John Dantzler

Effect of a freshman engineering program on retention and academic performance

Longitudinal studies using seven years of student record data were recently performed on the students participating in a freshman-engineering program (called TIDE) and on students in a comparison group. The results show that: (1) a statistically significant larger percentage of TIDE students graduated in engineering than students from the comparison group; and (2) there was no significant difference in academic performance (as measured by final GPA) between TIDE and traditional students. TIDE students entering the university ready for calculus had a 14% better graduation rate (significance level of /spl alpha/ = 0.001), students entering ready for pre-calculus had a 16% better graduation rate (/spl alpha/ = 0.10), women entering ready for calculus had a 23% better graduation rate (/spl alpha/ = 0.001) and women entering ready for pre-calculus had a 26% better graduation rate (/spl alpha/ = 0.05). The paper briefly describes the TIDE program, presents the data, and discusses the results.

Development of a concept inventory for strength of materials

With the success of David Hesteness force concept inventory, many educators are now working on developing concept inventories for other subjects such as math, biology and engineering science. Development of a useful concept inventory is not easy, however. This paper describes development of two concept inventories for strength of materials, the first of which was a failure. Psychometric testing of this concept inventory indicated serious deficiencies. A new and larger project team was assembled (including the second author) to develop a better inventory. The results of the psychometric analysis of the first inventory, which showed its shortcomings, are first presented, followed by the improved development procedure for the second inventory. Finally, the lessons learned developing first a failed inventory and then a promising inventory are discussed.

Creating a Digital Ecosystem for the Gifted Education Classroom

To date, there is a paucity of empirical research documenting the essential environmental conditions that must exist before teachers of the gifted will integrate technology into their instruction. To establish baseline data documenting the frequency with which teachers of the gifted use technology for instructional purposes and to build theory describing the critical environmental conditions that support technology integration, researchers administered the Perceptions of Computers and Technology (PCT) survey to 255 teachers of the gifted. This survey measured teachers’ self-reported use of technology and other factors that contributed to computer integration. Results suggested five conditions (general school support, infrastructure, professional development, teacher attitude, and teacher personal use) are necessary for teachers of the gifted to create a classroom digital ecosystem. In this model, personal use accounted for the greatest amount of unique variability. Conclusions are drawn, new lines of inquiry are posed, and implications are discussed.

The Effect of a Platform Swing on the Independent Work Behaviors of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

A randomized pretest–posttest control group design was utilized to measure the effects of a platform swing on independent work behaviors of 30 children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Participants engaged in two 5-min intervals of independent work. Between the intervals, participants in the treatment group received 5 min of vestibular stimulation using a platform swing and children in the control group watched a video. No significant differences were evidenced between the treatment and control groups on engagement, on-task behavior, stereotyped/repetitive behavior, or out-of-seat behavior. Changes noted for individual participants could not be linked to age, diagnosis, or sensory profile patterns.

Psychometric Evaluation of Data From the Race-Related Events Scale

Using exploratory factor analysis, we examined the factor structure of data collected from the Race-Related Events Scale, which assesses perceived exposure to race-related stress. Our sample (N = 201) consisted of diverse caregivers of Head Start preschoolers. Three factors explained 81% of the variance in the data and showed sound reliability.

The Influence Theory: Factors That Influence the Transfer Advising Process

The transfer rate from community college to four-year institutions has been dropping for the past 70 years. In the most recent statistics, the national rate of transfer is 23% (Cohen & Brawer, 2008). In the state of Alabama the transfer rate is approximately 4%, and in the rural counties of Alabama the transfer rate hovers around 1%. Many studies have been conducted on the transfer process, but none have focused on the transfer process from a theoretical perspective. Most studies focus attention on disparate pieces of the transfer puzzle. To date, there is no overarching theory of the transfer process that will bring coherence to this field of study. This study views the transfer process through the experience of nine transfer advisors who serve students in 11 community colleges located in rural counties in the state of Alabama. The findings establish a substantive theory that will provide a contextual framework for researchers who wish to study specific features of the transfer process. The Influence Theory establishes five factors that play a prominent role in the transfer advising process: institutional, cultural, contextual, advisor, and student. This article concludes with implications for practice and future research.

Using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis to Measure Construct Validity of the Traits, Aptitudes, and Behaviors Scale (TABS).

This study evaluated the construct validity of the Traits, Aptitudes, and Behaviors Scale (TABS). Data for this study were collected from two separate school districts across three different academic years in the Southeastern United States. Of the total sample (N = 2,330), 64.6% of the children were identified as African American, 29.0% as Caucasian, and 6.4% had no or other racial category specified. A two-step process was used to assess evidence of construct validity in the TABS. The first step was to identify an optimal factor structure using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) techniques. The second step was to confirm the structure using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) methods. Results point to a one-factor solution as the optimal factor structure for the TABS EFA sample; however, CFA showed mixed results for model fit. Despite these limitations, results of this study suggest that the TABS might help reduce teacher bias during the referral/nomination process of gifted children. Although the TABS factor structure suggests that it measures a single construct of giftedness, additional studies need to be conducted to confirm these findings.