http://hdl.handle.net/1974/756 2013-06-20T04:51:54Z http://hdl.handle.net/1974/8050 Title: INVESTIGATING FACTORS INFLUENCING GRADING DECISIONS AMONG TEACHERS OF CHINESE TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES Authors: Liu, XIAOQIAN Abstract: The current study investigated teachers’ grading practices on achievement and non-achievement factors in the classroom of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (TCSOL). Specifically, this study investigated how teachers assigned grades in relation to students’ achievement and non-achievement factors, and further, whether this relationship between achievement and non-achievement factors and grades was different based on teachers’ past experiences. This study was a quantitative survey study. The participants were 214 TCSOL teacher candidates at Master’s level in two universities in Beijing, China. The study employed a questionnaire made up of two sections. Section One provided 32 grading scenarios that illustrated 32 students with different characteristics (achievement and non-achievement factors). Section Two included four items on teachers’ past experiences. These items were training in classroom assessment and grading, perceptions about grades previously received, teaching experience, and grading experience. Descriptive and multiple linear regression analyses were the two main statistical methods used. Results showed that teachers involved both achievement and non-achievement factors when assigning grades. Generally, sixteen students with low achievement received a mean grade higher than their achievement, and most students with high achievement received a lower grade than their achievement. Further, raw grades assigned by 214 teachers to every student demonstrated large standard deviations, indicating teachers’ decisions on grades were quite different from each other. Paired-sample t-tests found significant differences in grades among four students who presented extreme characteristics. Regression results further showed that while achievement was the main factor teachers considered when assigning grades, all of four non-achievement factors also contributed significantly to grades, with attendance being the most significant contributor, followed by effort, progress and ability. This relationship between the mean grades and all five factors did not change when teachers had different experiences in assessment training, perceptions in the grades they previously received, teaching and grading experiences. This study expands upon the limited research evidence regarding TCSOL teachers’ grading practices. It confirms the hodgepodge nature of grades in this context. It also provides teacher educators with insights and understanding in teachers’ grading practices, and has implications for preparing future teachers to assign grades appropriately. Description: Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2013-05-29 12:12:27.415 2013-05-29T04:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1974/7997 Title: Listening to the voices in the garden: The enactment of curriculum in contemporary kindergarten Authors: PYLE, ANGELA Abstract: Kindergarten was originally conceived as a place for young children to playfully participate in self-initiated investigation and creative work to facilitate their development (Froebel, 1967a). However, over time, curricular mandates have shifted from Froebel’s original conception of kindergarten to prescriptive outcomes that have resulted in a more academically oriented curriculum that emphasizes skills and content in segregated subject areas (Russell, 2011; Stipek, 2004). These expectations and the accompanying accountability have led to the development of a different kind of kindergarten driven by a different set of goals (Stipek, 2004). There has been much discussion concerning the impact of shifting expectations on teacher practice (e.g., Goldstein, 2007b). Much of this research has surrounded a singular debate: the tension between the use of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) and the obligation to teach prescribed curricular goals (e.g., Einarsdottir, 2008). However, this debate focusses solely on two dichotomous instructional logics and, thus, belies the complexities of the kindergarten classroom (Goldstein, 2007a). To gain a deeper understanding of how kindergarten is enacted in the evolving curricular landscape, this research looks beyond the challenges of integrating competing perspectives and into the interconnected factors at play in a classroom. Accordingly, in this study, I use a conceptual lens informed by Schwab’s conception of the eclectic (1971) and the four commonplaces (1973) to examine the multiple factors that contribute to the development of a kindergarten classroom environment. I re-envision the four commonplaces – subject matter, teacher, milieu, and learner – to align them with contemporary conceptions of educational purposes, practical theory, classroom climate, and childhood. Acknowledgement of kindergarten as an eclectic space provides a framework to explore the concurrent inclusion of both academic and developmental orientations. Using an ethnographic approach that integrates data from classroom observations, teacher interviews, and photo elicitation interviews with the students, I robustly describe learning in three full day kindergarten classrooms in Ontario. The data demonstrate that a successful, albeit different, balance between academic learning and developmentally appropriate practices is present in each of these classrooms. Description: Thesis (Ph.D, Education) -- Queen's University, 2013-04-28 23:45:55.34 2013-04-30T04:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1974/7995 Title: VALIDATING THE CANADIAN ACADEMIC ENGLISH LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT FOR DIAGNOSTIC PURPOSES FROM THREE PERSPECTIVES: SCORING, TEACHING, AND LEARNING Authors: Doe, Christine Abstract: Large-scale assessments are increasingly being used for more than one purpose, such as admissions, placement, and diagnostic decision-making, with each additional use requiring validation regardless of previous studies investigating other purposes. Despite this increased multiplicity of test use, there is limited validation research on adding diagnostic purposes—with the intention of directly benefiting teaching and learning—to existing large-scale assessments designed for high-stakes decision-making. A challenge with validating diagnostic purposes is to adequately balance investigations into the score interpretations and the intended beneficial consequences for teachers and students. The Assessment Use Argument (AUA) makes explicit these internal and consequential validity questions through a two-stage validation argument (Bachman & Palmer, 2010). This research adopted the AUA to examine the appropriateness of the Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) Assessment for diagnostic purposes, by forming a validity argument that asked, to what extent did the CAEL essay meet the new diagnostic scoring challenges from the rater perspective, and a utilization argument centered on teachers' and students’ uses of the diagnostic information obtained from the assessment. This study employed three research phases at an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program in one Canadian university. Data collection strategies included interview and verbal protocol data from two raters (Phase 1), interview and classroom observation data from one EAP course instructor (Phase 2), and interview and open-ended survey data from 47 English Language Learners (Phase 3). A multifaceted perception of CAEL for diagnostic purposes was observed: raters noted the greatest diagnostic potential at higher score levels, and teacher and student perceptions were largely influenced by previous diagnostic assessment experiences. This research emphasized the necessity of including multiple perspectives across contexts to form a deeper realization of the inferences and decisions made from diagnostic results. Description: Thesis (Ph.D, Education) -- Queen's University, 2013-04-29 09:40:22.649 2013-04-30T04:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1974/7905 Title: AN EXAMINATION OF CAD USE IN TWO INTERIOR DESIGN PROGRAMS FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTORS Authors: AL-MOUSA, NADYA Abstract: The overall purpose of this study was to examine the nature of curriculum in college-level interior design programs, explore computer-aided design’s (CAD) place in these curricula, and examine pedagogy used to teach CAD in these programs. Specifically, the objectives of this study were to better understand (a) the nature of college-level interior design programs with regard to curricular conceptions, (b) how interior design programs integrate CAD into the curriculum, and (c) how interior design instructors adopt and integrate CAD into their teaching practices. A qualitative research methodology using case study design was used. Data at two college-level interior design programs were collected using document analysis and interviews with six interior design instructors, three from each institution. Previous studies (Hill & Anning, 2001b) examined and identified how other design fields such as graphic, engineering, architectural, and apparel design practice the design process. However, there is little research found on how interior designers practice design and their profession, or how they use CAD in design. Therefore, this research contributes to the literature on how interior design professionals design using CAD programs and more specifically how they incorporate AutoCAD software in their professional design practice and in their teaching of interior design curriculum. Findings revealed that participants referred to their own professional practice to conceptualize and teach the design process. The phases of the design process described by each instructor were context-specific to a design project and their use of CAD in the design process depended on their preferences, skills, abilities, and the context of their professional practice. Findings also revealed that CAD is an important tool in the field of interior design. Even though CAD may inhibit an interior design students’ creativity, it can save time, document drawings, and assist in better coordination with other professionals in the workforce. To enhance interior design students’ skills, it is recommended that CAD courses be placed at the early courses of an interior design curriculum concurrently with manual drafting courses. This research provides useful information for future interior design instructors and CAD curriculum planning. Description: Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2013-04-23 14:18:55.35 2013-04-23T04:00:00Z