Education Commons^™

A Narrative Approach To Educational Video Training, Matthew S. Havertz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Teachers often use videos to teach their students, but stories are not used as often in educational videos as they could be. Experts tell us that stories are an important part of teaching and learning. Unfortunately, there is only a small amount of research and no definitive expert agreement about stories used in educational videos. This is especially true for videos used with technical education students, like mechanic students or dental assisting students. In this study, dental assisting students learned how to assist a dentist with a standard cavity procedure after watching a video with or without a story. The …

An Investigation Of Educators' Perceptions Of The Influence Of A Teacher Evaluation System On Student Learning, Bryon Nielsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this study, the researcher explored the views and opinions held by teachers and administrators toward a teacher evaluation system. The purpose was to learn how educators’ opinions and views might impact how school leaders administer the evaluation system and how teachers receive it. Knowledge gained from this study may provide understanding for district and school-level leaders as they develop training and implementation strategies. Teachers and administrators were interviewed, and district-provided documents were reviewed, to gather data that was analyzed using qualitative research methods. Based on the data analysis, recommendations are made regarding implementation strategies that may improve the evaluation …

Enhancing Students’ Higher Order Thinking Skills Through Computer-Based Scaffolding In Problem-Based Learning, Nam Ju Kim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this multiple-paper dissertation is to identify students' several difficulties in Problem-based learning and to address these issues by suggesting the design of computer-based scaffolding. In addition, the effectiveness of suggested design was confirmed through meta-analysis and the empirical research. Learner-centered Scaffolding Systems (LSS) is presented to improve students' perception of optimal challenge by addressing students' learning issues in PBL. LSS enhances students' experience in autonomy and competence by providing multiple types, modalities, and customization of scaffolding in accordance with student' different needs and difficulties in PBL. Bayesian meta-analysis for identifying the effects of suggested LSS indicated that …

Learning From The Teaching Practices Of Successful Teachers Of Latina And Latino Students, Glori H. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study, sponsored by the Department of Teacher Education and Leadership at Utah State University, was to determine the classroom practices and attitudes of the teachers that had been identified as successful with Latina and Latino students at an urban middle school. Criteria for successful teachers were not determined by the researcher, but by those school stakeholders who were asked to nominate such teachers: the administrators, faculty, and parents of Latina/o students.

The difference between the achievement of White students and students of color has long been a concern of educators. It is well established that critical …

How Arizona Community College Teachers Go About Learning To Teach, Carolyn J. Hamblin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

New Arizona community college teachers go through a transformative learning process when they learn to teach. They enter the classroom with preformed ways of thinking about teaching. These habits of mind include what they imagine a community college teacher to be. They expect their knowledge and expertise to translate into teaching ability and they are shocked to learn that this is not the case. Classroom teaching involves basic pedagogical skills such as preventing cheating, creating appropriate tests, planning a course calendar, and pacing a lecture. The discomfort that accompanies this revelation causes the teachers to think critically about what good …

Adoption, Adaptation, And Abandonment: Appropriation Of Science Education Professional Development Learning, Max L. Longhurst

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Understanding factors that influence teachers to use certain practices from training they receive will help improve learning experiences for students. This study examined how two teachers with the same teacher training experience use learning from that training in their instruction differently. This research attempted to account for multiple factors that influenced teachers learning. Educator’s incorporation of teaching practices can vary from teacher to teacher and from training to training. This variability is understood in terms of their appropriation of new teaching practices into their teaching and delivery of learning. Two teachers were selected as a result of their participation in …

Examining Relationships Among Student Interim Proficiency, School Environment, And Student End-Of-Year Proficiency, Kathy Janzen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research on variables that are related to student academic proficiency has intensified due to the increased emphasis on high achievement for all students. The purpose of this correlational study was to explore the relative strength of the relationship between the school's learning environment and student achievement, and a literacy benchmark assessment and student achievement. Schools in the state of Utah that administered the Indicators of School Quality (ISQ) survey during the 2010-2011 school year and the Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessments during the same school year were included in the study.

The study examined a combination of …

Self-Directed Learning In Problem-Based Learning Versus Traditional Lecture-Based Learning: A Meta-Analysis, Heather M. Leary

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Problem-based learning is an approach to education and learning that focuses on students investigating problems, rather than being directly instructed by teachers. Reviews, also called meta-analyses, comparing traditional lecture-based learning to problem-based learning report modest positive learning gains in student cognitive outcomes. Many meta-analyses have been conducted to analyze the effectiveness of problem-based learning, but none examine the extent of self-directed learning in problem-based learning. The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis across all disciplines (medicine, education, business, history, etc.) while examining self-directed learning in problem-based learning.

This study used a random effects model meta-analysis using 75 …

Reflective Redo Within A Three-Dimensional Simulation And Its Influence On Student Metacognition, Reflection, And Learning, Jon M. Scoresby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects on a student’s metacognition, reflection, and learning in a specifically designed educational simulation supported by unique technology. The simulation allows players’ actions to be recorded for the purpose of review to identify mistakes. The simulation also allows students to start at and redo actions while fixing previous mistakes instead of starting over at the beginning of a new scenario. When starting at the mistake or point of failure, as identified by a facilitator, during the redo of the initial saved scenario, students reflect on the actions performed during the initial …

Utah History Learning Activity Modules That Enhance Positive Affective Behavior And Develop Critical And Creative Thinking, Katherine Ann Young

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this paper was to produce supplementary curriculum materials which would provide junior high school Utah history students with growth experiences in critical thinking, creative thinking, and positive affective values. These materials were produced in the form of forty separate, self-contained learning activity modules using the study of presentday Utah or Utah history as a focus of study.

Each Utah history learning activity module consists of two parts: (1) information, and (2) learning activities. The activities engage students to work with factual data to solve problems; to explore moral, ethical, or other controversial issues; or to otherwise develop …

Serial Learning In Young Children, Charlene A. Keller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effects of sex and tutorial instruction were studied as they influenced the seriation ability of pre-school children. The research was conducted at the Utah State University Child Development Laboratories with 24 four year old children enrolled at that time. Twelve of the children, six girls and six boys, were given seriation tasks. The remaining 12 children, six girls and six boys, were not given any seriation training.

It was found that the 12 children who had received individualized instruction seriated significantly better on every task than the 12 children who had received no training. The children who were trained …