University of Central Florida

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA College of Education & Human Performance

I. Descriptive Information

Department: Child, Family and Community Services Course Title: Research in Career Education Course Number: ECT 6791 Course Credit: 3 hours Prerequisites: Graduate Standing Intended Audience Graduate Semester: Summer 2014 Instructor: Dr. Jo Ann M. Whiteman UCF Coordinator: Judith D. Montilla Office: Main Campus, Education Complex Bldg. 123N Office Hours: Online Evenings: SKYPE by appointment SKYPE id: jwhitema1 Email: [email protected]

Catalog Description: 3(3,0). PR: Graduate Standing. Curricular, instructional, demographic, and trends research in the field of career education. - (UCF Graduate Catalog)

Course Overview: A "research" course in occupational education is meant to provide opportunities for review of research and discourse about occupational (vocational) education. At the graduate level courses should offer opportunities to write intensively and discuss research findings in preparation for the comprehensive examinations. The course starts out with an overview of types of research that has been conducted. Students will then focus on an area of interest to complete the other assignments of the course which involve the types of research.

II. Statement of Course Goals and Objectives

KEY: FEAP/PEC = Florida Educator Accomplished Practices / Professional Educator Competencies (http://www.fldoe.org/dpe/publications/preprofessional4-99.pdf)

Quality of Instruction

(a) Quality of instruction Quality of Instruction 1. Instructional Design and Lesson Planning 2. The Learning Environment 3. Instructional Delivery and Facilitation

1 4. Assessment

(b) Continuous Improvement, Responsibility and Ethics

5. Continuous Professional Improvement 6. Professional Responsibility and Ethical Conduct

Objectives: The student will:

1. Demonstrate the ability to use the Internet search engines 2. Research databases in the UCF Library using online access. 3. Identify an area of research in Occupational Education 4. Summarize research 5. Demonstrate the ability to use APA format 6. Identify and describe descriptive research 7. Identify and describe historical research 8. Identify and describe causal-comparative/correlational research 9. Identify and describe experimental/quasi-experimental 10. Develop as an educated consumer of research results 11. Summarize results of a national report 12. Focus interests from results of this national report 13. Synthesize research as a base for deciding upon a topic for a Journal article 14. Develop a proposal for a journal article 15. Differentiate between causal-comparative and correlational research 16. Identify the listed components of a research article. 17. Reflect, evaluate and discuss the research topics covered in this course

III. Required Texts and Readings

Textbook: None

Research and Articles: Included in Assignments

Supplementary Materials: Readings (see Bibliography)

UCF Library Access: Library ID Number Request Form (http://library.ucf.edu/Circulation/ID/IDRequestForm.php)

IV. Academic Course Requirements

1. Assignments (70%) Your written work must be professional in appearance. It should be free from grammatical and spelling errors.

2 It is very important that you work be posted on or before the published due date and on time. You will have until a specific date and time for each assignment (see Schedule). Please see the grading “procedures” provided below. 2. Examination (20%) There will be one overall final exam at the end of the course. It is weighted at 10% of the total course grade. Turnaround dates for this varies-but are usually one week. Pay attention to course Schedule. 3. Reflection (5%) In each course we require a reflection at the very end of the course. It is done to offer you an opportunity to sit and think about the course-any aspect of it-and note your reflections. 4. Professionalism (5%) Part of being a professional in education is modeling behaviors. You are or will be a professional educator/trainer and as such are expected to adhere to quality standards in the (virtual) classroom. Five points will be assigned about midway through the course.

Mid-Term Professionalism Guidelines Possible Percentage Points Will provide on-line assistance to peers that is within his/her capability in a professional, respectful manner. 1% Will complete all assignments on time as per the course calendar and will check with announcement board for any changes that may occur. 1% Will use netiquette in all communication. No slang, caps, or abbreviations in any communication. Only use standard font/size, such as Times New Roman , Calibri, or 1% Arial in font 10, 12 or 14. Italics and bold face fonts may be used sparingly. Will use full, complete sentences with correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation on a regular basis in all course communications. 1% Will choose positive word choice and positive tone when writing. For example, "No problem. Forget about it" can be rewritten to "You're welcome. It is my pleasure.” 1%

V. Administrative Course Requirements

Attendance. This course places a strong emphasis upon the interaction of the students therefore you are expected to attend all class sessions. The failure to attend class will negatively affect your grade.

Late Assignments. Please see the professor if you are turning in an assignment late.

VI. Evaluation and Grading System

All of our courses use the same grading scale and follow the same grading procedure. This is based on specific principles:

3 1. The work you do is performance based, assignments are actual or simulate real world work. 2. If you did not receive 100% of the points for an assignment, there are opportunities to earn extra credit points to improve your grade. 3. Work is assessed using criterion and not norm-referenced; a "normal curve" is not used in calculating grades or assignment scores in our courses. 4. Exams, as such, are weighted lower than in most other college courses, hence we attempt to treat adult learners as adult learners. There are no make up exams. 5. A "participation" component termed "Professionalism" is included in each course to simulate required participation in real-world work.

Each student earns points throughout the course. Listed below is the grading scale used in the course. Points given to each assignment are seen in the course's "Schedule."

Grading scale: Letter Grade Percentage A 94 - 100 B 87 - 93 C 80 - 86 D 73 - 79 F 72 and below

The faculty in this program has chosen NOT to adopt plus or minus policy for grades.

Grading Procedures: The following are the grading procedures used in determining your grade in each course.

1. Late Assignments

Assignments need to be posted to Discussions by 11:55 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the due date. A late assignment is graded as follows:

. Beginning after 11:55 p.m., 1 point is deducted for every day that the assignment is posted late in Canvas.

Any time you feel you might be falling behind in the course, it is best to contact the intern or myself to discuss your situation. No assignments will be accepted after the final day of class.

2. Extra Credit

If you did not receive 100% of the points for an assignment, there are opportunities to earn extra credit points to improve your grade. There are no reposting of assignments or make up exams.

4 3. Posting of Grades

Grades are completed one week after the due date. For example, if your assignment was due on Sunday at 11:55 p.m., then the grades are posted by the following Monday morning OR sooner. You can view your grades by selecting the "My Grades" link from the web course homepage. If you do not see your grade after the week, please notify me.

VII. Major Topics of the Course

Career Research Analyzing Research Methods of Research Writing a Proposal Topical Research Preparation of Journal Articles

VIII. Tentative Course Schedule

Due Assignments Points Type of Assignment Date Orientation 0 Individual Assignment 1 - Topics Overview of research 5 Individual Entire class Assignment 1 – Topics Discussion 1 Discussion Assignment 2 – Types of Research 5 Individual Types of research methods Research Quiz 5 Individual Individual & Assignment 3 – Part A 10 Discussion Analyze Introduction, Context and Employer perspectives Participation Assignment 3 – Part B Individual & Analyze Trends in career education and transitions after high 10 Discussion school Participation Assignment 3 – Part C Individual & Analyze postsecondary vocational education, conclusion & 10 Discussion appendices Participation Professionalism – Orientation Assignment describes this grade – 1, 2 or 3 of the 5 points may be earned at this time. 5 Individual Based on your professionalism - all 5 points can be earned by the end of this course

5 Assignment 4 – Proposal for Journal Article 10 Individual Prepare an outline for a proposed journal article

Assignment 5 – Manuscript of Journal Article 10 Individual

Assignment 6 – Article Writing Discussion 10 Class participation Summary of research

Reflection 5 Individual

Final Exam 20 Individual Prepare a journal article for submission

IX. Bibliography

Reid, Jo-Anne, Singh, Michael, Santoro, Ninetta & Mayer, Diane (2011). What does good teacher education research look like? Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 177-182.

Schwitzer, Alan M.; Duggan, Molly H.; Laughlin, Janet T. & Walker, Martha A (2011). Community college adjustment among dislocated workers. Community college Journal of Research & Practice, 35(8), (August 2011), pp. 645-666.

Skidmore, Susan T & Thompson, B (2010). Statistical Techniques Used in Published Articles: A Historical Review of Reviews. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 70(5), (October 2010), pp. 777-795.

Vermunt, Jan D. & Endedijk, Maaike D. (2011). Patterns in teacher learning in different phases of the professional career. Journal of Learning and Individual Differences, 21(3), 294-302.

Historical Works:

Barlow, Melvin, et al, (1988). The legacy of M.D. Mobley. Alexandria, VA, American Vocational Association.

Barlow, Melvin, et al, (1974). The philosophy for quality vocational education programs. Alexandria, VA, American Vocational Association.

Evans, Rupert N. & Herr, Edwin, (1971). Foundations of vocational education, 2nd edition. Columbus, Ohio, Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company.

6 Holt, W.S., (1922). The federal board for vocational education. New York, D. Appleton and Company.

Hull , Dan & Grevelle, Julie, (1998). Tech prep the next generation. Waco, TX, Cord Communications.

Law, Jr., Charles J., (1994). Tech prep education: a total quality approach. Lancaster, PA, Technomic Publishing Company.

Pautler, Jr., Albert J., (1999). Workforce education: issues for the new century. Ann Arbor, MI, Prakken Publications.

Pucel, David J., (2001). Beyond vocational education. Larchmont, NY, Eye on Education.

Scott, John L. & Sarkees-Wircenski, Michelle, (2001). Overview of career and technical education, 2nd edition. Homewood, Illinois, American Technical Publishers.

Stern, David, Finkelstein, Neal, Stone III, James R., Latting, John, & Dornsife, Carolyn, (1995). School to work: research on programs in the United States. Washington, D.C., The Falmer Press.

Thompson, John F., (1973). Foundations of vocational education: social and philosophical thoughts. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall.

Orientation Assignment: http://education.ucf.edu/teched/orientation.cfm

Completion of these components is critical – therefore required. The benefits to you include:

1. Success using your web course, the software program UCF uses, for our online courses. 2. Ability to perform basic word processing skills. 3. Clear understanding at onset of this course of the grading plan and grade scale. 4. Interaction among students in this course in a non-graded manner.

There are NO points attached to this assignment, yet it coincides with the beginning of each course. The benefits are many and we feel a need to incorporate this in ALL our courses.

After completion of the Orientation Assignment you, the prospective new student will be able to:

1. Identify important aspects of learning on-line. 2. Locate selected buildings on the UCF campus in Orlando. 3. Cite references according to protocol. 4. Follow UCF student conduct policies. 5. Accept grading policies for our courses.

7 Learning on-line

When UCF began using the Web for courses in the summer of 1996, and we adopted it fully for our courses then. There was no infrastructure as we have now. Initially our courses were very technically challenging by today's standards, and yet our students not only survived but thrived. However, because of growth and access by a wider range of skilled students a tutorial was developed. Of course the tutorial is on-line, teaching people how to be on-line using Canvas and providing refresher training in basic word processing.

Completion of this tutorial can take up to one hour – time well spent up-front, for technical success later. You are asked, urged, cajoled, pressured, and even required to complete the tutorial as soon as possible.

1. Access "Learning on-line" Review: o Skill Requirements o Technical requirements 2. Complete: o Orientation Course

As a reminder, use the checklist below as review in your web journey.

Canvas Technical Competencies

Just as you would not embark on a long-distance trip without knowing something about the vehicle you are traveling in, you should not enroll in web courses without acquiring some skills of the vehicle used to transfer your knowledge to the instructor.

Following are some competencies you must achieve before leaving today. Be sure to be checked off by the instructor or a mentor to show that you have the basic knowledge to use Canvas.

You must be able to do the following:

1. Access the web course(s) in which you are enrolled. 2. Log in with your username and password. 3. Access course components. 4. Post comments to Discussion Topics. 5. Enter Chat room and post comments. 6. Access Course Mail to select specific addresses, write notes or respond to mail. 7. Find mail in your Inbox and the Outbox 8. Copy and paste to and from Canvas 9. Include URL's in your postings. (copy & paste) 10. Access "My Grades" 11. "My Participation".

8 Writing Papers & Posting References - Procedures

APA STYLE

http://apastyle.org/

APA (American Psychological Association) will be used to cite sources. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition, second printing.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and it is a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue.

HOW TO RESEARCH THE INTERNET

1. Go to www.google.com 2. Select "Advanced Search" (hyperlink found on the right of the searching field)

3. Fill in the information needed to minimize your searching time. Select the "Advanced Search Tips" at the top of the page for help

*TIP: A good scholarly resource is the “Journal of Technology Education” from the Virginia Tech (2010) retrieved on January 2, 2012 at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/index.html

This site has several articles on technology education.

HOW TO ORGANIZE A PAPER

The purpose of me providing you this site is because I want you to know that I will be grading you on the organization of your paper. Your paper should contain a thesis statement that contains your topic sentence, the main body (all of the paragraphs should reflect what is in your topic sentence) and a conclusion.

Steps in writing a paper. (n.d.) Retrieved from the Dartmouth College writing website retrieved on August 12, 2012 at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/ac_paper/wri te.shtml

9 Team Strategies:

When you first heard that you would be working in a team, you might have thought "oh no!" Understandable, you might have had a bad experience in the past with a team project in another class or at work. However, learning how to work in a team environment is beneficial to you for problem solving, working under the pressure of a time limit, and learning how to work with others. Also, team work is a reality of the workforce. Learning some of the strategies given below is useful for the present class and a possible future job requirement.

STEPS TO BEGINNING A TEAM PROJECT 1. Make contact in your team discussion group. 2. Discuss the topics below (Team Rules & Guides to Discuss) with your team members. 3. The team makes a decision on who is doing what when.  Picking a leader is optional. Understand that if each team member completes their designated job, the team can function without a leader. However, the team might want to designate a leader due to the circumstances. Also, sometimes, leaders will just occur as the team proceeds with the project. 4. The team begins to work on the project with a PLAN.

TEAM RULES & SKILLS TO DISCUSS

RULES 1. Member's Schedules 2. Member's Assigning the Portion of the Project to Complete 3. Member's Assigning the Completion Dates

SKILLS 1. Member's Attributes/Skills 2. What the Member Wants to Contribute.

Plagiarism & Turnitin

Our courses ask of you to visit many web sites, as part of using what has been done at other places and actually reviewing research. It could be very easy to forget to offer a complete citation. Some could also omit entirely a quote or reference. While the former may happen, the latter should never occur. When it does it is plagiarism and is very serious.

The faculty at UCF now has access to a site to which we can submit student work for comparison to previously published work - Turnitin (http://www.turnitin.com). You do NOT want to plagiarize or not include a complete citation for any reference or quotation. Above all else include the complete citation information when required.

10 Ethical policies:

At UCF adhering to acceptable ethical practices is considered essential. To that end you are asked to:

 Access the Golden Rule on line

 Read thoroughly Student Rights and Responsibilities

 Rules of Student Conduct

 Student Academic Behavior Standards

Introductions

Our web courses are very interactive. Therefore, it is important that you participate as scheduled and in the proper location within the course as assigned. To practice this and to get to know others in this course you are asked to offer an introduction when you start each course. We use the "Discussion" area with one titled "Introductions." Once you are permitted access to the course on the first day of class, go to "Discussions" and select "Introductions." Type your name in the "Subject" line.

The following items should be addressed in your introduction:

1. Name

2. Email address

3. Where you work (if you do)

4. What you do (if you work)

5. What technical (work) background do you have?

6. All types of education (High School, certificates, licenses, degrees)

This would be a good place to practice copy and paste skills by copying these headings to a word file of some type, answering the items, and pasting the answers to another file, just for practice before your course starts. Always review and spell check your posting BEFORE actually posting add spacing, make headings capitalized or different from the regular text. After pasting your text, review and make any minor adjustments to spacing, then post.

Immediately upon starting the course:

1. Post your Introduction with your name in "Subject" line to "Introductions" Discussion Topic. 2. Reply to peers using "Reply Privately" NOT just Reply or Quote. Each person should post only one posting to the Introductions area.

11 THIS SYLLABUS MAY BE MODIFIED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE INSTRUCTOR. CHAN GES WILL BE DISCUSSED IN CLASS AND/OR VIA EMAIL.

The UCF Creed Integrity, scholarship, community, creativity, and excellence are the core values that guide our conduct, performance, and decisions. Integrity I will practice and defend academic and personal honesty. Scholarship I will cherish and honor learning as a fundamental purpose of my membership in the UCF community. Community I will promote an open and supportive campus environment by respecting the rights and contributions of every individual. Creativity I will use my talents to enrich the human experience. Excellence I will strive toward the highest standards of performance in any endeavor I undertake.

Conceptual Framework

The graphical representation of our conceptual framework is based on basic geometric shapes that aptly portray key aspects of the framework:

At the heart of the model are three concentric circles creating a “target” for graduates from all of our professional education programs. The core objective (“bull’s eye”) is becoming a Professional Educator, an achievement that requires continuous reflective practice (middle ring) and professional development aligned with applicable national, state, and institutional standards (outer ring).

The three triangles represent three broad levels of professional development: Pre-professional, Professional, and Accomplished (note the physical progression indicating that professional development always moves in the direction toward Professional Educator). These triangles also represent the three major dimensions of professional development: knowledge, skills, and dispositions.

Integrated throughout all aspects of our conceptual framework and thus reflected as a circle-in- motion is our circle of core beliefs (Research Base, Best Practice, Life-Long Learning, Ethics, Social Justice, Equity, Diversity, Caring, Democracy, Academic Standards, and High Quality Education).

The outer pentagon of the conceptual framework represents five broad orientations regarding the preparation of professional educators (Academic, Teaching/Scientific, Practical, Critical/Social, and Humanistic), which serve as a broad foundation for the framework.

12 Conceptual Framework

UCF, College of Education Conceptual Framework Revised: 08-17-04

Professional Educator/ Practitioner

Accomplished Professional Pre-Professional Dispositions

Critical / Social orientation

13 Career & Technical Education Educator Accomplished Practices

The Educator Accomplished Practices. Each effective educator applies the foundational principles through six (6) Educator Accomplished Practices. Each of the practices is clearly defined to promote a common language and statewide understanding of the expectations for the quality of instruction and professional responsibility.

Quality of Instruction

1. Instructional Design and Lesson Planning.

Applying concepts from human development and learning theories, the effective educator consistently: a. Aligns instruction with state-adopted workforce standards at the appropriate level of rigor;

b. Sequences lessons and concepts to ensure coherence and required prior knowledge.

c. Designs instruction for students to achieve mastery;

d. Selects appropriate formative assessments to monitor learning;

e. Uses a variety of data, independently, and in collaboration with colleagues, to evaluate learning outcomes, adjust planning and continuously improve the effectiveness of the lessons; and

f. Develops learning experiences that require students to demonstrate a variety of applicable skills and competencies.

g. Identifies strategies, materials, and technologies that she/he will use to expand students’ thinking abilities

h. Models and implements the use of higher order thinking abilities

i. Reflects research-based best practices in instructional methods (Disposition)

2. The Learning Environment.

To maintain a student-centered learning environment that is safe, organized, equitable, flexible, inclusive, and collaborative, the effective educator consistently:

14 a. Organizes, allocates, and manages the resources of time, space, and attention;

b. Manages individual and class behaviors through a well-planned management system;

c. Conveys high expectations to all students;

d. Respects students’ cultural, linguistic and family background;

e. Models clear, acceptable oral and written communication skills;

f. Maintains a climate of openness, inquiry, fairness and support;

g. Integrates current information and communication technologies;

h. Adapts the learning environment to accommodate the differing needs and diversity of students; and

i. Utilizes current and emerging assistive technologies that enable students to participate in high-quality communication interactions and achieve their educational goals.

j. Values high academic standards and believes students deserve a high- quality education (Disposition)

3. Instructional Delivery and Facilitation.

The effective educator consistently utilizes a deep and comprehensive knowledge of the subject taught to:

a. Deliver engaging and challenging lessons;

b. Deepen and enrich students’ understanding through content area literacy strategies, verbalization of thought, and application of the subject matter;

c. Identify gaps in students’ subject matter knowledge;

d. Modify instruction to respond to preconceptions or misconceptions;

e. Relate and integrate the subject matter with other disciplines and life experiences;

f. Employ higher-order questioning techniques;

15 g. Apply varied instructional strategies and resources, including appropriate technology, to provide comprehensible instruction, and to teach for student understanding;

h. Differentiate instruction based on an assessment of student learning needs and recognition of individual differences in students;

i. Support, encourage, and provide immediate and specific feedback to students to promote student achievement; and

j. Utilize student feedback to monitor instructional needs and to adjust instruction.

k. Has a repertoire of teaching techniques and strategies to effectively instruct all students

l. Values technology as a tool to enhance learning. (Disposition)

4. Assessment.

The effective educator consistently:

a. Analyzes and applies data from multiple assessments and measures to diagnose students’ learning needs, informs instruction based on those needs, and drives the learning process;

b. Designs and aligns formative and summative assessments that match learning objectives and lead to mastery;

c. Uses a variety of assessment tools to monitor student progress, achievement and learning gains;

d. Modifies assessments and testing conditions to accommodate learning styles and varying levels of knowledge;

e. Shares the importance and outcomes of student assessment data with the student; and

f. Applies technology to organize and integrate assessment information.

g. Grades student performance fairly and without bias (Disposition)

16 Continuous Improvement, Responsibility and Ethics.

5. Continuous Professional Improvement.

The effective educator consistently:

a. Designs purposeful professional goals to strengthen the effectiveness of instruction based on students’ needs;

b. Examines and uses data-informed research to improve instruction and student achievement;

c. Works with colleagues to meet identified educational, physical, social, linguistic, cultural, and emotional needs of students;

d. Engages in targeted professional growth opportunities and reflective practices, both independently and in collaboration with colleagues; and

e. Implements knowledge and skills learned in professional development in the teaching and learning process.

6. Professional Responsibility and Ethical Conduct.

a. Does not intentionally distort or misrepresent facts concerning an educational matter in direct or indirect public expression

b. Encourages student responsibility, appropriate social behavior, integrity, valuing of diversity, honesty, and honoring multiple perspectives

c. Understanding that educators are held to a high moral standard in a community, the effective educator adheres to the Code of Ethics and the Principles of Professional Conduct of the Education Profession of Florida, pursuant to State Board of Education Rules 6B-1.001 and 6B1.006, F.A.C, and fulfills the expected obligations to students, the public and the education profession. Rulemaking Authority 1004.04, 1004.85, 1012.225, 1012.34, 1012.56 FS. Law Implemented 1004.04, 1004.85, 1012.225, 1012.34, 1012.56 FS. History–New 7-2-98; Amended 12-17-10.

Demonstrates concern for student learning and promotes student well-being through professional commitment including being punctual, responsible, organized, attends class regularly, demonstrates pride in self and work, gets along well with others, is self-controlled, and is flexible (Disposition).