Education Commons^™

From The Editor, Laureen Fregeau

ECTESOL Review

No abstract provided.

Employing Word Study With Spanish-Speaking Els, Timothy Rodriquez

ECTESOL Review

Phonics Instruction has had a controversial history. How to teach phonics to Spanish-speaking ELs is also controversial. Understanding the differences between Spanish and English and how phonics instruction occurs in each language would be insightful. Also, knowing how the nature of the two languages affects instruction would be beneficial. Furthermore, exploiting similarities between English and Spanish and examining differences will bolster instruction. This paper will discuss the reasons for word study and how it may be utilized to teach spelling and decoding to Spanish-speaking ELLs.

Student And Instructor Attitudes Toward 21st Century Writing Technologies In The Rural Secondary English Classroom, Casey Crowhurst

Masters Theses

This thesis focuses on how students and teachers feel about the current use of technologies like Chromebooks and laptops in the rural secondary English classroom. Chapter one describes my personal journey as a student and educator using various technologies in the classroom, and how I came upon the idea for this study while observing one of the first high schools to implement full 1:1 Chromebook technology in the United States. Then, I discuss my review of the current literature on the subject, and find that there is a lack of knowledge about the emergence of these types of technologies, and …

Blended Learning And Second Language Acquisition In The Classroom, Victoria R. Hamilton

Graduate Research Papers

This review investigates using a blended learning environment within a second language setting. The literature review presented three main themes to be considered as these two contexts were united: learner engagement in differing environments and with different activities, learner perceptions, and the outcomes found from such combinations. Twenty-eight peer-reviewed journal articles were analyzed. It is found that blended environments seem to add novelty and increase motivation and engagement of students in these settings. However, the pedagogical implementation of active learning such as collaboration, providing feedback, and using activities that have a communicative purpose seems to yield the best results. Learner …

The Influence Of Social Support And Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction On Student Academic Motivation At A Cameroonian University: Structural Equation Modeling, Samuel Adamou

Dissertations

Problem

The growing number of students at the university level in Cameroon created maladaptive behaviors including lack of behavior adaptation, interests, respect, happiness, self-esteem, which led to strikes, vandalism, academic failure and resulting in school dropout (Nwaimah, 2008). The Cameroonian government proposed a number of reforms to solve these issues. One of the major proposed reforms consisted of implementing the Bologna Model in higher education through borrowing and transferring of policies, ideas, and practices from a European higher education area (Eta, 2015; Mngo, 2011). Yet despite the surface progress, the question of how to enhance student learning and improve instruction …

Delving Into The Specificity Of Instructional Guidance In Social Media-Supported Learning Environments, Tian Luo

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Aim/Purpose: This study investigates the variations in student participation patterns across different types of instructional activities, learning modes, and with different instructional guidance approaches. In the current study, different variables, modes of learning (guided versus unguided), and types of guidance (social versus cognitive) were manipulated in a series of microblogging-supported collaborative learning tasks to examine to what extent and in which aspects instructional guidance affects the effectiveness and student perception of microblogging-supported learning.

Background: Despite the overwhelming agreement on the importance of instructional guidance in microblogging-supported learning environments, very few studies have been done to examine the specificity of guidance, …

The Utility Of Storytelling Strategies In The Biology Classroom, Elizabeth Csikar, Jill E. Stefaniak

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Conveying scientific information with high intrinsic cognitive load to students is a challenge. Often, students do not have the existing schema to incorporate the information in a comprehensive manner. One method that has shown promise is storytelling. Storytelling has been successfully used to convey public health information to non-experts. Therefore, it was of interest to determine whether storytelling could be used in the classroom to present information with high intrinsic load to students in a meaningful manner. This study used a post-test only quasi-experimental study design to explore the utility of storytelling as an instructional strategy in anatomy and physiology …

Connected Education: Teachers' Attitudes Towards Student Learning In A 1:1: Technology Middle School Environment, Tian Luo, Alexander Murray

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Online and blended forms of learning has been increasingly common in K-12 settings, along with the technological advancement with always-on and connected devices. The study purports to understand teachers’ attitudes towards the middle school’s 1:1 policy and students’ frequent use of always-on and connected technology, as well as their concerns about middle school students’ capabilities of using mobile devices and technologies in 1:1 environments. Using a transcendental phenomenological approach, data was obtained through semi-structured interviews, pre- and post- teacher open-ended surveys, along with classroom and lab observations. The study concluded that teachers typically embraced student use of school issued connected …

Making The Connection: Using Mobile Devices And Polleverywhere For Experiential Learning For Adult Students, Robert L. Moore, Stephanie J. Blackmon, James Markham

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Technology integration has significantly influenced the way students access and retain knowledge gained in the classroom (Ahmed, 2016). This is particularly relevant in classrooms for adult learners who engage in continuing education. This paper used a descriptive case study (Yin, 2014) to share how an instructor utilized mobile learning with a web-based polling tool, PollEverywhere, to gamify experiential learning for adult students in various roles within a southeastern state’s court administration—prosecutors, defense lawyers, magistrates, and jail administrators—and improve students’ engagement in the course and connection to course material.

Factors Associated With Technology Integration To Improve Instructional Abilities: A Path Model, Öner Uslu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Today, students are expected to access, analyse and synthesise information, and work cooperatively. Their learning environment, therefore, should be equipped with appropriate tools and materials, and teachers should have instructional abilities to use them effectively. This study aims to propose a model to improve teachers’ instructional abilities through technology integration. To this end, data on variables that affect technology integration were collected from 600 teachers and analysed by using path analysis. The results revealed an acceptable fit between the model and the data. Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, attitude towards technology use in education, gender, frequency of computer use, seniority, duration …

A Study On Science Achievement And Motivation Using Computer-Based Simulations Compared To Traditional Hands-On Manipulation, Stacey L. Hannel, Joshua Cuevas

Georgia Educational Researcher

This study was conducted to investigate whether or not computer-based simulations had a greater impact on science achievement compared to traditional hands-on methods for middle school students in an on-level science course. The study also sought to determine if either method had an impact on retention as well as motivation. The participants in the study were 6^th grade students attending a public middle school in suburban metro-Atlanta. A variety of statistical analyses were utilized to measure science achievement, retention, and motivation. Results indicated that there was no significant difference on science achievement between the traditional hands-on method and the …

Self-Determination Theory And Professional Reasoning In Occupational Therapy Students: A Mixed Methods Study, Tiffany Bolton, Evan Dean

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Occupational therapy (OT) education frequently utilizes experiential learning as an effective instructional method to develop professional reasoning in OT students. However, there is little information about the development of professional reasoning. The researchers used a mixed-methods design to determine the extent to which an experiential learning course was effective in supporting professional reasoning ability with thirty-six OT students. Participants were students enrolled in an experiential learning course, which was part of their didactic graduate curriculum. Students attended an assigned setting weekly for sixteen weeks. Researchers collected data using the Self-Assessment of Clinical Reflection and Reasoning (SACRR) as well as reflective …

Interpretative Analysis Of Adult Learners’ Lived Experiences In A Uniquely Designed Higher Education Program, Latonya M. Branham

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The lived and collegiate experiences of adult learners, who are among the fastest growing student population in 21st century higher education, is the essence of this study. The study was conducted using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Fifteen baccalaureate level degree-seeking study participants consented to share their respective journeys. Twenty-one interviews were conducted for the study. Code-listed categories, themes and sub-themes emerged from two interview sessions, and member-checking sessions. Several themes were aligned to two research questions: In what ways, if any, are the distinctive needs and expectations of adult learners fulfilled through a baccalaureate level adult learner program; and, what does …

Technology Over-Consumption: Helping Students Find Balance In A World Of Alluring Distractions, George D. Shows, Pia A. Albinsson, Tatyana B. Ruseva, Diane Marie Waryold

Atlantic Marketing Journal

The last two decades has seen a fundamental shift in society with the growth in technology and the growth of social media. This shift has been embraced in the classroom as a tool to enhance the learning experience of the student. Students have experienced a fundamental shift in interaction with themselves and the world they inhabit with the exponential growth in technology and social media both inside and outside the classroom. The result is the multitasking student, who must constantly switch between a growing number of interactions. Attention spans have a finite limit, and eventually students experience an over-consumption of …

Student And Faculty Perceptions Of Live Synchronous Distance Education For Allied Health Students Following Program Expansion To A Rural Campus, Betsy J. Becker, Kelsey Rutt, Allyson Huntley, Harlan Sayles, Kim Michael

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Background & Purpose: Distance education (DE) is a means to meet allied health workforce needs in rural locations where healthcare worker shortages are apparent. Five allied health programs were expanded to a rural campus teaching synchronously using distance education technology. The purpose of this convergent parallel mixed methods study was to explore perceptions of allied health students and faculty at two campus locations.

Methods: Quantitative and qualitative information were collected through a survey of students and faculty (physical therapy, physician assistant, and medical imaging [diagnostic medical sonography, radiography, magnetic resonance imaging] programs). Both campuses served as live and distance sites …

Environmental Print: From Context To Comprehension, Alexandra E. Hinkel

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

The purpose of this research is to further our understanding of the role played by environmental print in the literacy development of emergent readers. Environmental print is defined as any print that can be seen in public such as logos, signs, products names and billboards. One of the main things we already know about environmental print is that it helps young children understand that the words in print mean something, or that some message is communicated through them. This connection is crucial to developing early literacy skills. This research identifies young readers’ abilities to recognize these words out of context …

Best Practices For Training New Communication Graduate Teaching Assistants, Melissa A. Broeckelman-Post, Kristina Ruiz-Mesa

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) are often the first college instructors who new students meet when they arrive for their first day of class, and as instructors and as students, GTAs are the future of the discipline. As such, GTAs need to receive comprehensive training in a variety of pedagogical, procedural, and professional areas to help graduate students continue to develop as instructors and, eventually, into full-time faculty. To assist basic course directors, department chairs, and faculty in creating and supporting a comprehensive and ongoing GTA training program, this article provides 10 best practices for training new GTAs who will be …

Middle School Student Perception And Understanding Of Differentiated Instruction: A Phenomenological Study, Zoie Park

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Lack of published research on student perception and understanding of differentiated learning hinders educators attempting to diversify learning for individual students. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the perception and understanding of differentiated instruction of middle school students in a charter middle school in central Florida, as a review of literature reveals limited research conducted from a student perspective. The study will broaden existing educational practices in relation to individualized student differentiated instruction and suggest a relationship between differentiated instruction and student understanding of educational material. The brain-based theories guiding this study are Piaget’s theory of cognitive …

The Mind As A Weapon: A Phenomenological Exploration Of How Elementary Teachers Use Mental Imagery To Prepare For Active Shooter Events, Aaron Wheeler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental, phenomenological study was to understand how teachers use aspects of mental imagery as a preparatory stress inoculation tool for potentially confronting active shooters at Truman Elementary School (pseudonym). The theory guiding this study was self-efficacy theory as theorized by Albert Bandura; self-efficacy theory rationalizes the way one views oneself will be the source of motivation in subsequent performance. In the context of this study, if teachers saw themselves as successful, then they were successful. Mental imagery was generally defined as visualization techniques that prepared teachers to mentally condition themselves to deal with active shooter events. …

Evaluation Of A Flipped Classroom On Student Achievement In A Low Income School District, Michael Yeoman

Graduate Research Papers

This purpose of this research is to determine whether using a flipped classroom is as effective for students in low-income schools as it is for students in wealthy school districts. A review of the literature is performed to determine what is the underlying philosophy of using a flipped classroom as well as determining barriers that may inhibit its effectiveness.

Control and treatment groups were determined so that data could be compared between a “traditional” classroom and a “flipped” classroom. The students in the treatment group were given a Pre-Unit Survey to determine a baseline of their perceptions of flipped learning. …

The Effects Of Preceding Stimuli Formats On Proportional Reasoning Ability In Elementary School Students, Natalie D. Branch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008) described fraction knowledge as the most important, yet most underdeveloped foundational skill among students. Due to the complex nature of fraction education, this study sought to understand the underlying fraction problem-solving skill of proportional reasoning in the hopes of gaining insight into children’s problem-solving strategies in order to implement more focused educational designs. The current study examined the effects of stimuli formats on children’s proportional reasoning ability by presenting four conditions involving two formats (continuous and discrete). Previous research indicates that students perform better on continuous stimuli and the goal of this study was …

Cross-Country Heterogeneity In Students’ Reporting Behavior: The Use Of The Anchoring Vignette Method, Hana Vonkova, Gema Zamarro, Collin Hitt

Gema Zamarro

Beyond Greed Is Good: Pop Culture In The Business Law Classroom, Felice Batlan, Joshua Bass

Felice J Batlan

No abstract provided.