Education Commons^™

Change Bell Ringing And Mathematics: A High School Student Excursion Into Graph Theory And Group Theory, Kristi Carlson

Honors Theses

This unit was created as a way to introduce higher level mathematics concepts to advanced high school students. All five of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Process Standards are found in this unit. For most of the unit, students work within small groups

Industrial Technology Education Teachers Perceptions Of National Standards For Technological Literacy In The State Of Arizona, Allan R. Mcrae

Theses and Dissertations

Today, it is becoming increasingly clear that there is a growing interest, concern, and need for technological literacy. To this end, the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) through the Technology for All Americans Project, has developed and promulgated the Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology. This effort is part of the ongoing initiative to develop technology standards on a national level, and to focus on what every student in grades K-12 should know and be able to do in order to achieve technological literacy (ITEA, 2000). The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived …

Exposure To Methamphetamine And Phencyclidine During Development And Subsequent Behavioral Change, Takehiro Minamoto

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Takehiro Minamoto on December 2, 2005.

Toyota 180l Spiral Radiator Hose Design To Six Sigma Goal, Tay-Shing Chen

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Tay-Shing Chen on December 2, 2005.

A Metaevaluation Of An Evaluation Of A Second Language Course, Edmilson Bezerra Torres

Theses and Dissertations

This project is a metaevaluation or critique of an evaluation of an intermediate course in a second language curriculum. In this report, the intermediate course evaluation is described to provide a basis for understanding the metaevaluation. Then the metaevaluation is presented. The evaluation was the first stage of a department-approved and college-supported curriculum redesign project to improve the quality of a second language curriculum in terms of instructional materials, methodological approaches, and pedagogical practices to promote optimal second language learning gains. Through the evaluation, strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum were identified so that these issues could be addressed during …

Elementary School Principals' Perceptions Of Their Needs For Professional Development In Instructional Leadership, Michael N. Smith Jr.

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to assess Nebraska elementary principals' perceptions of their need for further instructional leadership professional development. Relationships were examined between the Nebraska elementary principals' perceptions and various demographic variables. The independent variables were defined as (1) the principal's personal characteristics—age, gender, years of teaching experience, highest degree earned, age at first administrative appointment, years of experience as a principal, years in current position, and (2) the individual elementary school's characteristics—school size, district size, grades embraced by the school, and the school's socio-economic status.

Absenteeism And Presenteeism As Related To Self-Reported Health Status And Health Beliefs Of Tennessee Safety And Health Professionals, William Tunstall Rogerson Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the health conditions, health status, and health beliefs of Tennessee safety and health professionals using self-reported absenteeism and presenteeism. The study collected self-reported absenteeism, which is missed work due to health conditions, and, presenteeism, which is the decrement in performance due to remaining at work while impaired by health problems. The Health Belief Model was used as the theoretical framework for the study.

Two valid and reliable instruments were adapted for this study. "The Wellness Inventory," by Dr. Ron Goetzel and associates at Cornell University, and "The Health Beliefs Questionnaire," by Dr. …

College Choice Decisions Of Student Athletes, John Patrick Teeples

Doctoral Dissertations

This study is a population study of college choice criteria among student athletes at the University of Tennessee. This study surveyed 408 student athletes from an NCAA division 1A institution during their team meetings, spring semester of 2004. These participants competed in 16 sports: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s track and field (both indoor, outdoor, and cross-country), women’s soccer, women’s softball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s volleyball and women’s rowing.

The 408 student athletes were categorized by gender, race, socio-economic status, scholarship level, and sport played. …

'Phenomenal Woman': A Phenomenological Exploration Of The 'Voices' And Experiences Of My Sistas', Eva Yoshan Wiggins Young

Doctoral Dissertations

This research study provided a descriptive picture of educational experiences of three sets of Black sisters, including the researcher, who grew up in inner-city Knoxville. This study was not designed to be the “voice” of all Black women. It was designed to show the universal essence of the experience of Black inner-city women living in a similar socioeconomic and cultural context.

A qualitative existential-phenomenological research study design was used to derive common themes that represented the universal essence of the participants’ experiences. Individual interviews were conducted for all participants and an existential-phenomenological analysis provided the common meaning underlying the stories …

Accumulation And Food Retailer Store Type: Determining Hispanic Consumers' Attitude Toward Store Attributes In The San Antonio Market, Carol Lynn Nute

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to add to the body of knowledge by determining Hispanic consumers’ food retailer store choice. This study tested: (1) how Hispanic consumers’ attitudes towards store environmental attributes of the primary food retail store type shopped will differ by variety of acculturation (as measured by the attributes’ importance and likelihood the preferred food retailer contains these attributes); (2) how Hispanic consumers’ primary food retail store type choice is dependent upon variety of acculturation; and (3) how Hispanic consumers’ attitudes towards store environmental attributes will differ by the type of primary food retail store shopped.

The …

A Qualitative Study Of Teachers' Perceptions Of Integrated Kindergarten Programs In Hong Kong, Wai Yung Cheuk

Doctoral Dissertations

Since 1985, the Hong Kong government has been collaborating with the selected non-profit private service providers to implement integrated kindergarten education in mainstream kindergarten programs initially designed for typically developing children. The term "integrated" is roughly equivalent to "inclusive" in the United States. This study's purpose is to describe kindergarten teachers' perspectives on the provision of quality integrated education for children with disabilities in Hong Kong contexts. The findings of this study offer empirical data that suggest ways to improve the quality of integrated kindergarten programs so that young children with disabilities can attain a high-quality early childhood education experience …

The Performance Predictive Effectiveness Of Two Personnel Assessment Profiles For Tennessee Extension County Directors, Wm. Herbert Byrd, Iii

Doctoral Dissertations

Leadership effectiveness is a complex phenomenon involving personality traits, learned and natural skills and abilities, and the resulting behaviors as leadership is performed within context. Because of leadership influences upon organizational outcomes, it is critical for an organization to identify job-specific leadership indicators, to recognize potential leaders, and to recognize the absence of desirable traits in existing leadership. This descriptive study explored the relationships between performance and leadership traits for county directors, the first-line administrative personnel in the University of Tennessee Extension. Performance appraisal scores were compared to items measured in a Managerial Assessment of Proficiency (MAP^TM) and …

Relationships Between Operationalizations Of Dyslexia And Attitudes And Perceptions Of Learning A Foreign Language, Katrinda Wills Scott

Doctoral Dissertations

Relationships among foreign language attitudes and perceptions and reading skills were investigated for 278 English-speaking college students enrolled in 100 and 200 level foreign language classes using the Foreign Language Attitudes and Perceptions Survey (FLAPS; Sparks and Ganschow, 1993), a 35 item questionnaire, the Test of Dyslexia, Rapid Assessment Profile (TOD-RAP; Bell, McCallum, & Cox, 2003), and the Woodcock Johnson III (WJIII; McGrew & Woodcock, 2001). Correlational analyses indicated that spelling, silent reading fluency, orthography and listening vocabulary were correlated modestly but significantly with foreign language attitudes and perceptions, i.e., those with weaker reading and reading-related scores exhibited more negative …

Predicting Success Of Developmental And Core Mathematics Students At East Tennessee State University, Daryl Lynn Stephens

Doctoral Dissertations

Current regulations in the Tennessee Board of Regents system place students into developmental or regular classes based solely on scores on either the ACT or COMPASS. This study examined whether a combination of other readily available factors might better predict a student’s success.

Students at East Tennessee State University taking elementary algebra, intermediate algebra, and probability and statistics (the core math class at the university) were surveyed in Fall, 2004, to find out when they took their last mathematics class in high school and what mathematics courses they took in high school. Other variables were obtained from the student information …

An Assessment Of Influences Which Affect Teachers’ Use Of Technology, Bryan K. Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

Current literature is plentiful on computer-based technology’s positive influence on students. There are only a few studies that have considered the influence that technology has on teachers. This is a study about influences, which affect teachers’ use of technology. It is based on inconsistencies in previous studies, areas not addressed in previous surveys, and the dramatic changes in technology and Internet access using Web browsers since the previous surveys on technology were conducted.

As new technologies make their way into instructional settings, effects of teachers’ use of technology can be dynamic. This study examined particular areas of teachers’ use of …

Children’S Books And The Nature Of Science: A Multisite Naturalistic Case Study Of Three Elementary Teachers In The Rural Southeast, Patricia Lynn Bricker

Doctoral Dissertations

This naturalistic case study describes the efforts of three elementary teachers in a rural southeastern school to use children’s books in support of inquiry-based science and specifically addresses issues related to the nature of science. Data were collected through 26 classroom and meeting observations, 16 semi-structured and informal interviews, 35 documents and 76 children’s books used by the teachers. Three themes were identified related to the nature of science and the selection and use of children’s books in the teachers’ second, fourth, and fifth grade classrooms.

1. Science was portrayed as a human endeavor that connects to the lives of people …

Student Success: A Study Of Computer-Based Instruction Versus Lecture-Based Instruction In Developmental Mathematics At A Tennessee Community College, Tina Renee Cannon

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of incorporating computerized instruction into developmental mathematics courses. The study examined achievement, retention, persistence, and success of students who began in Elementary Algebra, progressed into Intermediate Algebra and subsequently obtained their goal of completing an initial college-level mathematics course. The college-level courses consist of College Algebra, Introductory Statistics, or Contemporary Mathematics.

Two groups of elementary algebra students from Chattanooga State Technical Community College were used in this study. One group was taught using a lecture based approach and one group was taught using a computerized instructional approach. The lecture group …

Relational Aggression In Adolescent Girls: Developing Self-Esteem For The Target Girl, Lisa Suzanne Gulch

Masters Theses

Relational aggression (RA) is rampant in our schools, especially in middle schools across America. The name-calling, rumors, exclusion, eye-rolling, and whispers work to undermine relationships between and amongst girls. Because RA is covert in nature, the behavior goes mostly unnoticed by the adults in these girl’s lives. Society conditions girls, from a very young age, to respond to aggressive behaviors by not being aggressive back; girls are supposed to be nice. The target of relational aggression is especially hurt by this behavior. She generally suffers from low self esteem and poor social skills, and when put up against a clique, …

A Policy Discourse Analysis Of U.S. Land-Grant University Diversity Action Plans, Susan Van Deventer Iverson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Achievement Of Eighth Grade Students In Mathematics After, Megan Shanette Bray

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the three- year effect of the Connected Mathematics Project (CMP) on the mathematics achievement of middle school students in a southeastern Tennessee public school district. This was accomplished by (1) comparing the mathematics achievement of eighth graders who have completed three years of CMP with their mathematics achievement after completing one and two years of CMP; (2) comparing the achievement of male and female students during the same period of time; and (3) comparing the mathematics achievement of historically underrepresented students after completing one, two, and three years of CMP.

In …

Principals' Implementation Of Exclusion Policy In Tennessee Public High Schools, Clarence Steve Moser

Doctoral Dissertations

The exclusion of students from school has been a last-resort response that principals have chosen to correct inappropriate student behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine student exclusion policies and principal policy implementation practices in Tennessee’s public high schools. The students considered were not suspected for any disability that would require consideration under IDEA or Section 504.

A questionnaire containing nineteen disciplinary scenarios of inappropriate student behaviors was completed by one hundred and ninety-two of Tennessee’s public high school principals. The disciplinary scenarios represented exclusion policies that would warrant the student being suspended from school.

The findings revealed …

The Effects Of Acute Exercise Of Plasma Volume Expansion In Men – Variations Of The Intensity/Duration Relationship, Christopher Matthew Gregory

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the exercise variables of intensity and duration in relation to PV expansion during an acute bout of exercise, when the total amount of work performed was kept constant. Six male subjects completed a maximal graded exercise test and three two-day experimental trials. During the experimental trials, each subject performed one of three exercise protocols on a cycle ergometer: 50% VO_2peak (60 minutes), 65% VO_2peak (45 minutes), and 80% VO_2peak (30 minutes). Measurements of hematocrit, hemoglobin, and serum albumin and total protein concentrations were obtained before exercise (BASE), immediately post-exercise …

Kindergarten Readiness: Using Age Or Skills In Assessing A Child’S Readiness, Leslie Barden Smith

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Currently, age is the primary indicator of kindergarten readiness. A concise list of readiness skills to guide parents and teachers when deciding if a child is ready for kindergarten is lacking. The literature reveals that older age kindergarten entrance is not a predictor of academic success, nor is age an accurate indicator of readiness. In this study, responses from approximately 22 kindergarten teachers to a readiness questionnaire identify and develop a succinct list of the skills these professionals view as most significant for kindergarten readiness. According to the teachers in this study, the ability to sit and listen for approximately …

Exploring Animal-Assisted Therapy As A Reading Intervention Strategy, Maria S. Kaymen

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

This study is an examination of animal-assisted therapy in an attempt to explore the ways it may serve as reading intervention program for struggling readers. Due to the low rate of literacy in the U.S., children are often put into reading intervention programs where they are required to read to an adult; potentially creating anxiety that may act as a deterrent to reading regularly, and thus contributing to the condition of aliteracy, that is, possessing the basic skills to read yet having no desire to do so. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the ways in which …

A Study Of Attrition In A Respiratory Care Associate Degree Program In A Northeast Tennessee Community College., Donna D. Lilly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Walters State Community College's Respiratory Care (WSCC RC) Program had a 33% attrition rate during a five-year period from 1999 through 2003. This study analyzed demographic, pre-admission, and academic variables to identify reasons for attrition within the WSCC RC program. The population size was 90 students; this was the entire population of five consecutive classes graduating during a five-year period from 1999 through 2003. The criterion variables included high school attended, gender, age, college-level GPA, college-level credit hours, and developmental requirements.

Statistical tests revealed that college-level GPA, college-level credit hours, and developmental requirements influenced persistence within the population. The …

A Middle School Standards-Based Science Curriculum Handbook, Eleanor B. Hess

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As teachers implement the National Science Education Standards (1996) many must change the instructional methods they have used throughout their careers. This handbook will assist teachers to be facilitators in inquiry-based classrooms. The nine units of this handbook have been implemented for three years in an eighth grade classroom and have been used and modified by three different teachers to meet their own needs. The units in this handbook were chosen by MSAD #3, Unity, Maine, to reflect the curriculum requirements of The State of Maine Learning Results (1997). Included in this handbook are physics units covering motion, forces, work, …

A Study Of How Precursor Key Concepts For Organic Chemistry Success Are Understood By General Chemistry Students, Patrick Gerard Meyer

Dissertations

This study examines college student understanding of key concepts that will support future organic chemistry success as determined by university instructors. During four one-hour individual interviews the sixteen subjects attempted to solve general chemistry problems. A think-aloud protocol was used along with a whiteboard where the students could draw and illustrate their ideas. The protocols for the interviews were adapted from the Covalent Structure and Bonding two-tiered multiple choice diagnostic instrument (Peterson, Treagust, & Garnett, 1989) and augmented by the Geometry and Polarity of Moleculessingle-tiered multiple choice instrument (Furió & Calatayud, 1996). The interviews were videotaped, transcribed, and coded …

Professional Role Complexities And Job Satisfaction Of Collegiate Certified Athletic Trainers, Kirk Brumels

Dissertations

This study examined whether professional role complexities existed for certified athletic trainers (ATCs) employed at the collegiate level, and if so, what impact these role complexities had upon job satisfaction and intent to leave a current position or the profession. The amount and sources of role complexities were examined for collegiate ATCs who were employed in clinical, faculty, or joint appointment positions.

Potential for professional role complexities exist in any situation where multiple role obligations are present in the workplace. Professional role complexities for health care employees often manifest into tension, dissatisfaction, lack of energy or ambition, and decreased attention …

Automotive Service Technology Intersectional Skills Proficiency Assessment, David L. Macquarrie

Dissertations

This dissertation focused on the creation and validation of a criterion referenced credentialing assessment of automotive service technicians' intersectional skills (ASTIS) proficiency. These intersectional skills are prerequisite and common to multiple job level tasks that an automotive service technician (AST) performs on the job. An assessment of the ASTIS was created to aid automotive technician employers in the evaluation of hiring prospective technician employees and is not duplicated by current certifications (e.g. ASE) as they do not uniquely assess these skills.

This dissertation focused on the ASTIS skills and the information an employer can obtain pertaining to a prospective employee's …

Higher Education Attorneys’ Perceptions Regarding Academic Freedom And Challenges To Academic Freedom, Manuel R. Rupe

Dissertations

Higher education attorneys have emerged in recent years as integral participants in the decision and policymaking processes within American higher educationinstitutions. The perceptions of higher education attorneys regarding academic freedom, including professorial, institutional, and student academic freedom, may significantly impact how higher education institutions respond to modern challenges to such freedom. Key challenges to academic freedom as identified in the literature were categorized into four groups for this study (a) judicial or governmental challenges, (b) internal or collegial challenges, (c) institutionalchallenges, and (d) outside or extra-institutional challenges.

An Internet-based survey was sent to higher education attorneys who subscribed to the …