Education Commons^™

Using Academic Advising To Increase Motivation And Engagement In First-Year College Students, Lisa Remsing

Wayne State University Dissertations

According to ACT Educational Services (2010), more than one-third of college freshmen will not progress to their sophomore year. Several states, including Michigan, have proposed higher education performance funding models, which directly correlate state funds to student retention and graduation rates (Jesse, 2012). As higher education suffers from diminishing resources, there is a heightened focus to increase retention and graduation rates (Tinto, 2007).

The transition from high school to college can be a traumatic time for adolescents. This age group has unique motivational needs as they adjust to an unfamiliar academic environment (Perry et al., 2005). The first year of …

A Model For Designing Instructional Narratives For Adult Learners: Connecting The Dots, Debra Mary Smith

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

A MODEL FOR DESIGNING INSTRUCTIONAL NARRATIVES:

CONNECTING THE DOTS

by

DEBRA M. SMITH

May 2013

Advisor: Ingrid Guerra-López, Ph.D.

Major: Instructional Technology

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this study was to develop a research-based model for designing and deploying instructional narratives based on principles derived from narrative theory, development theory, communication theory, learning theory and instructional design theory to enable adult learning and retention and the effective transfer of that retained learning to practice (performance contexts). Findings from these five areas were used to identify elements to inform the development of a model for the design and …

Faculty Attitudes Toward Students With Intellectual Disabilities In Postsecondary Educational Settings, Diane F. Fekete

Wayne State University Dissertations

Research has indicated that participation in some aspect of postsecondary education, either for credit or audit, could improve a disabled individual's changes for success in adult life. Research also has shown that faculty attitudes toward, and perceptions of students with disabilities play an important role in student success. The purpose of this study was to examine faculty attitudes toward the inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities in college classes and willingness by faculty to accommodate the course content to meet individual student needs. An internet survey instrument was developed to gather information concerning students with intellectual disabilities and faculty attitude …

Principled Approaches In Online Teacher Education: Migrating Sit’S Masters In Teaching Program, Katrina N. Baran

MA TESOL Collection

Delivery methods for teacher education at the post-graduate level are changing to accommodate in-service professionals and take advantage of technology. To shift the SIT Graduate Institute’s Masters in Teaching program to a low-residency format, an evaluation of underlying principles in teacher education, online education and the MAT program itself is necessary in order to preserve the integrity of the program and ensure success in this new format. Within the context of these principles and an analysis of a sampling of program areas, recommendations are provided.

Experiences Of Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students: An Exploratory Phenomenological Study, Anysia J. Ensslen

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Within the past decade little research has been conducted in the United States to examine the preparedness of beginning speech-language pathologists; the seminal article used for this research study comes from the United Kingdom (Horton, Byng, Bunning, & Pring, 2004). Literature from the past few decades indicates that there may be deficiencies in the way that beginning speech-language pathologists are being trained clinically.

The review of the literature suggests that the field may lack a clear and broadly supported learning theory or framework for the clinical supervision and training of speech-language pathology graduate students. The literature further supports the importance …

Great Expectations: Twenty-First Century Public Institutions And The Promise Of Technology Based Economic Development: A Case Study, Tara K. Baas

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

American research universities, especially over the past 30 years, have increasingly become involved in technology transfer activities. For public land grant institutions, involvement is largely inspired by a desire to maximize revenue opportunities and demonstrate economic relevance. This intrinsic case study addresses the efforts of a public, land grant and flagship institution, the University of Kentucky, to augment its technology transfer activities, with a specific focus on its attempts to spin off university technology-based firms. The data were gathered primarily through oral history interviews with technology transfer personnel, entrepreneurs, and spinoff personnel. Its purpose is to understand better the structure …

The Impact Of Matrix Notes On Textbook Comprehension In A College-Level Introductory Psychology Course, Kathryn Gonier Klopfleisch

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This paper examines whether matrix notes, a graphic form of note taking, helped lower ability students in a college level introduction to Psychology course develop self-regulation and deep processing skills that would increase exam scores. Throughout the semester, students were surveyed and 16 were interviewed about study habits and perceptions of matrix notes. Exam scores and class averages were also considered. The study supported the hypothesis that students would develop deeper processing skills and earn higher exam scores. While the data shows that students grew in self-regulations ability, it is not clear if they did so as a result of …

Personal And Social Factors In Risk-Taking Behaviors Of Emerging Adults, Katherine A. Roeser

Wayne State University Dissertations

The transitional period from adolescence to young adulthood is defined as the stage of life that begins at the conclusion of high school and ends with the acceptance of adult roles (i.e., career, marriage, parenthood). The focus of the present study was on college students' excessive use of alcohol and other drugs and participation in high-risk sexual activity and the association between those behaviors and personal and social factors such as sensation seeking, peer influence, perceived general resistance to peer influence, perceived self-efficacy to resist risky behavior, and emotion regulation. The participants were 427 emerging- adult, undergraduate students 18 to …

The Relationship Of Undergraduate First-Time-In-College Students' Expectations Of Interactions With Faculty And Four-Year College Degree Completion, Craig N. Story

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Faculty are the academic heart of colleges and universities. They guide learning and facilitate student academic and social integration in the campus community. As described by Tinto, student integration is an important component to success in college. Out-of-class and in-class faculty-student interaction supports student integration and may lead to improved college completion. Students enter college with expectations for what they are about to experience, including expectations for faculty interaction. Smart adapted Holland's vocational choice theory to study college disciplines and found that faculty in six broad categories of disciplines displayed specific environmental and personality traits and interacted differently with students. …

Expanding The Pipeline For Latino Bilingual Teachers: A Mixed Methods Study, Amabilia Valverde Valenzuela

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Current education reform in the US requires teacher preparation programs to educate future teachers according to the certification standards set forth by each state. Certification for teaching in Texas requires that preservice teachers successfully complete a series of comprehensive examinations in their teaching fields and in professional knowledge before entering full-time teaching. However, researchers have argued (Gitomer, Brown, & Bonett, 2011) that the use of standardized tests often raises concerns about adverse impacts on members of minority groups, who often have lower test scores. The purpose of this research was twofold: First, to analyze factors that predict Mexican American teacher …

Factors Prospective Students Consider When Selecting An Mba Program, Lorie Plyler Briggs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper adds to existing literature regarding MBA selection processes and helps identify and better understand the needs that motivate consumers to pursue an MBA degree. Through a series of qualitative, one-on-one interviews with 17 brand-new MBA students or prospective students, this research found that while many people have "always wanted" to earn the advanced degree, most have toyed with the idea of a graduate business degree for many years. The most frequent reasons that people cite regarding their decision to seriously consider an MBA at a large southern university centers around four desires. These are, not surprisingly, the desire …

Creating A Culture Of Wellness: A Baseline Multidimensional Analysis Of Wellness At A Small Private Historically Black College And University, Victor Owen Romano

Education Dissertations and Projects

Wellness is something that needs to be taught, encouraged, and valued within a community for it to be obtainable. Preventable health disparities attributed to lack of physical activity continue to be a burden in predominantly African-American communities. Preventative wellness programming has been shown to be successful for students, as well as employees, as long as it is culturally relevant, especially when working within a predominantly African-American population. The purpose of this study was to establish a baseline multidimensional analysis of wellness in correspondence with the opening of a new wellness center.

Data were gathered from employees and students from a …

Translation, Adaptation And Invariance Testing Of The Teaching Perspectives Inventory: Comparing Faculty Of Malaysia And The United States, Jecky Misieng

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As a result of growing attention in cross-cultural research, existing measurement instruments developed in one language are being translated and adapted for use in other languages and cultural contexts. The benefits of having the same instrument across cultures can only be realized if the process of translation and adaptation of the measurement instruments produces measurement operations that function similarly across national and cultural boundaries. Producing invariant measurement instruments that assess educational and psychological constructs provide a way of testing the cross-cultural generality of theories that include these constructs.

The major purposes of the study were to translate and adapt the …

Mapping Dissertation Genre Ecology, Kate Lisbeth Pantelides

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Though the pervasive rumor that the “traditional” dissertation persists because of the “I suffered, so they too should suffer” mentality — the professor revenge theory — students are often the ones eager to pin down writing genres so that they can master them. However, hopes to stabilize and thus capture the secret or equation of the dissertation genre are futile, since genres, like language, are alive: rhetorical, evolving, and flexible. Thus, to demonstrate the contemporary context of the dissertation genre, the conflicting perspectives of university stakeholders, the forces working on the genre to enact change, and the process by which …

Academic Support Experiences And Perceptions Of Postsecondary Students With Disabilities: A Public And Private University Comparision, Heather T. Wizikowski

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Legislation, social awareness, and advancements in medicine and assistive technology have created meaningful postsecondary opportunities for students with disabilities over the past 30 years. Mainstreaming, inclusion, and transition planning in elementary and secondary schools also greatly contributed to the increased achievement of students with disabilities. Today, 15% of students with disabilities attend four-year colleges. Current federal data show 88% of private and 99% of public universities report students with disabilities enrolled at their institutions. Much of the current research focuses on institutional practice and need. There is a gap in the research when looking at student needs and experiences.

This …