Education Commons^™

The Beliefs Literacy Specialists Hold Regarding Processes That Assist Struggling Readers With The Comprehension Of Informational Text, Marguerite Haldin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children have a basic human right to read. It is the evolving work of the reading/literacy specialists to provide support and build confidence in readers struggling in all components of reading. The purpose of this study is to explore the beliefs of reading/literacy specialists regarding the processes that assist struggling readers with the comprehension of informational text. The methods used were designed to address the research question: What are the beliefs reading/literacy specialists hold regarding processes that assist struggling readers with the comprehension of informational text? Nineteen members of a professional learning group from an intermediate unit in Southwestern Pennsylvania, …

Online Ultrasound Programs: Program Directors’ Perspective, Ashley Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on opinions of diagnostic medical sonography program directors concerning online education within an allied health field that is clinically based. Although the study is centered around sonography, the findings can be applied to many online programs with clinical aspects. There was limited information concerning online education within a clinically based healthcare field, therefore the literature review focused on distance or online education in general. The participating program directors used online/distance learning terms interchangeably. The objective of this study was to identify factors that attributed to or hindered the progress of an online program in diagnostic medical sonography. …

Factors That Contribute To Pk-12 Teacher Retention In One Midwest School District, Jeffery Phillips

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine relationship of the distinct factors to PK-12 teacher retention in one Midwest school district. This study was an examination of multiple factors, including work environment, fit, compensation and benefits, leadership, performance management system, peer support and mentoring, that contributed to the retention of PK-12 teachers with different levels of education, certifications, experience, career plans, and military affiliation. The questions on the Teacher Retention Survey used a Likert-type scale to measure teacher perceptions about retention factors to address 8 research questions.

For this study, I surveyed the population of 704 current PK-12 …

Examining Information Considered In Texas School Board Superintendent Evaluations: A Modified Replication Study, Audrey Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the information, through a modified replicated study, that Texas public school board trustees utilize as part of their evaluation of the district superintendent. This modified replicated study used a survey with ranking and multiple choice. The survey in this study was developed by Dr. Phil Gore for Washington school board members and modified by the researcher for Texas. A convenience sample of 168 school board trustees across the state of Texas was invited to participate in the study

The findings in this study identified the various elements from which schoolboards derive information …

Professional Ethics, Decision-Making, And Interdisciplinary Collaboration: An Exploration Of Teacher Preparation Programs And Practice, Brittany Mccreary

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The first purpose of this research was to explore the prevalence, methods of instruction, and perceived value of professional ethics, ethical decision-making, and interdisciplinary collaboration in teacher preparation programs throughout the U.S. These factors were addressed using the Ethics Training and Curriculum Survey (ETCS). Participants for the ETCS included teacher educators (n = 977) from CAEP accredited preparation programs. Survey results suggest that professional ethics is widely addressed throughout CAEP accredited programs, but that instruction in ethical decision-making varies considerably. To connect these findings with practice, a second purpose of this study was to explore how educators make ethical …

A First-Year Teacher’S Implementation Of Short-Cycle Formative Assessment Through The Use Of A Classroom Response System And Flexible Grouping, Adrienne Irving Dumas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As teachers we are tasked with ensuring that our students are equipped with the skills necessary to not only perform with proficiency on local state and national assessments but also to provide our students with opportunities to develop confidence and competence as learners of mathematics through meaningful challenging and worthwhile activities. As such many teachers have turned to technology and cooperative groups as staples in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to understand how one first-year teacher implemented what she was taught in her undergraduate coursework in teaching two specific units of instruction in two sections of high …

Not All Scholars, But Gentlemen: The Making Of Virginian Manhood At St. Christopher's School, 1911-1969, Katelyn Frazer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through close study of St. Christopher’s School—an all-boys’ school in Richmond, Virginia—during its first fifty years, this thesis historicizes upper-class white masculinity in Virginia during the first half of the twentieth century. The school’s founder, Churchill Gibson Chamberlayne, linked the Lost Cause myth with other movements in education at the time, especially Muscular Christianity and the country day school movement. By looking at how students and administrators at St. Christopher’s made and remade traditions surrounding notions of masculinity, in addition to more muted manifestations of gender at the school, illuminate the existence of a gender hierarchy even before gender integration. …

An Examination Of The Relationship Among The Intentions, Features, Affordances, And Outcomes Of Saturday Academy For Math Professional Development For Mathematics Teachers, Brian Buckhalter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using a design framework to connect the features of SA4M to the affordances reported, participants of SA4M deepened their content knowledge on both conceptual and skill specific levels, and expressed intentions to incorporate many of the tasks from SA4M into their practices. There are implications for those tasked with creating and evaluating professional development for teachers.

Am I In The Right Place?: Writing Center Consultations As Socioacademic Integrative Experiences For Community College Transfer Students, Rachel E. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Community college transfer students experience unique pressures and challenges and studies have revealed the need to critically investigate the transfer receptivity of resources and services available at four year receiving institutions. Studies have also shown that blending social and academic integrative techniques in programs and services targeting transfers students are more effective for increasing retention and persistence than exclusively social or academic efforts. The overall purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine writing center consultations at two regional campuses serving community college transfer at a large university in relationship to socioacademic integration. The results of this study revealed …

Virtually There: A Phenomenological Study Of Secondary Students And Their Engagement With Virtual Reality Field Trips, Melissa Sonta Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study seeks to inform solution to the lack of student exposure to frequent, culturally enriching field trips in school. To address the concern of limited learning through school field trips, this phenomenological study seeks to explore the lived experiences of virtual reality field trips for secondary students. The study seeks to examine how students respond emotionally, physically, and cognitively to the use of virtual reality within the classroom. Data analysis consists of observing, interviewing, and assessing students as they engage in and complete a virtual reality field trip. The three research domains are transcribed and analyzed to better understand …

Positive Behavior Intervention And Supports Impact On Discipline In An Alternative School, Alina Michelle Harges

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this sequential-explanatory mixed methods study was to first determine what impact if any did Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) have on the number of office disciplinary referrals (ODRs) received by students after three years of implementation. The second part of the study was to obtain feedback through interviews from the administrator and certified teachers on their perspectives of PBIS implementation in this rural alternative school setting. Quantitative data was collected first folloby the collection of the qualitative data. This method of data collection was necessary in order for the researcher to make better sense of quantitative …