Education Commons^™

Investigating Prodigy Math Program To Improve Students' Success In Mathematics, Justin A. Bledsaw

Masters Theses

This study investigates whether Prodigy improves student achievement in mathematics; whether Prodigy improves, specifically, math achievement of special education students, students of different ethnicities, and students of different genders. Further, the study wanted to explore student perceptions of Prodigy. The study was conducted in two fifth grade classrooms with a total of 31 participants. Two mathematics units were utilized to compare; one on multiplying whole numbers and the other on dividing whole numbers. In addition, participants completed a survey and a focus group interview to find out participant perceptions of Prodigy. Results reveal that the whole group scored higher in …

Social Justice Mathematics: Classroom Practices That Give Students Rigor While Building Agency, Emily Marquise

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of a social justice approach to mathematics instruction. While many students have math aversion, students in low socioeconomic communities exhibit this to a higher degree putting them at a disadvantage as they progress through their educational career. More than 3.4 million K-12 students in the United States come from families that earn less than the median income yet achieve scores in the top percentile (Wyner et al., 2007). This raises the question of why so many students in low-socioeconomic settings are not given rigorous content that will keep them competitive …

How Do Staff And Families Perceive The Effects Of After School Programs On The Overall School Experience?, Selena Alonzo

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Connecting With Their Students: Understanding The Impact Of Teachers Using Culturally Relevant Literacy Practices In Elementary Classrooms, Beatrice Acosta

Masters Theses

Despite extensive research indicating the importance of educators connecting with their students, a significant number of teachers fail to associate classroom curriculum with their students’ cultural backgrounds and lived experiences. Even with the best intentions, teachers frequently encounter difficulties in establishing connections with students and seamlessly integrating their diverse cultures and experiences outside of the classroom into lessons. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy is one method teachers use to incorporate their students’ culture into the classroom so that students see themselves in the lessons and become more engaged in their learning. This study was designed to explore teachers’ feelings of cultural competency …

Decolonization Of The Writing Classroom: Creating Space For Decolonial Theory, Tools, Anti-Racist Pedagogy, And Methods To Improve The Emerging Bilingual Student Experience, Desiree L. Brown

Masters Theses

In this thesis, the author addresses the colonial roots of the secondary writing classroom and the origin of standard academic English which enables strict standardized testing and writing assessment requirements that in-turn incite linguistic violence towards emerging bilingual students. The author frames her study within the framework of April Baker-Bell and Asao B. Inoue through a reflective/reflexive study of her teaching in a ninth grade writing classroom in a primarily Hispanic school district in South Texas, which is assessed by the state of Texas through STAAR. This study seeks to identify instances of linguistic violence being perpetuated in the writing …

Are Elementary Teachers Prepared To Teach A Stem Focused Curriculum: A Needs Assessment Of An Inner-City Elementary School, Erica Willie

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Supporting A More Equitable Learning Environment: Implications Of Person-Centered Practices On Teacher Self-Efficacy, Angela Menchaca

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Development Of S.T.E.A.M. Daises In Formal And Informal Environments For Educating Primary I Learners, Frances Neville

Masters Theses

The federal government has made education a competition among ourselves. Learning is not a rivalry to be imposed on our physical and cognitive development as humans. Escalating beliefs recognize education is more encompassing than CCSS, assessments and the grade level time frames in which standards are to be taught. On the precipice of anti-intellect, low expectations, and what has been termed “The Dumbing of America” an investigation into what it would take to close the achievement gap and increase student learning is overdue.

The goal for my Michigan based project, S.T.E.A.M. Daises, was to develop a program focusing on the …

Making Then Meaning, Ben Denzer

Masters Theses

This is an artist talk contained within a book. It is 816 pages and 49 minutes long. Closed captions run across the spreads. A video of this talk can be watched on bendenzer.com/making-then-meaning

At RISD, I’ve been prompted to expand the scope and tools of my practice and to reflect on questions of meaning in my work.

I spend my days making things, but I’ve never really had good answers to questions of why I make the things I make, or what their meaning is. I don’t think there are simple answers to these questions.

I think meaning comes from …

Data-Wisdom As A Framework For Building Data Literacy, Rita Swartzentruber

Masters Theses

In a world where “big-data” rules, the need for data literate citizens is critical. Not only do we need citizens who can read data, but also citizens who are critical of data practices that perpetuate racist practices. One potential answer for this call is to create “data-wise” citizens. The purpose of this design-based research study was to explore how secondary and post-secondary students can develop data-wisdom through the analysis of three data-inspired artistic data visualizations. This study examined the growth of data-wisdom in participants, the development of classroom norms, and the increase in positive perceptions of mathematics in participants. Data …

Assessing The Reliability Of The Five-In-20 Classroom Observation Tool, Danielle Buechlein

Masters Theses

Effective classroom management practices are crucial to fostering a positive learning environment, student achievement, and student social-emotional development, as well as teacher job satisfaction. The Five-in-20 Classroom Observation Tool (FCOT) was developed from the 21 evidence-based strategies identified by Simonsen and colleagues (2008) to assess and support teachers’ classroom management; however, its psychometric properties are unknown. The present study looks at the interobserver agreement of the FCOT, specifically at how consistent observers’ ratings are with each other and how consistent observers’ ratings are with a standard coded copy of the FCOT. Forty-four participants, using the FCOT, rated the same 20-minute …

Evaluating The Assessment Of Resident Assistant Training, Diego Ulloa

Masters Theses

This poster provides the findings from a qualitative study of four housing professionals responsible for Resident Assistant (RA) training at four institutions in the Great Lake Association of College and University Housing Officers (GLACUHO) professional association that includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. This study looked at how those four institutions assessed, evaluated, and improved the centralized training provided to RAs by the department. Key findings include the importance of the use of learning outcomes for training sessions, developing, and maintaining strong relationships with key campus partners, and the issues around prioritizing session topics and departmental needs …

From Homeschooling To Unschooling: A Comparison Of Academic Achievement, Myra Breen

Masters Theses

Within the homeschooling community, there are many options for educational methods that a family might choose. Unschooling, which is an approach to education that emphasizes self-directed learning and does not follow a set curriculum, is often viewed as inferior to a traditional pre-determined curriculum.

The purpose of this research was to determine whether students who come from families who use traditional curricula to educate their children have drastically different assessment scores from the students in families where they follow their own interests and learn from those activities.

This study uses a mixed-methods approach. There are qualitative results based on case …

Hybrid Learning And Standards Based Grading: Fostering Writing Instruction During A Pandemic, Elizabeth Dietz

Masters Theses

Hybrid learning is steadily growing in popularity and showing to be an effective learning modality to accommodate diverse student populations. The pandemic is an unexpected outlier in the overall picture of hybrid learning, and it is helpful to reflect upon best academic practices, including grading methods, to help mitigate loss of learning and to continue to make improvements in pedagogical practices. This thesis explores the relationship between the hybrid learning model and evaluation, specifically Standards Based Grading, and how this combination of methods influences best writing practices. Using reflections gathered from teacher surveys via a case study, it appears the …

Exploring The Special Education Classroom Context And Experiences Before And During Covid-19, Claire E. Smith

Masters Theses

During the last two and half years, school districts and special education programs have experienced a situation that turned the world of education upside down: the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic, teachers, administration, families, and students had to maneuver a new way of education and achieving student success with different learning modalities, such as remote learning. This thesis focuses on a functional life skills classroom and how the context of the classroom changed after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic using autoethnographic methods. This paper was written to display how students in special education and their teachers adapted to …

The White Ally Experience: A Look Into The Impacts Of Being A White Ally, Kristen Maclin

Masters Theses

If an ally knew what they would experience, would they be more willing to stand up? Racism, institutional racism, racial bias, discrimination, and microaggressions have existed in our country since its inception. One way to work to overcome these is by growing allyship and having allies who are willing to speak up and stand beside marginalized groups. This research study addressed what allyship means, the byproducts of racist structures that allies have encountered, ally burnout, and ways to overcome burnout. These were researched through surveys from BIPOCs, named allies, and my school colleague populations. My research found that many White …

An Exploration Of Middle School Teachers’ Utilization Of Culturally Responsive Teaching, Samantha Phillips

Masters Theses

Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) can be used as a means for effectively teaching and managing students and decreases the achievement gap between students of Color and their White counterparts. This qualitative study with an ethnographic design examines the utilization of culturally responsive teaching strategies of two middle school teachers and two principals in public schools on the Southwest side of Chicago. The study is guided by one research question: What aspects of culturally responsive teaching practices are teachers using in their teaching strategies? The study has two purposes: To analyze the effectiveness of two middle school teachers’ utilization of culturally …

Strategies For Raising Low Test Scores Of Minority Students, Shanika Y. Mcclendon

Masters Theses

Abstract

This project is an in-service professional development to prepare teachers for implementing effective strategies for raising minority test scores on standardized tests. These strategies focus on the development of vocabulary and on students’ self-efficacy. The literature shows that the failure for African American and minority students to be successful on standardized test is likely due to lack of support, resources, and adequate preparation. Furthermore, the literature reveals that most of these tests are probably biased toward these students’ cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Studies also show other factors such as stress, stereotyping, depression, and anxiety. Taking into consideration these factors, …

Teacher Perceptions Of Co-Teaching Effectiveness In Inclusive Elementary Classrooms, Ann Sims

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine if co-teaching is an effective strategy of inclusion for students with Individualized Educational Program (IEP). Specifically, students in the general education classroom for grade levels kindergarten to fifth grade in the state of Illinois. Co-teaching has been utilized in middle and upper-grade levels, but the implementation of co-teaching has started to integrate into elementary grades. Two questions guided the study; is co-teaching an effective inclusive strategy for students with an IEP in a general education classroom; and does the model of co-teaching impact the student's academic progress? A quantitative study utilizing a …

Korean War Coverage In High School History Textbooks, Zarek Nolen

Masters Theses

This content analysis investigated coverage of the Korean War in recent high school U.S. history textbooks. Open coding techniques applied to six textbooks yielded data for the following categories: background of the war, the outbreak of the war, the sequence of the war, the conclusion of the war, the devastation of war, the effects of the war, U.N. and U.S. politics, the Chinese intervention, General Douglas MacArthur, and African Americans in the military. Data from these categories were compared and scrutinized against historians’ knowledge using axial coding techniques. This study's findings support past research on Korean War coverage in high …

Unchallenged And Obedient: Status Of Nigerian Junior Secondary School Social Studies Curriculum, Toluwalase Solomon

Masters Theses

Bolstering best practice social studies pedagogy is crucial to raising analytical, responsible, moral, and civic-minded students in Nigeria. This study, using content analysis research methods, examined the contents of Nigerian junior secondary school (JSS) social studies curriculum materials to determine the extent to which the curriculum aligns with major social studies teachers’ epistemologies (citizenship transmission, social sciences, and reflective inquiry). Though there have been numerous studies on examining the major social studies teachers’ epistemologies—citizenship transmission, social sciences, and reflective inquiry—yet few have examined the extent to which Nigerian social studies curriculum materials aligns with these epistemologies. Three major findings emerged …

An Examination Of The Integration Of Augmented Reality In Science Curriculum, Cathleen A. Bierman

Masters Theses

This study examines students’ success rate and level of engagement in a science classroom by using augmented reality (AR) specifically merge cube. Students’ success rate is measured by their grades, which can determine if the student understands the material. Engagement is measured by observing whether or not the students are asking questions, volunteering information, working well with others, paying attention in class, and participates actively in discussions. The two research questions guided the study:1. Does the use of a merge cube in the science classroom improve participants’ success rate in learning science? and 2. Does using a merge cube increase …

Using Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Activities To Narrow The Achievement Gaps In East Central Illinois, Kiyla Devoss

Masters Theses

STEM has become a growing topic in recent years. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. There is a strong emphasis on improving and expanding STEM education to meet the demands of our STEM-focused society. To fill this need afterschool programs have emerged as key partners in STEM education to provide inspirational STEM enrichment opportunities. The study aims to explore if STEM activities narrow the achievement gap of participants from low socio-economic status (SES) in East Central Illinois. The study used a grade level ready framework to define the concept of narrowing the achievement gap and lowering the percentage …

The Ibc-Why Model: Juggling Structure And Rhetorical Theory In The First-Year Composition Classroom, Jessica Anne Cyphers

Masters Theses

This thesis addresses the issue of structure in the composition classroom. In particular, it looks at the history of the five-paragraph essay and the scholarly debate that has surrounded it for more than fifty years. By doing a stasis analysis, the author discovers that scholars have been talking past each other at the level of definition. Based on this finding, the author proposes the development of a new organizational model—the Introduction-Body-Conclusion (IBC) model—by which student can improve their understanding of structure across genres. In addition, by applying the IBC model to the Composition 101 program at the University of Tennessee, …

Shopping For Vibrators With My Abuela… #Space #Representation And #Latinidad In @Janethevirgin, Maria Guarino

Masters Theses

Jane the Virgin debuted on the CW in 2014 at a time when anti-immigrant, particularly anti-Mexican and anti-Latinx, sentiment in the U.S. felt very prevalent. This TV show was the latest to offer representations of Latin@s at the forefront and advanced a distinct political stance on immigration by calling for #immigrationreform. The series has not only been a ratings hit amongst the Latinx community, but has garnered wide acclaim from other races, ethnicities, and gender identities across the United States. This thesis explores the representation of the character of Alba (Ivonne Coll), through an investigation of the various physical and …

The Common Core State Standards In Mathematics For Place Value: Developmentally Appropriate Or Not?, Sarah N. Hughey

Masters Theses

This exploratory case study examines the developmental appropriateness of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSSM) for place value for second through fourth-grade students. A correlation analysis was performed on end of year scores from the 2018-19 school year on a standardized norm-referenced test and a conceptually-based interview assessment from the Math Recovery program (AVMR) on 137 students from one school in the Midwest. An item analysis was also performed on AVMR assessments for 70 students from the 2019-20 school year. The results showed that second and third-grade students did not display the expected amount of growth in conceptual …

Exploring Secondary Students’ Abilities In Judging The Credibility Of Digital Content On The Internet, Katie Dailey

Masters Theses

The shift from print to digital environments has created an opportunity and responsibility for educators to focus on instructional planning and practices that reflects the growing complexity of online texts students helping to ensure that their students are information literate. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the how 83 eleventh grade high school English students judge the credibility of information on the internet. The researcher used methodological triangulation to qualitatively analyze by comparing and aligning data from the survey results, observations of students during class discussions, responses to class assignments, and the quality ratings of students’ think-aloud …

Social Studies Instruction And Integration, Morgan Wood

Masters Theses

Social studies education has been on the decline for many years. With a big part of the blame on standardized testing, it’s important to find ways to utilize the growing reading instructional time to make connections to history. This research utilized a variety of primary sources in social studies lessons. This allowed for the teacher to be able to meet many different standards across content areas in one lesson. Student motivation and engagement was heightened through cross-curricular lessons. The research conducted was completed in a small, rural school; one limitation being there were only 15 students included in the research. …

Growth Mindset: A Key To Motivating Students In Reading, Jenny M. Reid

Masters Theses

If students believe the possibilities for attaining knowledge are boundless, they will be capable of reaching those heights. However, if students feel as though they are restricted by what nature and genetics have gifted them, their learning will remain within those boundaries. This is what stands as the difference between a growth and fixed mindset, which affects will be analyzed pertaining to student progress and motivation in literacy. A third-grade class was observed over six weeks to explore what the teacher believes about her students’ reading abilities as well as what the students believe about their reading abilities. These beliefs …

Stability Of The Learning Behaviors Scale, Nikki Davidson

Masters Theses

Learning behaviors are observable actions, habits, and manifestations of attitudes that facilitate learning, such as persevering at difficult tasks, showing interest in academic subjects, demonstrating care and concern about classwork, and graciously accepting feedback (Buchanan, McDermott, & Schaefer, 1998). Assessment of these learning behaviors is an essential first step to effective intervention. It is important to know which learning behaviors to target and the degree of deficit in order to remediate learning problems. The present study examined the medium length (two-month) stability of scores obtained from the Learning Behaviors Scale (McDermott, Green, Francis, & Stott, 1999). Fifty K-8 teacher rater …