Education Commons^™

Relationship Between Student Hope And Academic Achievement, Deanna S. Fosness

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Educational research is ubiquitous; however, agreement on best practices is not. Although parents, teachers, students, and communities have a vested interest in students' success, varying practices of what is taught, how it is taught, and to whom it is taught are still debated.

This study expands upon work done by Dr. Scott Wurdinger and Dr. Ron Newell in which their research shows that student hope and NWEA math and reading scores appear to be correlated. To expand upon those results, demographic information was used to see if a difference exists amongst dichotomized groups. The results indicate that the difference in …

Understanding Learners' Experiences Of Using Eportfolio In A High School Physics Course, Daniel P. Carroll

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

There has been a move toward personalized learning and alternative types of authentic assessment in K-12 education. This shift toward personalized learning and authentic assessment has been partly driven by increases in the available technology that can support those types of changes. This dissertation is a basic qualitative study aimed at understanding the experience of learners in a first-year physics class working with an ePortfolio as the primary method of assessment for that class. The school in which this research took place fully implemented a 1:1 program and has been piloting personalized learning strategies for the past five years. The …

“So, How Real Can I Get?": Opportunities And Obstacles For Teacher Learners Enacting Culturally Responsive Pedagogy., Jonathan P Baize

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the experiences of three alternative certification teachers (teachers who begin teaching as they worked to complete teacher education courses for initial certification) whom I call “teacher learners” (Jacobs & Low, 2017) as they try to enact culturally responsive practices while navigating their first-year of teaching. The teacher learners worked to develop their understanding and capacities to enact a culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) even as they were faced with the obstacles inherent to shifting teaching practices in K-12 schools. Through these challenges, they still furthered their conceptualization of CRP, as evidenced by, and in some ways guided …

Found In Space: A Cross-Linguistic Analysis Of Second Language Learners In English Map Task Performance, Susan K. Metheny

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Understanding the relationship between first and second language use in the area of spatial language has broader implications for our understanding of language learning and consequences for the construction of bilingual assessment instruments for second language learners. This study shows that observing and interpreting the task of map drawing and the related behavior of explaining maps can be a way to explore the linguistic emergence of the conceptualization of spatial language (at a moment of simultaneous and synchronized incarnation). Altogether, 50 dyads (pairs) participated in the New Mexico Map Task Project; the project included native speakers of English, Russian, Japanese, …

Effects Of Grading On Student Learning And Alternative Assessment Strategies, Roxanna M. Krawczyk

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to investigate what effect an alternative assessment strategy would have on students’ engagement, motivation, and overall learning in an urban, private Montessori middle school program located in the Midwest. Two teachers and 13 students participated in two phases (one social studies and one science unit) over the course of six weeks. Teacher-assigned grades on class and homework were removed and replaced with student-determined final grades based on self-assessment using collaboratively created rubrics and individual portfolios. Students kept daily learning logs and completed a pre- and post-unit survey designed to measure their level of engagement, …

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’ …

Alternative Assessments And Student Perceptions In The Foreign Language Classroom, Robin Barnard Bachelor

Ed.D. Dissertations

The paradigm shift in education with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards has created the opportunity for foreign language educators to evaluate appropriate and beneficial assessments for their students. This study investigated how first-year students in a Midwestern high school perceived three different alternative assessments in the foreign language classroom: Dynamic Assessment, Task-based Assessment, and Formative Assessment using self- and peer-evaluation. The researcher correlated the perceptions to the students’ assessment scores. Additionally, the researcher compared final exam scores of the control group to those of the experimental group. The results indicated that the experimental group students favorably perceived …

The Impact Of Performance-Based Assessment On University Esl Learners' Motivation, Kadidja Koné

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis examines the impact of performance-based assessment on university ESL learners' motivation. To reach this aim, data were collected from 21 international ESL students taking an intensive oracy course for non-native speakers. Online motivation questionnaires were used in order to find out how these learners responded emotionally and motivationally to performance-based assessment, specifically an oral presentation project both before and after the project. The results revealed that the students responded positively to this type of project. However, their motivational and emotional states varied across time depending on their experience with the oral presentation, their performance, and the cohesion of …

Concurrent Validity Of The Transdisciplinary Play Based Assessment-2, Keri E. Linas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Standardized assessment tools have been criticized for use with young children; however, there is limited empirical research supporting developmentally appropriate, play-based assessments. Forty children, with and without developmental disabilities, ages 10-73 months referred from the community of a large city received a transdisciplinary play based assessment (TPBA-2) and standardized assessment. Caretakers also completed the Vineland Scales of Adaptive Behavior. Concurrent validity between the TPBA-2 and standardized assessment tools (Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning) was demonstrated (p