2013 Annual Meeting Preview

From the inbox a few minutes ago…

	Wednesday, May 1, 2013 Welcome to the final day of the AERA Annual Meeting. Thank you for helping to make it a successful event. Plan now to attend the annual Brown Lecture on October 24 in Washington, D.C., and the AERA 2014 Annual Meeting, April 3-7, 2014, in Philadelphia. Questions? Email AERA staff at annualmtg@aera.net. Highlighted Sessions – Wednesday, May 1 AERA Open Business Meeting and Discussion on Open Access and AERA Journal Publishing Time: Wed, May 1, 8:15 – 9:45 am Place: Hilton Union Square, Ballroom Level – Continental 7 Chair: William G. Tierney, University of Southern California; Presenter: William Cope, Chair, Journal Publications Committee: “Open Access and AERA Journal Publishing—Moving Ahead” The AERA Open Business Meeting provides a time for Association members to discuss important issues regarding education research and the work of AERA. Open access publishing will be a special focus of the meeting. Researchers and Districts Working Together to Improve Achievement, Opportunity, and Economic Chances for English Learners: Policy, Practice, and Research Time: Wed, May 1, 12:25 – 1:55 pm Place: Hilton Union Square, Ballroom Level – Continental 4 Chairs: Patrick M. Shields, SRI International; Claude N. Goldenberg, Stanford University New in 2013 AERA Film Festival Catch the final day of the AERA Film Festival, which features contemporary films related to the conference theme, “Education and Poverty: Theory, Research, Policy, and Praxis,” and to other critical issues in education. Some film will include post-viewing discussions led by educators, filmmakers, and researchers. All film festival events take place in Hilton Union Square, Fourth Level – Union Square 22. Today’s films include Louder Than a Bomb, Race to Nowhere, and First Generation. Plan Ahead AERA 2013 Brown Lecture in Education Research (#AERABrown) When: Oct 24, 2013, 6:30 pm EDT Place: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, D.C. Presenter: Gary Orfield, University of California, Los Angeles The Brown Lecture ─ now in its 10th year ─ was inaugurated by AERA in 2004 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, in which the U.S. Supreme Court first took scientific research into account in issuing its landmark ruling. An accomplished social scientist, Gary Orfield’s expertise is in civil rights, education policy, urban policy, and minority opportunity. His research has focused on the impact of policy decisions on equal opportunity for success in American society. He was co-founder and director of the Harvard Civil Rights Project, and now serves as co-director of the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA. AERA 2014 Annual Meeting (#AERA14) The Power of Education Research for Innovation in Practice and Policy When: Thu, April 3 – Mon, April 7, 2014 Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Join more than 14,000 education researchers from more than 60 countries in the City of Brotherly Love. Plan now for five rewarding days of top-tier scholarship and professional networking.
	This email was sent to mkbarbour@gmail.com. You are receiving this email because of your association with AERA. American Educational Research Association 1430 K Street, NW, Suite 1200 Washington, DC 20005

AERA 2013 – The Nature of Online Teacher Engagement at the Open High School of Utah

Im at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, taking place from 27 April to 01 May 2013 in San Francisco, and as best I can I will be blogging the K-12 online learning presentations that I identified from searching the program. The ninth and final session I am blogging is:

The Nature of Online Teacher Engagement at the Open High School of Utah

Presenters/Authors: Jered Borup (Brigham young University), Charles R. Graham (Brigham Young University)

Scheduled Time: 8:00am – 10:00am
Building/Room: Parc 55, Fourth Level – Mission I
In Session: K-12 and Community College Online Environments

Abstract: This research analyzed 22 interviews with 11 instructors at the Open High School of Utah—an online charter school with an overall course pass rate of 80% and higher than average standardized test scores. It was found that OHSU’s premade curriculum allowed teachers to spend the majority of their time tutoring and interacting with students. In most cases the curriculum was developed in house, allowing teachers to easily modify it to better fit student needs. In addition, teachers used a variety of strategies to motivate students. However, all teachers indicated some difficulty in engaging reluctant students because of teachers’ physical separation from students and the lack of visual cues.

Jered began with some background into K-12 online learning – as much of the audience wasn’t from a K-12 environment. Jered’s interest was the teacher and the role that the online teacher can play in improving success and retention in the online environment. He looked at the role of the online teacher through the Community of Inquiry framework. The original framework was created focused on discussion forum postings in higher education, so Jered was interested in focusing on K-12 environment and the holistic role of the online teacher – specifically the teacher presence aspects (e.g., designing and organizing, instructing, facilitating discourse, nurturing, motivating, and monitoring); which they re-named teacher engagement (as the final three of those items were things Jered added to the CoI).

The study was conducted at the Open High School of Utah – a full-time, cyber charter school that has been recognized at the state and national level. The data consistent of two interviews each with 11 of the approximately 20 teachers at OSHU.

Of the six items, the one that was the most prominent theme was facilitating discourse with students and, interestingly, with parents too. Jered went through some of the specific examples of types of discourse that the teachers had with their students and parents. There was also discourse that occurred between teachers. Jered went through the other five topics kind of quickly – providing some specific examples of each of the five remaining items (e.g., developing caring relationships under nurturing, identifying dishonesty under monitoring, or using positive praise under motivating).

Overall, the concept of teacher engagement proved useful. But there were several caveats.

AERA 2013 – Student Voices: Online High School Students’ Reactions to the Social Presence Model for a Quality Learning Experience

Im at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, taking place from 27 April to 01 May 2013 in San Francisco, and as best I can I will be blogging the K-12 online learning presentations that I identified from searching the program. The eighth session I am blogging is:

Student Voices: Online High School Students’ Reactions to the Social Presence Model for a Quality Learning Experience

Scheduled Time: 8:00am – 10:00am
Building/Room: Parc 55, Fourth Level – Mission I
In Session: K-12 and Community College Online Environments

Presenters/Authors: Somer Lewis (North Carolina Virtual Public Schools), Amy E. Garrett Dikkers (University of North Carolina – Wilmington), Aimee Whiteside (University of Tampa)

Abstract: We extended our research to learn about high school students’ needs and perceptions in regard to online learning. Through survey and other methods, we introduced students to the Social Presence Model and examined their perceptions of quality online learning and their needs as an audience. Our research questions were as follows: (a) What are students’ perceived benefits and challenges of online learning? (b) What are students’ perceptions of the Social Presence Model for quality teaching and learning in online environments? (c) Is the Social Presence Model a useful tool to gauge expectations of themselves and their teachers? Our findings revealed a few key perceptions from students that may make a marked difference for future K-12 online learning.

The study was conducted in a supplemental, statewide virtual school, with the majority of students enrolled

The first question focused on the challenges of online learning. Those challenges included: easily distracted, difficult without a teacher around at all time, questions to teachers were not answered quickly, struggled to regulate their own learning, connectivity issues, difficult to get oriented to tools and techniques of virtual school. On the benefits side, they liked the freedom to guide their own learning, a new sense of autonomy and responsibility, appreciated the increased course selection, also the ability to try school in a different format, and allow them to get a taste of the college experience.

The second question focused on what the presenters called the social presence model – which was a revision of the original social presence theory. It included: affective association, knowledge and experience, community connection, interaction intensity, and instructor involvement. The presenters found that the instructor involvement was the one that the students found to exist most prominently. The others were only found – based on student report – to only be seen from time-to-time. When asked which of the five components were most important to their learning, they indicated instructor involvement was the most important and the community connection was the least important.

Overall, the students felt that the benefits of online learning outweighed the challenges. Further, school-based personnel can help to mitigate most of the challenges. Interestingly, the students and online teachers did have differing views of what their roles were in the online environment – so there was a disconnect there. The social presence model was also far less useful to the students than it was to the teachers.

AERA 2013 – A Framework for Looking at Group Work in Asynchronous Online Courses for High School Students

Im at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, taking place from 27 April to 01 May 2013 in San Francisco, and as best I can I will be blogging the K-12 online learning presentations that I identified from searching the program. The seventh session I am blogging is:

A Framework for Looking at Group Work in Asynchronous Online Courses for High School Students

Presenter/Author: Susan Lowes (Teachers College, Columbia University)

Scheduled Time: 8:00am – 10:00am
Building/Room: Parc 55, Fourth Level – Mission I
In Session: K-12 and Community College Online Environments

Abstract: The ability to work in groups across time and space has become a frequent requirement for the workplace and is increasingly common in higher education, but there is a surprising lack of research on how online groups work. This research applies analytical approaches used in studies of face-to-face classroom “talk” to twelve groups in two online high school courses. We found two activities that demanded group problem-solving styles—one for deciding how to work as a group and a second for responding to the content of the assignment; that successful groups had directive leaders; that most groups divided the labor, working in parallel rather than collaboratively; and that there was therefore very little collaborative learning in the group projects examined.

Susan’s motivation for doing this research was focused on the importance that gets placed on group work, coupled with the fact that students don’t seem to like it or do it. Her research questions focused on how much collaboration actually occurs in group projects, what that collaboration looks like, and does collaboration affect the success of the final project. The study was conducted in two supplemental courses – one economics and one psychology – in a US-based virtual school that had students enrolled from around the world.

There are three types of group projects: cumulative (everyone adds a piece), jig-saw (everyone does a bit, need all bits to make a whole), and collaborative (everyone involved in all aspects). Susan found that regardless of the way the project was designed, students were able to take it apart and make it a cumulative project – although you wouldn’t be able to tell this from the final product.

Successful groups also had higher proportion of accepting and discussing, as opposed to rejecting (based on Barron’s work). This was particularly true of the first interactions – telling, (directive) telling with a question (tentative), asking (struggling). All of this discussion was focused on logistics, not on the content.

Groups tended to spend too much time getting organized, at least one students failed to show up in all of the groups, one student also disappeared at some point in the project for all groups, all discussions was about logistics.

In successful groups, one students took charge, other students agreed without discussing. When female students took charge, which they did most often, they did so with profuse apologies.

Finally, groups can have different styles from getting organized and actually doing the work. Those groups that were more collaborative did not do better on the final grades.

2013 Annual Meeting Preview

From the inbox a few minutes ago…

	Tuesday, April 30, 2013 Welcome to Day 4 of the AERA Annual Meeting. Each morning, AM2013 Preview will provide tips on major sessions and events, as well as other updates. Join the conversation: Use the conference hashtag #AERA13, and follow AERA on Twitter at @AERA_EdResearch and @AERA13. Questions during your stay? Email AERA staff at annualmtg@aera.net. Highlighted Sessions – Tuesday, April 30 AERA Early Career Award (2012) Lecture: Maisha T. Winn “Agitating, Educating, Organizing.” Toward a Theory of Black Literate Lives Time: Tue, Apr 30 – 8:00 – 9:30 am Place: Hilton Union Square, Lobby Level – Plaza B AERA Distinguished Lecture: Pedro A. Noguera (#AERAFuture) Education, Racial Inequality, and the Future of American Democracy Time: Tue, Apr 30 – 10:20 – 11:50 am Place: Hilton Union Square, Ballroom Level – Continental 5 Drawing on research from a variety of studies, Pedro Noguera of New York University will discuss how schools can be transformed to counter social (and racial) inequality to promote mobility and community development. In addition to research carried out in schools throughout the United States, Noguera will also include lessons derived from recent experiences of developing new educational models in cities such as New York; Union City, N.J.; Port of Spain, Trinidad; and Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Can’t attend the session? Register to watch the livestream. AERA Task Force on the Prevention of Bullying in Schools, Colleges, and Universities: A Report Time: Tue, Apr 30 – 10:20 – 11:50 am Place: Hilton Union Square, Lobby Level – Plaza A The AERA Task Force on the Prevention of Bullying in Schools, Colleges, and Universities was mandated to prepare and present to the AERA Council practical short-term and long-term recommendations to address bullying of children and youth. The report was adopted by the Council in February 2013, and is being released in book form at the Annual Meeting. It addresses legislative, policy and procedural matters with pragmatic and practical strategies. What Is the Role for Teachers’ Unions in School District Reforms? (#AERAUnions) Time: Tue, Apr 30 – 12:10 – 1:40 pm Place: Hilton Union Square, Ballroom Level – Continental 5 Chair: Frederick Hess, American Enterprise Institute Discussant: Richard Carranza, San Francisco Unified School District Participants: Susan M. Johnson, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Terry M. Moe, Stanford University; Katharine O. Strunk, University of Southern California; Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers Can’t attend the session? Register to watch the livestream. International Handbook of Research in Environmental Education (IHREE): A New AERA Publication Time: Tue, Apr 30 – 2:00 – 3:30 pm Place: Hilton Union Square, Yosemite B The environment and contested notions of sustainability are increasingly topics of public interest, political debate, and legislation across the world. Environmental education journals now publish research from a wide variety of methodological traditions that show linkages between the environment, health, development, and education. The growth in scholarship makes this an opportune time to review and synthesize the knowledge base of the environmental education (EE) field. Invited Special Address: U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan (#AERASec) Choosing the Right Battles: Remarks and a Conversation Time: Tue, Apr 30 – 3:45 – 4:45 pm Place: Hilton Union Square – Continental 4-6 Education Secretary Arne Duncan will give a major talk on K-12 student assessment and take audience questions. Can’t attend the session? Register to watch the livestream. New in 2013 Tour GLIDE Memorial Church AERA meeting attendees are invited to visit and see how Glide members engage the local community. The tour of Glide’s educational outreach activities will include the Youth and Childcare Center today from 10:30 a.m.- noon or 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Register to attend. Mobile Mac Lab Fund Inspired to give back to the San Francisco community? Consider a donation to GLIDE’s MacBook Learning Lab, a mobile unit that enhances youth and children’s learning in areas of literacy, nutrition, tutoring, creative arts, wellness, media awareness, and digital arts. Community Cashmob Why not check out a local restaurant committed to social good? Each day of the conference we’ll share a location that has been selected as a “community cashmob.” We hope you’ll visit the site and support their work in the San Francisco community. Mission Chinese is more than just fast delivery food; they donate .75¢ from each entrée to the Food Bank. Menu | Entrees: $10-$18 AERA Film Festival The Association’s Film Festival features contemporary films related to the conference theme, “Education and Poverty: Theory, Research, Policy, and Praxis,” and to other critical issues in education. Films run throughout the Annual Meeting, and some will include post-viewing discussions led by educators, filmmakers, and researchers. All film festival events take place in Hilton Union Square, Fourth Level – Union Square 22. Today’s films include Brooklyn Castle, Pariah, Growing Up Is Activism, Adelante, and Precious Knowledge. AERA ED Talks AERA ED Talks will enable education researchers to use the TEDx format for “ideas worth spreading.” Presenters will address the conference theme or some other compelling aspect of the practice of education research. See how educational researchers tackle the topic “Poverty, Education, and Justice” today, 2:00 – 3:30 pm, in Hilton Union Square, Lobby Level, Plaza A.
	This email was sent to mkbarbour@gmail.com. You are receiving this email because of your association with AERA. Click the following link to change your preference or opt out of AERA emails: preferences American Educational Research Association 1430 K Street, NW, Suite 1200 Washington, DC 20005