Education Commons^™

A Descriptive Case Study: Investigating The Implementation Of Web Based, Automated Grading And Tutorial Software In A Freshman Computer Literacy Course, Glen J. Coulthard

Open Access Dissertations

Students in higher education require satisfactory computer skills to be successful. While today’s students may have greater exposure to technology, research shows that their actual computer knowledge and skills are superficial and narrow. As a result, the freshman computer literacy course remains an important curricular component. This study investigates the implementation of an innovative Web-based technology for delivering software proficiency training for Microsoft Office. Building upon decades of end-user computing satisfaction and technology acceptance research, the purpose of the study is to describe the instructor and student experiences that result from the implementation and use of MyITLab educational software. The …

The Development And Evaluation Of A Lean Six Sigma Advanced Manufacturing Methodologies Course For Aeronautical Engineering Technology Curriculum, John Michael Davis

Open Access Dissertations

Successful completion of the Lean Six Sigma advanced manufacturing methodologies practicum course provides undergraduate Aeronautical Engineering Technology (AET) students with the experience and knowledge appropriate to perform successfully in an advanced manufacturing environment. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine (a) Did the knowledge level of AET students increase following exposure to Lean Six Sigma and completion of the advanced manufacturing methodologies course? and (b) Did the course meet the AET students’ expectations following participation in the Lean Six Sigma advanced manufacturing course? The expected outcomes of the course included:

1. AET students will have the competencies to …

Toward A Genre Writing Curriculum: Schooling Genres In The Common Core State Standards, Michael J. Maune

Open Access Dissertations

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS), published in 2010 and adopted by the majority of U.S. states, established a set of expectations for student writing in K-12 education. In describing these expectations, the CCSS used three general “text type” classifications: Narrative, Informative/Explanatory, and Argumentative. While the CCSS outlines the general expectations for students writing in these text types, the linguistic and genre expectations were not fully expressed. This study examines 34 student exemplar texts provided in an appendix to the CCSS in order to determine the genre and linguistic expectations for student writing in K-12 education. Using a genre typology …

A Consensus On The Definition And Knowledge Base For Computer Graphics, Michael Alden Roller

Open Access Dissertations

Despite several decades of historical innovation, measurable impacts, and multiple specializations the existing knowledge base for Computer Graphics (CG) lacks consensus, and numerous definitions for it have been published based on distinct contexts. Disagreement among post-secondary academics has divided CG programs into three contextual areas that emphasize different topics. This division has resulted in the decontextualization of CG education, and CG programs now face several challenges in meeting the needs of industry. Employing the Delphi Method, this investigation explored the perceptions among post-secondary educators and industry professionals about the definition of CG and how it is identified in terms of …

How Do Moroccan Teachers Conceptualize Citizenship?, Tarik Saadi

Open Access Dissertations

Citizenship education plays a critical role in the development of civic attitudes and contributes to the appropriate delivery of a government's policy. However, there is a discrepancy in the literature in defining the meaning and understanding of citizenship concepts. This study is primarily qualitative in nature, using the method of phenomengraphy to investigate teachers' perceptions of citizenship in Morocco. The study recruited six elementary and secondary teachers from Casablanca and Rabat in Morocco to identify their understanding of citizenship. I adapted the three-phase interview approach proposed by Irving Seidman (1998) to frame the interviews with the teachers. The findings demonstrated …

Technology Use Of Online Instructors With High Self-Efficacy: A Multiple Case Study, Barbara L. Albee

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to understand how online instructors with perceived high self-efficacy for online teaching use technology in the online class and how their use compares to a common list of best practices for use of technology with online instruction. One-on-one interviews with four case study participants were the main source of data collection along with direct observations of the participants' online courses. The case study participants were selected based on results from a Sense of Efficacy for Online Teaching Scale and willingness to move forward with the case study. Conventional data analysis was …

A Sociosemantic Examination Of Secondary English Teacher Written Feedback, Ryan Angus

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide a functional linguistic based description of teacher writing comments in secondary ELA classrooms. Based within a case study methodology, this study used analytical tools from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) in order to discover the various meanings that teachers make through their commenting practices. The findings of the study show that teacher comments focus on the content of the student writing, but also, significantly, help teachers to discursively realize various teacher identities. It was also found that teacher comments tended to either be concrete in their reference to …

The Effects Of A Humorous Instructional Video On Motivation And Learning, Hans P. Aagard

Open Access Dissertations

This study examines the effects of humor within an instructional video on student learning and motivation. Humor in education has been shown to improve students' perception of the instructor and learning environment, with mixed results on gains in actual learning. Humor has been suggested as a strategy to gain and maintain attention, improving motivation to learn. With the dramatic increase of online multimedia instruction, research on the use of humor on multimedia instructional materials can help us determine if it can be used to improve learning and motivation.

In a pretest-posttest controlled design, students viewed a short multimedia instructional video. …

Exploring Literacy And Technology With Middle School English Teachers: Articulating Understandings Of Knowledge And Teaching Practices, Benjamin A. Boche

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate five middle school English teachers' understandings of literacy and technology. In particular, how do they define literacy, view literacy and technology learning and teaching, and how do they use (or not use) technology to enact their views of literacy in their classrooms. This narrative inquiry qualitative study consisted of three open-ended interviews, written literacy narratives, and multiple classroom observations with each participant as well as the collection of various teacher documents, such as lesson plans, presentation notes, rubrics, and student handouts. Narrative methods were used in the data analysis. ^ Findings were …

An Exploratory Factor Analysis And Reliability Analysis Of The Student Online Learning Readiness (Solr) Instrument, Taeho Yu

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop an effective instrument to measure student readiness in online learning with reliable predictors of online learning success factors such as learning outcomes and learner satisfaction. The validity and reliability of the Student Online Learning Readiness (SOLR) instrument were tested using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis. Twenty items from three competencies, i.e. social competencies, communication competencies, and technical competencies, were designated for the initial instrument based on the Student Online Learning Readiness (SOLR) Model as a new conceptual model. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed that four factor-structures of the instrument …

The Journey Of Chinese Students From English 106 Maintstream Composition Courses To The Purdue Writing Lab: An Institutional Needs Analysis Of Chinese Students, Aylin Baris Atilgan

Open Access Dissertations

According to the Purdue University International Students and Scholars Enrollment & Statistical Report 10-year Enrollment Trends (2014), over the past ten years there has been an 85% growth in the number of international students matriculating at Purdue. As stated in the Purdue University Fall 2014 International Student and Scholar Enrollment & Statistical Report (2013), Purdue University now enrolls 9,080 international students representing 123 countries. This being the case, Purdue University is among the first five top institutions in the nation hosting international students (Open Doors Report-Institute of International Education, 2014). In recent years, Chinese students make up the largest international …

Educational Standards, Teacher Preparation, And Metacognition Instruction For Elementary Students: Studies In Pre-College Engineering Education, Ronald Lee Carr

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation is a compilation of three separate works representing a wide range of issues related to pre-college engineering. Each work addresses multiple levels of concern for educators from national policy to specific classroom intervention. Although presenting different styles of writing - due to different journals requirements - and various methods of research, all purpose to further research and instruction in pre-college engineering.

The research detailed in these papers has been inspired by the current STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education movement and in particular, by the National Academy of Engineering's leadership in promoting the integration of engineering into …

The Role Of Young Hoosier Book Award Nominees In The Classroom: Using Approaches To Multicultural Education As A Lens For Evaluating Literature, Shaylyn Barrie Marks

Open Access Dissertations

This study demonstrates the need for the integration of multiculturalism in the K-12 curriculum as well as provides a heuristic based on the work conducted by Sleeter and Grant (2009) to evaluate literature for level of multiculturalism. In the study, the researcher uses an evaluate heuristic to critically analyze and evaluation ten of the books from the 2011-2012 Young Hoosier Book Award (YHBA) nominee list. The heuristic created for this study is applied to the books appearing on the YHBA nominee list to evaluate each book on an individual basis, but also by association, the types of books that that …

The Effects Of Tools Of The Mind On Math And Reading Scores In Kindergarten, Patricia Estrela Mackay

Open Access Dissertations

Although a limited body of research has supported the positive impact of the Tools of the Mind curriculum on the development of self-regulation, research supporting a direct relationship between Tools and academic achievement is extremely limited. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Tools of the Mind curriculum implementation in improving math and reading scores in Kindergarten by comparing scores obtained before and after Tools. This study also seeks to investigate the effects of SES on student achievement. Finally, this study seeks to identify contributions and challenges perceived by teachers during implementation. Participants included 93 …

Teaching Strategies For Using Projected Images To Develop Conceptual Understanding: Exploring Discussion Practices In Computer Simulation And Static Image-Based Lessons, Norman Tinkham Price

Open Access Dissertations

The availability and sophistication of visual display images, such as simulations, for use in science classrooms has increased exponentially however, it can be difficult for teachers to use these images to encourage and engage active student thinking. There is a need to describe flexible discussion strategies that use visual media to engage active thinking. This mixed methods study analyzes teacher behavior in lessons using visual media about the particulate model of matter that were taught by three experienced middle school teachers. Each teacher taught one half of their students with lessons using static overheads and taught the other half with …

International Study Tours And The Development Of Sociocultural Consciousness In K-12 Teachers, Raymond Yu-Kuang Young

Open Access Dissertations

This research study examined the long-term effects of a professional development study tour to Southeast Asia that took place in 2001. Participants included ten public school teachers from Western Massachusetts, which has a significant population of people of Vietnamese and Cambodian descent. Funded by a Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad grant, the purpose of the study tour was to increase teacher awareness, knowledge and understanding of contemporary Southeast Asia so that they could more effectively address the educational needs of students representing diverse cultural backgrounds, particularly immigrant and refugee youth, through the development of culturally relevant curricula and lesson plans. From …

Implementing Change In Instructional Delivery Of Classroom Curriculum: A Phenomenological Case Study Of Classroom Teachers Implementing A Problem-Based Learning Approach In The Classroom, Maura Anne Hart

Open Access Dissertations

This qualitative research study examines the holistic experience of secondary classroom teachers who are changing their predominant instructional technique from a mostly traditional teaching method to a student-centered, problem-based approach to curriculum delivery. Using field notes, interviews, focus groups, observations of classrooms and faculty meetings and related document study in conjunction with, and as driven by, simultaneous analysis, the researcher inquired about the nature of implementing change in instructional delivery and those influences that both help and hinder the process. Data revealed four categories with related findings: practices of changing instructional delivery, a teacher focus on students, elements of working …