2010-11 Title III Faculty Grant Awards
Investment Game (OIG), Risk Perception and Student Performance
Dr. Rahnuma Ahsan, Accounting and Finance
Today’s
finance students will be tomorrow’s investors, financial advisors or pension
fund managers. A student who is learning investment theory in class today will
be responsible for managing someone else’s life savings tomorrow! The
importance of introducing students to the complexities of the real investment
world cannot be overstated. Online Investment Game (OIG) is the closest the
students can get to implementing theories learned in class and to gaining
practical knowledge without losing real money. Poor design of OIG, however, can
encourage excessive risk taking. This study will focus on developing a game
that controls excessive risk taking behavior by incorporating a
fiduciary-principal relationship. Analysis will evaluate the effect of game use on student risk perception and will test student ability to relate theory to
practice.
The "My Book" Project: Developing Critical Thinking Skill in Freshmen Using Game-like Simulations
Dr. Robert Duncan, Behavioral Sciences
The MyBook project
will develop a library of scenarios to train students in critical thinking
skills using the media channels and tools they are most likely to encounter in
their lives. The training protocol will use simulations of popular websites
like Wikipedia to engage students in
critical thinking. Students will create their own online publication based on
information that they have critically evaluated. The specific aim of this
research program is to determine whether virtual simulations, where core game
play provides opportunities to practice critical thinking skills, are better
than traditional simulations. It is predicted that students who practice
critical thinking skills using MyBook
will perform better on indicators of critical thinking compared to students who
practice critical thinking using traditional simulations.
Evaluating Mathematics Lessons Incorporating Graphing Calculators or Manipulatives to Actively Engage Students
Dr. Jane Keleher, Teacher Education
This research addresses the question “does active engagement
with calculators or manipulatives in the math classroom increase students' conceptual
understanding?” Student learning in a secondary mathematics methods class and in
student-faculty collaboration in the field is investigated. Students will
select a unit, collect an assessment that does not implement calculators or
manipulatives, and write a unit plan assessment that includes student
engagement with calculators or manipulatives. Comparative analysis of unit
assessment skills and conceptual questions will provide quantitative data on
student understanding, and analysis of written narratives will provide
qualitative data. Findings will inform the pedagogy of active engagement in
teacher education.
E-Portfolio Self-Reflection and Goal-Setting to Improve Student Achievement in the Media Production Classroom
Dr. Michael Smith, Performing and Fine Arts
In media
production classes, Communication Technology majors presently use e-portfolios
to showcase work and critique peers. Feedback from students has indicated that
they like how the e-portfolio helps them keep their work organized. For this
investigation, students will also be asked to regularly describe in their
e-portfolios areas of strength and obstacles of concern. This self- reflection
process will hopefully invite students to take risks and encourage them to
refocus goals as the semester progresses, leading to higher student
achievement.
