Writing Development Of Emerget Bilinguals: School-Wide Contextual Factors, Alma Rosa Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

The State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) measures Texas public school students’ knowledge and skills in many areas, including fourth grade writing. This system requires that students meet a certain performance standard score in writing to be successful. This state mandate impacts many Texas districts, teachers, and students. Districts must be prepared with necessary resources and tools to meet the writing needs of all students, including emergent bilinguals.

This case study focused on investigating how a bilingual teacher in a bilingual campus taught writing to her emergent bilinguals. Using the writer’s workshop approach, which many districts implement to …

Outcomes Teacher Mentoring Has On Professional Learning And Delivery Of Instruction, Susana A. Zapata-Burguete

Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative study using grounded theory was conducted to discover how educational mentoring was transferred to subsequently transform instructional delivery in the second year of teaching for novice secondary school teachers. The study was conducted in a Deep South Texas public school district during the 2017–2018 academic year. After concluding a year of mentoring, interviews were conducted to reveal how the mentoring phenomena helped transform their present day delivery of instruction. Data was gathered through face-to-face interviews with seven participants. During this second year, the novice teachers primarily relied on both what was learned through their mentoring experiences and networking …

The Role Of Teaching Presence On Academic Achievement In Fully Online Asynchronous And Hybrid Undergraduate Mathematics Courses, Shaghayegh Azadi Setayesh

Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate how mathematics student perceptions of teaching presence differ by course delivery mode and student achievement. Online learning has had a steady growth in higher education, and mathematics courses are also offered in fully online and hybrid modes, but the research on online mathematics learning and academic achievement is limited. In order to contribute to the body of research in this field, the focus of this study was on teaching presence and academic achievement in two delivery modes: fully online asynchronous, and hybrid.

The Community of Inquiry was the theoretical framework of this study, where …

The Effect Of Digital Storytelling On Academic Performance, Interest And Motivation Of Police Cadets In A Law Enforcement Academy, Damon Ing

Theses and Dissertations

The Effect of Digital Storytelling on Academic Performance, Interest and Motivation of Police Cadets in a Law Enforcement Academy. Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), December 2018, 93pp., 6 tables, 83 references, 5 appendices. With increasing criticism concerning police interactions with the public and the use-of-force decisions, the importance of preservice law enforcement instruction is an ongoing concern for both police practitioners and the public. Law enforcement education can benefit from the integration of new instructional strategies that can increase comprehension and long-term knowledge retention transferable into the field. Digital storytelling has been proffered as an effective cross-cultural communication tool and has …

Gearing Up For College, Beatriz Amy Huerta

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Sadly, in the Greenfield community, there are exceedingly high rates of individuals who lack post-secondary education. The Census (2010), states that only 4.8% of persons age 25 years and older in Greenfield, CA obtain a bachelor’s degree. At Greenfield High School over the past five years, an average of 16 students enrolled at a CSU campus (The California State University, 2018). In efforts to promote higher education, Gear Up (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) empowers students and families of the Monterey County by fostering equitable access to postsecondary education and career readiness through relevant rigorous academic and …

Summer Therapeutic Program For Children, Randi Losalu

Social Work Independent Study Projects (ISP)

Children who struggle during the school year will continue to do so through the summer months. As such, it is important to have therapeutic opportunities and programming available for those children. Addressing the therapeutic needs of children with serious emotional disturbances and/or social deficits can take many forms. Adventure therapy and experiential activities are supported by a variety of theoretical perspectives including Experiential Learning Theory, Systems Theory, Existential Theory, Behavioral/Cognitive Behavioral Theory, and Psychodynamic Theory. Through the use of adventure type activities, participants are able to address and reach therapeutic goals in a different manner than the traditional office setting. …

The Effects Of Using An Information Literacy Model On The Information Seeking Behavior Of Sixth-Grade Students, Jessica L. Kohout-Tailor

All Dissertations

This action research study describes how teaching an information literacy model affects the information behavior of sixth-grade students. The theoretical framework that supported this study was Carol Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process or ISP (1989). This study used a sequential mixed-methods design to examine the following questions: “How will teaching the Simple Four information literacy model (Alewine, 2006) to sixth-grade students affect their information seeking behavior?” The study also explored the effects the model had on students’ affective behavior through the second research question: “How will teaching the Simple Four information literacy model (Alewine, 2006) to sixth-grade students affect their confidence …

Effectiveness Of Remind.Com For Students Missing Credits At Greenfield High School, Alfredo Diaz

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The purpose of this capstone is to determine the extent to which online credit recovery is effective at allowing students to regain missing credits at Greenfield High School (GHS). Recent studies show students do better in school when parents are involved. This helps students become motivated and engaged in being successful students. The counseling department at Greenfield High School lacks connection with students and parents. It is not the school's fault nor the staff trying to provide students with resources to help them gain a high school diploma. Unfortunately, Monterey County struggles with parent involvement for the fact that many …

Improving Professional Learning Community Structures For Enhanced Professional Practice, Stephen Juracka

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This Change Plan gauges the historical reality of the District ABC professional learning communities (PLC) to gain a better understanding of their past effectiveness and secure recommendations for the future. This Change Plan included a qualitative study conducted with the members of the Instructional Leadership Team (ILT). The ten members of the ILT provided feedback to the PLC Survey. The PLC survey was then coded for general themes and common language. The PLC Survey found that in past practice PLCs were absent within District ABC and collaboration among teachers was inconsistent and ineffective. Based upon the findings of the …

Limited By Design: Expanding The Boundaries Of Schooling Policies From Demanded Passivity To Transformative Practice, Natalia T. Carvalho-Pinto

Masters Theses

Schooling is often imagined as the great equalizer and the primary venue towards personal and collective liberation. However, hegemonic ideals and practices have limited the ability for educators to craft and utilize policy in a way that best benefits their students. In this thesis, I utilize the state of Michigan’s Common Core curriculum to examine the limits beyond policy and practice. Specifically, I argue that the demands for student passivity and institutional measurable as signs of success, prohibit student growth. Throughout the document, I describe hope in the ability to instill a variety of transformative educational theories and practices that …

Student Voices: African American High School Seniors' Perception Of Culturally Responsive Teaching., Whitney M. Stewart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examined African-American high school seniors’ perceptions of culturally responsive teaching in one public high school within a large urban public-school district in the southeastern region of the United States. It begins with a brief historical overview on the plight of African-Americans in the US public education system and how public school educators have failed to leverage Afrocultural learning orientations as an asset to educate and increase the academic achievement of African-American students in classrooms. The Philosophical Aspects of Cultural Difference Framework (Nichols, 1986, 1995) will guide this dissertation study. The latter part of the dissertation reveals that a …

Interprofessional Education: How Curriculum Influences And Develops Future Healthcare Professionals, Karen Keune

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The value of higher education is a topic of great consideration and discussion, not only for current and future students, but also for legislators, educators, and employers. A college degree is more than a pathway toward advanced knowledge in a given subject; it is a component of a larger outcome beyond a diploma, it's a job. While the scale of employment opportunities appears to rise for those with a college degree, it is not enough to guarantee security for new graduates, no matter their topic of study. More than a competency in the field of study is required to prove …

Game Play In Education: An Exploration Of The What, How, And Why, Carrin Lynn Blyth

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This study explored whether teachers utilize games in the classroom, known as gamification and, if so, whether they used games according to game theory that exists in the field of gaming and game design. In higher education and secondary environments, educators report that problems exist as far as student behavior and engagement. Many students do not want to learn. The literature review conducted as part of this study indicated that when teachers gamified their classrooms few empirical investigations were conducted in the K-12 setting; another shortcoming was a lack of a uniform classification system for game elements among the literature, …

Drop In Or Drop Out: A Case Study On The Effects Of Academic Track Placement, And Levels Of Student Skill And Will, On Successful Ninth-Grade Completion, Channell M. Wilson-Segura

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

The ninth grade is a transition year from middle school to high school where many students struggle to successfully navigate a new environment, new teachers and peers, new academic and behavioral expectations, and the concept of graduation requirements. This qualitative study examined the effects of academic track placement, and student levels of skill and will, on successful ninth-grade completion in one New Mexico Title I high school. It also provided insight into their perceptions of the success factors and challenges that they felt impacted their ability to successfully promote to the tenth-grade, and thus, remain on-track for graduation.

This study …

Investigating The Instructional And Assessment Strategies That Teachers Use In Reading Classes In Elementary Schools: A Uae Study, Fatima Matar Khdoum Hamad Al Nuaimi

Curriculum and Instruction Theses

The purpose of this study is to investigate the reading strategies; and assessment strategies teachers use in their reading classes. Furthermore, it aims to explore the types of reading difficulties students face while reading English. The research is based on three research questions. Firstly, what kind of instructional strategies do elementary school teachers use in their reading classes? Secondly, what type of assessment strategies do elementary school teachers use to assess reading? Lastly, what do elementary school teachers perceive as the difficulties that their ESL learners face while reading in English? The main objectives of this research are to explore …

The Impact Of A Poverty Simulation On Baccalaureate Nursing Students’ Attitudes, Kristen Smith

DNP Scholarly Projects

Poverty is an ongoing issue in the United States, with major implications for the health of U.S. citizens. In order to provide compassionate care, nurses must understand their own attitudes towards those living in poverty. The purpose of this study was to evaluate for possible changes in attitudes towards poverty in junior level BSN students after a poverty simulation intervention. Participants were surveyed using the Yun and Weaver’s Short Form Attitudes towards Poverty (SFATP) tool, which looks three factors of poverty attitudes: personal deficiency, stigma, and structural perspective.

The Adult Learning Theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. This …

Unlocking The Potential For Every Teacher To Lead: A Phenomenological Study Of Informal Teacher Leadership, Jennifer M. Martin

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study of informal teacher leaders used a phenomenological method of research to investigate the lived experiences of teachers who have led in schools without a formal title or position of leadership. The study used a mixed methods approach to gathering data including a survey of 111 secondary educators in Eastern Massachusetts and 10 interviews with informal teacher leaders at the high school and middle school levels. The study inquired about how informal teacher leaders understand the concept of teacher leadership, what motivates and prepares them for leadership, the factors and conditions that encourage or discourage engagement in informal …

Female Students’ Academic Engagement And Achievement In Science And Engineering: Exploring The Influence Of Gender Grouping In Small Group Work In Design-Based Learning Contexts In High School Biology, Miancheng Guo

Doctoral Dissertations

In the past 30 years, although much effort has been made to narrow the gender gap in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), females are still largely underrepresented in some important STEM fields, such as physics and engineering (NSF, 2007). To deal with this situation, people from different sectors have long reached a common understanding: Educators must improve school girls’ interest, participation and engagement in STEM subjects (e.g., Office of Science and Technology Policy, 2013). In the K-12 classroom, small group work has been shown to promote an equitable environment for girls’ learning in science and have a positive impact …

Using Strategic Discourse For Building Understanding In Elementary Mathematics: What Do Teachers And Students Think?, Mary Coakley

Doctoral Dissertations

The mathematics reform movement has not had a significant or lasting impact on the practice of teachers and learning of students throughout the country (Boylan, 2010, Kazemi & Stipek, 2001). Students are not developing the types of skills critical thinking skills needed to solve problems in mathematics. Research suggests a need for structural changes that include providing opportunities for students to develop more autonomy and authority in the mathematics classroom (Cuban, 2013). To meet these challenges, teachers and students must make significant changes to implement instruction that fulfills this demand. This expectation has left teachers struggling to determine essential changes …

Chicago Public School Administrators' Experiences Implementing The Special Education Addendum, Aaron Rucker

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This qualitative case study examined the insights, thoughts, and perspectives that administrators in Chicago Public Schools experienced when implementing the district’s new Special Education Addendum. A strong emphasis was placed on the perceptions, feelings, and thoughts that principals and assistant principals employed when utilizing the addendum to evaluate teachers. Teacher evaluation is an essential component of teacher practice, providing a common language, expectations, and standards to improve teachers’ practice (Danielson & McGreal, 2000). This research provides narrative accounts that policymakers, politicians, and district supervisors can use to consult with principals as conversation starters to improve special education teachers' practice and …

Teachers As Leaders: An Autoethnographic Account Into The Way That Personal Spirituality Influenced One Teacher's Leadership In A South Louisiana High School, Scott Mckneely Blanchard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this autoethnographic study is to better understand the role spiritual leaders have in both educational settings and in the motivation of students. An overarching question guides this autoethnographic study: Is spiritual leadership, influenced by Christianity, an appropriate form of mentoring-leadership relationships in public secondary schools? The specific research sub-questions for this study address the following: 1. How do servant leadership and spiritual leadership help create this autonomous learning environment identified by Deci and therefore reduce the number of amotivated students? 2. How can understanding the student as an individual help a teacher confront the issues with motivation …

Project Narrative: Examining The Interplay Of Experiences Of Participants In An After-School Writing Club, Courtney A. Brown

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Writing is a vital part of literacy development. It affords the opportunity for the expression and analysis of comprehensive thought, while simultaneously being a modality for unique and creative communication. In order for productive dialogue about the study of writing to be engaged, the contemplation of its many dynamic parts occurring across a diversity of contexts must be considered in such a way that one writing strategy, process, product or environment is not privileged above another. Each constituent part of writing construction contributes meaningfully to the existing body of research for this field, and when carefully disaggregated can offer specific …

Exploring Language Learning With Mobile Technology: A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Vocabulary Learning Apps For Esl Learners In Canada, Luyi Liang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Learning apps are becoming ubiquitous in and out of the classroom. While the number of ESL learnings apps has been increasing dramatically, not much information is available for teachers and learners to evaluate the quality of these apps. The purpose of this study was to explore the apps that are most commonly recommended for language learning, investigate features of commonly recommended ESL learning apps, and develop an app evaluation tool that might inform selection of ESL learning apps for use in teaching or recommendations to parents and learners. This study used qualitative content analysis to study selected vocabulary learning apps. …

Aged 539 Graduate Internship Report, Derek L. Silva

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

The Galt High School Agriculture Department is committed and dedicated to promoting and developing personal growth, career technical skills and rigorous/ relevant instruction for all students. Offering several pathways in the Agri-Science, Ornamental Horticulture and Ag Mechanics personalized to student’s career and technical skills interest areas through engaging hands on laboratories and industry insight and certification.

In order to accomplish the skills and abilities listed above, the Galt High School Agriculture Department currently overs the following courses for the 2017-2018 school year: Introduction to Agriculture Mechanics 1, Agriculture Mechanics 2, Agriculture Power Mechanics 1, Advanced Agriculture Mechanics, Agricultural Construction BITA …

A Comparison Of Instructional Strategies: Does How You Teach Mathematics Matter?, Brian Comeaux

Senior Honors Theses

For most of the twentieth and all the twenty-first century, there has been a great debate over educational reform for teaching mathematics. From these debates have come a critical look at how to properly instruct students so they can actively learn in the classroom, yet still retain the information for use in their later life. These questions are rooted in the larger debate between philosophical and psychological dimensions of human growth and development. Some educators, therefore, believe structuring their instruction around some philosophies such as idealism, realism, pragmatism, or existentialism was the key to success for their students. Others took …

The Impact Of Response To Intervention On The Reading Performance Of Third-Grade African American Male Students: An Action Research Study, Brandelynn S. Green

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study followed Mertler’s (2014) action research cycle of planning, acting, developing, and reflecting as the participant-researcher explored the impact of cultural and individualized differentiation to address the affective needs of learners within a response to intervention (RTI) framework in a third-grade classroom at Oak Park Elementary School (a pseudonym). A traditional RTI framework places the student at the center of all instruction while providing a scientific approach to meeting the needs of struggling learners (Williams, 2015a), but, as argued by Beth Harry (n.d.), simply providing evidence-based strategies to struggling students may not be enough; students also need …

Mathematical Literacy And The Secondary Student, Adam Poyner

Senior Honors Theses

Public education is a continually evolving field, with new research, policies, and practices explored by professionals who are driven to provide America’s youth with high-quality education. Research literature since 2000 has highlighted the importance of disciplinary literacy and its unfortunate neglect in a majority of secondary classrooms (Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008). Students who are literate in a particular discipline, such as math, view themselves as fluent in the language of mathematics, comfortable with reading, discussing, and practicing complex mathematical concepts while using appropriate vocabulary (Buehl, 2017). As seasoned professionals and novice educators consider the role of disciplinary literacy in their …

Impact Of Explicit Instruction Using Culturally Relevant Texts In Reading On Student Confidence, Wendy Harriford Platt

Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes an action research question focused on how explicit instruction in reading, coupled with culturally responsive teaching, can affect the confidence levels of African-American male ninth graders regarding their reading comprehension abilities. The research question seeks to illustrate the benefits of using explicit instruction in the context of materials seen as relevant by the student to unpack each step of the reading comprehension process thereby engaging students who otherwise view reading as a streamlined, passive process; it also uses teacher modeling to show how to increase reading comprehension, Also, classroom instruction on the secondary level makes use of …

From Theory To Curriculum: A Best Practices Model For A New International Student Cultural Acclimation Course, Denise Leinonen

Capstone Collection

This course-linked capstone (CLC) is inspired by the current international student cultural acclimation course at State University of New York (SUNY) at Oneonta. Surprisingly, there are few cultural acclimation courses offered in the United States and there is lack of academic research evaluating the effectiveness of such courses. This course model will incorporate the successful aspects of the few current cultural acclimation courses offered, including the Oneonta course, and integrate learning, cultural adjustment, and student development theories into the curriculum to provide a basis for the content and structure of the course. Qualitative research through surveys and interviews with international …

Alternative Strategies For Solving Subtraction Problems Generated By Third Grade Students Proficient With The Standard Algorithm, Joelle Young

Honors Theses

This study explores third grade students’ mathematical understandings by examining the strategies they generate to solve subtraction word problems. Ten students proficient with the standard subtraction and addition algorithms were individually observed and interviewed while using as many different methods as they could to solve three multi-digit subtraction and addition word problems. The students were found to rely excessively on algorithms and class-taught methods, even when inappropriate, and were divided in the sophistication of their modeling strategies, with half only using direct modeling with ones, while four successfully modeled with grouping. The creativity of the strategies used by some students, …