Education Commons^™

Additive Effects Of An External Focus And Enhanced Expectancy In Learning A Motor Skill, Luigi Antonio Pascua

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An external focus of attention in has been shown to produce better performance in practice and retention of a motor skill when compared to an internal focus or control conditions in which no attentional focus cues are given to the learner (for a review, see Wulf, 2012). Enhancing learner expectancy (e.g., via positive feedback) has also been shown to improve learning (e.g., Lewthwaite & Wulf, 2010). This study sought to investigate whether combining the positive effects of an external focus of attention with an enhanced learner expectancy (through positive social-comparative feedback) would enhance learning relative to either variable alone or …

Literacy Coaching And Preschool Teacher's Implementation Of Literacy Instructional Practices, Teresa Byington

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Literacy coaching has gained prominence during the past decade as a professional development strategy for changing teacher practices. The purpose of this study was to identify whether a coaching intervention increased teacher's level of implementation of five targeted literacy instructional practices. Additionally, the researcher sought to determine if there was a relationship between teacher's stages of concern and their level of implementation of literacy instructional practices. Teachers participated in a six-week literacy coaching intervention. The study was a pre-post intervention group mixed methods design with both quantitative and qualitative measures. The participants of the study included eight preschool teachers and …

An Analysis Of Reading Skills Instruction Provided To Special And General Educators In Their Pre-Service And In-Service Teacher Education, Wendie Lappin Castillo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

More than half of all school-age children in the United States read below grade level (NCES, 2012a). Seventy-five percent of all special education referrals are due to poor reading skills (NCES, 2012b). The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services reports that 50% or more of students with disabilities score at or below the 20th percentile on reading assessments (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). Once children fall behind in the acquisition of reading skills, intense intervention is needed to reach an adequate level of reading accuracy (Torgesen, 2008). Unfortunately, struggling readers lose practice time for each month and year they …

Word Calling In 3rd And 4th Graders: Exploring Student And Teacher Characteristics, Lindsay Starr Couzens

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Reading difficulties in elementary school-aged children may occur when two components of reading- word identification, comprehension, or both of these skills- are weak or underdeveloped (Gough, 1972; Hoover & Gough, 1990; Joshi & Aaron, 2000; Savage, 2001). One type of reading difficulty that is frequently identified by teachers is known as "word calling." Previous research (Hamilton & Shinn, 2003; Hendricks, Reynolds & Sinatra, 2003, Meisinger, Bradley, Schwanenflugel, Kuhn, & Morris, 2009) found that teachers were not accurate in their identification of word callers (word callers). They tended to over-identify these students in their classrooms, confusing them with typical struggling readers. …

Parental Stress, Family-Professional Partnerships, And Family Quality Of Life: Families Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Yun-Ju Hsiao

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among the quality of life of families that have at least one child with autism spectrum disorder, parental stress level, and partnerships between the family and professionals. Also, parent perceptions of parental stress, family quality of life, and family-professional partnerships were assessed to ascertain if they could be predicted from different variables (e.g., ethnicity, educational levels, income levels, and parental relationship status, etc.). The study examined the relationship among the three variables (e.g., family quality of life, parental stress, and family-professional partnership). Participants were recruited from an autism center located …

A Comparison Of Two After School Strategies For Improving The Parenting Knowledge And Parenting Perceptions Of Preschool Families Enrolled In A Title 1 Program, Rae Ette Veronna Newman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A parent is a child's first educator in communication, social/emotional skills, motor development, and academics. As the achievement expectations placed on schools increase and the schooling population continually diversifies, the need to increase the overall parental involvement in schools and their ability to assist with academics in the home becomes more significant to ensure academic success for all children. By acquiring the fundamental parenting knowledge and skills, despite the barriers and additional disadvantages, parents can overcome daily obstacles, reduce family stress, and support developing proficient children. By encouraging positive parenting skills, parents can increase their parenting self-efficacy.

The purpose of …

A Comparison Of Nursing Service Demand In Title 1 Schools And Non-Title 1 Schools, Karen Ray Stratford

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children from low-income families are known to struggle academically, but lack of health services may also impact their education. School nurses must identify and manage health problems in the school-age child to improve academic success. Unfortunately, the school nurse-to-student ratio may limit the amount of time nurses can give to the recognition of health problems and appropriate follow-up. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 provides Title 1 funding to schools whose enrollment includes at least 40% of low-income families. These federal funds are intended to be used to bridge the achievement gap between low-income students and other students. …

The Importance Of Explicitly Mapping Instructional Analogies In Science Education, Loretta Asay

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Analogies are ubiquitous during instruction in science classrooms, yet research about the effectiveness of using analogies has produced mixed results. An aspect seldom studied is a model of instruction when using analogies. The few existing models for instruction with analogies have not often been examined quantitatively. The Teaching With Analogies (TWA) model (Glynn, 1991) is one of the models frequently cited in the variety of research about analogies. The TWA model outlines steps for instruction, including the step of explicitly mapping the features of the source to the target. An experimental study was conducted to examine the effects of explicitly …

Comparison Of The Pervasive Developmental Disorders Screening Test And Modified Checklist For Autism In Toddlers: Which Is The Better Predictor Of Autism In Toddlers?, Vanessa Marie Fessenden

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has significant impact on children and families. Early intervention optimizes long-term diagnosis for children with ASD. Unfortunately, many children with ASD are not diagnosed until after age three and often receive services from a local school district rather than through early intervention services. However, many of the symptoms of ASD can be hard to identify because symptoms during infancy may be more difficult to detect or may present differently than manifestations of the symptoms at older ages. Despite the difficulty in identifying symptoms of ASD in young children, there are certain …

Black Teachers, White Schools: A Qualitative Multiple Case Study On Their Experiences Of Racial Tokenism And Development Of Professional Black Identities, Abigail Kathleen Hasberry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An emerging body of research shows that retention of minority independent school teachers creates a positive multicultural climate and increases the likelihood that minority families will enroll their children in the schools as well as preparing all students for a pluralistic society (Brosnan 2001b, AIMS 2010, Katz & Wishine 2001). However, retaining minority teachers in predominantly White and affluent independent schools has proved challenging (Brosnan 2001, 2001b, 2009). This qualitative multiple case study extends the current literature on Black private school teachers by not only examining the experiences, but also the coping strategies and professional identity development processes of nine …

Development And Validation Of The Biophilic Attitudes Inventory (Bai), Lawrence Letourneau

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study investigated the viability of an instrument called the Biophilic Attitudes Inventory (BAI), a pen-and-paper instrument intended to measure attitudes toward nature that, according to naturalist Edward O. Wilson, are rooted in an innate predisposition that humans possess to connect with other forms of life. Utilizing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), two models were tested (n=334)--a seven-factor model that reflected Stephen Kellert's biophilia typology and a more parsimonious two-factor model. However, neither model proved viable in terms of construct validity. As a result, a new model with four factors was developed via exploratory factor analysis (EFA). A subsequent CFA revealed …

Decoding Skills Of Middle-School Students With Autism: An Evaluation Of The Nonverbal Reading Approach, Patrick Allen Leytham

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Students diagnosed with autism demonstrate a deficit in communication skills, which affects their literacy skills. Federal legislation mandates that students with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education, be taught how to read, and have access to the general education curriculum. Students with autism are being included more in the general education classroom. Prior literacy instruction for students with moderate to severe forms of disabilities has shown promising results. The whole language approach to teaching students with autism how to read has been researched extensively, particularly in the area of sight-word identification. One major limitation to this approach, however, is …

School Psychologists' Perspectives Of Response-To-Intervention: Training, Practices, And Implementation, Michelle Nathan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Specific learning disabilities currently account for the 39 percent of the 6.6 million students who receive special education services in a public school setting (Aud, Husser, Planty, Snyder, Bianco, Fox, et al, 2010). The current federal definition of what constitutes a specific learning disability states that school districts are allowed to use either the aptitude-achievement discrepancy model or alternative assessment methods, thereby legitimizing the use of response-to-intervention (RTI) (Dykeman, 2006).

The current study provided an investigation into the current training and practices of school psychologists and the barriers they face when implementing RTI within a school setting. The purpose of …

First Grade Teachers' Perceptions Of The Five Strands Of Effective Reading Instruction And Their Possible Influence On Daily Instructional Practices, Nghia Van Nguyen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

First grade teachers play a critical role in shaping the foundation for early literacy skills acquisition of primary students. Past research studies have indicated that primary students whose teachers followed the Big 5 Ideas to teach reading had higher reading abilities when compared to other students. The purpose of this current research was to address a gap in the literature by examining first grade teachers' perceptions of the Big 5 Ideas, their levels of knowledge of the literacy concepts, the frequency with which these teachers use their knowledge of the Big 5 Ideas, and the possible influence of the use …

Effective Use Of Multimedia Presentations To Maximize Learning Within High School Classrooms, Eric Eugene Rapp

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research used an evidenced-based experimental 2 x 2 factorial design General Linear Model with Repeated Measures Analysis of Covariance (RMANCOVA). For this analysis, time served as the within-subjects factor while treatment group (i.e., static and signaling, dynamic and signaling, static without signaling, and dynamic without signaling) served as the between-subject independent variable. Three dependent variables were used to assess learner outcomes: (a) a 14 multiple-choice pre and post-test to measure knowledge retention, (b) a pre and post-test concept map to measure synthesis and structure of knowledge, and (c) four questions based on a Likert scale asking students to rank …

School Nurses' Recognition, Attitudes, And Educational Needs Regarding The Care Of Children With School Refusal Behavior, Heather Strasser

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

School refusal behavior can prevent a child from attending school or staying in class for a full day of instruction. School nurses are often one of the first professionals in the school with the opportunity to interact with these children, recognize school refusal behavior and its debilitating impact, and positively intervene to assist these children to stay in school. Few studies have examined school nurse recognition and attitudes regarding school refusal behavior. The purpose of this study was to assess school nurses' recognition of school refusal behavior, their attitudes regarding the nursing care of children with school refusal behavior, and …

Educational Experiences Of Emancipated Foster Youth: An Exploratory Study, Cynthia Joyce Stunkard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The data obtained in this qualitative study focused on the educational experiences of youth formerly in foster care after graduation from high school from the viewpoint of the youth. Data were gathered from interviews from 10 participants. Themes included: (a) How do youth emancipated from foster care perceive their educational experiences? (b) What could teachers have done differently to assist the foster youth when he/she first arrived in the classroom or when he/she was moving to another placement? (c) What did teacher do to help the foster youth feel welcomed and part of the classroom community?

Interviews were conducted and …

African American Teachers And State Licensing Examinations In Metropolitan Atlanta: A Case Study, Michael Leroy Taylor

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The 2001 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act legislation has had a profound effect on teacher rolls, especially African-American teachers. More than any other racial or ethnic group, African-American teachers disproportionately fail state teacher licensure examinations. This results in removing them from the classroom, while simultaneously preventing new teachers from entering it. The problem shows no signs of relenting under the current mandates, so as the diversity of the nation's study body continues to increase, the diversity of the teaching staff continues to shrink. This combined, multi-case study addressed the unexplained reduction in the numbers of African-American teachers due to …

Development And Implementation Of A Video-Based Activity Preference Assessment For Children With Autism And Their Parents, Lena Sankovich

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Development and Implementation of a Video-Based Physical Activity Preference Assessment for Children with Autism and Their Parents

Individuals with autism often lack the necessary motivation to engage in physical activity. In addition, due to the characteristics defining autism, such as deficits in social skills, motor coordination, and behavior, individuals with autism are less likely to participate in physical activity with their peers than individuals without autism. Additionally, poor motor functioning, sedentary lifestyle, lack of information and lack of access to physical activity may be barriers to physical activity for individuals with developmental disabilities. These barriers, in addition to the characteristics …

An Analysis Of English Language Learning Instruction Provided In Teacher Education And Inservice Training Programs For General And Special Educators, Lidia E. Sedano

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

It is essential that English language learners (ELLs) are able to effectively receive an education. Recent national data indicates that the achievement gap between English and non-English learners in school is approximately a two grade-level difference (NCES, 2012). The increase of students who are learning English and who have a disability is a challenge for schools in terms of curricula adjustments, to meet the needs of this population. (Artiles & Ortiz, 2002).

The need to prepare general and special educators to provide appropriate instruction to ELLs is crucial for positive learning outcomes (Shyyan et al., 2008; Youngs & Youngs, 2001). …

Examining The Testing Effect Using The Dual-Process Signal Detection Model, Nicole Jessica Bies-Hernandez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Taking a test can lead to enhanced long-term retention compared to not practicing the information or simply restudying, a finding known as the testing effect (Roediger, Agarwal, Kang, & Marsh, 2010). The current study examined whether the dual-process signal detection (DPSD) model (Yonelinas, 1994) offers an approach for investigating the testing effect across two experiments. Experiment 1 investigated if the DPSD model could be used to examine the testing effect, and it also examined a factor (i.e., the number of practice sessions) that influences the magnitude of the testing effect. Experiment 2 investigated whether making the final test dependent on …

An Analysis Of Co-Teaching Instruction Provided In Teacher Education And Inservice Training For Special Education And General Education Teachers, Catherine S. Howerter

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) (2001) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA)(2004) call for students with disabilities to be given access to the general education environment. Currently, at least half of all students with disabilities receive more than 80% of instruction in the general education classroom (U.S. Department of Education, 2008). Although there are no direct mandates to use co-teaching, it has become the preferred model of instructional delivery within the general education classroom (Pugach & Blanton, 2011).

General and special education teachers need to be provided instruction on the fundamentals of co-teaching in their …

Muting The Masses: Effects Of The Spiral Of Silence In The College Newsroom, Blaire Ritter

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper explores whether or not Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's theory, the spiral of silence, is an accurate theoretical lens to examine the issues of censorship and conflict in the student broadcast newsroom. Using data collected from classroom observations and student interviews, levels of involuntary and voluntary censorship and editorial control were examined to see if they played a role in classroom dynamic and editorial decisions. Each instance was looked at to see if it fit five criteria; a threat of isolation by peers or community, a fear of this threat, a willingness to speak out by the majority, a quasi-statistical sense …