests that fathers had higher expectations of their children to receive higher grades than mothers and those who were indicated as guardians. In this study, 88.7% of mothers completed the survey, and 4.2% were fathers. Secondly, significant associations were found between the highest educational attainment of the father and 1) the amount of education expected of their children and 2) the highest level of educational attainment of the parents’ closest friends and relatives. A third finding revealed significant associations between the parent responding to the survey on the highest educational attainment of the mother and the amount of education expected of their children in addition to the parent knowing their children’s best friends in the neighborhood and school. Responding parents indicated that mothers who attained at least a college degree or higher had expectations of their children to attain at least a college degree. In addition, mothers who attained at least a college degree or higher tended to know their children’s best friends. Lastly, statistical differences existed regarding the children’s genders. Parents’ expectations of educational attainment were higher for females than for males. Findings indicated that parents’ expected females to attain at least a college degree or higher, whereas the highest educational expectation for males was a high school diploma plus other training or a college degree. Additionally, similar findings were shown for the expected minimum level of education. Results indicated that rural minority parents expected, at a minimum, the attainment of a college degree, as well as a post-baccalaureate degree, for females. However, the expected minimum level of education was a high school diploma, plus other training or a college degree, for males.

Discussion A primary focus of this research was to examine the perceptions of parents’ values and expectations regarding the academic achievement and educational attainment of their children (Dave, 1963) attending schools in rural communities. The Parents are Important--Parents are Teachers survey probed parents on their characteristics and their children’s characteristics, and it probed the values and expectations of parents based on their children’s educational attainment.

The results of this study generated two important findings for understanding rural minority parents’ values and expectations regarding the academic achievement and educational attainment of their children. First, there may be significant gender differences in the expectations of educational attainment. Generally, parents expect females to attain a college degree as well as a post-baccalaureate degree. Similarly, in their study regarding parent expectations and planning for college, Lippman et al. (2008) found that parents had higher expectations of their girls to finish college as compared to their boys.

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Secondly, this study suggested that a majority of the responding rural minority parents had high academic expectations of their children at the elementary level and envisioned their children attaining at least a college degree. In support of these findings, Jeynes’ (2003) study found that achieving grade level academic performances, high school graduation, and attaining postsecondary educational opportunities represent some of the expectations many African American parents seek and focus on for their children.

Historically, African American parents have always been involved in their children’s education even when many teachers have perceived that African American parents were uninvolved and disinterested in their children’s education (Fields-Smith, 2005). This study also suggested that these parents value education and want the best education for their children.

Education still remains one of the most productive means for African Americans to prosper in society, especially in the South.

Most parents want the best education for their children. It is evident in this study that rural African American parents want the same opportunities for their children as other parents.

Most of the surveyed parents expected their children to achieve at a higher level than they achieved. For example, a high percentage of parents finished high school with additional training, but they expected their children to receive at least a college education. Because the school district is in close proximity to a university, this may have had an effect on the value parents placed on education. Further studies need to be conducted in this area, and they need to be extended to focus on other factors such as peer relationships and community involvement.

The influence parents, other adults, and even peers have on children cannot be overstated.

This influence shapes children’s lives either positively or negatively. Many parents from all ethnic groups serve as role models for their children. If parents value education, it is highly likely that their children will also value education. Accordingly, the findings of this study suggest that parents who have high educational expectations for their children also rated their children’s friends as being good students in terms of their schoolwork. According to the Center for Research in Education Diversity and Excellence, peer groups are highly influential during adolescence but less influential as children get older.

Although this study was not based on gender, it is important to note that an overwhelming majority of participants in this study were African American females. Females in African American families, in general, take the lead in raising their children. This study supports that fact. Further studies are needed to investigate what role fathers play in this process.

Finally, given the importance of current and future student demographic increases, particularly diverse and ethnicity minority increases in rural schools, elementary schools and secondary schools should ensure that all students succeed. They should insist that teachers elevate their expectations for all students. Future investigations should examine factors that contribute to academic achievement and educational attainment in different rural populations.

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Author Biographies Dr. Sonja Y. Harrington is a professor of educational research in the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Law in the College of Education at Alabama State University. Dr. Harrington directs and serves on dissertation committees, teaches courses in introductory and advanced quantitative and qualitative research methods and statistics. In addition, she serves on numerous program, college, and university-wide committees, as well as outside committee work with the Alabama State Department of Education and other organizations. Dr. Harrington’s research interests include K-12 and higher education leadership, social justice, succession planning, and parental involvement.

Dr. Shirley L. Barnes is an associate professor of educational psychology and statistics at Alabama State University. She is a faculty member in the Department of Foundations and Psychology in the College of Education. She teaches courses in advanced educational psychology, statistics, and modern issues in education. Dr. Barnes’ research interests include multicultural diversity, parental involvement, and teacher and student assessment.

Dr. Dyann Bayan is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at Alabama State University. She is a faculty member in the Department of Foundations and Psychology in the College of Education. She teaches courses in foundations of education and student assessment.

Dr. Bayan’s research interests include multicultural diversity, teacher preparation, parent involvement and cognitive development.

Dr. Drusilla C. Caudle is an assistant professor of elementary education with an emphasis in reading in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education at Alabama State University. She teaches reading courses in early childhood, elementary education, and secondary education, as well as courses in curriculum and instruction. Dr. Caudle’s research interests include parent involvement and early childhood and elementary literacy development.

References Archer-Banks, D. A. M., & Behar-Horenstein, L. S. (2008). African American parental involvement in their children’s middle school experiences. Journal of Negro Education, 77(2), 143-156.

Burnell, B. A. (2003). The “real world” aspirations of work-bound rural students. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 18(2), 104-113.

Caudle, D. C. (1991). An investigation of the educational environment in the homes third, fourth, and fifth grade students and its relationship to pertinent variables. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Iowa State University.

Dave, R. H. (1963). The identification and measurement of environmental process variables that are related to educational achievement. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago.

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Deggs, D. M., & Miller, M. T. (2011). Beliefs and values among rural citizens: Shared expectations for educational attainment? Planning and Changing, 42, 3/4, 302-315.

Diamond, J., & Gomez, K. (2004). African American parents’ educational orientations: The importance of social class and parents’ perceptions of schools. Education & Urban Society, 36, 383-427.

Epstein, J. L., & Salinas, K. C. (2004). Partnering with families and communities. Educational Leadership, 61(8), 12-18.

Fan, X. (2001). Parental involvement and students’ academic achievement: A growth modeling analysis. Journal of Experimental Education, 70(1), 27-61.

Fan, X., & Chen, M. (2001). Parental involvement and students’ academic achievement: A metaanalysis. Educational Psychology Review, 13, 1-22.

Fields-Smith, C. (2005). African American parents before and after Brown. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 20, 129-135.

Henderson, A. T., & Beria, N. (1995). The family is critical to student achievement. Washington, DC: Center for Law and Education.

Jacobs, M. J. (2010). Parental expectations and aspirations for their children’s educational attainment: An examination of the college–going mindset among parents. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota.

Jeynes, W. (2003). A meta-analysis: The effects of parental involvement on minority children: Academic achievement. Education and Urban Society, 35(2), 202-218.

Johnson, J. (1986). An historical review of the role Black parents and the Black community played in providing school for Black children in the South: 1865-1954. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Massachusetts, School of Education.

Johnson, J., & Strange, M. (2009). Why rural matters 2009. Arlington, VA: Rural School and Community Trust..

Koonce, D., & Harper, W. (2005). Engaging African American parents in the schools: A community-based consultation model. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 16, 55-74.

Lee, J., & Bower, N. K. (2006). Parent involvement, cultural capital, and the achievement gap among elementary school children. American Educational Research Journal, 43(2), 193218.

Lippman, L., Guzman, L., Keith, J. D., Kinukawa, A., Shwalb, R., Tice, P., & Mulligan, G. M. (2008). Parent expectations and planning for college. National Center for Education Statistics.

McAdoo, H. P. (1991). Family values and outcomes for children. Journal of Negro Education, 60(3), 361-365.

Semke, C. A., & Shenden, S. M. (2011). Family-school connections in rural educational settings: A systematic review of the empirical literature. National Center for Research on Rural Education. Retrieved from http:\\www.r2ed.unl.edu

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Steinberg, L. (2005). Parent’s roles in children’s school success. ASCA School Counselor, 42, 36-42.

Trotman, M. F. (2001). Involving the African American parent: Recommendations to increase the level of parent involvement within African American families. Journal of Negro Education, 70(4), 275-285.

U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2011a). Numbers and types of public elementary and secondary schools from the common core of data school year 2009-10 (NCES 2011-345). Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http:\\nces.ed.gov U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2011b). Why rural matters, 2011-12. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http:\\nces.ed.gov Wenfan, Y. (1999). Successful African American students: The role of parental involvement.

Journal of Negro Education, 68(1), 5-10.

Williams, E., & Baber, C. R. (2007). Building trust through culturally reciprocal home-schoolcommunity collaboration from the perspective of African American parents.

Multicultural Perspectives, 9, 3-9.

Willie, C. V., Garibaldi, A. M., & Reed, W. L. (Eds.). (1990). The education of African Americans, Vol. 3. Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.

Table 1 Descriptive Statistics of Demographic Characteristics of Rural Minority Parents With Children Attending Schools in a Rural District (N=213) Demographic Characteristics Relationship of Parent to Child Mother Father Other Gender of Child Female Male Grade Level of Child Third Fourth Fifth Missing Data Highest Level of Education of Mother Advanced degree (master's or above) College degree Some college High school diploma Eleventh grade or less

f

%

189 9 15

88.7 4.2 7.0

135 78

63.4 36.6

84 63 65 1

39.4 29.6 30.5 0.5

14 58 69 58 12

6.6 27.2 32.4 27.2 5.6

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Missing Highest Level of Education of Father Advanced degree (master's or above) College degree Some college High school diploma Eleventh grade or less Missing Ethnicity of Responding Parent African American Caucasian Mexican American Other Marital Status of Responding Parent Single Married Divorced Widowed Missing

2

0.9

8 47 35 77 11 35

3.8 22.1 16.4 36.2 5.2 16.4

194 8 2 8

91.1 3.8 0.9 3.8

88 92 23 4 6

41.3 43.2 10.8 1.9 2.8

Table 2 Significant Associations of Cross Tabulations for the Chi-Square Analyses of Rural Minority Parent Values and Expectations of their Children by Demographic Characteristics Demographic Characteristic Parent/Guardian Relationship to Child

Survey Item

Χ2

df

p value

Q32: What grade do you expect your child to receive in his/her schoolwork?

22.790

8

.004***

Q33: How much schooling do you expect your child to receive?

Q38: How far in school did most of your close friends and relatives go?

20.534

12

.058*

43.202

20

.002***

Q33: How much schooling do you expect your child to receive?

Q36: Do you know your child’s best friends in the neighborhood and school?

24.078

16

.088*

8.035

4

.090*

Education of Father

Education of Mother

Gender of the Child

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Q34: How much education do you want your child to receive?

Q35: What is the minimum level of education that you think your child must receive?

Note. *p < .10, **p < .05, ***p < .01

9.070

4

.059*

7.558

3

.056*

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Teaching Critical Skills: The Influence of 3-D Virtual World Simulation Lisa G. Smith Indian River State College

Abstract Educational methods are changing based on the learning needs of the 21st century student.

Educators are challenged to develop methods that address critical skills. Traditionally, students perform simulation in a laboratory setting. However, because of technological advances, simulations can be conducted in settings called virtual worlds. Many disciplines use virtual reality as an effective method to simulate critical skills. Nursing has yet to establish the effectiveness of virtual reality as an educational approach. The purpose of this study was to investigate if a 3-D virtual world was an effective method for simulating critical skills. This study explored satisfaction, self-confidence, and how important simulation design factors were with virtual world simulation. This study was a quasi-experimental, single group, nonrandomized design with subjects as their own controls. In addition, the relationships among relevant demographic factors and student satisfaction with virtual simulation were examined.

Data were collected from a convenience sample of 59 nursing students between the ages of 20 to 61. Results indicated students were more satisfied with traditional simulation, but satisfaction scores for virtual simulation were strong and not affected by age, gender, or ethnicity. Students with computer gaming experience were more satisfied with virtual simulation than students without gaming experience. Self-confidence and importance of simulation design were not different between the two methods. In conclusion, virtual simulation may be an appropriate educational platform for simulation. The use of technology will increase as platforms become more accessible and sophisticated. Expanse of distance learning will require alternative methods to practice and simulate skills. Educators must look at emerging platforms to identify the most effective methods.

Keywords: virtual world, simulation, critical skills, nursing With advances in technology, teaching and learning environments look very different from the traditional classrooms of yesterday. Many methods and platforms exist to deliver educational content. Selecting the best method and platform to deliver educational content is important if students are going to learn, retain, and apply educational concepts. Brown and Alder (as cited in Skiba, Connors, & Jeffries, 2008) believe the educational scene is a “perfect storm” (p. 226) with opportunities for new philosophies and teaching approaches. These new approaches must be investigated for efficacy prior to initiation across a curriculum.

Once considered science fiction, virtual reality is now a platform that can be used in higher education. This platform is an interesting way to measure cognitive, psychomotor

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performance, and decision-making abilities (Davis, 2009). A variety of virtual reality platforms exist, this article presents one of those platforms, computer-based, three-dimensional (3-D) environments known as virtual worlds (VWs). These VWs are free, Internet-based social networks that allow users to communicate, collaborate, and manipulate objects within a virtual environment. These VWs are an emerging platform in higher education with opportunities for teaching, learning, and simulation training (Chodos, Naeimi, & Stroulia, 2009).

Simulation training consists of activities that imitate a real-life environment that allows demonstration of procedures and decision making (Jeffries, 2005). Nursing uses simulation to teach critical course concepts (Fountain & Alfred, 2009), promote critical thinking and clinical judgment (Bambini, Washburn, & Perkins, 2009) as well as augment required clinical hours as defined by regulating body (Jeffries, 2009; Schmidt & Stewart, 2010). Traditionally, students perform simulation activities in a face-to-face laboratory or classroom setting. Simulation methods include the use of human patient simulators, standardized patients, integrated models, and computer-based virtual patients (Li, 2007). However, because of technological advances, these same simulations can now be conducted in VWs. Other disciplines have used high-fidelity (HF) human patient simulators as well as virtual reality as effective methods to simulate critical skills (Creutzfeldt, Hedman, Medin, Heinrichs, & Fellander-Tsai, 2010; Taylor et al., 2011; Youngblood et al., 2008). Davis (2009) reports that virtual simulations do exist in many areas of science, but only a few empirical studies that use computerized virtual simulation in health-care settings exist. A review of the literature finds multiple disciplines and professions using VWs for varied educational purposes. Examples include language arts, law, marketing, social sciences, health sciences, aviation, military, and medicine. However, the use of virtual reality in nursing is “largely unexplored” (Kilmon, Brown, Ghosh, & Mikitiuk, 2010, p. 2).

Nursing is challenged with developing methods that address critical skills to achieve competence in nursing. However, the challenge is how to utilize simulation in a variety of integrated methods throughout the entire curriculum (Schiavenato, 2009). If the method of instruction is meaningful and effective, nursing will graduate competent nurses who provide safe care of patient care. Nursing is unable to justify the effectiveness of virtual reality as an educational approach to simulate critical skills because there is a lack of research within the discipline. Therefore, the door is open to explore innovative ways to deliver simulation training.

The purpose of this study was to determine if 3-D VW simulation was an effective learning method for simulating critical nursing skills. This study emphasized two research components: (a) exploration of nursing student satisfaction, self-confidence, and how important the simulation design features are with HF and virtual reality simulation methods in a mock code scenario and (b) identification of relationships between select demographic variables and nursing student satisfaction with virtual simulation.

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Theoretical Framework Nursing education necessitates learning in a practice environment heavily supported by experiential learning frameworks (Paige & Daley, 2009). However, Paige and Daley (2009) describe experiential learning as an umbrella term that does not provide direction when educators need to structure teaching and learning approaches. The foundation of experiential learning involves a correlation between an individual, the learning, and the experience, whereas situated cognition, a form of experiential learning, offers a more concise approach to guide highfidelity simulation (HFS) (Paige & Daley, 2009).

Teaching and learning in 3-D virtual environments is relatively new to nursing; therefore, specific frameworks to support virtual simulation within the discipline of nursing do not exist.

However, Paige and Daley’s (2009) situated cognition includes key attributes that not only support HFS, but can also support learning in a 3-D VW. This learning theory is appropriate for application in a variety of settings in which students interact, collaborate, and learn with others. Key elements of this framework include knowledge is situated, learners generate their own knowledge through socialization with other learners, and learning is not transferable but must be transformed when applied to new contexts (Paige & Daley, 2009). VWs allow learners to interact, collaborate, and construct knowledge with other learners, manipulate virtual objects and images through the use of technology, and perform functions tied to an activity such as a simulation. Therefore, situated cognition framework by Paige and Daley (2009) is an appropriate framework to support VW nursing simulations. The model below depicts the four principles and the three interacting components that make up Paige and Daley’s situated framework (Figure 1).

Review of the Literature Critical skills for nursing include basic life support (BLS), advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS), and simulating mock codes. Previous studies indicate simulation is useful for BLS training (Ackermann, 2009; Krahn, 2011; Lateef, 2010), ACLS training (Lateef, 2010), and mock code training for nursing students (Bruce et al., 2009; Kardong-Edgren & Adamson, 2009; Leighton & Scholl, 2009). HFS is one of the most common platforms in nursing to teach critical skills and foster clinical reasoning.

When HFS is used to teach the critical skills of BLS and ACLS, an initial increase in knowledge and skills was found (Ackermann, 2009; Bruce et al., 2009; Hoadley, 2009).

However, when participants were retested at four to six weeks (Bruce et al., 2009) and at three months (Ackermann, 2009), a significant decrease in knowledge and skills occurred. Therefore, retention of BLS skills declined over time. Hoadley (2009) also found that skill performance was not significantly higher when HFS was used when compared to low-fidelity simulation. The results of these studies indicate a need for repetitive exposure to these critical skills to increase retention.

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Regardless of the extent of knowledge and skills retained with HFS learning, students report satisfaction with HFS as a learning method, a greater level of self-confidence in skills, and satisfaction with the HFS’s design features (NLN & Laerdal Medical, 2006; Dobbs et al., 2006; Kuznar, 2007; Smith & Roehrs 2009; Levett-Jones 2011). Objectives and problem solving were important predictors of satisfaction and self-confidence (National League of Nursing & Laerdal Medical, 2006). When HFS is compared to low- or medium-fidelity simulation, students reported satisfaction and self-confidence regardless of the simulation’s fidelity (National League of Nursing & Laerdal Medical, 2006; Levett-Jones et al., 2011). Research studies using HFS to teach critical skills are limited, and additional research is needed to determine if HFS is more effective in the teaching and retaining of critical skills than other simulation methods.

Researchers at the University of Texas believe nursing students can improve their cognitive and behavioral skills in critical situations through virtual gaming simulations (University of Texas at Dallas, 2011). These virtual gaming simulations can be conducted in 3D, computer-based VWs. The VWs allow users to interact with others in real-time through animated avatars and the use of voice or text chat (Tilley & Kaihoi, 2011). Because virtual simulations are computer based, students can practice critical skills and processes independently or collaboratively in groups in a safe environment, regardless of location or time. This feature permits repetitive exposure, which may lead to an increase in retention of critical knowledge and skills for nursing. As a bonus, virtual simulations may work well for distance-learning programs.

Virtual simulation may be an effective method for learning (Youngblood et al., 2008; Schmidt & Stewart 2009, 2010; Creutzfeldt et al., 2010; Wiecha, Heyden, Sternthal, & Merialdi, 2010). Youngblood et al. (2008) and Creutzfeldt et al. (2010) both reported positive results when using a VW to simulate critical skills. Youngblood et al. (2008) found that VW simulation to be as effective as HFS when team leadership skills were used to manage a virtual emergency department trauma case. Creutzfeldt et al. (2010) found that knowledge, self-efficacy, and concentration increased after a VW simulation, but when subjects were retested six-months later, retention of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) knowledge and self-efficacy declined.

However, when the virtual simulation was repeated, knowledge, self-efficacy, and concentration levels increased again. Both authors (Youngblood et al., 2008 & Creutzfeldt et al., 2010) stated that repeated practice and exposure to critical skills is needed to increase knowledge retention.

A variety of user experiences were evaluated with virtual simulation (Youngblood et al., 2008; Schmidt & Stewart 2009, 2010; Creutzfeldt et al., 2010; Wiecha et al., 2010). Results indicate subjects believed the 3-D VW was an effective method for learning (Youngblood et al., 2008; Schmidt & Stewart 2009, 2010; Creutzfeldt et al, 2010; Wiecha et al., 2010), and when multiple virtual activities were provided, users rated the virtual simulations as the most useful for learning (Schmidt & Stewart, 2010; Wiecha et al., 2010). Self-confidence scores also increased after virtual simulation activities (Youngblood et al., 2008; Wiecha et al., 2010).

Virtual simulation design features were evaluated; results revealed that VW development is time-consuming to build, can be costly, requires specific hardware and software, and takes

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time to orient users to the program (Wiecha et al., 2010; Schmidt & Stewart 2009, 2010). VW use was superior to other online methods of education, but it was not superior to face-to-face methods (Wiecha et al., 2010). VW simulations are realistic and useful for learning (Youngblood et al., 2008; Creutzfeldt et al., 2010).

The results from these studies are promising, indicating 3-D VWs may be an effective method for teaching critical skills. Research on virtual simulation is limited, and existing studies have small sample sizes and use specialized clinical simulation activities. Therefore, this study was designed to address the gap in literature and investigate if 3-D VW simulation is an effective method to teach critical nursing skills.

Methodology A quasi-experimental, single group, nonrandomized design was chosen with the subjects as their own controls. Each subject was exposed to both HFS and virtual simulation; therefore, the design is a within a subjects’ model design. In addition, the relationships among relevant demographic factors and student satisfaction with virtual simulation were examined.

Sample Subjects were recruited from an Associate Degree Nursing program at Indian River State College, a public state college in southeast Florida. Students enrolled for the first time in their last medical-surgical course were eligible for inclusion in the study. Using G* Power 3.1 analysis (α = .05, 1-β = 0.8, d = 0.5), a minimum sample size of 34 was required. The investigator for this study did not have any direct teaching or supervisory contact with the subjects involved in this study for their current course or any future courses. Approval from the college’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) was received prior to the study.

Hypotheses Hypothesis 1. Satisfaction for nursing students who are instructed using virtual simulation will be significantly different than satisfaction for nursing students who will be instructed using HFS. Hypothesis 2. Self-confidence for nursing students who are instructed using virtual simulation will be significantly different than self-confidence for nursing students who will be instructed using HFS. Hypothesis 3. The importance of simulation design factors for nursing students who are instructed using virtual simulation will be significantly different than the importance of simulation design factors for nursing students who will be instructed using HFS.

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Hypothesis 4. Select demographic variables (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity) and prior gaming experience will be related to student satisfaction with virtual simulation.

Instrumentation The National League of Nursing (NLN & Laerdal, 2006) 13-item Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning Scale and the 20-item Simulation Design Scale were used for this study. These instruments were selected because they measure important aspects of simulation design and student satisfaction with learning, which can apply to both HFS and virtual simulation experiences. A Cronbach’s alpha score of 0.94 was reported for the Student Satisfaction portion of the learning scale, and a score of 0.87 was reported for the self-confidence portion of the learning scale (NLN & Laerdal, 2006). Cronbach’s alpha scores were obtained for the presence of simulation features (0.92) and the importance of those simulation design features (0.96). Demographic data were collected on a researcher-developed demographic questionnaire.

Procedure The college IRB determined this was an exempt study; therefore, students who volunteered to participate were instructed regarding the study’s purpose and participation requirements both verbally and in a cover letter in lieu of signed consent. Student names were unknown to the investigator, and their names did not appear on any instrument. The study was divided into two phases. Phase one included the HFS, and phase two was conducted using the 3D VW simulation one week after phase one. The study was open to students after they received their cardiovascular lectures and completed the following presimulation activities: (a) completion of the cardiopulmonary arrest case study published by Medical Education Technologies Inc. (METI), (b) reviewed the process for CPR from their textbook, and (c) reviewed the process for managing pulseless ventricular tachycardia from course lecture power points and the American Heart Association 2010 ACLS algorithms.

During phase one, the investigator reviewed the cardiopulmonary arrest case study, the process for CPR, and the process for ACLS. Students participated in the HFS mock code scenario in teams of five or six. They rotated through these roles consisting of primary nurse and initiator of CPR, airway manager, two medication nurses, defibrillator, and recorder throughout the mock code simulation. Because this was a teaching simulation and not a testing environment, the investigator assisted the team by cueing and directing students as needed throughout the mock code. Debriefing guidelines developed by METI were used at the simulation’s end to facilitate student discussion. Students were then asked to complete the demographic questionnaire and the two NLN instruments.

During phase two, a computer technology (CT) assistant provided a one-hour orientation to the virtual simulation. College computer laptops were made available with the VW program, OpenSim, already downloaded. The virtual orientation included testing access to the virtual

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Â

simulation site, selection of an avatar, directions on avatar movement and virtual object manipulation, use of voice and text communication, and virtual simulation commands. To account for any technical problems that could be encountered by students during phase two, the study was conducted on campus where the CT assistant and investigator were present to address Internet connection, bandwidth, or program access problems.

Students were seated in the same classroom, but spaced strategically apart to allow for a realistic virtual experience. At the time of the study, voice chat on OpenSim was not available.

Therefore, Skype was downloaded to each laptop and students created a free Skype account and communicated using headphones. Each team of five or six students was represented in the VW as individual avatars (see Figure 2). Students did not rotate through each role during the virtual simulation exercise as they did in the HFS to avoid any confusion related to the VW environment. The investigator was also represented as an avatar, communicated with students via Skype, and assisted the virtual team by cueing and directing student avatars as needed throughout the simulation activity. Debriefing guidelines were also used at the end of phase two to facilitate student discussion, and students were asked to complete the two NLN instruments for the virtual experience.

Data Analysis Data collected from the questionnaire and instruments were input in XLSTAT analysis software for Microsoft Excel 2008. Statistical analysis required paired t-tests for hypotheses one through three. Hypothesis four required a Spearman correlation coefficient test for the age variable, an unpaired two-sample t-test for the gender variable, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) ANOVA for the variable ethnicity, and an unpaired two-sample t-test for the prior gaming experience variable.

Results Demographics. The actual sample size (n=59) exceeds the recommended sample size as calculated from the G* Power analysis program. The age of subjects ranged from 20 to 61 years (M = 33.7). The number of female subjects (n = 48, 81.4%) outnumbered male subjects (n = 11, 18.6%). Most subjects (n = 49, 83%) reported their ethnicity as European American (white), followed by Hispanic (n = 4, 6.8%), other (n = 3, 5.1%), African American (n = 2, 3.4%), and Asian (n = 1, 1.7%). Subjects listed experience with prior computer gaming experience; those with computer gaming experience (n = 25, 42.3%) and those without prior computer gaming experience (n = 34, 57.6%). Most subjects with prior computer gaming experience had less than one year of experience (n = 11, 44%). Prior computer gaming experience was defined on the questionnaire as experience with games like World of Warcraft, The Sims, and Call of Duty.

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Instrumentation. The NLN instruments are typically used for HFS studies; this is the first known use of these NLN instruments for a virtual simulation study. Reliability estimates (Cronbach’s alpha) for the research instruments were computed for this study and compared with those obtained from the NLN (2006) study. The NLN Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning Scale was used to measure students’ satisfaction and self-confidence with both HFS and virtual simulation. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated for both student satisfaction in learning with HFS ( = 0.768) and for student satisfaction in learning with virtual simulation ( = 0.87).

These two scores differ from the NLN (2006) publication, which reported ( = 0.94) for the Student Satisfaction in Learning Scale.

Cronbach’s alpha, was calculated for student self-confidence in learning with HFS ( = 0.819) and for student self-confidence in virtual simulation ( = 0.82). These scores are similar to the NLN study (2006), which reported ( = 0.87) for the Student Self-Confidence in Learning Scale. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated for the importance of design factors with HFS ( = 0.9) and for virtual simulation ( = 0.942). These two scores are similar to each other, and they are also similar to the NLN (2006) reported reliability ( = 0.96) for the importance of design features on the Simulation Design Scale.

Hypotheses testing. To respond to hypothesis one, satisfaction for nursing students who are instructed using virtual simulation will be significantly different than satisfaction for nursing students who will be instructed using HFS, a paired t-test was utilized. Using the level of significance, α = .05, the research hypothesis was accepted (p = 0.020). There was a significant difference in student satisfaction between HFS (M = 4.783, SD = 0.3) and virtual simulation (M = 4.634, SD = 0.454); see Table 1. Students were more satisfied performing the mock code scenario using the HFS than with the virtual simulation.

To respond to hypothesis two, self-confidence for nursing students who are instructed using virtual simulation will be significantly different than self-confidence for nursing students who will be instructed using HFS, a paired t-test was used. The research hypothesis was not accepted (p = 0.158). There was not a significant difference in student self-confidence between HFS (M = 4.534, SD = 0.418) and virtual simulation (M = 4.591, SD = 0.347); see Table 2.

For hypothesis three, the importance of simulation design factors for nursing students who are instructed using virtual simulation will be significantly different than the importance of simulation design factors for nursing students who will be instructed using HFS, a paired t-test was used. The research hypothesis was not accepted (overall p = 0.293). There was not a significant difference in overall importance of simulation design factors between HFS (M = 4.657, SD = 0.378) and virtual simulation (M = 4.691, SD = 0.398). The lack of significant difference in importance of simulation design factors between the two simulation platforms was also found for each of the five design factor’s sub-categories (objectives, support, problemsolving, feedback, realism/fidelity); see Table 3.

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To address hypothesis four, select demographic variables (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity) and prior gaming experience were related to student satisfaction with virtual simulation.

Regarding age, the Spearman correlation coefficient was used to determine if there was a relationship between age and student satisfaction with virtual simulation. Using a level of significance (α = .05), the research hypothesis was not accepted (p = 0.515). There was not a significant relationship between age (M = 33.746, SD = 10.36) and student satisfaction with virtual simulation (M = 4.634, SD = 0.454); see Table 4.

In relation to gender, an unpaired two-sample t-test was used to determine if mean scores for student satisfaction with virtual simulation were statistically significant between males and females. The research hypothesis was not accepted (overall p = 0.370). Student satisfaction with virtual simulation was not statistically different between male (M = 4.745, SD = 0.359) and female students (M = 4.608, SD = 0.472); see Table 5.

For ethnicity, an ANOVA test was used to determine if differences existed between the ethnic groups of subjects and their satisfaction with virtual simulation. The research hypothesis was not accepted (overall p = 0.299, overall F = 1.255). Student satisfaction with virtual simulation was not statistically significant between ethnic groups. See Tables 6 and 7.

For prior computer gaming experience, an unpaired two-sample t-test was used to determine if mean scores for student satisfaction with virtual simulation were statistically significant between students with prior computer gaming experience and students without any prior computer gaming experience. The research hypothesis was accepted (p = .015). Student satisfaction with virtual simulation was significantly different between students with prior computer gaming experience (M = 4.800, SD = 0.316) and students without prior computer gaming experience (M = 4.512, SD = 0.503); see Table 8. Students with prior gaming experience were more satisfied with the virtual simulation than students with no prior gaming experience.

To address the number of computer gaming years, the Spearman correlation coefficient was used. The research hypothesis was not accepted (p = 0.171). There was not a significant relationship between the number of years of computer gaming experience (M = 2.320, SD = 1.345) and student satisfaction with virtual simulation (M = 4.800, SD = 0.316); see Table 9.

However, even though the sample size for students with prior gaming experience was small (n = 25), the correlation coefficient was negative (-0.282). This indicated that, in this study, students with more gaming experience were less satisfied with the virtual simulation.

Discussion In this study, students were more satisfied with the HFS than with the virtual simulation.

These results may be related to the lack of sense of touch in a VW. The inability to perform the mechanics of CPR in the VW may have contributed to less satisfied scores with the virtual simulation. Students vocalized: the convenience of using the virtual simulation whenever they wanted, the ability to practice procedures over and over again, but the lack of being able to

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practice the performance of CPR. These results are similar to the study by Cretuzfeldt et al.

(2010), although the study did not specifically report satisfaction levels with the VW activity.

Instead, Cretuzfeldt et al. (2010) reported that subjects had a positive experience with the virtual simulation, and future studies were needed to focus on how participants react to VW training.

Therefore, to determine if learning critical skills in a VW is a satisfactory method for students, student satisfaction with virtual simulation should continue to be explored.

Self-confidence levels do not decline when critical skills are performed in a virtual simulation. Similar results were noted by (a) Youngblood et al. (2008), who tested the confidence levels of subjects in both HFSs and virtual simulations; (b) Creutzfeldt et al. (2010), who noted an increase in self-efficacy after test and retest sessions in the VW; and (c) Wiecha et al. (2010), who noted confidence levels increased from pre-to postsurveys pre- to postsurvey on selecting, initiating, and adjusting insulin doses while attending a virtual medical seminar. These findings may indicate that students are just as confident simulating critical skills in a VW as they are in traditional simulation environments. Therefore, VW simulation may be an effective educational platform.

The importance of simulation design factors does not vary whether the method is HF or virtual. Simulation design is important regardless of the environment. Immersion was a term used by Youngblood et al. (2008) to describe the realism of a simulation; the authors reported that 88% of subjects felt immersed in the virtual simulation versus 93% of subjects in the HF group. The authors conclude that both HFSs and virtual simulations were “valid training methods” (Youngblood et al., 2008, p. 14). Creutzfeld et al. (2010) reported a statistically significant difference in realism of the virtual simulation between males and females; females rated the realism of the simulation higher than males. Qualitative comments indicated the virtual environment was not rich enough, lacking realism (Creutzfeld et al., (2010).

The fidelity or realism of a virtual environment depends on the availability of technical expertise to build the virtual environment, the amount of time necessary to construct the virtual simulation, and funding to support the project. In addition, the amount of prior computer gaming experience an individual has may determine the expectation level of the realism or immersion in a virtual simulation. In this study, the virtual environment was built using the investigator’s clinical expertise, and it was built with a VW developer who donated the time to build the virtual mock code scenario. This collaborative effort required two years to build and test prior to the research study. The virtual environment contained the necessary virtual items and functions to conduct the code simulation, but it lacked environmental details that could have enhanced the realism of the virtual environment. However, this study did not rate the level of realism experienced in the virtual simulation or the HFS but rather the importance of simulation features.

In this study, a relationship did not exist between age and student satisfaction with virtual simulation. Considering the mean age of the subjects in this study was 33.7, these findings are not surprising. The majority of students fit the definition of digital native, individuals who have grown up with technology and the Internet. Therefore, computer gaming was not a foreign concept. Gender was also not a factor in student satisfaction with virtual simulation. These

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results may be related to the low number of male subjects (n = 11) compared to female subjects (n = 48) participating in this study. Also, there was not a difference between ethnic groups and student satisfaction with virtual simulation. These results may be related to a lack of diversity in the sample. The European American (white) ethnic group dominated the study (83.3%) compared to only four other ethnic groups reporting with percentages of less than 7% in these groups.

Students with prior computer gaming experience were more satisfied with the virtual simulation than students without prior computer gaming experience. Individuals with prior computer gaming skills are familiar with avatars, keyboard strokes, and manipulation of virtual objects in a VW. These are obstacles that did not need to be overcome during the virtual simulation activity as it did with subjects without prior computer gaming experience. This familiarity with operating a computer game environment may have attributed to the higher satisfaction scores.

Even though a relationship did not exist between the number of years of computer gaming experience and student satisfaction with virtual simulation, the correlation was negative indicating that students with more gaming experience were less satisfied with the virtual simulation than students with less experience. This may be related to the virtual simulation’s level of realism. Another reason may be that subjects compared the virtual simulation to a commercial computer game, which offers rewards and the opportunity to advance to more difficult levels.

Limitations The generalizability of this study’s results is limited. The sample was a convenience sample derived from one college nursing program. Although the sample size (n = 59) exceeded the recommended number of subjects (n = 34), the sample size is still relatively small. Ethnic diversity was limited. Although the ethnicity of the sample was representative of the area where the study was conducted, the results may not be applicable in a diverse ethnic population.

Students were instructed to complete the instruments based on their beliefs and feelings regarding each statement. However, some students may have scored strongly agree to the positively written questions because they thought this type of response might help the investigator obtain good results. Because the HFS sessions and virtual simulation sessions were conducted independent of each other and one-week apart, some student responses may not have been well correlated between the two different teaching methods. However, to account for this possible limitation, the student questionnaire and NLN instruments for both the HFS sessions and VW simulation sessions were stapled as a packet. This process allowed students to look at their previous responses to the HFS before completing the virtual simulation instruments. The fidelity or level of realism of this particular virtual simulation was not as realistic as some professionally developed virtual simulations. This factor may have reduced the level of immersion students felt and may have negatively impacted student satisfaction.

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Significance of Study Simulation training is an important teaching technique for educators of many disciplines.

As experiential sites for real-world training become more difficult to acquire and programs expand their distance-learning enrollment, alternative methods to practice and simulate skills must be made available. Technology will continue to advance and new teaching platforms will continue to evolve; new methods for simulation training must continue to be investigated.

The use of avatars and text chat and voice chat throughout the virtual simulation allowed students in this study to construct knowledge by interacting, discussing, and exchanging ideas; collaborative learning occurred. This type of learning environment can facilitate critical thinking. According to Wallace and Maryott (as cited in Mattis, 2010), the use of VWs can help students promote a sense of community by providing an environment to connect and collaborate through discussion groups, debates, and collaborative groups. Simulations conducted in a VW provide students an opportunity to practice critical skills as many times as needed in an independent or collaborative environment. This virtual platform can be accessed at any time, and it can be used in synchronous or asynchronous activities in distance-education programs.

When critical skills can be performed and practiced repeatedly at the learner’s convenience, the ability to recall and implement that information may be higher. Creutzfeldt et al. (2010) reported that VW team training could be used to “rebuild confidence, if not competence” (p. 6). In this study, student self-confidence was not statistically different between virtual simulations and HFSs; this indicates that virtual simulation may be just as effective as other simulation methods for maintaining self-confidence when performing a critical skill. As noted by this investigator, nursing students and graduate nurses routinely report a lack of knowledge and confidence when participating in a cardiopulmonary arrest situation. Mock code simulations conducted in a 3-D VW could provide students and hospital nurses the opportunity to access and practice those critical skills as often as needed to build their confidence levels.

Public health safety requires nursing programs to graduate safe and competent nurses.

Nursing programs need to offer students multiple ways to learn critical skills and concepts using methods that are easily accessible. The top key trend for 2012–2017 remains the demand of individuals to “learn and study whenever and wherever they want” (Skiba, 2012, p. 125).

Collaborative work, third on the list of top drivers of educational technology, is changing the structure of student projects (Skiba, 2012). Simulation-based learning fosters collaborative work. VW simulation allows students the ability to learn and practice whenever and wherever they want. In a virtual environment, learning is no longer static and confined. Instead, Internetbased VWs offer portability and immersion in a real-life scenario. Studies like this one address two of the NLN’s 2012-2015 research priorities in nursing education. First, “Identification and evaluation of effectiveness of emerging technologies in the teaching of nursing decision-making skills” (NLN, 2012, p. 1), and second, “Identification of the effectiveness of various creative teaching-learning approaches to foster development of clinical reasoning in situated patient care contexts” (NLN, 2012, p. 1).

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Recommendations for Future Studies According to Sanford (2010) “there is a void of concrete research” (p.1010) in nursing simulation. Davis (2009) also confirms that nursing has not made use of virtual reality to measure research variables. This study begins to address the gap in nursing research by looking at student satisfaction, self-confidence, and the importance of simulation design factors as they relate to simulation in a 3-D VW. Developing VW simulations are labor intensive, costly, and require specific technical expertise to develop and operate a virtual simulation. Therefore, continued research is needed to determine the effectiveness of VW simulations from the aspect of both students and educators.

The results of this study should generate continued interest in the use of 3-D, computerbased VW simulations for a variety of disciplines. Although many educators have begun to develop learning activities in VWs, such as Second Life and OpenSim, development of teambased and independent simulations to practice critical skills are still needed. Cost-effective software programs are needed to develop virtual simulations. Because of the limited published studies on the use and effectiveness of virtual simulations, additional research is warranted.

Quantitative studies are needed to test for knowledge acquired and retained from VW simulations as well as the level of self-confidence to perform critical skills in real life. Research is needed to determine the transferability of skills learned in a VW to a real-life setting.

Qualitative studies should be conducted to explore the satisfaction of users (students and faculty) with VW simulations so virtual environments can be developed with the level of realism and immersion needed to simulate real life.

Conclusion The findings from this study are encouraging to educators of all disciplines; this study indicates a need to continue to explore and test the use of this emerging platform in a variety of ways. Based on current technology, many critical psychomotor skills, such as performing CPR, cannot be replicated in the VW; therefore, VWs cannot currently replace traditional forms of simulation training. However, VW simulations could work in conjunction with traditional simulation methods. VW simulations could be used as preparation and practice for performing critical skills in a traditional simulation setting, or they could be used as a method for review after simulating skills in a traditional environment. Each of these methods should be explored for learning effectiveness and user satisfaction. Virtual simulation remains an emerging platform. As technology advances, virtual environments may become comparable to the industry’s standard for simulation as well as a key component of distance education programs.

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Â

Author Biography Lisa has a PhD and is a Certified Nurse Educator. She has been a Registered Nurse for 28 years working as a staff nurse, a hospital educator, a manager, and a Nurse Executive.

Always a passionate teacher, she began an academic career seven years ago where she is an associate professor of nursing at a state college in Florida. She recently defended her doctoral dissertation, which investigated the use of an emerging technology with the digital native generation. Lisa believes technology is an effective tool, and she incorporates 3-D virtual world discussion groups, simulations, and digital stories in her curriculum.

References Ackermann, A. D. (2009). Investigation of learning outcomes for the acquisition and retention of CPR knowledge and skills learned with the use of high-fidelity simulation. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 5(6), 213-222. doi:10.1016/j.ecns.2009.05.002 Bambini, D., Washburn, J., & Perkins, R. (2009). Outcomes of clinical simulation for novice nursing students: Communication, confidence, clinical judgment. Nursing Education Research, 30(2), 79-82.

Bruce, S. A., Scherer, Y. K., Curran, C. C., Urschel, D. M., Erdley, S., & Ball, L. (2009). A collaborative exercise between graduate and undergraduate nursing students using a computer-assisted simulator in a mock code arrest. Nursing Education Perspectives, 30(1), 22-27.

Chodos, D., Naeimi, P., & Stroulia, E. (2009). An integrated framework for simulation-based training on video and in a virtual world. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 2(1), 3-28.

Creutzfeldt, J., Hedman, L., Medin, C., Heinrichs, W., & Fellander-Tsai, L. (2010). Exploring virtual worlds for scenario-based repeated team training of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in medical students. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 12(3), 1-11. Retrieved July 21, 2011, from http://www.jmir.org/2010/3/e38/ Davis, R. L. (2009). Exploring possibilities: Virtual reality in nursing research. Research and Theory for Nursing: An International Journal, 23(2), 133-147.

Dobbs, C., Sweitzer, V., & Jeffries, P. (2006). Testing simulation design features using an insulin management simulation in nursing education. Clinical Simulations in Nursing Education, 2, e17-e22. doi:10.1016/j.ecns.2009.05.012 Fountain, R. A., & Alfred, D. (2009). Student satisfaction with high-fidelity simulation: Does it correlate with styles? Nursing Education Perspectives, 30(2), 96-98.

Hoadley, T. A. (2009). Learning advanced cardiac life support: A comparison study of the effects of low-and high-fidelity simulation. Nursing Education Perspectives, 30(2), 9195.

Jeffries, P. R. (2005). Designing, implementing, and evaluating simulations used as teaching strategies in nursing. Nursing Education Perspectives, 26(2), 96-103.

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Â

Jeffries, P. R. (2009). Dreams for the future of clinical simulation. Nursing Education Research, 30(2), 71.

Kardong-Edgren, S., & Adamson, K. A. (2009). BSN medical-surgical student ability to perform CPR in a simulation: Recommendations and implications. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 5(2), e79-e83. doi:10.1016/j.ecns.2009.01.006 Kilmon, C. A., Brown, L., Ghosh, S., & Mikitiuk, A. (2010). Immersive virtual reality simulations in nursing education. Nursing Education Perspectives, 31(5), 314-317.

Krahn, R. E. (2011). Basic life support: A call for reevaluation by nurse educators. Nursing Education Perspectives, 32(2), 128.

Kuznar, K. A. (2007). Associate degree nursing students' perceptions of learning using a highfidelity human patient simulator. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 2, 46-52. doi:10.1016/j.teln.2007.01.009 Lateef, F. (2010). Simulation-based learning: Just like the real thing. Journal of Emergencies, Trauma, and Shock, 3(4), 348-352. doi:10.4103/0974-2700.70743 Leighton, K., & Scholl, K. (2009). Simulated codes: Understanding the response of undergraduate nursing students. International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning, 5(5), e187-e194. doi:10.1016/j.ecns.2009.05.058 Levett-Jones, T., McCoy, M., Lapkin, S., Noble, D., Hoffman, K., Dempsey, J., & Roche, J. (2011). The development and psychometric testing of the Satisfaction with Simulation Experience Scale. Nurse Education Today, 31, 705-710. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2011.01.004 Li, S. (2007, April). The role of simulation in nursing education: A regulatory perspective.

Retrieved from https://www.ncsbn.org/The_Role_of_Simulation_in_Nursing_Education(1) Mattis, P. (2010). Interactive immersive learning in higher education. Creative Nursing, 16(3), 106-109.

National League of Nursing (2012). Research priorities in nursing education. Retrieved from http://www.nln.org/researchgrants/priorities.htm National League of Nursing, & Laerdal Medical (2006). Designing and implementing models for the innovative use of simulation to teach nursing care of ill adults and children: A national, multi-method study. Retrieved from http://www.nln.org/research/LaerdalReport.pdf Paige, J. B., & Daley, B. J. (2009). Situated cognition: A learning framework to support and guide high-fidelity simulation. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 5(3), 97-103. doi:10.1016/j.ecns.2009.03.120 Sanford, P. G. (2010). Simulation in nursing education: A review of the research. The Qualitative Report, 15(4), 1006-1011.

Schiavenato, M. (2009). Reevaluating simulation in nursing education: Beyond the human patient simulator. Journal of Nursing Education, 48(7), 388-394.

Schmidt, B., & Stewart, S. (2009). Implementing the virtual reality learning environment: Second Life. Nurse Educator, 34(4), 152-155.

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Schmidt, B., & Stewart, S. (2010). Implementing the virtual world of Second Life into community nursing theory and clinical courses. Nurse Educator, 35(2), 74-78. doi:10.1097/NNE.0b013e3181ced999 Skiba, D. J. (2012). On the horizon: What is new for 2012 and beyond? Part 1. Nursing Education Perspectives, 33(2), 125-126.

Skiba, D. J., & Barton, A. J. (2006). Adapting your teaching to accommodate the net generation of learners [Supplemental material]. Retrieved, from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANA...als/OJIN/T ableofContents/Volume11 2006/No2May06/tpc30_416076.aspx Skiba, D. J., Connors, H. R., & Jeffries, P. R. (2008). Information technologies and the transformation of nursing education. Nursing Outlook, 56, 225-230 doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2008.06.012 Smith, S. J., & Roehrs, C. J. (2009). Factors correlated with nursing student satisfaction and selfconfidence. Nursing Education Perspectives, 30(2), 74-78.

Taylor, D., Patel, V., Cohen, D., Aggarwal, K., Kerr, K., Sevdalis, N., & Batrick, N. (2011).

Single and multi-user virtual patient design in the virtual world. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 650-652. doi:10.3233/978-1-60750-706-2-650 Thomas, M. (2011). Technology, education, and the discourse of the digital native. In Thomas, M. (Ed.), Deconstructing digital natives (1st ed., pp. 1-11). New York, NY: Routledge.

Tilley, J., & Kaihoi, B. (2011). Virtual worlds: A new universe for education, patient care, and more. PT in Motion, 3(6), 1-4. Retrieved from http://search3.linccweb.org:8331/V/3B39F85KNH85N28TMD5MXCXN4CB...shortformat=002&set_number=002879&set_entry=000001&format=999 University Of Texas System (2009). Transforming undergraduate education. Retrieved from https://www.utsystem.edu/aca/initiatives/Transforming%20Undergraduate%20Education. htm University Of Texas at Dallas (2011, January 14). Virtual medical world has real-life value.

Retrieved from http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2011/1/14-7831_Virtual-Medical-WorldHas-Real-Life-Value_article.html Wiecha, J., Heyden, R., Sternthal, E., & Merialdi, M. (2010). Learning in a virtual world: Experience with using Second Life for medical education. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 12(1), 1-14. Retrieved from http://www.jmir.org/2010/1/e1/HTML Youngblood, P., Harter, P., Srivastava, S., Moffett, S., Heinrichs, W. L., & Dev, P. (2008).

Design, development, and evaluation of an online virtual emergency department for training trauma teams. The Journal of the Society Simulation in Healthcare, 3(3), 146153.

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Figure 1.Situated Cognition Framework. Adapted from “Situated Cognition: A Learning Framework to Support and Guide High-Fidelity Simulation,” by J. B. Paige and B. J. Daley, 2009, Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 5, p. #100, 2009.

Figure 2. Virtual Mock Code Simulation Lab.

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Table 1 Student Satisfaction Scores with Different Simulation Methods Method

High Fidelity Virtual Reality Note. (n = 59, p = 0.02*) *p < .05

Mean

Std. Deviation

4.783 4.634

0.300 0.454

Table 2 Student Self-Confidence Scores with Different Simulation Methods Method

High Fidelity Virtual Reality Note. (n = 59, p = 0.158) *p < .05

Mean

Std. Deviation

4.534 4.591

0.418 0.347

Table 3 Importance of Simulation Design Factors with Different Simulation Methods Variable

Mean

Std. Deviation

High-Fidelity Design Factor Overall Importance Design Objectives Design Support Design Problem Solving Design Feedback Design Realism (Fidelity)

4.657 4.708 4.678 4.600 4.695 4.602

0.378 0.392 0.565 0.430 0.525 0.607

Virtual Design Factor Overall Importance Design Objectives Design Support Design Problem Solving Design Feedback Design Realism (Fidelity) Note. (n = 59, overall p = 0.293) *p < .05

4.691 4.790 4.682 4.637 4.682 4.661

0.398 0.316 0.517 0.463 0.512 0.576

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Table 4 Mean and Standard Deviation Scores for Age and Student Satisfaction Variable

Mean

Age Satisfaction with Virtual Simulation Note. (n = 59, p = 0.515) *p < .05

33.746 4.634

Std. Deviation

10.360 0.454

Table 5 Mean and Standard Deviation Scores for Gender and Student Satisfaction with Virtual Simulation Gender

Mean

Male Female Note. (n = 59, p = 0.370) *p < .05

4.745 4.608

Std. Deviation

0.359 0.472

Table 6 Mean Scores for Ethnicity and Student Satisfaction with Virtual Simulation Ethnic Groups

n

Mean Score

African American

2

5.0

Asian

1

4.8

European American (white)

49

4.576

Hispanic

4

4.9

Other Note. (n = 59)

3

4.933

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Table 7 ANOVA Statistics for Ethnicity and Student Satisfaction with Virtual Simulation

Source

SS

df

MS

F

Between Groups

1.015

4

0.25373112

Within Groups

10.917

54

0.202171832

P-value

1.255

0.299014187

F crit 2.543

Note. (n = 59) *p < .05

Table 8 Mean and Standard Deviation Scores for Gaming Experience and Student Satisfaction with Virtual Simulation Gaming Experience

Mean

Previous Experiencea No Previous Experienceb Note. (na = 25, nb = 34, p = 0.015*) *p < .05

Std. Deviation

4.800 4.512

0.316 0.503

Table 9 Mean and Standard Deviation Scores for # of Years of Computer Gaming Experience and Student Satisfaction Variable

Mean

Std. Deviation

# of Years of Gaming Experience

2.320

1.345

Satisfaction with Virtual Simulation Note. (n = 25, p = 0.171) *p < .05

4.800

0.316

Correlation Coefficient

-0.282

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NOTES

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Center for Scholastic Inquiry, LLC 4857 Highway 67, Suite #2 Granite Falls, MN 56241 www.csiresearch.com

Journal of Scholastic Inquiry: Education

Volume 1, Page 179

The Professional Exploration Program: An Alternative Law School Admission Process Linda K. Kisabeth, Thomas M. Cooley Law School The Impact of Sensemaking and Socialization on the Retention of Novice Teachers Joan M. Berry, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Rural Field Experiences with Urban Pre-Service Teachers Miguel Fernández, Chicago State University Cynthia Valenciano, Chicago State University Timothy Harrington, Chicago State University Mark Wesolowski, Chicago State University Angela Logwood, Chicago State University Diana Carrasco, Chicago State University Instructional Impact on Achievement of Economically and Learning Disadvantaged Students at Two Ohio Middle Schools Sherry A. Long, Alice Lloyd College Exploring Inquiry Principles of Art to Teach Mathematics Lisa Douglass, Ohio University Matthew Conley, Ohio Dominican University Rachel Trinkley, Columbus Museum of Art Ethically Constructing Common Grounds One Cyber Latte' at a Time: A Thought Leadership Examination of Emergent Ethical Dilemmas in Designing Technologically Based Nontraditional Graduate Student Social Support Kelli L. Fellows, Pfeiffer University Building a Pathway to Optimal Academic Achievement and Educational Attainment for Our Children: Values and Expectations of Rural African American Parents Sonja Harrington, Alabama State University Shirley Barnes, Alabama State University Dyann Bayan, Alabama State University Drusilla C. Caudle, Alabama State University Teaching Critical Skills: The Influence of 3D Virtual World Simulation Lisa G. Smith, Indian River State College

Published by: Center for Scholastic Inquiry, LLC 4857 Hwy 67, Suite #2 Granite Falls, MN 56241 855‐855‐8764 ISSN: 2330-6556 ISSN: 2330-6564