Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Education Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 19 of 19

Full-Text Articles in Education

Teachers' Perceptions Of An Integrated Third Grade Curriculum's Effects On Students' Reading Achievement, Charlene Lane Bazemore Jan 2015

Teachers' Perceptions Of An Integrated Third Grade Curriculum's Effects On Students' Reading Achievement, Charlene Lane Bazemore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School leaders in a Virginia urban school district designed and implemented a reading-infused integrated curriculum to address Grade 3 students' struggles to read and comprehend grade-level text. Informed via a constructivist approach, the curriculum integrated the core subjects, reading, and service learning for developing competent readers, thinkers, and problem solvers. This instrumental case study focused on 13 Grade 3 teachers' perceptions of the integrated curriculum in regards to their students' reading achievement. Qualitative data were collected from face-to-face interviews, students' progress of work documents, and the district's integrated curriculum unit. Open coding was employed to analyze the data. Inductively, triangulated …


The Perceptions And Experiences Of General Education Teachers Toward Cotaught Inclusion Classes, Beth Milhoan Feustel Jan 2015

The Perceptions And Experiences Of General Education Teachers Toward Cotaught Inclusion Classes, Beth Milhoan Feustel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This project study addressed the low rate of general education teachers volunteering to coteach inclusion classes at a large urban high school in southeastern Georgia. This low volunteer rate caused administrators at this school to assign general education teachers, who did not opt in, to coteach inclusion classes. Teachers' efficacy was negatively impacted when they were required to teach classes that they did not volunteer to teach. The model of cooperative teaching advanced by Bauwens, Hourcade, and Friend's work served as the conceptual framework for this intrinsic case study. The purpose of the study was to examine how general education …


Implementing Assistive Technology Through Program Planning, Shaune Lasheane Mckinney Jan 2015

Implementing Assistive Technology Through Program Planning, Shaune Lasheane Mckinney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Special education (SPED) service providers in the military are often underprepared to use the needed assistive technology (AT) in the classroom. This concurrent mixed-method study sought to explore the attitudes, skills, and quality indicators of assistive technology (QIAT) among 19 currently employed military SPED certified multidisciplinary team members. The conceptual framework of this study was based on the professional learning community model, which holds that the team members work collaboratively to educate the families it serves. All team members completed a quantitative QIAT survey and open-ended questionnaire, and individual qualitative interviews were conducted with a subsample of 8 volunteer staff. …


Teachers' Perceptions Of The Reading Achievement Gap Between High-Achieving Students And Below-Basic Students, Helen Anne Iaconelli Jan 2015

Teachers' Perceptions Of The Reading Achievement Gap Between High-Achieving Students And Below-Basic Students, Helen Anne Iaconelli

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Atlantic Avenue Elementary School (AAES) experienced reading achievement gaps between high-performing students and below-basic students within the school reading curriculum and balanced literacy framework. Vygotsky's theories of scaffolding and zone of proximal development served as the framework guiding this project, which used a qualitative case study design to explore reading teachers' perceptions of the ways in which they were addressing this reading achievement gap. Individual interviews, classroom observations, and lesson plans were the sources of the qualitative data collected from 6 reading teachers. The data were coded manually using emerging and constant-comparative strategies to identify common themes. The themes that …


The Design, Implementation, And Evaluation Of A Professional Development Program, Ellen Riina Hirsch Jan 2015

The Design, Implementation, And Evaluation Of A Professional Development Program, Ellen Riina Hirsch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective professional development is a longstanding problem in education. Locally, the school district in the study lacked a comprehensive system for evaluating their secondary level professional development programs. The purpose of this case study was to investigate the district's professional development program, specifically examining its perceived strengths and weaknesses. The conceptual framework of the study was systems theory and the adaptive schools reform model. The research questions examined the perceptions of various school personnel on their experiences with the current professional development program at the study district's high school. Individual interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 3 teachers, …


K-12 Teachers' Perceptions Of The Tesa Program And Its Impact On Teacher-Student Relationships, Kathy Rena Howard Jan 2015

K-12 Teachers' Perceptions Of The Tesa Program And Its Impact On Teacher-Student Relationships, Kathy Rena Howard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Administrators in a school district in north central Kansas implemented the Teacher Expectation and Student Achievement (TESA) professional development program (PD) to address ineffective instructional practices of K-12 teachers. TESA PD was designed to build and promote teacher-student interactions, enhance students' academic performance, teach students self-discipline, and improve the class environment so that students can work and study in diverse settings. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the classroom experiences and perceptions of 10 teachers who integrated teaching interactions from the TESA program into their daily lessons. Brophy and Good's expectation theory holds that teacher interactions …


The Implementation Of Curriculum Mapping At A Private High School, Ellen E. Dutton Jan 2015

The Implementation Of Curriculum Mapping At A Private High School, Ellen E. Dutton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Using curriculum mapping to align the expected curriculum and the actual curriculum has been demonstrated as an effective approach for ensuring educational equity for all students. To improve student achievement, a private high school in the Midwest implemented curriculum mapping to better align curriculum and eliminate gaps and repetition between and within grade levels. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine fundamental implementation strategies for the mapping process and teachers' and administrators' perceptions of those strategies. The theoretical framework was based on change theory. Data were collected from 10 participants through individual interviews and observations. Teachers and administrators …


Teachers' Experiences With Professional Development For The Application Of The Common Core State Standards, Maxine Tracey Ann Amritt Jan 2015

Teachers' Experiences With Professional Development For The Application Of The Common Core State Standards, Maxine Tracey Ann Amritt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At one local school site in Georgia, a subgroup of students did not achieve a score of at least 800 on the state's Criterion Referenced Competency Test in math. To improve student success, the local site implemented professional development (PD) for teachers. Successful PD has been shown to promote effective teaching practices, which in turn, have resulted in improved student learning. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore 5th grade teachers' lived experiences of PD and its influence on their application of the Common Core state standards. Bandura's social cognitive theory of self-efficacy guided the study. In-depth interview …


Instructional Practices Of English As Second Language Teachers, Karen Ann Wallis Jan 2015

Instructional Practices Of English As Second Language Teachers, Karen Ann Wallis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The past decade has seen a significant increase in the emergence of English Language Learners (ELLs) in the United States. Nationally, a disparity in achievement exists between ELLs and non-ELLs. Relatedly, this problem was evident in a northeastern school district, where ELLs had not made Adequate Yearly Progress 2 years in a row. The purpose of this study was to examine how much time English as Second Language (ESL) teachers spend on a variety of best instructional practices. Constructivism, Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, and Tomilinson's differentiated instruction were the frameworks used to guide this research. A within-group design was …


The Impact Of The Sra Corrective Reading Program On Standardized Testing, Tony Oyola Jan 2015

The Impact Of The Sra Corrective Reading Program On Standardized Testing, Tony Oyola

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The implementation of effective reading programs for special education students is paramount for school success due to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the reauthorization of Individual with Disabilities Education Act. One local school implemented the Science Research Associates Corrective Reading Program (SRACRP) because their special education students did not meet the required proficient or advanced reading scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). The purpose of this quantitative within-group study was to determine if special and regular education students demonstrated growth in reading comprehension after the implementation of the SRACRP. The theoretical foundation …


Implementing Change: How, Why, And When Teachers Change Their Classroom Practices, Diane Beth Van Bodegraven Jan 2015

Implementing Change: How, Why, And When Teachers Change Their Classroom Practices, Diane Beth Van Bodegraven

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teacher implementation of school reforms varies widely and often results in inconsistent student outcomes. Teachers adopt or resist change for complex reasons that are not fully understood. This qualitative study explored how veteran teachers described their experiences with school reform and changes in classroom practices that occurred over the course of their careers; it also examined factors that teachers identified as having positive and negative influences on their adoptions of change. The conceptual framework was based on Senge's systems theory as applied to learning organizations and Goleman's emotional intelligence theory. The research questions focused on: (a) How veteran teachers described …


Professional Development For The Use Of Ipads In Instruction, Daphne Marie Poore Jan 2015

Professional Development For The Use Of Ipads In Instruction, Daphne Marie Poore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Elementary teachers at a school in the southeastern United States received iPads and iPad training to improve teaching and learning in the content subject areas. Despite the iPad training provided by district technology personnel, teachers expressed a need for more content-specific training. Teachers need adequate and appropriate professional development to assist in preparing integrated computer-based technology instruction to increase student academic achievement. The purpose of this qualitative bounded case study was to explore the descriptions of 10 purposely selected 4th and 5th grade teachers who used iPads in content subjects and 1 instructional technology facilitator who provided district iPad training …


Supporting Elementary Teachers In Effective Writing Instruction Through Professional Development, Whitney Nash Young Jan 2015

Supporting Elementary Teachers In Effective Writing Instruction Through Professional Development, Whitney Nash Young

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for writing have created a challenge for teachers at an urban elementary school as they struggled to provide effective writing instruction to support the rigorous expectations of the standards. The purpose of this study was to explore elementary teachers' lived experiences of instruction and better understand instructional writing procedures and strategies. The conceptual framework of this study was based on Dennick's work for incorporating educational theory into teaching practices, which combined elements of constructivist, experiential, and humanist learning theories. Research questions investigated how teachers perceived the impact of the CCSS writing standards on their practice …


School Leaders' Perceptions Of Students' Antisocial Behaviors, Faye Britt Jan 2015

School Leaders' Perceptions Of Students' Antisocial Behaviors, Faye Britt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There was a problem regarding students' antisocial behavior in a small rural school district in Washington State. Public data within the district indicated increasing incidents of students' antisocial behaviors. However, perceptions of school leaders regarding this problem were not known. As a result, there was a need to gain an understanding about school leaders' perceptions of students' antisocial behaviors in order to suggest potential solutions to reduce students' antisocial behaviors, as these perceptions are closely associated with their intent to address the problem. Bandura's theory of self-regulation provided the conceptual framework for collecting and analyzing data. Using an instrumental case …


Secondary School Teachers' Perceptions Of The Integration Of Laptops In The Classroom, Alfreda Justice Smith Jan 2015

Secondary School Teachers' Perceptions Of The Integration Of Laptops In The Classroom, Alfreda Justice Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The district under study performed in the lowest academic growth percentage of the state for 5 consecutive years. Although the district received funding for technology resources, effective technology use in the classroom continued to be lacking. The purpose of this case study was to explore the perceptions of teachers at the middle and high school under study in integrating and enhancing instructional technology practices in a 1-to-1 classroom through professional development. In the 1-to-1 classroom, each student was assigned an individual laptop. The framework guiding the study was constructivist instructional methods that promoted best practices for student-centered technology integrated classrooms. …


Countering Student Apathy To Increase Student Engagement, Rebecca Ann Schou Jan 2015

Countering Student Apathy To Increase Student Engagement, Rebecca Ann Schou

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a suburban elementary school in Maryland, 3 years of data revealed that the school is grappling with the problem of student apathy. While there is a growing body of research on apathy and its effects on student achievement, few researchers have examined the problem from the perspective of the apathetic student. The purpose of this qualitative case study, grounded in the social learning and cognitive development theories of Vygotsky and Piaget, was to explore student apathy and the learning environment at the target school through the perspectives of 8 former students and their parents. The research questions focused on …


Teacher Interventions Based On Childhood Bullying Experiences, Marcia Rushin Teemer Jan 2015

Teacher Interventions Based On Childhood Bullying Experiences, Marcia Rushin Teemer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Guided by Premack and Woodruff's theory of the mind and Bandura's social learning theory, this qualitative study examined the issue of bullying at school, and whether teachers' childhood experiences of bullying had effects on how they, as adults, handled bullying situations in their classrooms. Convenience sampling was used to administer the Bauman, Rigby, and Hoppa Handling Bullying Questionnaire to 22 middle school educators with three or more years of teaching experience at the participating school, to determine their responses to bullying scenarios. Twelve educators completed the questionnaire. Data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed for frequencies of responses. Teachers' responses …


Effects Of An Online Skills Program On Ela Achievement Among Ged Students, Gwendolyn Amanda Flowers Jan 2015

Effects Of An Online Skills Program On Ela Achievement Among Ged Students, Gwendolyn Amanda Flowers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

K-12 schools are more commonly using online learning to supplement traditional classroom learning. Previous online adult education researchers have found no significant differences between traditional and online learning outcomes. However, little research has been done with regard to online General Educational Development (GED)-level learning for adults. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the effect of the Skills Tutor program compared with traditional learning on GED student achievement in reading/language arts. The Skills Tutor program was used as a means to address the low GED graduation rates at an adult education program through Memphis City Schools. This research …


The Effectiveness Of Professional Learning Communities As Perceived By Elementary School Teachers, Quonias Hudson Jan 2015

The Effectiveness Of Professional Learning Communities As Perceived By Elementary School Teachers, Quonias Hudson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School districts in a southeastern state have faced the challenge of choosing an effective professional development model that assists teachers in improving student achievement. Some school districts have implemented professional learning communities (PLCs) as a means of addressing teachers' professional development. Guided by the social learning theories of Bandura, Vygotsky, and Wenger, the research questions focused on teachers' perceptions of the use of PLC experiences for making classroom decisions and their value for enhancing teacher learning, teacher collaboration, and student learning. Data for this case study were collected from 7 certified elementary teachers in 1 school who had participated in …