Education Commons^™

Training Needs Of Licensed Veterinary Technicians Employed In Augusta County, Virginia, Jeannie Kay Skelton

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The problem of this study was to determine the training needs of Licensed Veterinary Technicians in Augusta County, Virginia to improve their knowledge and skills in the veterinary field. The study was guided by research questions that were developed to determine what the training needs of Licensed Veterinary Technicians are, what their preferred method is for obtaining continuing education credits, what methods they use to obtain new knowledge and skills, and if on the job training is effective. A survey was designed to determine what training methods are being used, what is preferred, and what training is needed in the …

Teachers', Educational Specialists' And School Leaders' Perceptions Of The Cumulative Impact Of Education Reform Mandates, Lucy Nevins Litchmore

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Throughout the history of education, there have been changes in funding, organization, governance, and curriculum. As a result of these changes, education reform and mandates have become cyclical in nature. However, with so many structural changes, the purpose of reform mandates often fall short of the intended purpose; closing achievement gaps and allowing equal access for all students.

The purpose of this study is to examine the way in which teachers’, educational specialists’, and school leaders perceive the cumulative impact of education reform efforts that will be bounded by subject of mathematics. In a qualitative case study, a combination of …

Impacts Of Open Educational Resources On Enrollment Rates, Withdrawal Rates, And Academic Performance In The Virginia Community College System, Marcella Milhous Gale

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The problem of this study was to evaluate the enrollment rates and academic performance of students in courses at Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) that utilize Open Educational Resources (OER) to help determine if the use of such materials should be encouraged and expanded in the Virginia Community College System. The population for this study consisted of students enrolled in at least one course at CVCC during the Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 semester, where there were courses that used OER as the course textbook. At the end of each semester, CVCC records enrollment, drop, and academic performance information for …

The Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model: An Examination Of Obesity Prevention Behavioral Change In Children Who Participated In The Afterschool Program Virginia Beach Let’S Move, Marilyn Miroshlava Bartholmae

Health Services Research Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model (IMB) as a foundation to design childhood obesity prevention afterschool programs. This study employed a secondary analysis of pre (n=172), post (n=170), and 1-year follow-up (n=32) evaluations of the obesity prevention afterschool program Virginia Beach Let’s Move for children ages 5-11 years. Independent variables included demographic characteristics for the participating children and their parents. Dependent variables used in this study were the IMB constructs information and motivation. Motivation was measured by the attitudes of the children and information was measured by the children’s knowledge.

The …

Factors Influence High School Students' Enrollment In Elective Physical Education: A Mixed Method Study, Summer Davis

Human Movement Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors influencing high school students’ enrollment in elective physical education (PE). Three groups of students emerged based on enrollment choice: those enrolling in elective PE (CPE, 26%), those not enrolling (NPE, 38%), and those who were uncertain about their enrollment in elective PE (UPE, 36%). Participants (n=69) completed the Expectancy-Value and Sport Motivation questionnaires to measure their motivation in PE, and a subsection of students (n=47) wore accelerometers for approximately four days to measure their habitual weekday physical activity (PA). Qualitative data were collected using open-ended questions and semi-structured focus group …

Perceptions Of Students, Families, And Community College Administrators About Developmental Education, Justin Necessary

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Cohen and Brawer (2008) define developmental education as serving “students who initially do not have the skills, experience, or orientation necessary to perform at a level that the institutions recognize as regular for those students” (p.290). Students in developmental education must take additional courses in the beginning of their college career in order to prepare them for credit bearing college courses. Developmental education has reached the forefront of the higher education debate in part due to the overwhelming academic need of incoming college students. Currently the number of students requiring developmental courses ranges from 50 to 75 percent (Conley & …

Traditional Student Perceptions And Experiences Contributing To Community College Persistence, Naomi Elizabeth Simpson

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

An increased effort to improve the retention percentages and number of college graduates must address the unique characteristics and experiences of the traditional-aged community college student population. Models of student departure and attrition seek to explain why a student stops attending a college through the analysis of quantitative data. These data, whether about student demographic characteristics, academic intent, institutional factors, motivational factors, etc. are used abundantly to predict persistence and retention patterns of 4-year college and university students. Perceptions and experiences of traditional-aged community college students relating to persistence and retention is an area of higher education research with insufficient …

Discipline-Based Planetary Education Research And Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis Of Mars, Filis Coba

Physics Theses & Dissertations

This thesis originates from the testing and implementation of an IRB-approved interactive animation designed to help students understand what causes The Reasons For The Seasons (RFTS) on Earth. Results from the testing indicated a small improvement in student understanding after exposure to the animation. Next, using the 3-D mapping tool Google Earth, students explored seasons and other planetary features on Mercury, Venus, the Moon and Mars through IRB-approved interactive tours which were developed and tested for astronomy education. Results from the tests indicated that there were statistically significant learning gains (p-value < 0.05) after students interacted with the tours compared to those who did not. The development of the tours inspired a geophysics study of the possibility of former plate motion (or plate tectonics) on Mars. A 2-D finite element convection model for the mantle of Mars was designed and solved using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.1, to investigate whether or not thermal gradients in a Mars-sized planet could cause vigorous upper mantle convection, consistent with plate tectonic processes. Results from this project indicated that stable convection could occur in the interior of a Mars-like planet assuming the presence of sufficiently high thermal gradients at about 0.8 times the mantle temperature of Earth. The convective patterns resembled hot upwelling and cool downwelling which may be similar to subduction-like features. Furthermore, increasing the temperature of the hot boundaries resulted in faster, more rigorous convective motions and a hotter average temperature.

Multimedia Design, Learning Effectiveness, And Student Perceptions Of Instructor Credibility And Immediacy, Miguel Ramlatchan

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Online learning and the use of multimedia is a quickly growing element of higher education. This experimental research study examines five common audio and video presentation designs to inform evidence-based practices that can be applied by instructional designers as they develop content for online learners. Specifically, this experiment compares instructor-only, slides-only, dual-windows, video-switching, and superimposed-slides multimedia designs in terms of learning effectiveness, perceived instructor credibility, instructor immediacy, and cognitive load created by each design. This study included a diverse sample of adult learners who were randomly assigned to treatment groups. A total of 171 participants completed the study and responded …

Alternative Assessment And Accountability: A Case Study Of Policy Reform And Teacher Practice At The District Level, Amy Lynn Abbott

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Deliberations on the topic of alternatives to standardized assessments spurred the 2014 Virginia General Assembly legislation (House Bill 930/Senate Bill 306) that removed five, end-of-year Virginia Standards of Learning tests from select elementary and middle school subjects and supplant them with alternative measures (Virginia Department of Education, 2014). In light of the reform, the purpose of this study was to develop a descriptive account of one large Virginia school district’s implementation of alternative, locally developed assessments designed as an intervention to enhance teaching and learning. Emphasis was on the impact of policy change in social studies practice to capture teachers’ …

Defining The Competencies, Programming Languages, And Assessments For An Introductory Computer Science Course, Simon Sultana

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to define the competencies, programming languages, and assessments for an introductory computer science course at a small private liberal arts university. Three research questions were addressed that involved identifying the competencies, programming languages, and assessments that academic and industry experts in California’s Central Valley felt most important and appropriate for an introduction to computer science course.

The Delphi methodology was used to collect data from the two groups of experts with various backgrounds related to computing. The goal was to find consensus among the individual groups to best define aspects that would best comprise …

Development Of Visualization-Animation Software For Learning Transportation Algorithms, Ivan P. Makohon

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Recognizing the steady decline in US Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) interests and enrollments, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the White House have developed national strategies and provided significant budget resources to STEM education research [1-2] in the past years, with the ultimate goals being to improve both the quality and number of highly trained US educators, student workforce in STEM topics, in today’s highly competitive global markets. With the explosion of the internet’s capability and availability, it is even more critical to effectively train this future USA-STEM work-force and/or to develop effective STEM related teaching tools to reach …

Ethical Leadership In Today's Community Colleges: Presidents Respond To The Completion Agenda, Monica Parish Trent

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The role of ethical leadership for community college presidents is of concern (Anderson, Harbour, & Davies; Wood & Nevarez, 2014), especially given the added pressure on community colleges to increase completion rates for student populations that have historically underperformed academically. In these times of increased scrutiny to produce more college-educated people ready to enter the workforce, college CEO’s are facing a completion agenda climate that is rampant with financial constraints, greater demands from stakeholders, and governmental mandates. The purpose of this descriptive, multiple case study was to examine how community college presidents execute ethical leadership in responding to institutional policy …

Mathematics Proficiency Of Fashion Marketing And Fashion Merchandising Students, Christina Gordon Miles

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Fashion Marketing and Fashion Merchandising (FMM) students should be prepared with a sound mathematics background as they graduate from programs and enter today’s workforce. Unfortunately, future employers within the fashion industry indicate that prospective employees often cannot pass entry level mathematics tests (Shirley & Kohler, 2012). This non-experimental descriptive study examined the mathematics proficiency of postsecondary students entering and completing FMM programs in order to determine if FMM students possess the mathematics skills needed for entry into the workforce. The Mathematics for Industry Test (MIT), a 40-item, timed, paper-and-pencil assessment was administered to 94 entering and 111 completing students enrolled …

A Counselor’S First Encounter With Non-Death Loss: A Phenomenological Case Study On New Counselor Preparation And Experience In Working With Non-Death Loss, Charles P. Carrington

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

New counselors graduating from a CACREP master’s program are presumed to have competency to work with the common issues seen in clients. This study examined the lived experience and impact on new counselors when working with clients struggling with overt or covert non-death losses. Through qualitative case study of multiple (n=8) new counselors, the study presents the phenomenon of real-life experiences of counselors when first encountering clients with an issue of loss. Of primary interest was how new counselors identified loss in client’s issues, how they applied theory of interventions, the counselors level of confidence in training and preparedness to …

Using Visually Disfluent Fonts For Cueing And Increased Reading, Nena Barley

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Research has shown that using hard-to-read fonts in a reading assignment is an external way to manipulate text to slow down the learner’s task completion time, giving more time on task and improving the learner’s ability to comprehend and retain the content (Alter & Oppenheimer, 2009b). This novelty effect interferes with the legibility of the reading material, but not the readability. This study is focused on using hard-to-read fonts, also referred to as disfluent fonts, to cue the learner to important information that may lead to more cognitive engagement and processing. Facing the visual challenge of a disfluent font, the …

Media Literacy Definitions, R. M. Wenner

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

This thesis conducts a critical discourse analysis on definitions of the term “media literacy” used by researchers in media literacy educational interventions. These definitions are compared to the skills developed in participants of media literacy interventions. This comparison reveals if and how researchers are operationalizing their stated definition of media literacy. Over half of researchers are using the definition proffered by the National Association for Media Literacy Education. However the disagreement in the field around a definition of the term “media literacy” has created confusion. This confusion has left educators falling back on practices scaffolded by the previous educational paradigm. …

Motivation And Learning In An Online Collaborative Project Using Gamification, Michele L. Hudiburg

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

In 2012, there were 2.9 million students enrolled in graduate degrees and 22% were taking strictly online courses (Kena et al., 2014). Many students are not motivated to participate in collaborative learning experiences in online courses (Dirkx & Smith, 2004). Gamification, the inclusion of game elements in non-game contexts, has been shown to have a positive impact on motivation (Deterding, 2012; Kapp, 2012). Prior work has focused on structural gamification including elements such as points, levels, and badges as extrinsic motivators to traditional course activities. The current study explored content gamification including narrative, role-play, interactivity, and feedback in an online …

Effects Of Learner-To-Learner Interactions On Social Presence, Achievement And Satisfaction, Susan Elizabeth Allred Oyarzun

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The relationships between learner-to-learner interactions, achievement, social presence, and satisfaction in online learning have varying degrees of strength according to the research. More evidence is needed to identify clarify relationships among these variables and to identify best practices for designing learner-to-learner interactions to increase achievement, level of social presence, and learner satisfaction. This non-experimental, comparative study investigated the strategies used for learner-to-learner interactions effects on achievement, social presence, and satisfaction. Surveys measuring social presence and interaction quality were administered to instructors and students enrolled in 17 undergraduate asynchronous online courses. The surveys for instructors and students were the same, except …

Leveraging Digital Communities Of Practice: How Asynchronous Digital Collaboration Afforded A Complex Reading/Writing Dialogue For Secondary School Students, Susanne Lee Nobles

English Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines a case study of a research unit taught to secondary school students with the inclusion of an asynchronous digital collaboration with college students. Over consecutive school years, two classes of high school seniors and two classes of college students, despite being geographically separated by more than 90 miles, worked together in multiple reading and writing exchanges within an online community as they read a primary text and as the secondary school students wrote research papers. This study seeks to understand the effects of this unit on the secondary school students’ thinking, reading, and writing skills, focusing specifically …

Community College Academic Advisor Experiences With The Appreciative Advising Model, Christine Damrose-Mahlmann

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The completion agenda has driven many community colleges to focus on alternative advising approaches in place of traditional advising practices. Appreciative Advising is a paradigm shift in academic advising that centers more on individual students by helping identify and build on their strengths. Advisors apply positive psychology and reality therapy with positive, open-ended questions to help students identify their strengths and plan for the future. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which community college academic advisors experience their self-efficacy and relatedness to students as they transition from traditional advising practices to Appreciative Advising practices.

This …

Online Learning And Effective Leadership: The Importance Of Relationship Building And Culture, Nadine K. Rupp

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Online and blended learning are becoming more important in k-12 public schools because of their flexibility and increased opportunity for students in urban as well as rural environments. Implementing and sustaining technology-based learning is a complex process that requires educational leaders to have a broad spectrum of knowledge and skills which are critical to the success of online programs. This case study research used in-depth interviews to gather data on how one district was able to provide a successful program using effective leadership skills. Three areas critical to success were identified in the data: clear vision and achievable goals, appropriate …

The Experiences Of Stakeholders In District-University Administrator Preparation Partnerships, Jacob Mckinley Wilson Iii

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Collaborative partnerships between school districts and universities focused on school leadership development are a part of a recent effort to provide the field of public education with leadership for the 21st century. The research clearly indicates that the demand for educational administrators far outweighs the number of available qualified candidates. This qualitative research proposal, influenced by the research tradition of phenomenology, was designed to examine an important but often overlooked component of the school district–university partnership process. The stakeholders, representatives from both the school district and the university involved in the partnership, are key to the successful development and implementation …

The Principal's Role; Distributed Leadership, Kathryn R. Hermann

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The role of the principal role has become very complex with the increased focus on accountability and student achievement. Principals can no longer do their jobs alone. Distributed leadership has been the subject of considerable educational research and discourse in recent years. This study explores how principals employ or do not employ distributed leadership with their staffs. The study found that the school principal plays a key role in supporting the school by communicating a common purpose, that distributed leadership is developed within a school climate built upon collaboration, the principal models leadership using tools and routines, and situational decision …

Building Stronger Communities: The Reciprocity Between University, Student, And Community Through Service-Learning, Jennifer Ellen Goff

Human Movement Sciences Theses & Dissertations

This three-paper format dissertation explored the impact of service-learning on three key constituents: the university, university students conducting the service, and the community receiving the service. Paper one quantitatively explored the impact of service-learning on university students’ perspective through the use of end of year service-learning course evaluations. Students self-reported their outcomes due to participation as it related to professional skills, communication skills, academic learning, values clarification, citizenship skills, and quality indicators of their service-learning program. Paper one also explored if there was a difference between two types of service, direct (e.g., participate directly with the community) and indirect (e.g., …

Factors Affecting College Choice And Transfer: A Study Of The Decision-Making Process Of Student Veterans, Reginia L. Hill

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

With the reduction of U.S. involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of veterans seeking higher education has increased. The Post-9/11 G.I. Bill has made education more affordable and accessible to service members and their families. Veterans have many choices when deciding which institution to attend, including community colleges, four-year public universities, private four-year colleges, and private for-profit institutions. Each institution has something different to offer with regard to programs and services. Since the enactment of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, both community colleges and private for-profit institutions have experienced increased enrollment of student veterans. This study explored …

"We Are Still In Apartheid:" Girls' Perspectives On Education Inequality In Democratic South Africa And Models For Social Change, Rebekah Lindsey Joyce

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Centering on the perceptions of black South African girl learners from impoverished township communities provides a new informed lived knowledge regarding social and educational inequality in the nation’s post-apartheid era. Perspectives from intersectional feminist theory and Black Feminist Thought offer an appropriate and unique approach to analyze the multiple socio-economic inequalities these girl learners face every day. By gathering original narrative data from a group of girls, their teachers, and the principal of Fezeka Secondary School in Gugulethu, South Africa, the intersections of inequality these girls face will be illuminated as critical factors to consider for policy and program aid …

Examining Changes In College Counseling Clients’ Symptomology And Severity Over An Eight Year Span, Caroline Lee Bertolet

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

The current college counseling literature has conflicting findings regarding the extent to which the severity of mental health symptoms has increased for college students. Some researchers claim that over time student’s mental health symptoms have become more complex rather than more severe. This study examined archival data to analyze both the severity and complexity of symptoms in an eight year time span. The study also examined how disruptiveness and treatment demand have changed over the eight year period. The data were analyzed using multiple regression. The results of the study supported perspectives found in the current literature indicating little increase …

Counselors’ Perceived Preparedness For Technology-Mediated Distance Counseling: A Phenomenological Examination, Daniel C. Holland

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

This phenomenological study examined counselors’ perceptions of their formal preparation for engaging in technology-mediated distance counseling with the intent of gaining an understanding of their lived experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven seasoned counselors who regularly engage in technology-mediated distance counseling. The results highlighted two categories emerging: the counselor and training/education. Themes related to motivation and counselor attributes emerged from the first category and themes of availability, inadequacy, and modality emerged from the second. The implications from this study suggest a lack of availability of effective training on technology-mediated distance counseling. The implications also suggest areas of potential future …

The Perception Of The Value Added From Accruing Student Debt To Earn A Degree Or Graduate Certificate From A Public Institution Of Higher Education: A Descriptive Study, William L. Nuckols

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Student loan debt has had a tremendous impact on higher education over the past 45 years. Over that timeframe, federal student loan dollars have increased by more than 800%. This dissertation examines the perception of value that has been added to the lives of graduates by using student loans to finance their degree or graduate certificate. Literature on the subject has focused primarily on the rising costs associated with earning a college education, and the continuous increase in the average amount of student loan debt that graduates carry into their careers. A researcher-generated survey was administered to 6 years of …