Education Commons^™

The Interactive Question Protocol: Examining The Relationship Between Feedback, Cognitive Development And Student Achievement, G. Simon Richmond

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Feedback is an essential component of effective learning. The advent of the internet as a delivery mode for distance education has expanded the access many people have to higher learning. Despite many advantages that online courses provide for distance learning students, they often lack real time feedback. A software intervention called the Interactive Question Protocol was designed for this study to provide automated, real time feedback. That treatment was then contrasted against changes in student achievement, satisfaction and participation. Learners can be categorized by Perry's scheme of mental maturity according to how they understand and interpret the knowledge they acquire. …

Choice And Support: An Individualized Approach To Student Empowerment And Involvement In Combating Procrastination In The Internet Learning Environment, Han Liu

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study was designed to explore effective approaches that could help online students overcome online academic procrastination, raise their satisfaction ratings, and improve their academic performance.

The research was conducted at Old Dominion University, Virginia, with a sample of 165 undergraduate and graduate students (mean age = 30.67, SD = 8.98; male = 33, 20%, female = 132, 80%; undergraduate 95, 58%, graduate 70, 42%). The participants were taking an online course, Social and Cultural Foundations of American Education, required for teacher licensure. The treatments included the Choice Package (choice of assignment due dates, choice of rewards and punishments, and …

The Relationship Between Non-Completers' Decisions To Leave Certificate Programs Before Earning Certificates And Their Career Goals, Elizabeth M. Lohman

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The primary purpose of this research was to conduct a systematic study that investigated ways other than awarding certificates of completion to determine the effectiveness of community colleges' occupational-technical certificate programs. These programs are designed to provide students with the skills necessary to enter the workforce or receive promotions in existing employment, and they attract students whose primary goals are to gain the skills necessary to be more productive workers.

This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of fifteen occupational-technical certificate programs at Tidewater Community College (TCC) according to the institution's mission statement and to identify ways to encourage …

Facility Administrator Perceptions Of The External Environmental Constituencies Shaping Urban Advanced Technology Centers, Daniel Robert Smith

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to develop a list of the most relevant external environmental constituencies and responses to those elements that should be used by facility administrators of urban advanced technology centers. A three-round Delphi research method was conducted to garner the perceptions of the panel participants. The President's Advisory Council and the Board of Directors of the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers were asked to nominate facility administrators of urban advanced technology centers to serve as expert panel participants. Of the 17 facility administrators nominated, nine agreed to participate and completed all three rounds of the …

The Effects Of Technology On Urban High School Students' Sense Of Classroom Community, Mervyn J. Wighting

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study measured the sense of classroom community among students from two different grades in an independent urban high school (N = 181). A standardized instrument was used to compare sense of community in classes whose teachers used computers frequently and consistently in their instruction with others in which the teachers seldom or never included computer use in the classroom. Quantitative analysis revealed that there was a significant difference between the classes in terms of one of the sub-scales of the instrument; students whose teachers used computers frequently and consistently scored higher on the learning sub-scale of the sense …

Evaluation Of A Distance Learning Program For The Preparation Of Special Education Teachers, Tami Seifert

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The primary purpose of this research was to evaluate the efficacy of the distance learning Commonwealth Special Education Endorsement Program (CSEEP) delivered by Old Dominion University. The CSEEP program was designed to address economic and geographic barriers confronting teachers seeking to complete requirements for endorsement in special education, improve the quality of education teachers, help reduce the shortage of fully licensed special education teachers, and increase teacher retention in special education.

This evaluation was designed to assess program results, examine the effectiveness of the program, and determine the impact on both the participants and the schools, and identify ways to …

The Validation Of A Detailed Strategic Planning Process Model For The Implementation Of Distance Education In Higher Education, Kenneth Phillip Pisel Jr.

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to develop, refine, and validate a model of the strategic planning process for distance education. To achieve this end, the informed opinion from a population of peer-nominated experts was solicited over three rounds of iterative Delphi questionnaires administered via electronic mail. Using descriptive statistics to analyze central tendency and variation, the straw model was refined into a validated model by the final Delphi round. In developing this model, the study answered specific questions about the following: (1) The impact of volatile technological change on a strategic distance education plan. (2) The optimum size and …

Comparative Student Perception And Interactional Event Analysis In An Urban Computer-Based Distance Education Environment, Michael Shawn Ireland

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This two-part study used quasi-experimental research methodologies to analyze and assess students' perceptions of the level of their personal interaction, overall interaction, observed interaction, attitude, satisfaction and direct participation in synchronous computer-based interactive remote instruction (IRI) and two-way audio/one-way video (TELETECHNET) intra-urban distance learning environments. For the first part of this study 101 subjects were measured during a semester of instruction in three 4-week interval observations. Intact groups assigned to two different treatment environments, computer-based upper division and graduate level computer science distance learning courses, and two-way audio/one-way video upper division computer science distance learning courses were observed at an …

An Evaluation Of The Accelerated Reader Program In Grades 3–5 On Reading Vocabulary, Comprehension, And Attitude In An Urban Southeastern School District In Virginia, Carol Ann Howard

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to study recreational reading in third, fourth, and fifth grade urban students in a school district in Southeastern Virginia. The widely-used Accelerated Reader (AR) was the tool examined in the promotion of recreational reading. Recreational reading studies have been done on a broad economic spectrum (Advantage Learning Systems, 1997; Paul, 1996; Paul, VanderZee, Rue & Swanson, 1996). A gap in knowledge exists as to whether recreational reading programs, using AR, are effective with the urban elementary students. The major research questions determined if recreational reading, using Accelerated Reader, influenced reading vocabulary, comprehension, and attitude …

Computer Anxiety And Attitudes Of Urban Teacher Education Students, Alfred P. Rovai

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This three-part study used quasi-experimental methodologies to: (a) determine how a computer literacy course affects the computer anxiety and computer attitudes of urban teacher education students over time, (b) explain and predict urban teacher education students who are resistant to reduction of computer anxiety, and (c) determine whether a humanistically-focused treatment is more effective than a traditional cognitively-focused treatment in reducing computer anxiety and improving computer attitudes.

For the first part of this study 75 subjects were measured over three observations using a 13-week interval. The treatment, a mandatory computer literacy course for teacher education students, was conducted between the …

A Meta-Analysis Of The Effect Of Computer-Assisted Instruction On The Academic Achievement Of Students In Grades 6 Through 12: A Comparison Of Urban, Suburban, And Rural Educational Settings, Edwin Patrick Christmann

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This meta-analysis analyzed grades 6 through 12 school students' academic achievement effect sizes from experimental, quasi-experimental, and correlational studies that examined the effects of microcomputer-based computer-assisted instruction (CAI) on the academic achievement of urban, suburban, and rural students across various subjects. Those studies compared secondary students who were exposed to CAI with those who were exposed to traditional instructional strategies.

A total of 3,476 students participated in 24 studies which resulted in 35 conclusions. The sample size ranged from 28 to 425; the mean sample size was 140 students.

The mean effect sizes of urban, suburban, and rural students uncovered …

The Effect Of Technology-Rich School Environments On Academic Achievement And Attitudes Of Urban School Students, Charles R. Grimm

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of technology-rich educational environments on student academic achievement and attitude. The primary independent variable was the type of school (technology-rich school (TRS) and traditional school (TS)). Additional independent variables included gender, ethnicity, and computer ownership. The dependent variables were: (1) student academic achievement (Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (4th-grade), Virginia's Literacy Passport Test (6th-grade), and Tests of Achievement and Proficiency (11th-grade)) and (2) and student attitudes (questionnaire).

The design examined the differences between TRS and TS (N = 1088). Compared were 4th-grade elementary school students attending a TRS (n = …

A Model For Assessing The Quality Of Learning In Distance Education, George C. Lassetter Iii

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The factors contributing to the quality of learning in distance education were investigated. These factors were used to develop an empirically based model for the assessment of the quality of learning in distance education. The affective, cognitive, and conative domains of learning and the ethical domain of distance education were defined and used as the theoretical foundation for a search of distance education studies and evaluations that identified over 150 variables that potentially affected quality of learning. A Delphi technique was used to validate the variables and construct a survey instrument. Surveys were distributed to 3 groups totaling 523 students …

Compressed Digital Video Instructional Delivery: A Study Of Student Achievement, Student Attitude, And Instructor Attitude, Eddyth Niceler Worley

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate compressed digital video as an instructional delivery system for distance learning. The independent variable was delivery mode. Two levels of this variable were considered. Level 1 was one-way video/two-way audio. Level 2 was two-way video/two-way audio. Student achievement, student attitude, and instructor attitude were measured as dependent variables.

A quasi-experimental study comparing the two delivery modes was conducted. Two treatment groups were established. Both groups received instruction simultaneously from the same instructors. Instructors used both treatment modes (delivery systems) during instruction.

Instructor and student subjects were naval, civilian and military personnel involved …

Computer Technology For Executive Decision-Making In Urban Public Education Divisions In Virginia, Richard Kenneth Byrd

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the study determines if Virginia urban public school executive leadership used automated informational systems to support policy, goal setting, and decision making typical of its job requirements. Secondly, the study describes the planning techniques specific to automated system development used by the school division where such automated executive support occurs.

The personal interview method was selected because it helps to insure 100 percent of the desired sample to participate. The interview technique insures responses to direct questions, to narrative responses sought, and to follow-up discussions necessary to insure clarification.

The instrument follows …

Factors Affecting Policy In Educational Media Services, Diane S. Barker

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Teachers use a variety of resources to motivate students and to enrich and expand learning experiences in the classroom. Media, including films, videotapes, and other audiovisual materials, are some of those resources.

Over the years, as teacher access to media increased, researchers began to investigate factors which encouraged or discouraged its use. Factors which had an impact on teacher use or lack of use of media were and are important indicators to administrators responsible for allocating resources and for establishing policy concerning how media are organized and distributed.

The purpose of the study was to investigate current factors involved in …

An Administrative Microcomputer Literacy Training Model For Elementary School Administrators Of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Karen Ann Bosch

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study is to design a process product administrative microcomputer literacy training model for 43 principals and 44 assistant principals in the Virginia Beach elementary schools. In order to accomplish this purpose, a systematic process for assessing administrative microcomputer literacy training was developed. The training assessment process included the identification of the following: (1) administrative microcomputer literacy training needs, (2) school administrators' attitudes toward microcomputer use, (3) barriers and facilitators influencing administrative use of microcomputers, (4) organizational factors needed to facilitate and support administrative use of microcomputers in schools, and (5) school administrators' training preferences and learning …