This research study describes the educational experiences and factors intervening in the assessment practices of four outstanding Social Studies/history educators. Three of these educators work at the high school level, and the other at the middle school level. Additionally, the study explores how their assessment practices adapt to inform instruction, promote student learning, and meet current educational standards in their school districts. This study was developed on McMillan's (2013) framework for classroom assessments. In this framework, classroom assessment practices are impacted by advancements in the theory of measurement, the theory of student learning and motivation, and theories on instruction. The area of Social Studies, specifically the discipline of history, was chosen to be explored because of the place that Social Studies occupies in the current educational curricular panorama. Social Studies' history has been a class mainly characterized as traditional. Instruction and assessment have elicited rote learning and recalling of facts (Smith, 2017). However, with the introduction of Common Core State Standards (CCSS), some educators have become aware that Social Studies' history can take the central stage in promoting student learning. The research methodology of this study subscribed to the qualitative paradigm and a social-constructivist worldview. I also used the Case Study tradition to encompass the exploration of this research topic. To collect the data for this study, I used three individual semi-structured interviews, two focus groups, and document analysis. The data analysis of this research followed the procedures of in-vivo coding. These are the main research questions that directed this study and guided the data processing: (1) What personal and educational experiences, as well as other factors, influence teachers' perceptions and uses of classroom assessments for Social Studies? (2) What type of assessments are Social Studies teachers using, and to what extent are these assessments informing their instruction? And (3) How are Social Studies teachers' assessment practices meeting the contemporary demands of local and state educational policies in Social Studies? Three coding rounds were employed to move from code words to clusters themes, and into the narrative, I offer to explore the answers to this research's primary questions. Findings revealed that Social Studies educators were meaningfully impacted by the kind of education they received as students in Social Studies history when they were at the high school and college and master levels of education. Additionally, educators in this study draw inspiration from the faculty of their master's program. Other factors that meaningfully impacted their contemporary educational classroom assessments include their particular vision of what history learning should be, the skill-based movement, and the advancements in formative assessments and assessment systems. Educators employ a variety of educational assessments in alignment with instruction – such as technology-enhanced, skill-based, and primary source-based assessments in their classrooms– to meet students' learning needs and the demands of educational standards. Finally, this study reveals that Social Studies educators fostered collaboration with other colleagues from their school districts, higher education institutions, researchers, and curriculum developers to continue revamping their assessments, instruction, and curriculum to promote learning. Therefore, this study offers suggestions to embrace collaboration, connections, and opportunities for educators to become invested in their assessment and learning practices.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate whether an administrators’ professional teaching background and years of administrative experience influence their perceptions of the opportunities and challenges they face guiding the improvement of teaching and learning. Specifically this research analyzed administrators’ perceptions of level of stress, respect among colleagues and school community, professional development, student achievement, and assessment and evaluation. Participants in this study consisted of Tennessee and North Carolina principals, assistant principals, and associate principals within a 60 mile radius of the East Tennessee State University campus. Data were collected through an online survey system, Survey Monkey. The survey was distributed to 274 administrators that resulted in a 44.5% response rate with 122 administrators completing the survey. Sixteen questions from the survey were measured on a 5-point Likert scale. The results concluded that administrators’ teaching backgrounds and years of administrative experience had no significant effect on their perceptions of level of stress, respect among colleagues and school community, professional development, student achievement, and assessment and evaluation.

Research suggests that students are more interested than faculty in addressing spirituality in the classroom. This study tested the extent to which professors could meet student demand for greater attention to spirituality in their classes without sacrificing rigor and student learning. Previous research done at Brigham Young University (BYU) identified three areas of focus that are important to implementing spirituality into the classroom: 1) Professor Self-Disclosure, 2) Intellectual Connections, and 3) Interpersonal Connections. Research on the integration of faith and learning also supports these focus areas. Two BYU professors from different colleges were recruited for participation in this study. After teaching as they normally would for 30-minutes (the control condition), the professors were prepared to incorporate these focus areas into four experimental conditions (one for each focus area and one that combined all focus areas). A sample of 203 student participants were recruited to attend the different teaching sessions, fill out a questionnaire about their perception of the teaching quality, and take a retention examination on the material taught by the professor. An Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Teacher Rating Questionnaire showed that a three-factor pattern would be best to use in data analysis as it explained 89% of the variance in student responses. Based on the items that grouped together, those factors were labeled as General Teaching Skills, Openness and Respect, and Spirituality. A 5 (condition) X 2 (professor) factorial MANOVA—using the three extracted factors as dependent variables—indicated that there were significant main effects and an interaction. ANOVA and post hoc follow-ups revealed that professor ratings on General Teaching Skills and Spirituality greatly improved after the preparation; however, ratings also depended on the professor. A factorial ANOVA also revealed that student retention scores did not significantly differ from the control condition to the experimental conditions, but insufficient power suggests this finding should be interpreted with caution. It is concluded that applying a pedagogical preparation such as used in this study can be a useful tool in educating willing faculty to successfully implement spirituality and improve their general teaching skills.

The normal distribution is a commonly seen distribution in nature, education, and business. Data that are mounded or bell shaped are easily found across various fields of study. Although there is high utility with the normal distribution; often the full range can not be observed. The truncated normal distribution accounts for the inability to observe the full range and allows for inferring back to the original population. Depending on the amount of truncation, the truncated normal has several distinct shapes. A simulation study evaluating the performance of the maximum likelihood estimators and method of moment estimators is conducted and a comparison of performance is made. The α Likelihood Ratio Test (LRT) is derived for testing the null hypothesis of equal population means for truncated normal data. A simulation study evaluating the power of the LRT to detect absolute standardized differences between the two population means with small sample size was conducted and the power curves were approximated. Another simulation study evaluating the power of the LRT to detect absolute differences for testing the hypothesis with large unequal sample sizes was conducted. The α LRT was extended to a k population hypothesis test for equal population means. A simulation study examining the power of the k population LRT for detecting absolute standardized differences when one of the population means is different than the others was conducted and the power curve approximated. Stat~221 is the largest introductory statistics course at BYU serving about 4,500 students a year. Every section of Stat 221 shares common homework assignments and tests. This controls for confounding when making comparisons between sections. Historically grades have been thought to be bell shaped, but with grade inflation and other factors, the upper tail is lost because of the truncation at 100. It is reasonable to assume that grades follow a truncated normal distribution. Inference using the final grades should be done recognizing the truncation. Performance of the different Stat 221 sections was evaluated using the LRTs derived.

This study investigated the relationships, if any, between the number, nature, and organization of partnerships between academic and student affairs and measures of institutional success and student learning. Specifically, this research sought to: (a) investigate the relationships between the number, nature, and organization of partnerships with institutional retention rates, graduation rates, and students' engagement in educationally purposeful activities, (b) test the feasibility of a classification system for the organization of partnerships developed by O'Halloran (2005), and (c) explore the alignment between reported goals for engaging in collaboration and the actual nature of existing partnerships. The population for the study consisted of 93 Senior Student Affairs Officers (SSAOs) at doctoral-granting institutions who participated in the spring, 2005 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The survey instrument was adapted from O'Halloran (2005) and was administered in spring 2006. Of the 93 surveys administered, 52 were completed for a response rate of 55%. The findings indicated that the nature of the partnerships has significant effects on measures of institutional success and student learning. Furthermore, 75% of the respondents reported that their institutions had developed partnerships for the purpose of enhancing academic performance or increasing student retention and/or persistence. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the iterative relationships between the number/nature of partnerships, goals of partnerships, and outcomes of partnerships mediated by organizational structures and institutional characteristics.

The goal of this study was to investigate ways of improving student learning, par- ticularly conceptual understanding, in undergraduate mathematics courses. This study focused on two areas: course design and animation. The methods of study were the following: Assessing the improvement of student conceptual understanding as a result of team project-based learning, individual inquiry-based learning and the modi ed empo- rium model; and Assessing the impact of animated videos on student learning with the emphasis on concepts. For the first part of our study (impact of course design on student conceptual understanding) we began by comparing the following three groups in Fall 2010 and Fall 2011: 1. Fall 2010: MAC 1140 Traditional Lecture & Fall 2011: MAC 1140 Modi ed Empo- rium 2. Fall 2010: MAC 1140H with Project & Fall 2011: MAC 1140H no Project 3. Fall 2010: MAC 2147 with Projects & Fall 2011: MAC 2147 no Projects Analysis of pre-tests and post-tests show that all three courses showed statistically signifi cant increases, according to their respective sample sizes, during Fall 2010. However, in Fall 2011 only MAC 2147 continued to show a statistically signifi cant increase. Therefore in Fall 2010, project-based learning - both in-class individual projects and out-of-class team projects - conclusively impacted the students' conceptual understanding. Whereas, in Fall 2011, the data for the Modifi ed Emporium model had no statistical signifi cance and is therefore inconclusive as to its effectiveness. In addition the diff erence in percent of increase for MAC 1140 between Fall 2010 - traditional lecture model - and Fall 2011 - modi fied emporium model - is not statistically signi ficant and we cannot say that either model is a better delivery mode for conceptual learning. For the second part of our study, the students enrolled in MAC 1140H Fall 2011 and MAC 2147 Fall 2011 were given a pre-test on sequences and series before showing them an animated video related to the topic. After watching the video, students were then given the same 7 question post test to determine any improvement in the students' understanding of the topic. After two weeks of teacher-led instruction, the students took the same post-test again. The results of this preliminary study indicate that animated videos do impact the conceptual understanding of students when used as an introduction into a new concept. Both courses that were shown the video had statistically signifi cant increases in the conceptual understanding of the students between the pre-test and the post-animation test.

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