Education Commons^™

Open Educational Resources In The United States: Insights From University Foreign Language Directors, Joshua J. Thoms, Becky L. Thoms

Joshua J. Thoms

This study reports the results of a survey completed by 155 university foreign language (FL) directors in the United States (US) during Fall 2012. Survey respondents come from a variety of institutions and direct a range of FL programs. The objectives of the study are to (a) determine what FL directors know about open educational resources (OER), (b) understand respondents’ perceived benefits and challenges of using OER, and (c) determine what resources and support are critical to establish or expand the use of OER in FL courses in the US. Results indicate that while 66% of FL directors do not …

The Development Of An Instrument To Measure The Self-Efficacy Of Students Participating In Vex Robotics Competitions, Trevor P. Robinson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A research study was conducted in the Technology and Engineering Education program at Utah State University. The purpose of the study was to develop a survey instrument to measure the self-confidence of students who have participated in the VEX Robotics Competitions. The survey instrument developed was tested to be appropriate and consistent in measuring the self-confidence of middle school and high school students in the United States. The process to ensure that the survey instrument was appropriate utilized an investigation of the tasks completed by successful VEX Robotics teams through an occupational and task analysis. The investigation utilized expert coaches, …

Bridging Music And The Early Childhood Curriculum In Listening And Spoken Language Programs For Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing, Whitney Wright

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Music is an integral aspect of human life. Its impact weaves through arts, culture, communication, recreation, and education. In addition to benefits of enjoyment and entertainment, music is a vital component of early childhood educational settings. Educators routinely utilize music as an embedded component of instruction to meet both group and individual needs of young children in early childhood classrooms. In fact, specialized musical instruction can be particularly beneficial for children with disabilities, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) (Gfeller, Driscoll, Kenworthy, & Van Voorst, 2011). Children who are DHH are at significant risk for speech, …

Religious Educators' Experiences With Self-Directed Learning In Professional Development: A Qualitative Study, Brandon D. Porter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In 2012, Seminaries and Institutes of Religion (S&I), a division of The Church Educational System of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, introduced a self-directed professional development program that allowed educators to obtain two certification credentials by completing 12 certification projects per credential. The purpose of this study was to obtain an understanding of the experiences of seven S&I educators with self-directed learning in doing certification projects.

Personal and contextual factors influenced how self-directed learning for purposes of professional development was experienced by the participants in this study. Understanding program requirements, expectations, and processes, and possessing sufficient motivation …

Teacher Professionalism: A Study Of Professionalism For Religious Educators In The Seminary And Institutes Department Of The Church Educational System, Michael L. Cottle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This qualitative study investigated Seminary and Institute teachers’ perception of professionalism. To answer the question “What is the perception of seminary and institute teachers and leaders regarding professionalism,” a life history approach was used to explore what experiences and events shaped the participants’ view of professionalism in seminary and institutes. Findings indicated the following: (a) loyalty to the organization is a key attribute for professionalism; (b) positive associations with peers and administrators strengthen professionalism and foster a culture of unity; (c) observation and feedback are critical elements in developing professionally; (d) content mastery is a prerequisite for teachers seeking to …

Barriers To Curricular Change In General Education Mathematics At A Large Public Institution, Marcus Jorgensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This qualitative study looked for barriers to curricular change in general education mathematics at a large public university (LPU) in the Western United States. The literature showed that a number of national organizations dealing in math education have recommended alternatives to the traditional algebra-intensive curriculum. LPU still relies predominantly on traditional College Algebra as its quantitative literacy (QL) course. With such an algebra-heavy emphasis, students may be missing more relevant and useful mathematics. In addition, the College Algebra course has a low success rate, which becomes a barrier to student retention and graduation. Interviews were conducted with 14 participants who …

Playing With A Robot To Learn English Vocabulary, Yanghee Kim

Yanghee Kim

A robot-based English curriculum called The Missing Code has been developed to teach English vocabulary to young children whose home language is one other than English. Guided by theories in children’s learning and motivation, the curriculum was designed to be developmentally appropriate and engaging for children that were 3-5 years old, carefully balancing the familiar and the new. The development process was characterized by iterative cycles of initial design, user testing, and refinement. Through multiple observations of child-robot play in situ, it was noted that children easily learned how to interact with the robot and showed sustained interest and engagement …

Promoting And Evaluating Online Learner-Instructor Relationships, Yanghee Kim, R Burdo, T Chen

Yanghee Kim

Emotions that a learner brings to the learning context can influence engagement, self-regulation, and achievement. Recently, researchers have called for examination on the impact of learner emotions in online learning environments. This study examines how to incorporate learner/instructor relationship aspects in online instruction and promote affective relationships with the learners. Participants enrolled in a college statistics course took a weeklong video-based module covering Normal Distribution. Learner attitudes, learner self-efficacy, learner/instructor relationship, and learning gains were evaluated. The relationship building strategies were found to have positive impacts on learner attitudes and self-efficacy. The inclusion of the relationship building strategies, however, did …

Promoting And Evaluating Online Learner-Instructor Relationships, Yanghee Kim, R Burdo, T Chen

Yanghee Kim

Emotions that a learner brings to the learning context can influence engagement, self-regulation, and achievement. Recently, researchers have called for examination on the impact of learner emotions in online learning environments. This study examines how to incorporate learner/instructor relationship aspects in online instruction and promote affective relationships with the learners. Participants enrolled in a college statistics course took a weeklong video-based module covering Normal Distribution. Learner attitudes, learner self-efficacy, learner/instructor relationship, and learning gains were evaluated. The relationship building strategies were found to have positive impacts on learner attitudes and self-efficacy. The inclusion of the relationship building strategies, however, did …

Playing With A Robot To Learn English Vocabulary, Yanghee Kim, Diantha Smith, Namju Kim, Tianyu Chen

Yanghee Kim

A robot-based English curriculum called The Missing Code has been developed to teach English vocabulary to young children whose home language is one other than English. Guided by theories in children’s learning and motivation, the curriculum was designed to be developmentally appropriate and engaging for children who were 3-5 years old, carefully balancing the familiar and the new. The development process was characterized by iterative cycles of initial design, user testing, and refinement. Through multiple observations of child-robot play in situ, it was noted that children easily learned how to interact with the robot and showed sustained interest and engagement …

Instructional Design Affects The Efficacy Of Simulation-Based Training In Central Venous Catheterization, David F. Feldon

David F Feldon

Background: Simulation-based learning is a common educational tool in healthcare training and frequently employs instructional designs based on Experiential Learning Theory (ELT). However, little research explores the effectiveness and efficiency of different instructional design methodologies appropriate for simulations. This study compares two instructional design models, ELT and Guided Experiential Learning (GEL), to determine which is more effective for training the central venous catheterization (CVC) procedure. Methods: Using a quasi-experimental randomized block design, nurse anesthetists completed training under one of the two instructional design models. Performance was assessed using a checklist of CVC performance, pass rates, and critical action errors. Results: …

Gradually Releasing Responsibility To Students Writing Persuasive Text, Sylvia Read, Melanie Landon-Hays, Alicia Martin-Rivas

Sylvia Read

The emphasis on improving writing instruction, especially the writing of non-narrative texts, may lead some teachers to seek effective ways to teach students. The IMSCI model, a scaffolded model for writing instruction, is useful for planning effective instruction. This article describes a research project conducted in a 4th grade classroom emphasizing the combined benefits of scaffolded instruction and genre study and testing scaffolded persuasive writing lessons based on the IMSCI model. Researchers wrote lesson plans using the IMSCI model as the underlying structure and tied the lessons to science objectives for fourth grade. Teachers implemented the lessons in their classrooms …