Direct Inference Instruction: The Effects On Fourth Grade Students' Reading Comprehension And Motivation, Kalee Bengtson

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Creating Conversations, Changing Cultures: Case Study Of A Professional Development Plan, Alexis Goldberg

Graduate Student Independent Studies

There's a lot working against authentic demonstrations of thinking, and legitimate avenues of collaboration in our school cultures. We force-feed students high-stakes tests that promote a single "right answer" instead of multiple solution paths. Despite research that suggests teachers learn best from each other, we promote the ideal of the teacher-as-­maverick. Many of our systems endorse closed-set, closed-door thinking that leaves room for neither independent student thinking nor the collaborative generation of ideas.

Breaking cultures this strong, this endemic, is a weighty task. In a yearlong case study, Alexis Goldberg creates and executes a professional development plan that engages with …

K-6 Classroom Teachers' Perceptions Of Effective Teacher Education Programs., Pauletta J. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The demands placed upon stakeholders of the public education system have become more and more compelling with each passing year. With the success of schools and students at stake, it is imperative to examine multiple facets of the public education structure. One of the most important aspects of this process is the development of preservice teachers entering the classroom.

This study initially chronicled the history of teacher education and state licensure. Subsequently, standards enforced by the Tennessee Department of Education and National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education were also explored to gain information about the guidelines and criteria required …

Mentors And New Teachers: A Qualitative Study Examining An East Tennessee School Systems Mentoring Program., Nikki Lynn Manning

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With almost half of all new teachers leaving the profession in the first few years, it is imperative that school systems find ways to support and retain these new teachers. Formal mentoring is a growing necessity. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the effectiveness of one school system's mentoring program.

This study included 4 sets of mentor and mentee teachers. Each set consisted of a beginning teacher in her 1st year of teaching and an experienced teacher trained by the school system to serve as a mentor. This study was conducted in a rural East Tennessee School …

Effective Leadership Practices In The Sustainability Of Professional Learning Communities In Two Elementary Schools., Debra Walls Wolford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the leadership practices of principals who sustain professional learning communities. The study was conducted using semistructured interviews with 2 elementary school principals from a noted professional learning community district in Henderson, Kentucky. A Professional Learning Community Assessment Survey was completed by the teachers in both elementary schools. Photographs of each school and a review of school documents triangulated the research of these 2 professional learning communities.

In interviews the principals described their roles in: (1) defining a professional learning community or PLC, (2) supporting and sustaining a PLC, (3) supporting professional …

A Critical Analysis Of The Factors That Promote And Support Leadership And Advocacy For People With Lived Experience With Mental Health Problems Or Illness., Kathryn L. Storey

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

ABSTRACT

Our ways of thinking and acting are complex. Personal and social influences mediate who we are and what we believe. This is particularly true for people who have personal lived experience with mental health problems or illnesses. While mental illness can result in challenges with living, ironically, the challenges increase when people use medical or clinical services. Many people who speak out about their experience describe themselves as “survivors”. Yet, these same experiences with the care system effectively inform and evoke leadership and advocacy.

A growing number of survivors recognize that it is important to use their experience to …

Investigation Of Rti Effectiveness, Patricia L. Murphy

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

An applied project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Education Specialist at Morehead State University by Patricia Murphy on December 11, 2011

Factors That Promote Transformative Learning Experiences Of International Graduat-Level Learners, Alex Kumi Yeboah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

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Rubrics In Use As An Assessment Tool For Elementary Physical Education, Megan Marie Brown

All Graduate Projects

There are many health related benefits of participating in regular physical activity. A well-designed elementary physical education program will promote lifetime physical activity that may reduce the risk of disease. In implementing a quality curriculum for physical education, educators need to take in to account the standards when deciding the direction for their curriculum (NASPE, 2005). According to the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (2008), physical education includes curriculum, instruction and assessment all implemented together. This project addresses the need for meaningful and convenient assessment tools.

School Counselor Assignment In Secondary Schools: Replication And Extension, Jennifer L. Williamson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Before school counselors can carry out the duties and responsibilities outlined as part of a comprehensive school counseling program, they must know which students they are responsible for helping. The topic of assigning students to school counselors has only recently been seen in the educational research arena in a study by Akos, Schuldt, and Walendin (2009). The current study attempts to replicate and extend the findings of Akos, Schuldt, and Walendin by addressing the questions of how secondary school counselors are assigned and what are their perceptions of their assignment. In addition, the study attempts to determine whether a particular …

After The Final Bell: The Self-Directed Learning Practices Of Elementary Teachers, Susan Renee Wagner

Doctoral Dissertations

Are elementary teachers self-directed learners? If so, do their learning activities outside their classrooms translate into their classrooms? The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship, if any, between elementary teachers’ self-directed learning and activities in their classrooms. A two phase, mixed methods design first utilized a quantitative study from which the results were used to denote the type of data collected in the second, qualitative phase. The quantitative Phase I of this study involved using a survey instrument in order to identify self-directed learners and identify categories of teacher learners. These quantitative data were gathered through the …

Evaluation Of Fastt Math, Krystal Clawson, Valerie Grier, Amanda Iocoangeli

Graduate Capstone Projects

FASTT Math is an online, computer-based program that helps students develop fluency with basic math facts. FASTT Math can be used by students in second grade and up. Monroe Public Schools implemented this program in 2008 as a way to help improve fact fluency in the elementary grades. An evaluation of the effectiveness of the program was conducted and recommendations for future use are provided.

An Examination Of Supplemental Educational Services Expectations And Realities In A Large Public School District, Kristin Blair

HIM 1990-2015

On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. This sweeping legislation brought reform to every area of public education by establishing seven performance-based provisions. Supplemental Educational Services is a core aspect of NCLB, designed to meet two of the seven goals: improving academic performance of disadvantaged students and promoting innovative programs. SES tutoring is provided free of charge to parents for students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch and that attend a Title I school that has not made Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, for three or more years. The …

Teachers' Perceptions Toward The Secondary Physical Education Program In The State Of Kuwait, Khaled A. Al-Kandari

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine the perceptions of physical education teachers and supervisors toward the secondary physical education program in eight domains in the State of Kuwait. Stratified and cluster sampling were used to select two schools of female teachers and two schools of male teachers from each district (6 districts); therefore, 24 schools were selected randomly. One hundred thirty-eight physical education teachers were selected and 66 supervisors were selected. A four-point rating scale (i.e., strongly disagree to strongly agree) and open-ended questions were included in the survey. Cronbach's alpha reliability, descriptive statistics, and independent sample t …

Instructional Accommodations For Students With Asperger Syndrome In The General High School Classroom, Myrna Baylis

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

General education teachers in the secondary sector are held responsible for adapting their lessons and classroom environment for students with Asperger Syndrome. With the growing number of students within the autism spectrum disorder being placed in general education classrooms, teachers are faced with yet another challenge in making their curriculum inclusive. It has been my observation that teachers who have no prior training or knowledge of Asperger Syndrome struggle with making instructional accommodations to ensure these students reach their greatest potential. This study is intended to describe what secondary high school teachers are doing to differentiate instruction for their students …

A Multiple Case Study Of Principals' Instructional Leadership In "Level 5" Schools Of Excellence For Improvement, Janice V. Mccoy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

After 28 years of federal and state policy development, regional and local initiatives and various budgetary appropriations, the status of American schools continues to decline. Lyne (2001) reported that Finland, Japan and Korea had the world's highest literacy in reading, math, and science, while the United States ranked 15 in reading literacy, 19 in mathematical literacy, and 14 in scientific literacy. Many factors may contribute to the decline in America's schools. However, with the prevailing economic decline in the United States schools continue to struggle with student achievement, especially students with who are low socio-economic. In addition, to meeting the …

Integration Of Racially And Ethnically Diverse Modern Day Military Veterans In American Higher Education, Cedric Mandell Kenner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on examining the integration and transition challenges of racially and ethnically diverse modern day military veterans at a predominantly white research university. Modern day racially and ethnically diverse veterans who have been retained at the institution past their freshman year were invited to participate in the study. Tinto's (1975) Student Integration Model (SIM) served as the theoretical framework for the study which focused on retention and academic support strategies that could be appropriate for racially and ethnically diverse modern day military veterans in American higher education. The methodology utilized in this study was phenomenology which utilized interviews …

Avoiding Engagement With 'Invisibles:' Religious Issues And The Field Of English Education, Robert Bruce

All Dissertations

This study used content analysis of selected documents representing the three dimensions of the field of English Education (curriculum, teacher preparation and development, and research) to ascertain how the field was responding to the larger societal problem that religious intolerance and ignorance pose, especially given the growing religious diversity of American society. Data from the documents were classified into four categories derived from various proposals for the incorporation of religious issues into the public school curriculum: religious literacy, religious concerns related to personal development, religious aspects of multiculturalism, and religious issues related to improved civic engagement.
The documents related to …

Factors Which Influence The Use Of Active Learning Strategies By Nursing Faculty, Deborah Lowell Shindell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Nursing education is facing a crisis. Anachronistic teaching methods are no longer keeping up with the needs of new graduates entering practice. Despite a body of knowledge which supports the use of active learning in higher education, nursing faculty continue to rely on lecture as their primary pedagogical approach. Previous study of the use of research products in clinical nursing practice identified systematic factors such as characteristics of the communication of research findings and characteristics of the organization form the greatest barrier to use. This study discovers if these same barriers face nursing educators.

Using Roger‟s Theory of Diffusion of …

Fall Prevention Training And Its Impact To Southern Nevada Construction Workers, Vedaspati Joshi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Death and injury from falls are a long-standing and continuing problem in construction, responsible for at least a third of the construction deaths in the U.S. from 2004 to 2007. Each of those years, Nevada has exceeded the national percentage. Although 29 CFR 1926.503 sets forth Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)'s requirements that construction employers train employees exposed to fall hazards and document such training, the incidence of deaths and injuries from falls are an indicator that this training was not provided or else was not effective.

Conventional fall protection training is more narrowly focused on recognizing fall hazards …

The Impact Of Regulating Social Science Research With Biomedical Regulations, Brenda Braxton Durosinmi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Impact of Regulating Social Science Research with Biomedical Regulations Since 1974 Federal regulations have governed the use of human subjects in biomedical and social science research. The regulations are known as the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, and often referred to as the "Common Rule" because 18 Federal agencies follow some form of the policy. The Common Rule defines basic policies for conducting biomedical and social science research. Almost from the inception of the Common Rule social scientists have expressed concerns of the policy's medical framework of regulations having its applicability also to human research in …

The Utilization And Effectiveness Of The Hesi E(Square) Exit Exam As A Graduation Requirement Toward Increasing Nclex-Rnrtm Pass Rates In Baccalaureate Nursing Programs, Debra Henline Sullivan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Due to a desire to better prepare BSN students for the Nurse Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN^® ) and to increase first-time pass rates, nursing programs across the US are using predictive testing to implement policies that require students to pass a standardized exit exam to graduate (National League for Nursing, 2010). Evolve Learning Systems owned by Elsevier, Inc. offers such an exit exam named the HESI E ² , which recommends a benchmark score to predict success on the NCLEX-RN^® . To offset an expected decrease in NCLEX-RN^® pass rates due to recent changes …

Job Stress, Mentoring, Psychological Empowerment, And Job Satisfaction Among Nursing Faculty, Catherine Emily Ebersole Chung

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The National League for Nursing (NLN) endorses mentoring throughout the nursing faculty career trajectory as the method to recruit nurses into academia and improve retention of nursing faculty within the academy (NLN, 2006). One way mentoring assists faculty is by easing socialization to the culture of the employing institution and decreasing faculty stress (Lewallen, Crane, Letvak, Jones, & Hu, 2003). Mentoring can also be a facilitating factor of an individual's psychological empowerment. Academia is an environment able to foster psychological empowerment, a state in which faculty may be self-directed, highly productive, confident, and find a meaningful connection to their work …

Change Is Learning: Metacognition To Resolve Concerns During The Third Year Of The Implementation Of A Technological Innovation, Nola Allen-Raffail

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

"We are living in a time of change. Rather than viewing change as a painful course of action, let's develop an understanding of how it works, how to facilitate the process, and how to learn from our experiences" (Hall & Hord, 2011, p. 18).

This study used a snapshot of a private Kindergarten-12^th grade school during the third year of the implementation of a technological innovation (RenWeb) to investigate teacher concerns during the process of change and gain insights into individuals' use of metacognition to resolve those concerns. Two primary research instruments were used, the Stages of Concern Questionnaire …

Being Outside Learning About Science Is Amazing: A Mixed Methods Study, Michelle L. Weibel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study used a convergent parallel mixed methods design to examine teachers' environmental attitudes and concerns about an outdoor educational field trip. Converging both quantitative data (Environmental Attitudes Scale and teacher demographics) and qualitative data (Open-Ended Statements of Concern and interviews) facilitated interpretation. Research has shown that adults' attitudes toward the environment strongly influence children's attitudes regarding the environment. Science teachers' attitudes toward nature and attitudes toward children's field experiences influence the number and types of field trips teachers take. Measuring teacher attitudes is a way to assess teacher beliefs.

The one day outdoor field trip had significant outcomes for …

An Assessment Of Medical Care Provided By Nevada's High School Athletic Programs, Brooke Allen-Burnstein

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Even with preventative measures, injuries are inherent in sports. Almquist (2001) indicated that almost 60 percent of athletic injuries occur during practices. The American Medical Association recommends that all high schools establish an athletic medical team, but the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) has estimated that only 42% of all high schools in the United States have access to a certified athletic trainer. In 2002, a NATA inter-association task force created the Appropriate Medical Care for Secondary School-Aged Athletes (AMCSSAA) Consensus Statement, which outlined the minimum standards for health care for adolescent athletes.

The purpose of this study was to …

The Influence Of Peer Tutors And Technology-Actuated Reading Instruction Process On Third-Grade Students' Self-Perceptions As Readers: A Multiple Case Study, Brenda Shill Daw

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Driven by Lev Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory (1986), my study investigated the self-perceptions and interactions of seven underperforming, third-grade readers while using Technology-Actuated Reading Instruction (TARI). Partnered with same-age peer tutors, readers used digital tools to listen to, read/record, and playback oral reading passages. They practiced, peer- or self-edited, and selected their best reading products as part of the iterative process. As reading is a complex cognitive skill (Reinking, 2005), TARI incorporated higher cognitive learning activities via a synthesis of Gagné's (1985) nine conditions of learning and the Four-Component Instructional Design Model (van Merriënboer & Kester, 2005).

Much of the current …

Analyzing Common Algebra-Related Misconceptions And Errors Of Middle School Students., Sarah B. Bush

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine common algebra-related misconceptions and errors of middle school students. In recent years, success in Algebra I is often considered the mathematics gateway to graduation from high school and success beyond. Therefore, preparation for algebra in the middle grades is essential to student success in Algebra I and high school. This study examines the following research question: What common algebra-related misconceptions and errors exist among students in grades six and eight as identified on student responses on an annual statewide standardized assessment? In this study, qualitative document analysis of existing data was used …

The Reported Needs Of A Teacher Mentoring Program, Kimberly Myers Tillman

Dissertations

The following study was conducted in four public school districts in south Mississippi and involved a combination of 167 administrators, mentors, and novice teachers. The purpose of this study was to measure the reported needs of a teacher mentoring program as perceived by novice teachers, mentor teachers, and administrators. An additional purpose of the study was to examine administrators’ perceptions of how alternate route and traditional route teachers differ in their needs of a teacher mentoring program.

Two multivariate of analysis (MANOVA) tests were conducted to measure the differences among novice teachers, mentors, and administrators in their perception of what …

Teachers' Perceptions Toward Required And Self-Directed Professional Learning, Marla Kay Lambert Hutton

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in the opinions of elementary, middle, and high school teachers concerning teacher required or self-directed professional learning. Additionally, the study investigated differences in teaching experience, professional development in a series compared to in a single meeting, workshop, or conference, rather than ongoing professional learning, and whether the teachers’ perception for professional learning is similar to their administrators’ perception for teachers’ learning.

Research findings indicated there was a relationship between teachers’ preference for professional learning and their years of teaching experience and their level of teaching (elementary, middle, …