Education Commons^™

What Are They Thinking?: A Qualitative Study Of Secondary Students’ Critical Thinking In Online Classes, Scott Allan Nolt

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study emerged in response to students’ struggle to understand what critical thinking is and teachers’ corresponding struggle to develop students’ critical thinking skills. In my role as an instructional designer, I studied student and teacher reactions to interdisciplinary course design that used disciplinary inquiry, problem-posing, and concept-based online learning. The primarily qualitative study focused on students’ reflections across five different social studies and English courses, along with interview data from their teachers and post-course survey data. Exploring how students experience instruction designed to develop their critical thinking skills and how instruction in critical thinking impacts students’ critical …

Assessing The Impact Of Online Homework On 8th Grade Students’ Mathematical Proficiency And Perceptions: An Action Research Study, Chad Williams

Theses and Dissertations

This action research aimed to assess the impact of online homework, delivered via IXL, on thirteen 8th Grade Mathematics students' mathematical proficiency and explored their perceptions of its usefulness. The Cedar Hill Middle School students typically scored below state and national averages in mathematics, necessitating increased rigor and support. Two main questions guided the research in this study. The first question assessed the impact of online homework on students' mathematical proficiency according to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) definition, looking specifically at strategic competence, conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and adaptive reasoning. The second question investigated students' perceptions …

Motivation In Online Course Design: Action Research Using A Self-Determination Theory-Based Mathematics Unit To Improve Students’ Autonomy, Competence, And Relatedness, Emily Rose Shank

Theses and Dissertations

Strong mathematics achievement is lacking in the United States, with motivation waning especially among mathematics and online students. Online mathematics students, in particular, struggle with self-regulation and self-efficacy (Kim, 2012; Sun & Rueda, 2012). Ryan and Deci (2017), in their well-established and empirical self-determination theory, contended that satisfying the psychological needs of autonomy (involving self-regulation), competence (involving self-efficacy), and relatedness (involving a sense of belonging) creates a suitable environment for integrated extrinsic and intrinsic motivation to thrive. The purpose of this action research was to create and implement a self-determination theory-based online unit on factoring polynomials for mathematics students at …

The Effects Of The Online Remediation Of Phonological Processing Deficits On Functional Reading Abilities In Students With Dyslexia, Fletcher Bowden

Theses and Dissertations

Dyslexia affects between 5% and 18% of Americans and is caused by difficulty with phonological processing. This study investigates the impact of an online intervention designed to remediate phonological processing deficits on reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. It also investigates changes to student self-concept and parent perceptions of their children’s reading attitudes and abilities as a result of the online intervention.

Ten students participated in the intervention; assessments were administered at the beginning and at the midpoint of the treatment. Scores in Phonological Processing and Alternate Phonological Processing, as measured by the CTOPP-2, demonstrated large to very large effect sizes, …

Measuring The Ability Of A Readiness Course To Improve Online Student Success At A Two-Year Technical College, James Devin Henson

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the continued growth of online enrollments nationwide, students consistently are not as successful in online courses as traditional face-to-face courses. The challenges are magnified in the two-year college environment, which has a disproportionately high percentage of low-income or minority students compared to four-year universities. This action research study uses a convergent parallel mixed methods design to study the effectiveness of a mandatory readiness course for online students at a two-year college in South Carolina to increase student success. Specifically, this study examined how and to what extent taking an online readiness course impacted online student success, students’ perceptions of …

The Effects Of Implementing An Online Professional Learning Community For Teachers Of Gifted And Talented Courses: An Action Research Study, Chelsey A. Mintz

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research study was to examine the effects of implementing an online professional learning community (PLC) designed explicitly for teachers of gifted and talented (GT) English language arts (ELA) courses. The present action research (AR) is a limited mixed design study, including quantitative and qualitative elements, to discover the effects on collaboration and professional growth focused on best practices for GT instruction. The quantitative data were collected through surveys, which included Likert scales and nominal items and were analyzed through descriptive statistics. The qualitative data were collected through guided and semi-structured interview questions and transcribed before …

Impacts Of An Online Learning Community On The Way Students Communicate, David Dennis

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research study was to describe one advanced placement (AP) high school literature unit and student-participants' perceptions of technological communication in that English Language Arts (ELA) unit. The site of the research was West-Oak High School in Westminster, South Carolina. Student-participants are accustomed to electronic communication. The participant-researcher designed and implemented a blended AP ELA curriculum unit for Shakespearean Drama to combine an online learning discussion with face-to-face discussions aimed at observing whether these students are able to improve their ability to construct defensible verbal and written arguments. Data collections included a series of observations and …