Education Commons^™

Investigating The Relationship Between Empowerment And Secondary Science Teachers’ Technology Integration Knowledge, Jane Elizabeth Walsh

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Empowered teachers believe they can improve their work conditions and positively impact student outcomes. Likewise, teachers with technology integration knowledge can effectively use technology to enhance lessons and improve student learning. This quantitative correlational study investigated teachers’ empowerment, teachers’ technology integration knowledge, and associations between empowerment and technology integration knowledge. Two hundred fourteen randomly selected high school science teachers from across the United States responded to a survey intended to measure empowerment and technology integration knowledge. The teachers' average responses indicate that teachers generally agree with statements surrounding empowerment (M = 3.93, SD = 0.54) and technology integration knowledge …

The Improvement Of Educational Technology Integration At A Low Socioeconomic Urban High School, Josiah John Phillips

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this applied study was to solve the problem of ineffective educational technology integration for a low socio-economic urban high school in Kansas City, Missouri, and to design an educational technology integration improvement plan to address the problem. A multimethod design was used for this study. The data collection methods consisted of interviews with the district and school administrators, a focus group with certified teachers within the school, and a quantitative survey of the high school’s certified teachers. Further, the research resulted in the creation of a comprehensive educational technology integration improvement plan to successfully improve the adoption …

Blended Learning Among Adult English As A Second Language Programs, Brigid Erickson

Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership

The rationale for the study stems from the need to explore blended learning in Adult Basic Education ESL programs as it develops as a new practice (Rosen & Stewart, 2015). Even though blended learning has been used in some K-12 schools for much longer than Adult Basic Education programs, it is not enough for leadership to make program decisions based on what is happening in typical K-12 schools. English as a Second Language (ESL) programs within Adult Basic Education programs have their own needs and “students today are electronically connected, and they expect their learning to be connected as well” …

Faculty Adaptation To Emerging Instructional Technologies In Higher Education, Marilyn Murrillo

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how and why faculty adopt podcasting as an instructional technology tool in their teaching. Podcasting is an instructional technology tool being used for teaching and learning in higher education. Faculty may record lectures with audio, video, and/or PowerPoint slides to instruct students on class material. Students may access podcasts at their convenience through various devices, including mobile devices and computers. Research has shown that students who use podcasts to study for tests tend to perform more successfully on tests. This study was a qualitative multiple case study of seven California community college faculty using podcasting as an …

Parent-Teacher Relationships In Cyber Charter Schools: 
Investigating The Quality Of The Parent-Teacher Relationship And Its Impact On Student Achievement, Theresa Henderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

K-12 online and blended learning initiatives have experienced unprecedented growth in the past decade and are fast becoming a mainstream option for today’s generation of learners. In 2016, over five million students were enrolled in K-12 full-time state virtual schools and all 50 states and the District of Columbia offered some form of online learning for K-12 students with even greater growth projections by 2020. While K-12 online learning has grown in popularity and demand, research-based investigations into successful teaching, learning and student support developments are limited.

There is reason to believe that the quality of the parent-teacher relationship in …

A School Of Choice: A Case Study Of An Instructional Learning Model In A Public School System, Samuel Mccord

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This case study focused on the understandings of the administration and teaching staff with regard to the implementation and student academic growth of the B-L Upward program. The understandings were formed from data collected through structured, face-to-face interviews. The questioning of the staff members assisted in determining an understanding of the instructional model of the B-L Upward program. The experimental nature of the B-L Upward program allowed students, primarily those graduating from eighth grade and heading into high school, to choose an alternative to the traditional secondary learning environment. The current case study is an examination of the B-L Upward …

Extending The Research On 1:1 Technology Integration In Middle Schools: A Call For Using Institutional Theory In Educational Technology Research, Alexandra J. Lamb, Jennie M. Weiner

Middle Grades Review

In this essay, we argue institutional lenses are a vital but largely missing part of understanding how 1:1 technology programs can effect change in teaching and learning in middle schools. Indeed, while current research highlights the positive effects technology integration efforts, and 1:1 programs in particular, have on student learning and engagement, much has focused on the knowledge, skills, and beliefs of individuals or groups of actors. There is less research considering how the institutional context may impact teacher and administrator behavior regarding these and other technology-focused efforts thus limiting our ability to fully support schools and teachers in these …

Blended Learning And Educational Technology: Using An Online-Digital Curriculum To Support Student Learning, Jennifer Camilleri

Dissertations

XYZ District has recently invested in a one-to-one technology initiative, providing each student in grades three through eight with an iPad. However, consistent integration of this new technology with classroom teaching strategy has been lacking, even though teachers were provided with a digital curriculum and guidance in blendedlearning pedagogy through the XYZ Internal University. This may be due, in part, to the evolving culture in many schools, as well as teacher competencies and self-efficacy in using the technology. Given the potential for significant student learning gains through the proper implementation of this technology, two representative teachers were surveyed to gather …

Understanding The Effects Of Summer School, Technology, And 21st Century Skills On Student Academics, Jennifer Camilleri

Dissertations

District XYZ has hosted traditional summer school for more than 20 years to assist students not quite ready to advance to the next grade. The district has become more diverse, and many students end the school year without solid mastery of that grade’s objectives. Therefore, summer school is a pivotal time for these students who have not mastered the grade-level content to gain a solid foundation before moving on to the next grade. Because of both the changing needs of the district’s student population and the relatively short amount of time in which summer school occurs, technological tools that can …

The Relationship Of Instructor Technical Literacy To The Academic Performance Of Students In Career Academies, Jorge Gomez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Career Academy instructors’ technical literacy is vital to the academic success of students. This nonexperimental ex post facto study examined the relationships between the level of technical literacy of instructors in career academies and student academic performance. It was also undertaken to explore the relationship between the pedagogical training of instructors and the academic performance of students.

Out of a heterogeneous population of 564 teachers in six targeted schools, 136 teachers (26.0 %) responded to an online survey. The survey was designed to gather demographic and teaching experience data. Each demographic item was linked by researchers to teachers’ technology use …

It's Not Just About The Technology: Changing The Focus From Technology To Collaboration In Videoconferencing Room Design, Tamela W. Smith

Dissertations

Videoconferencing technologies are being increasingly utilized in today’s business and educational environments. However, implementation rates continue to be lower than projected, and user perceptions on the level of collaborative environment provided by videoconferencing rooms vary widely, depending on room design. This study found that, while few videoconferencing professional characteristics impact the level of collaborative environment designed for end-users, the perceived closeness levels provided to end-users significantly impacted their perceptions on the technology. The study also found that videoconferencing professionals’ views and end-users’ views on the level of collaboration within videoconferencing environments vary significantly. By shifting the design of videoconferencing rooms …

Redesigning A Principal Preparation Program: A Continuous Improvement Model, Rosalinda Hernandez, Maria Roberts, Velma D. Menchaca

Organization and School Leadership Faculty Publications and Presentations

The paper describes a mixed methods approach to the process of redesigning a principal preparation program. A qualitative approach was used to gather data from superintendents within the geographic area using a focused group approach, whereas, quantitative data, were gathered through a survey of program graduates with questions aligned to the three domains of the TExES examination for principal certification. Texas universities that offered principal preparation programs were studied and analyzed as a backdrop to the study. The superintendent responses identified various strengths and weaknesses in the delivery of the program. The graduate survey results indicated low satisfaction ratings in …

West Virginia Story: Achievement Gains From A Statewide Comprehensive Instructional Technology Program, Dale Mann, Charol Shakeshaft, Jonathan D. Becker, Robert Kottkamp

Educational Leadership Publications

This report describes West Virginia's Basic Skills/Computer Education (BS/CE) program and connects its features to gains in student test scores that are practically and statistically significant. The program consists of three components: (1) software that focuses on the state's basic skills goals in reading, language arts, and mathematics; (2) enough computers in the schools so that all students will be able to have easy and regular access to the basic skills software; and (3) professional development for teachers in the use of the software and the use of computers in general. Data were collected from all fifth graders (n=950) in …