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Full-Text Articles in Education

Beliefs About Toddler And Care: A New Measure For Infant Toddler Teachers, Treshawn L Anderson Apr 2015

Beliefs About Toddler And Care: A New Measure For Infant Toddler Teachers, Treshawn L Anderson

Open Access Dissertations

The first three years in a child's life are particularly important, as this is a critical time for development in all learning domains, however some of the settings in which infants and toddlers are learning and developing (i.e., child care) have been found to be of despairingly low to mediocre quality, with teacher qualifications also being minimal (Burchinal, Roberts, Nabors, & Bryant, 1996; Howes, Whitebook, & Phillips, 1992; Ruzek, Burchinal, Farkas, & Duncan, 2014; National Survey of Early Care and Education [NSECE] Project Team, 2013, 2014; Vandell & Wolfe, 2000). With more than 60% of children birth to age three …


Metacognitive Instruction In L2 French: An Analysis Of Listening Performance And Automaticity, Shannon Becker Apr 2015

Metacognitive Instruction In L2 French: An Analysis Of Listening Performance And Automaticity, Shannon Becker

Open Access Dissertations

The goal of the present study was to investigate the instructional potential of metacognitive strategies to improve listening comprehension and the automaticity of listening processes. Metacognition can be described as focusing attention on the cognitive processes one is currently using. In the classroom, metacognitive listening instruction means guiding learners in applying metacognition to learning by monitoring the mental strategies they use while listening, evaluating the relative success of these strategies, and planning for future listening experiences. I argue that providing students with these tools to monitor and regulate the perceptual and cognitive processes involved in listening contributes significantly to building …


Technology Use Of Online Instructors With High Self-Efficacy: A Multiple Case Study, Barbara L. Albee Apr 2015

Technology Use Of Online Instructors With High Self-Efficacy: A Multiple Case Study, Barbara L. Albee

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to understand how online instructors with perceived high self-efficacy for online teaching use technology in the online class and how their use compares to a common list of best practices for use of technology with online instruction. One-on-one interviews with four case study participants were the main source of data collection along with direct observations of the participants' online courses. The case study participants were selected based on results from a Sense of Efficacy for Online Teaching Scale and willingness to move forward with the case study. Conventional data analysis was …


Examination Of Decision-Making Processes For Resource Allocation At The College-Level And School-Level Within An Academic Unit, Amy L Childress Apr 2015

Examination Of Decision-Making Processes For Resource Allocation At The College-Level And School-Level Within An Academic Unit, Amy L Childress

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the quantitative and qualitative factors used when deciding how to allocate resources within a single academic unit and three subunits, and who was involved in those decision-making processes. It focused on the College of Engineering and three Schools of Engineering at Purdue University from 2000 – 2007, when Dr. Martin C. Jischke was president. The university underwent institution-wide strategic planning and increased use of metrics in decision-making under his leadership. Financial data from the college and three schools were collected and analyzed. An interview protocol was developed and piloted before implementation in …


Difficulty As A Concept Inventory Design Consideration: An Exploratory Study Of The Concept Assessment Tool For Statics (Cats), Dana L. Denick Apr 2015

Difficulty As A Concept Inventory Design Consideration: An Exploratory Study Of The Concept Assessment Tool For Statics (Cats), Dana L. Denick

Open Access Dissertations

The ability for engineering students to apply mathematic, scientific and engineering knowledge to real-life problems depends greatly on developing deep conceptual knowledge that structures and relates the meaning of underlying principles. Concept inventories have emerged as a class of tests typically developed for use in higher education science and engineering courses. Concept Inventories (CIs) are multiple-choice tests that are designed to assess students' conceptual understanding within a specific content domain. For example, the CI explored within this study, the Concept Assessment Tool for Statics (CATS) is intended to measure students' understanding of the concepts underlying the domain of engineering statics. …


Private, Professional, Public: An Investigation Of Teacher Identity Development, James Richard Gilligan Apr 2015

Private, Professional, Public: An Investigation Of Teacher Identity Development, James Richard Gilligan

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation utilizes qualitative research methodology within a queer theoretical framework to investigate the process by which five in-service teachers integrate their private and professional identities to create public identities. Data collection methods included individual interviews, field observations, and artifact analysis. Data analysis focused on the school gender regimes that prescribe the teachers' professional lives; the impact of those gender regimes on the teachers' private identity development, professional identity development, curriculum, pedagogy, and professional relationships; and the identity management strategies each participant utilized in order to integrate his/her respective identities. In addition, data analysis revealed the relative extent to which …


Public Understanding Of Chemistry Research In Print News, Michael D. Hands Apr 2015

Public Understanding Of Chemistry Research In Print News, Michael D. Hands

Open Access Dissertations

Despite numerous calls for improving scientific literacy, many American adults show a lack of understanding of experiments, scientific study, and scientific inquiry. News media is one important avenue for science learning, but previous research investigating health and/or environmental science news has shown that it is inconsistent in the presentation of scientific research limitations, potentially impacting reader understanding. In the first phase of this dissertation, seventeen news articles reporting on a single chemistry research article, along with associated press releases and research articles, were analyzed using move analysis to determine the structure of each type of text. It was found that …


Elementary Preservice Teachers' Beliefs About Teacher Effectiveness, Mauricio A Herron Gloria Apr 2015

Elementary Preservice Teachers' Beliefs About Teacher Effectiveness, Mauricio A Herron Gloria

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore elementary preservice teachers' beliefs about effective classroom instruction and the characteristics and behaviors of effective teachers, and to examine how these beliefs may vary across teacher education. Participants were 24 students enrolled in a teacher education program at a large mid-west university in the United States. Data were collected using an intensive interview protocol consisting of semi-structured questions, and analyzed using grounded theory strategies (Charmaz, 2006, 2012). Using a constructive/interpretive framework (Lincoln & Guba, 2013), the analysis of the data indicated that participants' beliefs about teacher effectiveness dwell around 12 overreaching categories; …


The Predictive Power Of The Presences On Cognitive Load, Kadir Kozan Apr 2015

The Predictive Power Of The Presences On Cognitive Load, Kadir Kozan

Open Access Dissertations

The current study had a multi-purpose and complementary research agenda focusing on the predictive power of teaching, cognitive and social presence on intrinsic, extraneous and germane cognitive load. More specifically, this study investigated the predictive relationships between the presences and cognitive load types through multiple regression analyses. This provided insights into the predictive validity of the presences with regard to cognitive load. Five graduate-level fully online courses delivering instruction in the field of learning, design and technology comprised the research context. Data from 103 graduate students were used for multiple regression purposes. Results revealed that (a) the presences can significantly …


The Role Of Employability Skills Training Programs In The Workforce Of Malaysia, Mohd Hazwan Mohd Puad Apr 2015

The Role Of Employability Skills Training Programs In The Workforce Of Malaysia, Mohd Hazwan Mohd Puad

Open Access Dissertations

Employability skills training programs are an essential strategy to improve the skills of the workforce and minimize unemployment in Malaysia. However, there has been a lack of assessment and evaluation studies regarding local employability skills training programs. Existing local studies are focused more on the identification of the skills that allow a person to be employable. Due to the lack of assessment and evaluation studies, stakeholders seem perplexed about the direction of training programs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of educators, employers, and recent graduates regarding the role of employability skills training programs in …


Assessment Of The Learning Climate, Basic Psychological Needs And Perceived Knowledge Transfer In An Active Classroom, Sanjana Hemanth Apr 2015

Assessment Of The Learning Climate, Basic Psychological Needs And Perceived Knowledge Transfer In An Active Classroom, Sanjana Hemanth

Open Access Theses

he thesis analyzes the impact of introducing active learning components by measuring the learning climate, basic psychological needs and perceived knowledge transfer of one course. This thesis has utilized the data obtained by the IMPACT team to evaluate the learning climate of the classroom with the evolution of the course by measuring the cognitive presence, learning presence and teaching presence in each of the semesters. The results of this study show the impact of the different elements of active learning in a classroom. The study of data over three semesters for one class is a model for other large intake …


A Descriptive Study Of Factors Influencing Parental Choice Of High School Selection For Their Middle School-Aged Children Enrolled In Catholic Grade School, Beatrice Margaret Drics-Bursten Apr 2015

A Descriptive Study Of Factors Influencing Parental Choice Of High School Selection For Their Middle School-Aged Children Enrolled In Catholic Grade School, Beatrice Margaret Drics-Bursten

Open Access Theses

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the factors parents of middle school-aged children, enrolled in Catholic elementary school, identified as those having an influence on their selection of a secondary school for their child. With a shrinking pool of potential students in Catholic middle schools, competition for these students is keen among Catholic secondary schools in order to meet their sustainability enrollment levels. The study also examined the timing when parents began researching prospective secondary schools and when the final school selection decision occurred for their child. ^ The study provides an overview of historical and current …


Physical Actvity In Pregnant Rat Dams Reduces Mammary Tumor Formation In Offspring, Leon Clah Apr 2015

Physical Actvity In Pregnant Rat Dams Reduces Mammary Tumor Formation In Offspring, Leon Clah

Open Access Theses

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and a leading cause of cancer death among women. Lifestyle factors such as physical activity and diet play a role in attenuating the incidence of breast cancer. Current research is beginning to show that exercise during pregnancy can convey long term health benefits to offspring. In light of these studies, the goal of this project was to determine if maternal physical activity during pregnancy could lead to reduced mammary tumor development in female offspring. Towards this goal, female Sprague Dawley rats were divided into two groups, sedentary and exercise, with the exercise …


The Effect Of Integrated Science, Engineering, Technology, And Mathematics Lessons On Interest And Engagement Of Secondary Students, Cameron Nunan Apr 2015

The Effect Of Integrated Science, Engineering, Technology, And Mathematics Lessons On Interest And Engagement Of Secondary Students, Cameron Nunan

Open Access Theses

This study set out to answer the research question: Does teaching a single lesson, utilizing the interconnected principles of STEM in STEM courses, increase overall student interest and engagement in STEM classes in secondary schools? The literature review established a need for student interest in STEM to help fill future STEM careers. ^ Integrated STEM lessons were a viable option for increasing interest, but existing research on the matter was limited. Integrated STEM lessons were applied at a test site school using a multiple baseline framework and evaluated responses with a variation of the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI). According to …


Assessment Of Competencies Required For Facilities Management Of Educational Institutions, Dipthi Prakash Raavi Apr 2015

Assessment Of Competencies Required For Facilities Management Of Educational Institutions, Dipthi Prakash Raavi

Open Access Theses

A facility manager of a campus, in the present times, is usually confused about the scope of his or her job as the expectations of the building owners or employees have increased. (Cotts, Roper & Payant, 2010) The expectations, along with the constant evolution of the construction industry, have created a need for people in this profession to progress along with the times and increase their understanding of the industry. The job description of a facilities manager also varies depending upon the purpose of a facility. The study focused on determining the competencies that are required to become an efficient …


English Vocabulary Teaching In Chinese Junior High Schools, Jinghong Zhang Apr 2015

English Vocabulary Teaching In Chinese Junior High Schools, Jinghong Zhang

Open Access Theses

Vocabulary learning is an important and indispensable part of the English language learning process. In this paper, the author tried to examine the vocabulary teaching practice in Chinese junior high schools. A questionnaire was used to investigate the problem from the perspectives of in-service teachers. Besides, the National English Curriculum (MOE, 2011) served as another important source of data in this study. The data revealed that progress has been made in English vocabulary teaching in Chinese junior high schools. Teachers are utilizing a wider range of educational resources and vocabulary teaching strategies during their instruction. The methods to assess vocabulary …


Suitability Of Commercial Certification Assessments For Film And Video Editing Courses, Bobby L Chastain Apr 2015

Suitability Of Commercial Certification Assessments For Film And Video Editing Courses, Bobby L Chastain

Open Access Dissertations

A study on the microstructure development of as-cast Cu-Mn alloys based around the congruent minimum at 34.6 wt % Mn and 873 °C was performed. Initially, this was to evaluate the alloy as an alternative to wide freezing range Pb and Sn bronzes that are plagued with porosity. The shallow minimum and associated narrow freezing ranges around the congruent point result in a completely cellular (non-dendritic) solidification morphology for a composition range ~3 wt % Mn about the congruent composition (C c). The degree of cellular solidification was found to depend on the mold material. Increased mold conductivity lead …


Undergraduate Engineering Students' Experiences Of Interdisciplinary Learning: A Phenomenographic Perspective, Ming-Chien Hsu Apr 2015

Undergraduate Engineering Students' Experiences Of Interdisciplinary Learning: A Phenomenographic Perspective, Ming-Chien Hsu

Open Access Dissertations

Engineers are expected to work with people with different disciplinary knowledge to solve real-world problems that are inherently complex, which is one of the reasons that interdisciplinary learning has become a common pedagogical practice in engineering education. However, empirical evidence on the impact of interdisciplinary learning on undergraduates is lacking. Regardless of the differences in the scope of methods used to assess interdisciplinary learning, frameworks of interdisciplinary learning are imperative for developing attainable outcomes as well as interpreting assessment data. Existing models of interdisciplinary learning have been either conceptual or based on research faculty members' experiences rather than empirical data. …


The Effects Of A Model-Eliciting Activity On High School Student Design Performance, Tanner J Huffman Apr 2015

The Effects Of A Model-Eliciting Activity On High School Student Design Performance, Tanner J Huffman

Open Access Dissertations

Modeling allows students to become more effective designers. High school technology and engineering students engage in engineering design challenges as part of traditional instructional practices. Model-eliciting activities (MEA) present students with opportunities to elicit mathematically thinking that facilitates modeling. Students (n=266) from four schools completed a model-eliciting activity (MEA) and design challenge procedure. The research design utilized a quasi-experimental method, post-test only, with homogenous matching comparison groups based on possible confounding variables. A rubric was used to measure student design performance. Students in the comparison group (n=124) completed a traditional design challenge and were assessed on their design performance. Students …


Adult Learners' Perceptions Of Mooc Motivation, Success, And Completion: A Virtual Ethnographic Study, Jamie Lynn Loizzo Apr 2015

Adult Learners' Perceptions Of Mooc Motivation, Success, And Completion: A Virtual Ethnographic Study, Jamie Lynn Loizzo

Open Access Dissertations

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have been credited with disrupting the traditional classroom and challenging distance education models in higher education. MOOCs were developed with the intention of opening up education to the masses, specifically those in developing countries who could not readily access educational resources or opportunities. However, early quantitative reports have shown that MOOC participants tend to be adult learners who already possess bachelor's or master's degrees. Additionally, MOOC completion rates have been reported to be significantly low with less than 15% of enrolled students actually completing them. This has led to questions about who the true target …


U.S. School Quality: The Public Benefits Of Primary And Secondary Education, Anita P. Yadavalli Apr 2015

U.S. School Quality: The Public Benefits Of Primary And Secondary Education, Anita P. Yadavalli

Open Access Dissertations

Three essays focus on the various measurements of school quality and its importance in motivating people's location choices, their interest in school improvement, and their ability to fund additional school expenditures. The first essay examines hedonic housing price studies to dissect the mixed evidence on whether school quality affects housing prices. The chapter employs meta-regression analysis on 48 studies and finds that studies which measured school quality using any of eight measures, including educational expenditures, tend to find a positive correlation with housing prices. Additionally, published studies tend to find a higher correlation than unpublished studies. The second essay aims …


Teaching Introductory Game Development With Unreal Engine: Challenges, Strategies, And Experiences, Nicholas A. Head Apr 2015

Teaching Introductory Game Development With Unreal Engine: Challenges, Strategies, And Experiences, Nicholas A. Head

Open Access Theses

From the days of Pong to 100 million dollar projects such as the Grand Theft Auto franchise, video games have evolved significantly over the years. This evolution has also changed the way game development is viewed as a career. Today, video games are one of the most profitable forms of entertainment, and game development courses are appearing at universities around the world. Even with this growth, a degree from a university has yet to be an important factor in finding a job in game development (Owen, 2013). This thesis examines a method of creating and implementing an introductory gaming course …


Digital Forensics And Community Supervision: Making A Case For Field Based Digital Forensics Training, Christopher Michael Flory Apr 2015

Digital Forensics And Community Supervision: Making A Case For Field Based Digital Forensics Training, Christopher Michael Flory

Open Access Theses

In this paper I will review the literature concerning investigator digital forensics models and how they apply to field investigators. A brief history of community supervision and how offenders are supervised will be established. I will also cover the difference between community supervision standards and police standards concerning searches, evidence, standards of proof, and the difference between parole boards and courts. Currently, the burden for digital forensics for community supervision officers is placed on local or state law enforcement offices, with personnel trained in forensics, but may not place a high priority on outside cases. Forensic field training for community …


Mach: A Model For Explaining Molecular And Cellular Mechanisms, Caleb M. Trujillo Jan 2015

Mach: A Model For Explaining Molecular And Cellular Mechanisms, Caleb M. Trujillo

Open Access Dissertations

Biologists use mechanistic explanations to understand behaviors of the immense complexity of molecular and cellular systems. In undergraduate biology courses, students are expected to explain molecular and cellular mechanisms, but teaching this skill presents many challenges due to the highly abstract, intangible nature of the cellular world, the influence of everyday language, and the tendency of students to overestimate how much they can explain. Therefore, across three studies this dissertation addresses these obstacles to teach undergraduate biology students to explain molecular and cellular mechanisms. ^ The first step was to model how biology experts explain molecular and cellular mechanisms, and …


English Language Learning Kindergartners' Dynamic Responses To Picturebook Reading, Jiyoung Yi Jan 2015

English Language Learning Kindergartners' Dynamic Responses To Picturebook Reading, Jiyoung Yi

Open Access Dissertations

This study explores the nature of English language learning by kindergartners as they engage in multimodal literacy practices in response to picturebook readings in a mainstream classroom. Three focal Spanish-speaking kindergartners and their classroom teacher took part in this study. Data were collected daily for four months in a half-day morning kindergarten program. The participants' verbal and nonverbal classroom interactions during picturebook readings were coded and analyzed to characterize the nature of ELL kindergartners' multimodal responses to picturebook readings. Findings indicate that the classroom instruction did not fully address the differences in the focal children's levels of English language proficiency. …


Factors That Affect The Outcome Of A General Fund Referendum In Indiana, Andrew Charles Sargent Oct 2014

Factors That Affect The Outcome Of A General Fund Referendum In Indiana, Andrew Charles Sargent

Open Access Dissertations

School finance elections in Indiana were a relatively rare occurrence prior to a series of new legislation enacted in 2008 that, through the imposition of property tax caps statewide, resulted in sweeping reforms to education funding. These new laws coupled with a national recession resulted in many school districts not having the necessary financial resources to maintain programming and personnel consistent with their needs. With this in mind, many of these districts turned to the General Fund referendum as a mechanism to raise more revenue for their districts through an increase in local property taxes as decided by the voters …


A Multilevel Analysis Of Project Lead The Way Implementation In Indiana, Brandon H. Sorge Oct 2014

A Multilevel Analysis Of Project Lead The Way Implementation In Indiana, Brandon H. Sorge

Open Access Dissertations

Using data from the 2010 Indiana public high school graduating class (N=55612), this project employed a multi-level analysis to determine, what if any differences occurred in majoring in STEM and freshman to sophomore year persistence, between students attending a school that offers Project Lead the Way and students that don't, while controlling for being a PLTW student. Additionally, this project explored the mitigating institutional factors that influenced a student majoring in STEM or persisting from their freshman to sophomore year in post-secondary education and if and how these factors varied depending upon if a student took PLTW courses, attended a …


A Sociosemantic Examination Of Secondary English Teacher Written Feedback, Ryan Angus Oct 2014

A Sociosemantic Examination Of Secondary English Teacher Written Feedback, Ryan Angus

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide a functional linguistic based description of teacher writing comments in secondary ELA classrooms. Based within a case study methodology, this study used analytical tools from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) in order to discover the various meanings that teachers make through their commenting practices. The findings of the study show that teacher comments focus on the content of the student writing, but also, significantly, help teachers to discursively realize various teacher identities. It was also found that teacher comments tended to either be concrete in their reference to …


A Qualitative Analysis Of The Impact Of The Reform Of The College Of Science Undergraduate Core Curriculum At State University, Dean Ballotti Oct 2014

A Qualitative Analysis Of The Impact Of The Reform Of The College Of Science Undergraduate Core Curriculum At State University, Dean Ballotti

Open Access Dissertations

The Dean of the College of Science at State University, a large public Midwestern research university, in a memo to the faculty and staff initiated what he called a "review" of the undergraduate science core curriculum. He formed a task force that was to investigate on three issues; a reassessment of the undergraduate core curriculum, the recruitment and retention of qualified undergraduate students with an emphasis on diversity, and strategies that would address these issues. The age of the curriculum, 40 years since the last significant change, was an important factor in the review of the curriculum. This qualitative study …


Diagnosing Undergraduate Biology Students' Experimental Design Knowledge And Difficulties, Annwesa Dasgupta Oct 2014

Diagnosing Undergraduate Biology Students' Experimental Design Knowledge And Difficulties, Annwesa Dasgupta

Open Access Dissertations

Experimental design is an important component of undergraduate biology education as it generates knowledge of biology. This dissertation addresses the challenge undergraduate educators face for assessing knowledge of experimental design in biology by examining knowledge of, and difficulties with, experimental design in the context of first-year undergraduate biology students at Purdue. The first chapter reviews several recent reports that highlight the necessity to increase understanding of the experimental research process as a core scientific ability (for e.g., AAAS, 2011; AAMC-HHMI, 2009; NRC, 2007). Despite its importance, there is limited information about what students actually learn from designing experiments. In the …