Education Commons^™

Computer Based Intervention And Its Effect On Benchmark Test Scores Of English Language Learners, Gabriel Berrio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Florida Department of Education’s (FLDOE) Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Report (2007) listed and defined students who are in the process of learning English as a second language as English Language Learners (ELL). The graduation rate of English Language Learners in Florida is consistently smaller than the graduation rate of the total population of students (Echevarria, Short and Powers, 2006) in part due to the requirement for students to pass the FCAT in order to graduate. ELL students face the challenge of having to learn a different language, learn the subject area content in that language, and often-times pass a …

Describing The Phenomena Of Principals' Experiences With Implementation Of Response To Intervention, Lorrie Belk Butler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The traditional method of identifying students with disabilities has led to a new innovation being implemented at the school level. Response to Intervention (RTI) is an alternative approach that received federal approval with the passage of Individuals with Disabilities Educational Improvement Act (IDEIA) 2004. On July 1, 2010, RTI became the required process for determining identification of students with learning disabilities for all schools in the state of Florida. Implementation of this approach requires significant changes in how schools operate. Using a phenomenological study design, the purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the experiences of elementary …

Student Perception Of General Education Program Courses, Julie Pepe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to: (a) determine, for General Education Program (GEP) courses, what individual items on the student form are predictive of the overall instructor rating value; (b) investigate the relationship of instructional mode, class size, GEP foundational area, and GEP theme with the overall instructor rating value; (c) examine what teacher/course qualities are related to a high (Excellent) overall evaluation or a low (Poor) overall evaluation value. The data set used for analysis contained sixteen student response scores (Q1-Q16), response number, class size, term, foundational area (communication, cultural/historical, mathematics, social, or science), GEP theme (yes/no), instructional …

A Study Of The Comparison Between Teacher Perceptions Of School Climate And The Existence Of Professional Learning Community Dimensions, Kathryn Kelton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study was conducted to determine whether teachers' perceptions of climate within a school had a significant influence on the dimensions that support a community of professional learners. Teachers from ten middle schools in one central Florida school district completed a combined survey design which included questions pertaining to both climate characteristics and Professional Learning Community (PLC) dimensions. Foundational theories regarding both learning organizations and organizational climate were explored. Recent research on the development of professional learning communities and school climate was also examined. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed to investigate each research question; these statistics included Spearman …

The Impact Of Universal Design For Learning-Representation Practices On Concept Maps And The Development Of Quality Scientific Explanations, Lisa A. Finnegan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research project was to determine how my practice of implementing Universal Design for Learning-Representation (UDL-R) principles influenced my students’ understanding of content and enhanced their ability to organize their knowledge using concept maps. A secondary purpose of this action research project was to determine if student created concept maps served as a useful tool to enrich students’ written scientific explanations. Students in this study completed concept maps and wrote explanations about adaptations before and after participating in lessons enriched with UDL-R principles that included the use of multimedia sources, website searches, and trade books. The …

Practices Of High School Principals Regarding Open Enrollment In Advanced Placement Courses And Student Performance Results In 2009, Leigh Bradshaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to determine whether or not there was a relationship between principals’ reports of practices regarding open enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) courses and student achievement results on the AP examinations. Because the percentage of the school population enrolled in AP courses and the percentage of students scoring a 3, 4, or 5 on AP examinations were anticipated to impact high school grades in Florida beginning in 2010, research from this study may provide important information to Florida school leaders. Because of school accountability and educational reform initiatives, the study is also important to educational …

A Study Of Student Achievement In Florida High Schools Receiving Department Of Education Smaller Learning Community Grants 2006-2009, Michael Dennis Armbruster

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research was to analyze the impact of the United States Department of Education‟s Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) Grant Program on student achievement in 17 schools in the state of Florida that were issued three-year grants during the school years 2006-2009 as compared to 17 similar schools in the state of Florida that did not receive grant funding. Base-line data for each of the 34 schools consisted of student performance in 2006, one year prior to SLC schools receiving the grant. Student achievement data from the base-line through the three-year grant period for the 17 grant recipients …

The Integration Of Information And Communication Technologies In The Content Areas And Adolescent Motivation, Lindsey Diane Blackwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate the types of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) integrated into the content area classrooms of two local high schools, and whether the use of these ICTs motivated adolescent students to read and write in the content areas. The investigator created a student survey, student, teacher, and other support faculty interview protocols, and a classroom observation protocol to collect data for the study. The investigator faced several challenges which prevented her from spending adequate time in the schools. Due to these challenges, sufficient data was not obtained to form conclusions about the research questions. This …

General Education Reform At A Community College A Grounded Theory Study, Daniel Dutkofski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The attempts to reform general education programs in higher education have been applied and studied throughout the history of higher education in the United States, but with even greater frequency and urgency over the past fifty years. Countless studies show the high percentage of institutions participating in these efforts and further studies lament the state of general education both as a reason to initiate reforms and as a result of the reforms. This effort is difficult enough for universities, but is further complicated when the curriculum for general education is part of a community college degree program. A grounded theory …

General Managers' Perceptions Of Corporate Social Responsibility In Florida Hotels, Judith L. Holcomb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of the study was to identify and measure the magnitude of the gap that may exist between the corporate level Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) culture and its ensuing policies and their equivalent at the property level. This gap was hypothesized to be a function of a number of personal characteristics of the General Managers (GMs) coupled with the organizational profile of the hotel. The data were collected via an online survey based on a CSR scale developed by Turker (2009) in combination with other original and previously used smaller scales. The study‟s population consisted of general managers of …

From Shadowmourne To Folk Art Articulating A Vision Of Elearning For The 21st Century, Christina Kapp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines mass-market applications for some of the many theories of eLearning and blended learning, focusing most closely on a period from 2000-2010. It establishes a state of the union for K-12 immersive eLearning environments by using in-depth cases studies of five major mass-market, educational, and community-education based products—Gaia Online, Poptropica, Quest Atlantis, Dimenxian/Dimension U, and Folkvine. Investigating these models calls into play not only the voices of traditional academic and usability research, but also the ad hoc voices of the players, commentators, developers, and bloggers. These are the people who speak to the community of these sites, and …

Effects Of A Bonus On Quality Improvement For Pre-School Classroom Educators, Ilene E. Wilkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interest in teacher effectiveness and merit pay has continued to be a high priority for major stakeholders in the field of education as well as the public. The focus of this research was to test the hypothesis that the implementation of a classroom bonus plan would improve the observable attributes and behaviors of teaching that have been determined to be effective in improving student learning. Specifically, the study was conducted to measure intentional teacher-student interactions, classroom quality, environment and organization as well as emotional and instructional support in Pre-K classrooms as measured by Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). During a …

Addressing Anger Managment In A Middle School Setting: Initiating A Leadership Drive Anger Management Group, Isaac Burt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effect of a leadership driven anger management group on angry middle school students. Twenty-five participants from a local middle school were nominated by school faculty to be participants in the study. Twenty individuals participated and eighteen completed the study. The eighteen participants were assessed at pre and post test on measures of anger, anger control and personal relationships. Three research questions were tested: (1) Does a short term leadership focused anger management group reduce youths' overall anger? (2) Does such a group increase angry youths' ability to control anger urges? (3) Does this group reduce youths' …

The Relationship Of 10th-Grade District Progress Monitoring Assessment Scores To Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Scores In Reading And Mathematics For 2008-2009, Marilyn Underwood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research was to investigate the use of a district created formative benchmark assessment in reading to predict student achievement for 10th-grade students on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) in one county in north central Florida. The purpose of the study was to provide information to high school principals and teachers to better understand how students were performing and learning and to maximize use of the formative district benchmark assessment in order to modify instruction and positively impact student achievement. This study expanded a prior limited study which correlated district benchmark assessment scores to FCAT scores …

An Analysis Of The Legal, Statutory, And Governance Issues Of Virtual Charter Schools, Elizabeth Thedy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the legal, statutory, and governance issues facing virtual charter schools. Virtual models of schooling have the potential to change the face of public education as such schools challenge traditional forms of education. Legislators, policy makers, and school boards must carefully consider existing charter school legislation and determine whether such language is applicable to virtual charter school models. As virtual forms of schooling increase, and choice options for parents become more readily available, the challenge is to develop statutory language that is not overly restrictive but provides a framework from which authorizers and governing boards may operate to …

A Relationship Study Of Student Satisfaction With Learning Online And Cognitive Load, George Bradford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to explore if a relationship exists between cognitive load and student satisfaction with learning online. The study separates academic performance (a.k.a., 'learning') from cognitive load and satisfaction to better distinguish influences on cognition (from cognitive load) and motivation (from satisfaction). Considerations that remain critical to the field of instructional design, as they apply to learning online, were described and used to guide a review of the literature to find directions to fulfill the goal of this study. A survey was conducted and 1,401 students responded to an instrument that contained 24 items. Multiple analysis techniques found a …

Curriculum Control And Teachers' Perceptions Of Professional Discretion And Satisfaction, Donald May

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to investigate teachers' perceptions of professional discretion and satisfaction related to internal and external factors of curriculum control. Results of the study were intended to provide data to policy makers and school district administrators that could be used in the development and implementation of the curriculum reform process. Middle and high school teachers in a large central Florida school district completed the survey. The survey's six constructs were 1. Influence of Teacher Beliefs 2. Perceptions of Success and Satisfaction 3. Influence of Tests and Curriculum Guides 4. Teacher Control of Pedagogy 5. Leadership 6. …

Project Child And Non-Project Child School Performance On Fcat Reading, Mathematics And Writing, Julie Chappell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Project CHILD (Changing How Instruction for Learning is Delivered) provides an avenue for educational change using a triangulated approach. Using data from the Florida Department of Education, this research studies the Project CHILD learning approach on preparing students for success on portions of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) using results from fifteen charter schools in the state of Florida, seven participating in Project CHILD and eight non-participating charter schools for the 2008-2009 school-year. Dispersion statistics such as range and standard deviation as well as independent t tests are computed to compare the percentage of students in grades three to …

Is There A Relationship Between Pre-Service Training, In-Service Training, Experience, And Counselor's Self-Efficacy And Whether They Work With Students With Special Needs?, Sally Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study elaborated on the development of school counselor's feelings of self-efficacy in working with students with special needs and how self-efficacy affects school counselor's roles with students with special needs. More specifically, this study addressed a number of topics in researching the impact of pre-service training, experience and in-service training for Professional School Counselors (PSCs) on their feelings of self-efficacy in working with students with special needs. This study will present a historical review of the development of Professional School Counselor roles. In addition, an analysis of the development of comprehensive developmental guidance programs in schools and suggested frameworks …

The Effectiveness Of State Certified, Graduate Degreed, And National Board Certified Teachers As Determined By Student Growth In, David Gardner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Federal, state, and local government agencies are promoting merit pay systems that are tied to student achievement. The main problem facing governments, school districts, and educators is that money is hard to come by in the current market and choosing where to spend merit pay monies to receive a maximum rate of return on the investment realized in increased student achievement is difficult to determine. This study did explore the student achievement results of third, fourth, and fifth grade state certified, graduate degreed, and National Board Certified teachers in Brevard and Seminole County Public Schools as compared to those of …

Evaluation Of An Online Alcohol Education Program For First-Time-In-College Students, Elayne Reiss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol use among college students has maintained its place as a major issue in American higher education since its inception. Although dangerous drinking has always proliferated among college students, institutions have only provided alcohol and other drug (AOD) education and interventions encouraging students to adapt less harmful habits for a much shorter period of time. During this relatively short history of postsecondary alcohol interventions, colleges and universities have shifted away from abstinence-only, education-based methods. Instead, institutions have begun to adapt cognitive behavior-centric, motivational enhancement-based strategies emphasizing harm reduction through the use of protective behaviors. In order to reach a greater …

The Contribution Of Professional School Counselors' Social-Cognitive Development To Their Levels Of Ethical And Legal Knowledge, And Locus-Of-Control Orientation, Kara P. Ieva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Professional School Counselors (PSCs) are to serve as advocates for all students and promote systemic change (American School Counselor Association, 2008) while navigating complex work environments. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of PSCs‟ social-cognitive development to their levels of ethical and legal knowledge and locus of control orientation. The three constructs and instruments investigated in this study were: (a) social-cognitive development (ego development; the Washington University Sentence Completion Test [WUSCT]; Hy & Loevinger 1996), (b) Ethical and Legal Knowledge (the Ethical and Legal Knowledge in Counseling Questionnaire-Revised [ELICQ-R]; Lambie, Ieva, Gill, & Hagedorn, 2010), …

Student Digital Piracy In The Florida State University System:An Exploratory Study On Its Infrastructural Effects, Jeffrey Reiss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Digital piracy is a problem that may never disappear from society. Through readily available resources such as those found in a university, students will always have access to illegal goods. While piracy is a global phenomenon, an institution's resources combined with the typical college student's lack of funds makes it more lucrative. Students use a number of methods to justify their actions ranging from previewing media to bringing justice to a corrupt company. While trying to understand the mindset of pirates is one route to deal with piracy, corporations attempted to alleviate the situation using added software encoding. These messages …

Women Leaders Resolving Conflict In Higher Education: A Feminist Epistemological Perspective, Maureen C. Silva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In an American postsecondary context, conflict is inherent (Gianneschi & Yanagiura, 2006; Valian, 1999). Successful navigation of conflict in the academy is vital for those who aspire to leadership positions (Nadler & Nadler, 1987; Walters, Stuhlmacher, & Meyer, 1998). Presently, however, women face significant barriers to achieving success in higher education administration, including gender expectations for conflict resolution behavior (Bartunek, 1992; Bowles, Babcock, & McGinn, 2005; Gayle, Preiss, & Allen, 2002).

While a considerable body of literature exists for understanding gender negotiation, it remains rooted in a masculine paradigm (Kolb & Putnam, 2006; Shuter & Turner, 1997), and, as such, …

Conversion Charter School Leaders' Perceptions Of School Change: A Narrative Inquiry, Bridget Dwyer Ramsey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Three decades of change efforts in American urban public school districts to improve educational opportunities for students have had a lackluster impact on student achievement. For students living in areas of concentrated poverty, achievement gaps and drop out rates remain unacceptably high. These gaps were brought into stark relief in the city of New Orleans following the devastating flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August, 2005.

This qualitative study is about school change from the perspective of school leaders who were hired to run the converted Orleans Parish schools. These experienced, former Orleans Parish school administrators took on …

Narrowing Of Curriculum: Teaching In An Age Of Accountability, Donna Kay Newberg-Long

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation made clear the need for increased accountability of U.S. public schools in 2002, there has been a trend toward narrowing curriculum in social studies and other core subjects to focus predominantly on what is tested through state exams. Concerns exist regarding the unintended consequences of curriculum narrowing on low, middle and high socioeconomic status (SES) students in public schools.

The Center on Education Policy (CEP) and National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) have been tracking the effects of NCLB since it took effect in 2002 and found that 71 percent of districts nationwide …

The Educational Implications Of Dibels Oral Reading Fluency Assessments And Mississippi Curriculum Test 2 In Reading First Schools, Debra A. Dace

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Art And Memory: An Examination Of The Learning Benefits Of Visual-Art Exposure, James Tyler Rosier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Past research has indicated that art education can be beneficial to students' education, possibly through beneficial effects related to learning and memory. Although some prior research has explored effects of art education for children, relatively little research has investigated beneficial effects of art in relation to adult learners. The aim of the current study was to explore whether a beneficial relationship exists between art and memory for adults in the context of an experimental study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: Engaging in creative art, viewing art, discriminating among visually presented shapes, and writing a description of …

Principals' Leadership Styles And Their Impact On School Climate: Assistant Principals' Perceptions, Bruce R. Mccolumn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary focus of this study is to explore the perceptions of assistant principals as to how their principals' leadership styles impact school climate. A school's climate plays a vital role in student achievement and principals are the most important factor in setting a setting a school's climate. Therefore, principals' leadership behaviors warrant investigating. This qualitative study identified principal leadership styles through the perceptions of their assistant principals. Interactive interviews were conducted with selected assistant principals in the XYZ School System. Their responses were analyzed, themed and coded to draw a connection between principal leadership style and school climate. These …

Test Anxiety, Working Memory And Verbal Sat Performance, Kareem Al-Khalil

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the relationship between test anxiety, working memory, and verbal SAT performance. Test anxiety negatively affects performance because it decreases working memory space available for processing test information. However, the present study wanted to asses this theory with an experimental design to infer causation about test anxiety. Therefore, participants with high and low trait test anxiety were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Participants in the experimental group completed the assessments under conditions of elevated stress. However, these conditions had no effect on their performance. The only observed effect was that participants with high test trait …