Male nurses are but a small percentage of the total nurse population in the United States, and most certainly have potential to increase in numbers if the profession appeared more attractive as a career option for men. The purpose of this research was to discover the decision factors used by males that led them to enroll in Associate Degree…

Detecting that two images are different is faster for highly dissimilar images than for highly similar images. Paradoxically, we showed that the reverse occurs when people are asked to describe "how" two images differ--that is, to state a difference between two images. Following structure-mapping theory, we propose that this…

This paper reports findings of a qualitative study exploring the changes in secondary teachers' learning orientation through the use of literacy coaching. The study took place within a large suburban district in the Chicagoland area and explores the question from the perspective of participants sampled across three departments and two campuses in…

The faculty research residency (FRR) model was launched in 2010, with the goal of transforming coursework to improve the preparation of teachers for high-need schools. The FRR model leveraged school-university partnerships and situated university faculty in high-need schools to conduct research related to the university courses they taught. This…

Closing the gap between theoretical reservoir operation and the real-world implementation remains a challenge in contemporary reservoir operations. Past research has focused on optimization algorithms and establishing optimal policies for reservoir operations. In this research, we attempt to understand operators' release decisions by investigating…

This paper describes the findings of a qualitative study of six government teachers from three diverse high schools in the Southwest Chicago suburbs during the 2008 Presidential Election. All of the teachers expressed a desire to cover the election in their classes; however, several experienced difficulty incorporating current events into their…

The data are clear: Unless the nation can find a better way to accelerate improvement in the quality of education and implement it in the next 10 years, this nation will lose its competitive edge against other nations and another generation of children will be lost. Eighty percent of Illinois high school graduates are not capable of doing the…

The integration of technology in classrooms is rapidly emerging as a way to provide more educational opportunities for students. As virtual learning environments become more popular, evaluating the impact of this technology on student success is vital. "Exploring the Effectiveness of Online Education in K-12 Environments" combines…

This project was designed to test Mayer's multimedia theory in an elementary school to improve students' mathematics learning for low-income children. The study designed and developed two multimedia mathematics experiments in 3rd grade: 9's multiplication experiment and geometric solids experiment. The two experimental lessons were implemented in…

AN APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM OF INCREASING THE SUPPLY OF IDEAS FOR TEACHING DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN WAS CONSIDERED. A BASIC PROBLEM IN WORKING WITH DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN IS THAT OF OVERCOMING THEIR RESTRICTED, CONTENT-ORIENTED LANGUAGE STYLE. WORKING CLASS CHILDREN USUALLY INTERPRET THINGS AROUND THEM AS SIMPLE, CONCRETE, DISCONNECTED, ISOLATED…

This report is the second of a series exploring implementation of best practices in programs serving young children and families, and focuses on the uses and benefits of developing and using a logic model in programs serving young children and families. A logic model is described as providing a way to clearly articulate the program's theory of…

This article details a consensus-building initiative to develop a statewide research agenda responding to needs of Illinois's child welfare community. Researchers conducted this process through a university-community partnership to engage those interested in child welfare services, and produced a document to guide child welfare research throughout…

The strengths of item-response theory (IRT) are used to examine the degree of information individual test items provide, as well as to investigate how the individual item types contribute to the overall measurement accuracy of the Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) reading test. Using the graded-response model of Samejima (1969), the amount…

A seventh-grade teacher compared three current delivery systems associated with learning style and multiple intelligences: Beatrice McCarthy's "4MAT," Kathleen Butler's "The Learner's Dimension," and Carolyn Mamchur's "Cognitive Type Theory and Learning Style." All have distinct advantages and disadvantages. Gardner's…