The foci of this qualitative study were twofold. First, the researcher wanted to know what instruments and methods of data collection are being used to assess core general education intended student-learning outcomes at 62 urban and metropolitan universities (members of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities). Second, the researcher was interested in knowing the extent to which these approaches to measurement are producing data that can be used for improvement purposes. A review of the literature revealed that only 15% of institutions that indicated in a previous study that they were initiating change in the curriculum of general education programs were assessing student outcomes. Essentially, these institutions were depriving themselves of valuable data and information that might have made their organizational changes more meaningful. The present qualitative study, using a researcher-developed instrument, surveyed 62 universities as how they were assessing their general education programs. The grounded theory model of Strauss and Corbin was used to analyze the data. The study indicated that 23 of the 27 institutions that responded to the survey were conducting assessment of the core curriculum. They were using direct and indirect approaches to measurement of knowledge, skills, behaviors, and beliefs and values. The 27 institutions fell within five stages of assessment. Sixteen of the 19 institutions that were conducting assessment reported that they were having some success in identifying weaknesses in the pedagogy, the curriculum, and the assessment process. They reported changes such as adopting new pedagogical strategies, revising and adding courses, opening a new writing and mathematical center, having an increased awareness regarding the value of assessment, and generating heightened involvement among faculty members in the assessment process. Sixteen institutions reported that assessment methods such as standardized tests, essays, portfolios, and the senior assignment made it possible to identify weaknesses and make changes in their core curricula. Eleven institutions reported that they did not have any changes to report as a result of conducting assessment. Four of the eleven were in the early stages of assessment, three were in the planning stages, and one had not begun a formal assessment process. The grounded theory analysis led to this conclusion: If the leadership of institutions of higher learning realize the stage of assessment that they are in, they will be better positioned to respond to assessment training needs, assessment resource needs, stakeholders' expectations, and accrediting bodies' mandates.

While disciplinarity still dominates college and university life, enthusiasm for interdisciplinary approaches has increased over the past three decades. Proponents often present interdisciplinarity as an a priori good, but scholars have noted that we have not yet sufficiently evaluated the efficacy of interdisciplinary initiatives. Most assessments of interdisciplinary initiatives have focused on tangible outcomes such as grants, papers, and patents. This is an unfortunate critical gap in the examination of interdisciplinarity, as it is possible that engagement in interdisciplinary activities changes student and faculty thinking in significant ways. This dissertation proposes to address the gap in the examination of interdisciplinarity regarding interdisciplinary learning outcomes by investigating the intellectual impact of interdisciplinary initiatives on students and faculty. Utilizing a manuscript approach for the dissertation experience, this series of qualitative studies is organized around three areas of inquiry related to learning in interdisciplinary contexts: (a) how systematic interdisciplinary training affect doctoral students' epistemic beliefs, that is, how they view the construction of knowledge and the nature of scholarship; (b) what faculty learn from engaging in interdisciplinary research initiatives, and what tools mediate this interdisciplinary learning process; and (c) whether an interdisciplinary training effort promotes the creation of an alternative community of practice for participating students and faculty. The studies were part of a larger mixed methods assessment of the efficacy of the EIGER program. Participants were selected based upon their affiliation with one specific interdisciplinary graduate training initiative, the EIGER program, at Virginia Tech, and came from the hard sciences, engineering, and social sciences. Informed by grounded theory, analysis of the data revealed that both graduate students and faculty achieve interdisciplinary understanding as a result of their interdisciplinary training and research experiences. Furthermore, faculty interdisciplinary learning is mediated by other people and two categories of tools, problem platforms and solution mechanisms, and is achieved by both borrowing and lending of disciplinary expertise. Finally, results suggest that programs like the EIGER may constitute emerging communities of practice that serve as alternatives to traditional disciplinary communities. / Ph. D.

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The Master's in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability (MSLS) offers a transformative learning experience, yet its alumni encounter difficulties in the professional arena that have not been fully explored. This thesis illuminates the difficulties MSLS alumni face in integrating transformative learning outcomes of the program into their professional lives, their coping strategies, and what could support them. The research involved a mixed-methods approach with 34 survey responses and 13 follow-up interviews. The analysis, based on the typology of transformative learning outcomes, revealed that alumni particularly struggle integrating sustainability leadership practices, tools and concepts. Moreover, they have difficulty sustaining their new ways of being and attributes such as enthusiasm, trust and hopefulness. The main impediments to integration are the absence of a shared mental model or language with others and a working culture that inhibits the exploration of new approaches. MSLS alumni tend to address these challenges by surrounding themselves with like-minded people, developing communication strategies, and cultivating personal practices. The findings indicate a need for transition preparation as part of the MSLS program and self-organized support structures that assist alumni in transitioning into the professional world, integrating transformative learning outcomes, and assuming their role as agents for systemic change towards sustainability.

Exposure to increased diversity has been found to produce beneficial results in both learning and democracy outcomes across races; however, this relationship is more consistent for White students than students of color (Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, & Gurin, 2002). Using the data from a campus-wide diversity survey, the relationship between two types of diversity (informal-interactional and classroom) with learning and democracy outcomes was examined in a mid-sized university. Additional analyses were conducted to identify trends in diversity attitude and perception of campus climate toward diversity. Increased classroom diversity and informal-interactional diversity were both found to be related to increased learning and democracy outcomes for White students. For students of color, only classroom diversity was related to increased learning and democracy outcomes. Students of color and females were found to possess more positive attitudes toward diversity. Students of color perceived the more negative campus diversity climate than did White students.

Individually held knowledge is one of an organization’s most valuable assets. The extent to which an organization can leverage that asset depends on its members’ not only applying knowledge in their work, but also exchanging and transferring knowledge with others in the organization. We still know very little, however, about why some knowledge workers are more or less willing to share their specialized knowledge with others. I argue that a robust explanation can be found in the risks or opportunities that knowledge sharing poses to personal identity. Specifically, knowledge workers’ willingness to share knowledge with others can be explained by the importance they place on that component of personal identity associated with expertise (i.e., their expertise identity). I systematically explore contingency factors that might influence the effect of knowledge workers’ expertise identity on their willingness to share knowledge, including other aspects of the self, dyadic social relationships, team identification, and the organizational environment. Finally, I argue that the effects of people’s knowledge sharing will be evidenced in the learning outcomes realized by those around them. I conducted a cross-sectional survey study at a national engineering firm. The final sample included 221 members of 40 continuing teams (55% response rate). In addition to self-report data, surveys captured respondents’ round-robin peer ratings of fellow team members on multiple constructs, including a measure of individuals’ willingness to share their specialized expertise with others in terms of sharing the full range of personal techniques, reasoning, and experience that form the basis of their own mastery. I conducted analyses using multilevel modeling and social relations modeling techniques. Results supported 4 of 6 hypotheses. An individual’s willingness to share knowledge with others was higher when expertise identity was high and dyadic trust, receiver expertise, and team identification were also high. Further, people with high expertise identity were less willing to share knowledge than people with low expertise identity when dyadic trust, receiver expertise, and team identification were low. Implications of these results, limitations of the study, and directions for future research are discussed. / text

After three decades of research, instructional communication scholars find themselves facing several key challenges. These range from an overemphasis in past studies on variable-analytic, atheoretical research to a lack of connection to learning outcomes. Many in the field contend that the time has come for instructional communication researchers to define instructional communication theories, test hypotheses, tie research efforts to learning outcomes, and clarify key terms. The present study addressed these shortcomings by proposing the Content Relevance Centric Theory and testing related hypotheses. The research occurred in a professional training environment and involved the use of a modified content relevance instrument that assessed both teacher communication characteristics and message content relevance. The study gathered data from 247 trainees. Results indicate the importance of the construct as a predictor of trainee behavioral intentions both directly and when mediated by both trainee state motivation and trainer credibility. Study outcomes also question the role of trainee engagement in learning and the connection between behavioral intentions and learning application.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Kenneth F. Hughey / In academic courses, assessment is used to evaluate the effect of teaching on student learning. Academic advising has been viewed as a form of teaching (Crookston, 1972); therefore, it is necessary to assess the effect of academic advising on student learning. The best practices of assessment of academic achievement involve three key steps: the identification of student learning outcomes (i.e., what is assessed), the development and use of good measures of student learning (i.e., how assessment is conducted), and the use of sound professional judgment to understand the information gathered and to make changes to improve student learning (i.e., how assessment results are used). However, the assessment of academic advising is often minimal, narrow, and inconsistent. Further, when assessment of academic advising is conducted, it is most commonly a survey of student satisfaction of their advising experience (Carlstrom, 2012; Habley, 2004; Macaruso, 2007; Robbins, 2009). The purpose of this study was to learn about the assessment practices in the profession by surveying those who conducted or were responsible for assessment of academic advising. The study found that 80% of participants had identified academic advising student learning outcomes in their situation. The most frequently reported outcome was that students would know degree requirements. A little over half of the participants who identified student learning outcomes assessed the achievement of those outcomes and student surveys were the most frequently reported measure used. Seven percent of participants reported to use three or more measures to assess student learning outcomes. Multiple measures are needed in assessing outcomes to gather comprehensive evidence of outcomes achievement. Sixty percent of participants reported they used assessment information to make decisions regarding improvement of services and student learning. The most frequently reported use of information was making revisions to the advising process/delivery outcomes. The results of the survey indicated that participants viewed advisors’ belief in assessment as important to facilitating assessment of academic advising. They also viewed administrators’ use of information in making decisions and changes to improve advising practices and increase student learning as important.

Thesis (D. Tech. (Food Service Management, Dept. of Hospitality))--Vaal University of Technology, 2008 / School feeding programmes are defined as interventions that deliver a meal or snack to children in the school setting, with the intent of improving attendance, enrolment, nutritional status and learning outcomes. The Primary School Nutrition Programme (PSNP) was introduced in South Africa as a Presidential Lead Project in 1994 with the specific aim to improve education by enhancing active learning capacity, school attendance and punctuality. However, not all children qualify to participate in the PSNP and a variety of alternative products, of which little information is known, are used as part of school feeding programmes implemented by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The aim of this study was to investigate such programmes used in the Vaal Region. Five different products used in school feeding programmes in a primary school in Eatonside and two primary schools in Orange Farm were compared in terms of the nutritional content of the products, the impact of these products after a seven month intervention on the nutritional status of the children by analysing their dietary intakes as well as biochemical and anthropometrical measurements, menu cost, compliance of the products by conducting sensory analyses and shelf life studies, and the impact on school attendance. Based on the results of this study, guidelines on the optimal school feeding strategy would be provided to NGO’s and to the Gauteng Department of Education. The five products were a micronutrient dense “vetkoek”, PSNP, two commercial products namely Corn Soya Blend (CSB) and Sejo and, lastly, fruit, which was used as the control. In the Sethlabotja school in Eatonside, the sample consisted of 160 randomly selected boys and girls (40 children participating in the PSNP, and 60 children in each of the vetkoek and fruit groups) and in Sinqobile and Reitumetse schools in Orange Farm the sample included 45 randomly selected children in each of the CSB and Seja groups. Pre-intervention results indicated poor nutritional status. Mean daily energy intake of all the children was below the Dietary Reference Intakes for children between seven and ten years. A mainly carbohydrate-based diet was followed, with inadequate fruit and vegetable intake. The anthropometric indices indicated acute and chronic food shortage. The biochemical results indicated that normal values were present for the majority of the parameters. The post-intervention results indicated that the food consumption patterns did not change substantially during the intervention but the mean energy intake of the children as well as weight, height and body mass index increased with all the interventions. Although few statistically significant differences were observed between the five groups with regard to nutritional status indices, positive changes were observed in each of the groups. The products evaluated in this study proved to be within the range of the provincial school feeding budget. CSB and Sejo were the cheapest programmes because they are subsidised. Compliance to the products was good. No significant differences between commercial and home-prepared food items were found. School attendance was not formally recorded in all the groups. However, a decrease in absenteeism was noted in those groups where it was recorded. It is recommended that further research is conducted on the impact of school feeding on the cognitive performance of school learners in the Vaal Region. / National Research foundation ; Central Research Council

The purpose of this study was to explore the variables that might affect the learning outcomes of a serious game for disaster preparedness. Literature review in the field has revealed a number of variables that might have effects on the learning outcome with serious games, including: prior knowledge, in game guidance, gaming frequency, and playing skills. However, there has been no study on the relationships and effects between the types of knowledge (i.e., declarative, or procedural) used in serious games and the intended learning outcomes. Using disaster preparedness as a learning context, this study examines the two types of knowledge: (1) declarative (i.e., learners’ ability to retain facts and information), and (2) procedural knowledge (learners’ ability to perform actions and procedures), and their relationships with the learning outcomes of a serious game. The research question was: “To what extent do: prior knowledge, in-game guidance, and gaming frequency, predict the learning outcomes, in the forms of declarative and procedural knowledge of a disaster preparedness serious game?”