Digital Commons Network^™

Using Professional Development As A Tool To Build Teacher Capacity For Recognizing Giftedness In African American Students, Dr. Jacqueline D. Drye

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

African American students are underrepresented in gifted programs in American public schools. This is due in part to the teachers’ role in the gifted identification process. Classroom teachers are asked to refer students for evaluation for gifted services. To effectively do this, teachers must understand the unique challenges faced by gifted students from diverse populations, be able to recognize potential and be willing to explore their own perceptions about giftedness. When considering the historical plight of African Americans and their quest for an equitable education, coupled with current statistics on income, employment and educational attainment, the need to address this …

A Program Evaluation Of I-Ready Implementation In A North Carolina Middle School, Juliana Irene Owen Thompson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Aurelius School District used Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready program, which was philosophically aligned to the science of reading and included i-Ready Diagnostic, i-Ready Instruction, and Teacher Toolbox, to improve Cole Middle School students’ reading achievement. Because of the high monetary cost of i-Ready, the school district was considering changing or ending this program. This pragmatic, mixed methods design, CIPP (Stufflebeam, 2003) program evaluation analyzed the fidelity of implementation of the i-Ready program through descriptive statistics (frequencies); assessed the effectiveness of the i-Ready program in increasing student achievement (on the Diagnostic, NC Check-Ins, and NC EOG) through descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, …

Social Media And Professional Learning, Tiffany Truitt

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Although research indicates professional learning could positively influence both teacher retention and student achievement, many educators continue to express dissatisfaction with professional learning experiences. In a Virginia Department of Education (VDOE, 2019b) survey, teachers at Roth High School expressed issues with misalignment between the content of professional learning offerings and their specific learning needs, a lack of follow-up implementation support, and a failure to see an effect on student achievement. Using Guskey’s (2000) Five Levels of Professional Development Framework, which uses a leveled approached to assessing professional learning, this action research study sought to achieve a better understanding of the …

Accessibility And Inclusivity In Marine Science Education: A Suite Of Collaborative Marine Science Lesson Plans, Amy Nicholson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Excerpt from capstone: "Marine science education is oftentimes sparse in formal education. This is due to a myriad of factors, including but not limited to: minimal state marine science curricula standards, geographic restraints, and lack of resources. This problem is not just unique to marine science, either. In 2018, it was found that only two states required environmental science in secondary education, with just eight requiring general earth and space science (American Geosciences Institute 2018). To further this disparity, marine science curricula are often focused on upper grade levels, with most marine science curricula being focused on the 10th grade …

An Action Research Approach To Workplace Inclusivity For Operational Employees In Higher Education, Carrie Lynn Cooper

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This action research study implemented an intervention, the Learn at Work program, for operational employees in facilities management at William & Mary earning less than $19 an hour. One of eight dimensions in the Workplace Inclusion Scale, developed by Lennox et al. (2022), is “access to opportunity” (p. 27). This study’s theoretical framework included feelings of individual belonging, coupled with workplace learning, as powerful factors in shaping workplace experience. The program offered various opportunities: (a) health, computer, and financial literacy classes; (b) university-led workshops; and (c) individual tutoring. Two research questions guided the study: (a) What training and learning opportunities …

Engaging Families In The Academic Lives Of Preschool Children: An Action Research Study, Denise Fultz

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The practice of family engagement enables families and school staff to share responsibility for child development in a partnership characterized by mutual respect for the influential role each plays in a child’s academic life. Unsatisfactory outcomes of family engagement practices with families of preschoolers warranted the implementation of a family engagement intervention program central to this action research study. The Engage Every Family: Five Simple Principles framework guided family-school collaborative efforts to increase family efficacy for engaging preschoolers in developmentally appropriate learning activities at home. Engagement activities were provided in the form of virtual workshops and collaboration on social media. …

The Effect Of A Positive Story Intervention On Positivity, Stress, Hope, And Trauma Symptomatology: A Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Trial, Allison Dukes

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic brought many adverse effects to the global community. One effect was decreases in the mental health of college students due to forced isolations. College counseling centers, which had been experiencing long waitlists pre-pandemic, struggled to meet the demand as most had to switch to offering telehealth therapy services. Thus, the field of college counseling made a call for additional clinicians and interventions to support this population during this period of heightened need. The field of positive psychology, made popular in 2000 by Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, focuses on how positive emotions and positivity influence our wellbeing. Additionally, …

Elevating Joy In Education Through An Investigation Of How Teachers And School Leaders Make Learning Joyful, Stephanie Lynn Mcguire

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Joy in education is an underexplored construct that could serve as the key ingredient to cultivate positive learning environments and inspire innovation. The purpose of this study was to determine how joy might flow to students and what teacher efforts, instructional decisions, and administrative supports might influence the level of joy in the classroom. The central research question was, how do schools and teachers foster joy in their students? This research was explored from a strengths-based, positive perspective with theoretical foundations in organizational flourishing and positive psychology. This study used a survey research design with a school district that was …

A Case Study: Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Influence Of Proessional Development On Self-Efficacy Related To Implementing A Balanced Literacy Model, Kathryn Theresa Kryscio

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Researchers have known for several years that when a child is reading below proficiency by the end of third grade, it is likely the child will continue to struggle learning to read through the child’s academic career (Dickinson & Porche, 2011; Wasik & Hindman, 2011). Yet, the problem of children falling below third grade reading proficiency continues. If teaching a child to read is a moral purpose, and it is essential for a child to read proficiently by the end of third grade, then literacy instruction in kindergarten through third grade is pivotal. In this case study, the researcher sought …

Fostering The Funny: A Case Study Of Undergraduate Women In Collegiate Comedy Troupes, Jaymi Courtenay Thomas

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

During a global pandemic, another pandemic of loneliness impacted undergraduate college students and influenced the way members of the 18-25-year-old population lived and learned throughout a time of intentional distancing. Additionally, the insurgence of loneliness impacts members of the 18-25 age group in startling rates. This qualitative case study explored how undergraduate women who participate in comedy troupes fostered community while living and learning during a global pandemic known as COVID-19 between the spring of 2020 and the fall of 2021. The research added to the body of knowledge on how comedy and levity can enhance wellness and how humor …

A Phenomenology Of Affective Engagement In Advanced Placement Courses, Matthew Wade Henry

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This phenomenology of affective engagement experienced by advanced students in Advanced Placement (AP) courses at River City High School (RCHS)was conducted in order to better understand the potential affective experience of all enrolled and future students in AP courses. Additionally, this phenomenology sought to help improve negative affective experiences as needed and continue to enhance positive experiences of all students in advanced (TAG) programming which includes AP courses. The overall categories of Others, Stress, and Inspiration were revealed through potential themes collected from the student experience. Students experienced affective engagement relating to Others through both positive and negative interactions. In …

Catholic Schools And Covid-19: Paycheck Protection Program (Ppp), Leaders And School Closure, Vincent Bradley

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This explanatory sequential mixed methods study focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Catholic school survival, the efficacy of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and the views and actions of Catholic school leaders during this period. A significant body of literature has documented Catholic schools’ success in educating children, particularly minority students in inner cities. Catholic schools, however, have faced declining enrollment and substantial school closures since 1965. Few studies have explored in granular detail the factors that contribute to school closure. The quantitative phase of this mixed methods study examined variables related to school closure in prior …

A Program Evaluation Of A District Designed Virtual Academy In A Small Rural School District, Margaret Anne Bryant

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The Virtual Learning Model (VLM) can be the best learning modality to foster personalized learning for K-12 students. This research study aims to bring to light the expectations of an appropriate district designed VLM for a rural school district in Virginia as it pertained to creation, implementation, as measured by the Virginia Department of Education criteria model, student attendance, and student assessment scores. The data for this process and product study were collected through a mix-methods approach across elementary Grades 3-5. Findings discussed in this study include an appropriate VLM, attendance rates for participants for three years prior to participation …

Weaving A Science Story: Narratives And Language As Tools In The Science Classroom, Claudia Moncada

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The Standards of Learning (SOL) for Virginia public schools, and other national standards, set expectations for student achievements throughout the school year for many subjects, including science. Because educators must prepare their students for end-of-course exams based on the SOL, classroom discussion and deeper understanding of topics can be lessened. Middle school students show declines in motivations and attitudes toward science, and challenges are greater for English-learning (EL) students. Incorporating storytelling into science classrooms can be helpful to EL and non-EL students because it presents challenging topics and vocabulary in a simpler and more engaging way than traditional textbooks. This …

Seasons Of Change: A Discourse Analysis Of University Rhetorical Response During A Generational Pandemic, Todd S. Moellendick

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Institutions of higher education are no strangers to crisis situations. From world wars to campus violence, colleges and universities across the United States have been both directly and indirectly affected by these crisis situations. However, in the early part of 2020, higher education was faced with a situation that transcended anything colleges and universities had seen before—COVID-19. What made COVID-19 so unique was how the disease quickly permeated throughout the United States. Thus, a stage was set for institutions of higher education to defend their campuses and communities from a most historical pandemic. This study, understanding the historical significance of …

Using Process Mapping As A Tool To Improve Institutional Procedures For Rural Transfer Students: An Action Research Study, Alison Rife Weston

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This study investigated the transfer pathway between a rural university and a community college to understand what procedural barriers exist for student degree attainment within existing structures. Process mapping was used as the intervention to examine the influence of enrollment and student services processes and investigate the perceptions of process mapping among student affairs staff and allow them to make suggestions for changes to policy and procedure in their work. Participants were selected for their role in the transfer process at one of the two institutions and convergent mixed methods methodology through a constructivist lens was used to collect and …

Implementing Pbis: High School Principals’ Perceptions Of The Change Process, Jaimie Clougher Brandt

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The purpose of the study was to gain deeper understanding of the PBIS process in high schools and high school principal perceptions of leadership qualities that enable, and challenge, school-wide change to facilitate PBIS successfully. The study provided an opportunity for high school principals to give a voice to PBIS leadership through sharing their personal experiences leading high schools through the PBIS process. A gap exists in the research regarding experience leading PBIS in high schools; it is important to provide high school principals the opportunity to share their experiences with PBIS while leading in a culture of change. Data …

The Influence Of Teacher Attribution For Challenging Behavior On Teacher Self-Efficacy And Expectations For Student Success, Mackenzie Turbeville-Mccorry

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This study investigated how teachers’ perceptions of students demonstrating challenging behaviors are influenced by the cause of the behavior. This study measured teacher perceptions of how successful a student would be in general education, the impact a student would have on the class, and the teachers’ self-efficacy to support a student across five different attributions for challenging behavior: (a) an intellectual disability, (b) a negative attitude toward school, (c) an emotional and behavioral disability, (d) a history of trauma, and (e) autism. In Virginia, students with disabilities are disproportionately suspended, and additional inequities exist in access to an inclusive education …

Mid-Atlantic State Virtual Program Teachers' Instructional Planning Beliefs And Practices, Yanping Mo

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Technology development is shifting teaching modality and online education has become a normal teaching mode. This shift informed teachers of changes in instructional planning. To help teachers better understand planning for online instruction, this study investigates Mid-Atlantic State Virtual Program K-12 teachers’ online instructional planning beliefs and practices through a sequential explanatory mixed method. A total of 73 teachers participated in the survey, and 15 were interviewed. Through descriptive statistical analysis and thematic analysis, this study reveals that (1) eight elements are identified as key elements to online instructional planning. Among them, six align with the framework used in this …

Understanding K-12 Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence: Theory, Measurement, And Validation, Ke Huang

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Teacher emotional intelligence (EI) plays an important role in teachers’ professional lives. After surveying the topic and the gaps in the relevant literature, I conducted three studies to advance our current understanding of teachers’ EI. The first study involved a meta-analysis review that examined the relationship between K-12 teachers’ EI, self-efficacy, and burnout. It found that there is a significant positive relationship between K-12 teachers’ EI and teacher self-efficacy as well as a significant negative relationship between teachers’ EI and teacher burnout. The second study involved developing and testing the Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence Scale (TEIS), which measures teachers’ EI in …

Faculty Matter: A Case Study Of Rural Community College Faculty Involvement In Vertical Transfer, Jingjing Liu

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The community college has one of its missions to provide access for students who intend to transfer to a 4-year university using a vertical transfer pathway. As potential advocates for students in the transfer process, faculty who work in community colleges need to recognize the importance of supporting transfer students and help to improve the transfer pathways. Yet, little is known about the role faculty have in promoting transfer. The purpose of this dissertation study was to investigate the role of community college faculty in the vertical transfer process. The study addressed two research questions: How do community college faculty …

Place-Based Estuary Science Education At Machicomoco State Park, Anna Caputo

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Project description:

This experiential estuary science field trip program was initially created as a master's capstone project by Anna Caputo in partnership with Machicomoco State Park, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), and the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (CBNERR). The ultimate goal of the project is to strengthen community estuarine literacy in the local area by teaching students who will be future marine scientists, community leaders, watermen, and environmentally conscious citizens. The program is designed to highlight the coastal habitats at the state park, the issues those habitats are facing, and how science and monitoring efforts done …

Perceptions Of Giftedness And Other Factors Impacting The Gifted Identification Of Black Students In A Small, Rural School District, Christin Eileen Ashman East

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The disproportionality of Black students identified as gifted has been a hot topic of discussion in the field of education for decades. If the purpose of education is to maximize the potential of all learners, then educators are missing the mark. Although multiple factors may impact the gifted identification of Black students, one of the biggest conundrums in the field of gifted education—the process of gifted identification—may stem from the lack of common definitions of intelligence and giftedness. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ perception of giftedness and other factors that may be impacting the gifted identification …

Organizational Learning In Higher Education: Building Staff Capacity, Rosanna Koppelmann

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Organizational learning has been studied and researched as a construct for organizational improvement. Although its definitions are varied, scholars continue to integrate its use through various disciplinary approaches. It has been studied at the organizational level, but not as much research has taken place at the individual level where day-to-day activities and tasks of the university take place. The goal of this study was therefore to understand the organizational learning processes individuals use in their day-to-day work. This phenomenological study sought to understand the specific activities or tasks individuals perform to acquire, share, and use knowledge throughout the organization. The …

"I Just Couldn't Do It Anymore": A Study Of Post-Pandemic Teacher Burnout, Jeremy Riggs

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Teachers are burning out at an elevated rate following the COVID-19 pandemic and little research has been conducted to understand what is contributing to their burnout. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand what factors in the post-shutdown pandemic environment are contributing to burnout in veteran teachers (teachers with more than 10 years of teaching experience), and why some of these teachers subsequently decided to leave the profession. The central research question was, what factors are contributing to burnout in veteran teachers in the post-shutdown pandemic environment? The theoretical framework used in this study was the Job-Demands Resources …

Leveraging Technology To Support The Goals Of Dual Language Bilingual Education: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study, Paola Gabriela Mendizábal

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This explanatory sequential mixed methods study explored how and why dual language (DL) teachers used technology and the extent to which their use of technology supported the goals of DL of bilingualism, biliteracy, academic achievement, and sociocultural competence. The study was guided by Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) technological pedagogical content framework, Bunch’s (2013) pedagogical language knowledge, Biesta’s et al. (2015) teacher agency framework, and Moersch’s (1997) levels of technology implementation framework. In the quantitative phase, data was collected with an original survey, and in the qualitative phase, data was generated through observations, interviews, and artifacts. Survey responses were analyzed using …

District-Based Supports For Alternatively Licensed Special Education Teachers: An Action Research Study, Hayley Flynn Mullins

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Staffing shortages in public schools have reached a crisis level. Although pervasive, this crisis has disproportionally impacted the field of special education. Due to the dual roles of special education teachers, specifically serving as teacher and case manager, and other factors, such as addressing the needs of a highly diverse student population, these teachers are more susceptible to attrition. Alternate pathways to licensure have provided an opportunity to address special education staffing needs; however, these opportunities come with risks, specifically when strategic support is not provided, resulting in the most at-risk teacher and student populations being paired together. Limited research …

An Investigation Of Experiential Learning: A Program Evaluation Of The William & Mary D.C. Summer Institutes, Roxane Olson Adler Hickey

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The principal purpose of this program evaluation was to determine how the 2010–2019 alumni of the William & Mary (W&M) D.C. Summer Institutes (DCSI) perceived their participation helped them achieve career readiness. Existing literature on experiential learning methods and practices has suggested great value in such opportunities, but less information existed about the outcomes of internship programs in higher education. As leaders consider what their institutional operations look like following the COVID-19 global pandemic and demand for quality internships rises, research on what works in high-impact programs, such as DCSI, offer valuable data for faculty, administrators, and students. A total …

Justice And Change: An Exploratory Case Study Of The Early Implementation Of The Restorative Justice Whole-School Model And Reculturing In A High School In The American South, Amber Weyland Rodenbo

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Discipline inequities across racial, gender, and socioeconomic barriers are a constant in the United States, persisting long after the desegregation of schools in the last century. School divisions and schools across the United States have implemented restorative justice as an alternative to traditional punitive discipline as a potential remedy for discipline inequities. To institute whole-school restorative justice, a change in school culture, or reculturing, must occur, per Fullan’s culture of change and coherence models. Using Fullan’s models, this research was a practice-oriented exploratory case study. The following sources of data were collected: interviews with administrators, an at-will survey sent to …

Implementation, Outcomes, And Perceived Effectiveness Of Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports (Pbis) In A Title I School: A Program Evaluation, Brady Payne

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Students who miss instructional time as a consequence of discipline infractions can manifest outcomes reflected in both dropout and incarceration rates. The school-to-prison pipeline refers to the impact of exclusionary responses to discipline infractions that push students out of school and into the criminal justice system. African American students of low socioeconomic status are often subjected to exclusionary discipline practices. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) implementation aids the mitigation of discipline infractions, without relying on exclusionary practices. However, there is limited research on program efficacy and specific PBIS outcomes for African American students in combined Title I schools. This …