Education Commons^™

Perceptions Of Full-Time Faculty Members Within A Community College Regarding Conditions That Impact Levels Of Engagement, Edward Matthew Foley

Ed.D. Dissertations

Community Colleges fulfill a vital role in society and in higher education, while constraints are expanding. Understanding and increasing the engagement of full-time faculty members could be critical to community colleges in meeting their challenges and advancing their mission. This quantitative study, with focus group follow-up, was conducted within the largest and oldest community college in Ohio. First, findings established an existing level of full-time faculty member engagement and perceptions. Next, the study examined variations of perceptions relative to engagement based on tenure status, academic discipline, length of service, and campus location. Lastly, the study examined the relationship between community …

School Facility Design: Are We Asking The Right People?, Dale C. Jerome

Ed.D. Dissertations

Realizing the need for changes in the design of new school facilities, architects and educators must reach beyond the norms of past designs. This mixed-methods study was conducted at four recently completed high schools. Questionnaires were utilized in the initial phase of research to identify statistically significant differences between the perceptions of teachers and students regarding the physical design characteristics of their learning environment. Structured interview sessions were then conducted with teachers, principals, and architects, to understand their perceptions regarding the involvement of students in the design and planning process of school facilities, and indicated the importance of providing a …

An Analysis Of Elementary School Teachers' Knowledge And Use Of Differentiated Instruction, Alixa Rodriguez

Ed.D. Dissertations

School districts today are being held accountable for providing all students with a quality education in order for students to meet mandated learning standards as well as become productive citizens; thus teachers need to be more responsive to their students’ needs. This study investigated teachers’ knowledge about differentiated instruction; how often teacher differentiate instruction in specific subject areas; and factors that help or hinder the implementation of differentiated instruction. Study results demonstrated that the majority of the teachers surveyed are familiar with differentiated instruction; however, because of their unfamiliarity of available tools, the immense amount of preparation time involved coupled …

The Impact Of Information Literacy Instruction On The Library Anxiety And Information Competency Of Graduate Students, Rodney G. Birch

Ed.D. Dissertations

Many persons enrolling in graduate programs of study do so with varying levels of research skills. The lack of research skills often results in students experiencing some level of library anxiety, which occurs most often at the outset of a research assignment. The role of information literacy instruction is to provide students with the skills necessary to define the information need, understand the resources available to fill the need, understand the process for evaluating information, and understand what it means to use information in an ethical manner. This study explored the relationship between the library anxiety and the information literacy …

Classroom Factors, Student Engagement, And Self-Motivation In Reading, Anna M. Carlson

Honors Program Projects

The goal of this research was to determine how teachers most effectively produce engaged, self-motivated readers. The answer to this question was determined by preliminary research and survey results from 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th grade teachers. Based on the findings of the preliminary research, the following hypothesis was formed:

It is predicted that there is a relationship between implementing the following factors in the classroom and producing engaged, self-motivated readers:

1. 1. Providing time in class for independent reading
2. 2. Providing an appropriate environment for reading
3. 3. Allowing students to select books according to their interests …

Is Spanish Pragmatic Instruction Necessary In The L2 Classroom If Latin American Speakers Of Spanish Take On American English Pragmatic Norms Once Prolonged Exposure In The United States Occurs? A Study On Refusal Strategies, Jeremy W. Bachelor, Lydia Hernandez

Faculty Scholarship – Spanish

As educators of foreign and second languages debate the most efficient methods of implementing pragmatic instruction in the L2 classroom, is it possible that Spanish pragmatic instruction is not necessary if American Spanish pragmatic norms are no different than American English norms? The present investigation studies the pragmatic norms in refusal strategies of speakers of Latin American Spanish who have had little exposure to English, speakers of Latin American Spanish who have spent over two years in the United States, and native speakers of American English. The study found that the Spanish speakers who had spent over two years in …

An Investigation Of The Feasability Of A Writing Center At Olivet Nazarene University: The Implementation Of A Pilot Program, Kristy Ingram, Beth Olney, Sue Rattin, Sue Williams

Scholarship – Academic Affairs Office

The implementation of an on-campus Writing Center is an extension of the holistic approach to student success and retention. Previous attempts to provide an online resource at Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) failed to meet the need of providing one-on-one tutorials. Research proves that this approach does not teach the student how to identify and correct gaps in writing thought, organization, and voice. An ONU Writing Center must be more than an editing center, serving more students than those with remedial writing skills. It should serve as a consistent presence on campus as a facilitator of quality writing across the disciplines. …