Jacob Walker - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Jacob Walker

Research paper thumbnail of A Responsible Response to Realignment: A Basic Blueprint for California Cities and Counties to Build Ex-Offender Education

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2012

Abstract: Written for city and county administrators, sheriff, police, and probation departments,... more Abstract: Written for city and county administrators, sheriff, police, and probation departments, and for office of education and school administrators, this report details key components and best known practices of building effective ex-offender reentry programs, ...

Research paper thumbnail of Complying with California Education Code 51225.3(b) Through Integrated Curriculum Taught by CTE Credentialed Teachers

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2015

There are California high schools are out of compliance with Education Code 51225.3(b), which req... more There are California high schools are out of compliance with Education Code 51225.3(b), which requires districts to have alternative means that students can earn their high school diploma. This paper will discuss the benefits of implementing an integrated curriculum program, such as Linked Learning, to comply with Ed. Code 51225.3, and how such a program can be implemented by utilizing one or more teachers who hold Designated Subjects Career Technical Education credentials (or Vocational Education credentials).

Research paper thumbnail of Computers and Education: The Wrong Approach Continually Being Executed

Research paper thumbnail of Computers and Education: The Wrong Approach Continually Being Executed

Online Submission, Apr 1, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Aligning to the New K-12 ICT Pathway Standards

In this presentation we will provide you with an overview of the draft standards and with informa... more In this presentation we will provide you with an overview of the draft standards and with information that will help you understand how to align classroom instruction to the standards, pathways, careers and industry certifications. We will give you an overview of how the standards were developed, and how you how courses can be aligned for effective programs of study

Research paper thumbnail of Missing a 'Trillion': How Do We Know If We are Teaching the Right Things?

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind bill of the U.S. Congress, there has been ... more ABSTRACT Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind bill of the U.S. Congress, there has been much debate about standardized tests, and whether they are an accurate measure of teacher effectiveness. Most of this debate has centered on whether a written test can accurately measure students’ skills and knowledge, and whether there are systemic issues such as cheating that reduce their value. One area that has conspicuously been left out of the debate is whether we are teaching the right standards. While the authors of the standards say that their standards are research-based, this research methodology has generally involved creating committees and getting their opinions. Unfortunately, as the research in this paper shows, this methodology is lacking. This paper compares topics found or not found in state standards with the frequency that topic is found in various forms of media, finding that every state’s content standard does not require teaching students what a “trillion” is, which is a critical concept in understanding the U.S. national debt. Instead all the states address the concept of scientific notation which is rarely used in the news media, and even in scholarly writing is less used than the common terms for large numbers. The author calls for more anthropological, sociological, and economic research into the content standards of the United States to be used in the revision of our standards, such that the content of education is most relevant to the needs of the future of America.

Research paper thumbnail of California's New ICT Standards: The 2013 Revised K-12 Career Technical Education Model Curriculum Standards

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT This conference paper provides an overview of the new California Career Technical Educat... more ABSTRACT This conference paper provides an overview of the new California Career Technical Education (CTE) Model Curriculum Standards for the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Industry Sector, including briefly how the standards were developed, understanding why they are important, how they relate to each other, and some ideas on different ways they could be implemented.

Research paper thumbnail of Thoughts and Analysis About Courses in 'Literature and Medicine' in U.S. Universities

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT Written in 3 separate styles: poetic prose, academic research, and essay; this paper des... more ABSTRACT Written in 3 separate styles: poetic prose, academic research, and essay; this paper describes the author’s personal connection with coursework in 'Literature and Medicine', then conducts a word-level n-gram analysis of available course descriptions and syllabi in Literature and Medicine courses offered in U.S. colleges and universities, and concludes with a reflection and comparison of texts commonly used in these courses compared to the ones the author had previously read and used in his courses for medical paraprofessionals.

Research paper thumbnail of Why MOOCs Might Be Hindered by the Definition of Correspondence Education

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) may be the future of education because they can be h... more ABSTRACT MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) may be the future of education because they can be highly interactive, and can scale to serving millions of students. This scaling also allows them to be highly cost effective, which is also conducive to motivating continual improvement. But, with the high amount of interaction that MOOCs can bring, which is often greater than in-person lecture-based courses, an irony exists: Because MOOCs don’t necessarily have a lot of interaction with the instructor, as the instructor has often been pre-recorded, and cannot interact with each of the hundreds of thousands of students who enrolled, by Federal rules and definitions, MOOCs might be considered correspondence education. This is a detriment, because by Federal Title IV rules, schools cannot serve over 50% of its students through Correspondence Education, and retain Title IV eligibility to administer Federal Student Aid (FSA). This conundrum needs to be solved by either legislation, clarification in a Dear Colleague Letter, or waivers. Further the author discusses his belief that part of the broader problem can be solved by understanding education in 3 components: content, delivery, and evaluation. While these components are highly entangled, it also makes sense to look at each as an individual component of education.

Research paper thumbnail of A Contribution to the Self-Study of the Postsecondary Accreditation Protocol

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT This document consists of two parts. The first part is the paper as shared at the 2010 W... more ABSTRACT This document consists of two parts. The first part is the paper as shared at the 2010 WASC Postsecondary Summit, which all attendees received in their binders. I have attempted to keep the content of this document, including its flaws as they were distributed. But, it was clear from my attendance to the summit that some of the assumptions that I made when writing the original paper about the position of WASC was wrong, and as such I felt that before sharing my paper beyond the attendees of the summit, that it was important for me to correct these errors. Thus I have included post summit reflections at the end of this document, which hopefully correct most of the errors in my original document. I also have placed an asterisk (*) next to sections in the original document that I correct in my reflection.

Research paper thumbnail of Minesweeper and Hypothetical Thinking Action Research & Pilot Study

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

This Action Research project and Pilot Study was designed and implemented to improve students' hy... more This Action Research project and Pilot Study was designed and implemented to improve students' hypothetical thinking abilities by exploring the possibility that learning and playing the computer game Minesweeper may inherently help improve hypothetical thinking. One objective was to use educational tools to make it easier for students to learn the logic of the game Minesweeper. The second objective was to determine if learning Minesweeper would help students to gain the Cognitive Asset of Making inferences and hypothetical thinking. The third objective was to determine if learning Minesweeper would help students to be better computer users. Students were presented a PowerPoint presentation that discussed the thinking involved in the game Minesweeper. Students also participated in an exercise that simulated how Minesweeper determines information presented in the game. Students also went through a simulation program about the game. Further, students played the game Minesweeper, and had one-on-one assistance during part of the process. Participants documented their Minesweeper playing results, were assessed with a pretest and posttest about their logical hypothetical thinking, and were assessed about what they learned in the computer course. The results of participant Minesweeper playing ability were compared with the assessment of logical skills and the assessment of computer knowledge and skills. These comparisons found a potential positive correlation at an alpha of 0.10. Causation could not be determined. Results of the pilot study suggest that further study may lead to results confirming the hypotheses, and as such a future fuller study is being considered by the writer. Educational issues with Minesweeper were discovered, suggesting that it may be better to use a variant of the game in the future study. Methodological problems which prevented the evaluation of causation were discovered, and can be addressed in the future study. It is unknown whether the research is applicable to children, but the methodology of this research may be used with any grade level to determine effectiveness.

Research paper thumbnail of Integrating Literature into Programs for Medical Paraprofessionals

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT This essay shares one teachers experience with using literature in courses for students ... more ABSTRACT This essay shares one teachers experience with using literature in courses for students wishing to become medical paraprofessionals. Written in small vignettes, specific medical topics are connected to pieces of literature, including a discussion of how that literature can be used in the education process. Major educational topics include: avoiding bias; the placebo/expectation effect; SOAP notes; HIPAA & Patient Privacy; responsibility of healthcare providers; connecting history to today’s medical practices; interdisciplinary thinking; and having a system-wide perspective.

Research paper thumbnail of The Ancient Bath House of Nazareth: What We Know of its History and the Implications on Our Understanding of the History of Nazareth

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT This paper documents a travel study to the Ancient Bath House of Nazareth, investigating... more ABSTRACT This paper documents a travel study to the Ancient Bath House of Nazareth, investigating its possible origin. Background knowledge is included for the layman. Several hypotheses are presented as to the origin of the bath house, with evidence presented for and against each hypothesis. The implications of the hypotheses to the understanding of the history of Nazareth are also briefly explored. The paper concludes that carbon dating of the pipes is likely to provide a more precise date of the origin of the bath house.

Research paper thumbnail of The Case for Using Designated Subjects Credentials in a WIA Partnered Charter High School that is Primarily for Adults

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT This document makes the legal argument for California Charter High Schools that are part... more ABSTRACT This document makes the legal argument for California Charter High Schools that are partnered with the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to use Designated Subjects California Teaching Credentials along with the traditional Single Subjects credential commonly used in California High Schools.

Research paper thumbnail of The Case for Students with Foreign Secondary Credentials to Enroll and Generate Apportionment in California Adult-Serving Charter Schools

ABSTRACT This short paper makes the legal argument that adult immigrants should be allowed to enr... more ABSTRACT This short paper makes the legal argument that adult immigrants should be allowed to enroll in a California adult-serving charter school and the charter school should be allowed to gain apportionment funding for these students, if the adult immigrant student does not have a U.S. high school diploma.

Research paper thumbnail of Reasons and Methods for California School Districts to Transfer Adult Education Services to Adult-Serving Charter Schools

ABSTRACT With Governor Brown’s current proposal to transfer all funding for California adult-educ... more ABSTRACT With Governor Brown’s current proposal to transfer all funding for California adult-education services from school districts to the Community College System, School Districts and their Adult Schools should strongly consider opening an Adult-Serving Charter School instead, which can allow many current programs to retain state apportionment funding and potentially continue to bring revenue to the school district. Adult-serving charter schools do require following different laws and regulations than Adult Schools follow, but with adaptation, most programs can still stay in place, and most programs can be served. Further, by adding a postsecondary “sister school” to the adult-serving charter school, adult students who can’t be served by the charter school can be helped.

Research paper thumbnail of Open Letter to Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda Regarding Virtual Onshoring

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

Page 1. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1641263 OPEN LETTER TO PAUL KAGAME... more Page 1. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1641263 OPEN LETTER TO PAUL KAGAME, PRESIDENT OF RWANDA REGARDING VIRTUAL ONSHORING AUTHOR'S BIO Jacob J. Walker is the founder of the ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Success of an Adult Courageous Learner: A Case Study

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT This case study gives an example of an adult student who overcame adversity to become co... more ABSTRACT This case study gives an example of an adult student who overcame adversity to become computer literate, and demonstrates how a single measurement of an IQ score is insufficient to accurately measure intelligence.

Research paper thumbnail of Open Letter to Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda Regarding Virtual Onshoring

papers.ssrn.com

Page 1. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1641263 OPEN LETTER TO PAUL KAGAME... more Page 1. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1641263 OPEN LETTER TO PAUL KAGAME, PRESIDENT OF RWANDA REGARDING VIRTUAL ONSHORING AUTHOR'S BIO Jacob J. Walker is the founder of the ...

Research paper thumbnail of A Responsible Response to Realignment: A Basic Blueprint for California Cities and Counties to Build Ex-Offender Education

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2012

Abstract: Written for city and county administrators, sheriff, police, and probation departments,... more Abstract: Written for city and county administrators, sheriff, police, and probation departments, and for office of education and school administrators, this report details key components and best known practices of building effective ex-offender reentry programs, ...

Research paper thumbnail of Complying with California Education Code 51225.3(b) Through Integrated Curriculum Taught by CTE Credentialed Teachers

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2015

There are California high schools are out of compliance with Education Code 51225.3(b), which req... more There are California high schools are out of compliance with Education Code 51225.3(b), which requires districts to have alternative means that students can earn their high school diploma. This paper will discuss the benefits of implementing an integrated curriculum program, such as Linked Learning, to comply with Ed. Code 51225.3, and how such a program can be implemented by utilizing one or more teachers who hold Designated Subjects Career Technical Education credentials (or Vocational Education credentials).

Research paper thumbnail of Computers and Education: The Wrong Approach Continually Being Executed

Research paper thumbnail of Computers and Education: The Wrong Approach Continually Being Executed

Online Submission, Apr 1, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Aligning to the New K-12 ICT Pathway Standards

In this presentation we will provide you with an overview of the draft standards and with informa... more In this presentation we will provide you with an overview of the draft standards and with information that will help you understand how to align classroom instruction to the standards, pathways, careers and industry certifications. We will give you an overview of how the standards were developed, and how you how courses can be aligned for effective programs of study

Research paper thumbnail of Missing a 'Trillion': How Do We Know If We are Teaching the Right Things?

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind bill of the U.S. Congress, there has been ... more ABSTRACT Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind bill of the U.S. Congress, there has been much debate about standardized tests, and whether they are an accurate measure of teacher effectiveness. Most of this debate has centered on whether a written test can accurately measure students’ skills and knowledge, and whether there are systemic issues such as cheating that reduce their value. One area that has conspicuously been left out of the debate is whether we are teaching the right standards. While the authors of the standards say that their standards are research-based, this research methodology has generally involved creating committees and getting their opinions. Unfortunately, as the research in this paper shows, this methodology is lacking. This paper compares topics found or not found in state standards with the frequency that topic is found in various forms of media, finding that every state’s content standard does not require teaching students what a “trillion” is, which is a critical concept in understanding the U.S. national debt. Instead all the states address the concept of scientific notation which is rarely used in the news media, and even in scholarly writing is less used than the common terms for large numbers. The author calls for more anthropological, sociological, and economic research into the content standards of the United States to be used in the revision of our standards, such that the content of education is most relevant to the needs of the future of America.

Research paper thumbnail of California's New ICT Standards: The 2013 Revised K-12 Career Technical Education Model Curriculum Standards

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT This conference paper provides an overview of the new California Career Technical Educat... more ABSTRACT This conference paper provides an overview of the new California Career Technical Education (CTE) Model Curriculum Standards for the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Industry Sector, including briefly how the standards were developed, understanding why they are important, how they relate to each other, and some ideas on different ways they could be implemented.

Research paper thumbnail of Thoughts and Analysis About Courses in 'Literature and Medicine' in U.S. Universities

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT Written in 3 separate styles: poetic prose, academic research, and essay; this paper des... more ABSTRACT Written in 3 separate styles: poetic prose, academic research, and essay; this paper describes the author’s personal connection with coursework in 'Literature and Medicine', then conducts a word-level n-gram analysis of available course descriptions and syllabi in Literature and Medicine courses offered in U.S. colleges and universities, and concludes with a reflection and comparison of texts commonly used in these courses compared to the ones the author had previously read and used in his courses for medical paraprofessionals.

Research paper thumbnail of Why MOOCs Might Be Hindered by the Definition of Correspondence Education

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) may be the future of education because they can be h... more ABSTRACT MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) may be the future of education because they can be highly interactive, and can scale to serving millions of students. This scaling also allows them to be highly cost effective, which is also conducive to motivating continual improvement. But, with the high amount of interaction that MOOCs can bring, which is often greater than in-person lecture-based courses, an irony exists: Because MOOCs don’t necessarily have a lot of interaction with the instructor, as the instructor has often been pre-recorded, and cannot interact with each of the hundreds of thousands of students who enrolled, by Federal rules and definitions, MOOCs might be considered correspondence education. This is a detriment, because by Federal Title IV rules, schools cannot serve over 50% of its students through Correspondence Education, and retain Title IV eligibility to administer Federal Student Aid (FSA). This conundrum needs to be solved by either legislation, clarification in a Dear Colleague Letter, or waivers. Further the author discusses his belief that part of the broader problem can be solved by understanding education in 3 components: content, delivery, and evaluation. While these components are highly entangled, it also makes sense to look at each as an individual component of education.

Research paper thumbnail of A Contribution to the Self-Study of the Postsecondary Accreditation Protocol

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT This document consists of two parts. The first part is the paper as shared at the 2010 W... more ABSTRACT This document consists of two parts. The first part is the paper as shared at the 2010 WASC Postsecondary Summit, which all attendees received in their binders. I have attempted to keep the content of this document, including its flaws as they were distributed. But, it was clear from my attendance to the summit that some of the assumptions that I made when writing the original paper about the position of WASC was wrong, and as such I felt that before sharing my paper beyond the attendees of the summit, that it was important for me to correct these errors. Thus I have included post summit reflections at the end of this document, which hopefully correct most of the errors in my original document. I also have placed an asterisk (*) next to sections in the original document that I correct in my reflection.

Research paper thumbnail of Minesweeper and Hypothetical Thinking Action Research & Pilot Study

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

This Action Research project and Pilot Study was designed and implemented to improve students' hy... more This Action Research project and Pilot Study was designed and implemented to improve students' hypothetical thinking abilities by exploring the possibility that learning and playing the computer game Minesweeper may inherently help improve hypothetical thinking. One objective was to use educational tools to make it easier for students to learn the logic of the game Minesweeper. The second objective was to determine if learning Minesweeper would help students to gain the Cognitive Asset of Making inferences and hypothetical thinking. The third objective was to determine if learning Minesweeper would help students to be better computer users. Students were presented a PowerPoint presentation that discussed the thinking involved in the game Minesweeper. Students also participated in an exercise that simulated how Minesweeper determines information presented in the game. Students also went through a simulation program about the game. Further, students played the game Minesweeper, and had one-on-one assistance during part of the process. Participants documented their Minesweeper playing results, were assessed with a pretest and posttest about their logical hypothetical thinking, and were assessed about what they learned in the computer course. The results of participant Minesweeper playing ability were compared with the assessment of logical skills and the assessment of computer knowledge and skills. These comparisons found a potential positive correlation at an alpha of 0.10. Causation could not be determined. Results of the pilot study suggest that further study may lead to results confirming the hypotheses, and as such a future fuller study is being considered by the writer. Educational issues with Minesweeper were discovered, suggesting that it may be better to use a variant of the game in the future study. Methodological problems which prevented the evaluation of causation were discovered, and can be addressed in the future study. It is unknown whether the research is applicable to children, but the methodology of this research may be used with any grade level to determine effectiveness.

Research paper thumbnail of Integrating Literature into Programs for Medical Paraprofessionals

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT This essay shares one teachers experience with using literature in courses for students ... more ABSTRACT This essay shares one teachers experience with using literature in courses for students wishing to become medical paraprofessionals. Written in small vignettes, specific medical topics are connected to pieces of literature, including a discussion of how that literature can be used in the education process. Major educational topics include: avoiding bias; the placebo/expectation effect; SOAP notes; HIPAA & Patient Privacy; responsibility of healthcare providers; connecting history to today’s medical practices; interdisciplinary thinking; and having a system-wide perspective.

Research paper thumbnail of The Ancient Bath House of Nazareth: What We Know of its History and the Implications on Our Understanding of the History of Nazareth

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT This paper documents a travel study to the Ancient Bath House of Nazareth, investigating... more ABSTRACT This paper documents a travel study to the Ancient Bath House of Nazareth, investigating its possible origin. Background knowledge is included for the layman. Several hypotheses are presented as to the origin of the bath house, with evidence presented for and against each hypothesis. The implications of the hypotheses to the understanding of the history of Nazareth are also briefly explored. The paper concludes that carbon dating of the pipes is likely to provide a more precise date of the origin of the bath house.

Research paper thumbnail of The Case for Using Designated Subjects Credentials in a WIA Partnered Charter High School that is Primarily for Adults

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT This document makes the legal argument for California Charter High Schools that are part... more ABSTRACT This document makes the legal argument for California Charter High Schools that are partnered with the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to use Designated Subjects California Teaching Credentials along with the traditional Single Subjects credential commonly used in California High Schools.

Research paper thumbnail of The Case for Students with Foreign Secondary Credentials to Enroll and Generate Apportionment in California Adult-Serving Charter Schools

ABSTRACT This short paper makes the legal argument that adult immigrants should be allowed to enr... more ABSTRACT This short paper makes the legal argument that adult immigrants should be allowed to enroll in a California adult-serving charter school and the charter school should be allowed to gain apportionment funding for these students, if the adult immigrant student does not have a U.S. high school diploma.

Research paper thumbnail of Reasons and Methods for California School Districts to Transfer Adult Education Services to Adult-Serving Charter Schools

ABSTRACT With Governor Brown’s current proposal to transfer all funding for California adult-educ... more ABSTRACT With Governor Brown’s current proposal to transfer all funding for California adult-education services from school districts to the Community College System, School Districts and their Adult Schools should strongly consider opening an Adult-Serving Charter School instead, which can allow many current programs to retain state apportionment funding and potentially continue to bring revenue to the school district. Adult-serving charter schools do require following different laws and regulations than Adult Schools follow, but with adaptation, most programs can still stay in place, and most programs can be served. Further, by adding a postsecondary “sister school” to the adult-serving charter school, adult students who can’t be served by the charter school can be helped.

Research paper thumbnail of Open Letter to Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda Regarding Virtual Onshoring

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

Page 1. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1641263 OPEN LETTER TO PAUL KAGAME... more Page 1. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1641263 OPEN LETTER TO PAUL KAGAME, PRESIDENT OF RWANDA REGARDING VIRTUAL ONSHORING AUTHOR'S BIO Jacob J. Walker is the founder of the ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Success of an Adult Courageous Learner: A Case Study

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT This case study gives an example of an adult student who overcame adversity to become co... more ABSTRACT This case study gives an example of an adult student who overcame adversity to become computer literate, and demonstrates how a single measurement of an IQ score is insufficient to accurately measure intelligence.

Research paper thumbnail of Open Letter to Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda Regarding Virtual Onshoring

papers.ssrn.com

Page 1. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1641263 OPEN LETTER TO PAUL KAGAME... more Page 1. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1641263 OPEN LETTER TO PAUL KAGAME, PRESIDENT OF RWANDA REGARDING VIRTUAL ONSHORING AUTHOR'S BIO Jacob J. Walker is the founder of the ...