Education Commons^™

A Case Study Exploring The Preservice Technology Training Experiences Of Novice Teachers, Susan R. Sutton

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study was designed to identify and explore the preservice technology training experiences of novice teachers and examine their perceptions of how well their teacher preparation program prepared them with the knowledge and skills necessary to fulfill the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS•T). Data were collected by following an instrumental case study design utilizing semi-structured interviews, documents, and field notes. Simultaneous collection and analysis of the data helped the researcher to create a deeper understanding of the technology training experiences of novice teachers.

The findings of this study revealed that novice teachers believe there was a lack …

The Effects Of Pedagogical Agents On Listening Anxiety And Listening Comprehension In An English As A Foreign Language Context, Young-Ah Ko

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study aimed to explore the impact of pedagogical agents in computer-based listening instruction on EFL students' listening anxiety levels and listening comprehension skills. A total of 66 Korean college students received computer-based listening instruction. Students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: American agent condition, Korean agent condition, or no-agent condition. Additional data sources were included in the experimental design in order to investigate students' learning experience more thoroughly.

Results indicated that there were no statistical differences in listening anxiety levels and listening comprehension skills between students who worked with the agent and students who worked without the …

The Usu Tree Inventory Website: A Case Study Of An Interactive Online Woody Plant Education Resource, Benjamin W. Harris

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The USU tree inventory website is an interactive, online tree education resource that I developed to allow students and community members to locate, identify and learn about trees on the USU campus. Students in two USU courses that teach woody plant material used the website during one semester and were surveyed about their experience. Less than half of the students accessed the website, but those that did found it useful as a supplement to traditional instruction. Most students were likely to recommend the website to another person and to use the website in the future.

Technology In The Classroom An Educator’S Guide To Technology & Learning, Joseph Lawrence Bishop

All Graduate Projects

The need for an educational technology manual was researched. Based on research a resource handbook for understanding and using technology in the classroom was in demand. In order to meet the demand for a technology training guide for teachers, a detailed handbook was created. The handbook includes information on the following aspects of educational technology; desktop computers, laptop computers, miniature computing, visual technologies, educational software, accessibility software, the Internet, video technology, and WebQuests. The handbook is intended to be used as a technology resource for teachers K-12 in any State/Country.

Interaction, Internet Self-Efficacy, And Self-Regulated Learning As Predictors Of Student Satisfaction In Distance Education Courses, Yu-Chun Kuo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Online learning research is largely devoted to comparisons of the learning gains between face-to-face and distance students. While student learning is important, comparatively little is known about student satisfaction when engaged in online learning and what contributes to or promotes student satisfaction. Emerging research suggests there are a few strong predictors of student satisfaction, and other predictors that may or may not predict student satisfaction. None of the existing research examines predictors together, or statistically controls for course differences. This study examines the influence of various factors on student satisfaction including three types of interaction, Internet self-efficacy, and self-regulated learning. …

Connection, Technology, Positionality: An Inside Look At Women Faculty's Positionality Toward "Connection" And "Technology", Wei Zhai

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Women faculty members have been reported rating their level of knowledge and experience in using technologies lower than male faculty members. A closer examination revealed that women faculty members were likely to use technologies that fit into their pedagogy, met students' learning styles and needs, and facilitated their interactions with colleagues and students. So women faculty's choices of particular technologies can be assumed to reflect their particular instructional beliefs and perspectives, represented as a connected approach to learning and teaching. Gender alone is inadequate to explain women faculty's use of technology.

The purpose of this study was to explore women …

The Effects Of Pedagogical Agents On Mathematics Anxiety And Mathematics Learning, Quan Wei

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the mathematics anxiety treatment messages in a computer-based environment on ninth-grade students' mathematics anxiety and mathematics learning. The study also examined whether the impact of the treatment messages would be differentiated by learner's gender and by learner's prior mathematics anxiety levels (High vs. Medium vs. Low). Participants were 161 ninth-grade students, who took a required introductory algebra class in a public high school neighboring Utah State University. The learning environment was integrated with a pedagogical agent (animated human-like character) as a tutor. This study employed a pretest and posttest …

Emergent Literacy Skills Of Young Children With Autism: A Comparison Of Teacher-Led And Computer-Assisted Instruction, Jason Christopher Travers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Young children with autism often are identified as experiencing problems in language, social, and behavioral development. Current research typically focuses on these three areas with little attention paid to the academic learning of these children. Because of this, young children with autism often do not engage in typical early literacy experiences (e.g.., emergent literacy activities). This can result in these children being at risk for developing poor literacy skills. It is important that researchers begin to explore systematic literacy instruction for young children with autism to not only increase literacy learning, but also facilitate the inclusion of these children in …

The Effects Of Cooperative And Collaborative Strategies On Student Achievement And Satisfaction In Blended And Online Learning Environments, Christine E. Nickel

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine whether cooperative versus collaborative strategies used for a group project had differential effects on students' achievement, process and solution satisfaction, value and preference for collaboration, and perceptions of community of inquiry in online and blended environments. The study sample consisted of teacher education students enrolled in a technology integration course. Students' age, academic level, online experience, and teaching experience were used as covariates in an effort to identify differential effects associated with student characteristics. Cooperative and collaborative strategies were differentiated by the amount of structure imposed by the instructor as well as …

A Needs Assessment Of The Knowledge, Skills And Use Of Finance Competencies By Human Performance Technology Practitioners, Ann Tai Chow

Wayne State University Dissertations

A comprehensive needs assessment method was used in this empirical and evidence base research. The design, development and implementation of this study focused on answering two overarching questions: (1) What finance knowledge do HPT practitioners possess? and (2) How do HPT practitioners use their finance knowledge and skills in their work? An online survey was administered to obtain answers directly from practicing HPT professionals. Sixty seven HPT practitioners participated in the online survey. Every question in the survey, except the demographic and the three open ended questions, sought two levels of answers: Current State (What) and Future Importance (How) of …

The Influence Of Transfer System Factors And Training Elapsed Time On Transfer In A Healthcare Organization, Beverly Jo Mihalko

Wayne State University Dissertations

Organizations and other sponsors of training face increasing pressure to demonstrate the value or impact of their training programs on individual and organizational performance. A critical element in the validation of training effectiveness is the permanent transfer of learned knowledge, skills, and behaviors to the workplace. The generalization of learned material to the job and maintenance of trained skills, are greatly influenced by training design, trainee characteristics, and work environmental factors. Using a multidimensional approach to identify all factors that promote or inhibit transfer could provide performance technologists and instructional designers with the insight necessary to design and develop strategic …

A Case Study On The Integration Of Internet Technology With Mathematics And Science Content For Teachers, Pilar Gonzalez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study analyzed electronic discourse in an online mathematics/science education graduate course. The intention was: a) to identify the teacher's attitudes towards using internet resources, b) to motivate teachers to integrate the use of technology and c) to study how in-service and pre-service teachers find, access, and use technology resources.

The main activities in the class were for teachers to read chapters from textbooks, post personal reflections on the chapter, search and critically assess the companion websites and read classmates' reflections. Teachers also completed Thematic Units consisting of several technology-enhanced mathematical and science integrated lesson plans.

The teachers' success was …

Technology Use In A First-Year Composition Program, Estee Natee Beck

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study examines how instructors view and work with technology in a firstyear composition program at a four-year, public university in central Appalachia. Six interview questions were developed for this study as a means to explore the instructor’s definition of technology, level of use (functional, critical, and or rhetorical), difficulties using technology, pedagogy, and socioeconomics of the student population. Using qualitative methods to find patterns in the data, correlations were present among participant responses with functional uses, access, and socioeconomics. Educators primarily use technology functionally for the purpose of creating linear-based essays; have broad access to technology, but do not …

Confidence-Based Assessment In Moodle: Insights From Teachers, Administrators, And Programmers, Timothy P. Florian

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Critical thinking is a skill that school systems are trying to develop in their student populations. Numerous studies have been conducted on developing critical thinking skills such as self-regulation, interpretation, and analysis. However, available data on the use of learning management systems (LMS) as a means to develop critical-thinking skills have been opaque. This study examined the perceptions of local stakeholders and the impact of confidence-based assessment (CBA) on secondary students at one high school. The conceptual framework guiding the study represented a synthesis of theoretical perspectives on critical thinking and its development with the current research on the pedagogical …

E-Quality: Using Dimensional Index Values Towards Improving Classification Accuracy, Prashanth Devaram

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

E-quality is a process through which inspection of the process and quality of the part produced is done online resulting in the improvement of the process and reduction in the amount of time consumed for the overall process. Automated quality control involves using a methodology to classify the parts based on the dimensions of the features on a part. However, achieving 100% classification accuracy is not an easy task, especially in area of quality control where small differences in dimensions result in part fall into a different category. In this study, a novel approach for modifying the data before being …

The Use Of Handheld Devices For Improved Phonemic Awareness In A Traditional Kindergarten Classroom, Cristy Ann Magagna-Mcbee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Effective teaching strategies that improve the development of phonemic awareness are important to ensure students are fluent readers by third grade. The use of handheld devices to improve phonemic awareness with kindergarten students may be such a strategy, but no research exists that evaluates the use of these devices. This study explored the effectiveness of Bee-Bot handheld devices in kindergarten classrooms to teach phonemic awareness. A 4-month sequential mixed-methods study was conducted in four classrooms: two that used Bee-Bot handheld devices in phonemic awareness lessons and two that never used the devices. The score gain (Fall 2009 to Winter 2010) …

Comparing The Effects Of Two Asynchronous Teaching Methods, Wikis And Eboards, On Spanish Students' Cultural Proficiency, Kristopher D. Muir

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Culture tends to be misplaced as a secondary instructional goal in most foreign language classrooms. Although research has suggested that a strong link exists between language and culture, the problem resides in how best to teach culture in the classroom. While this problem impacts all learners, it may affect high school students more because they are entering a multilingual and multicultural world through higher education, study abroad, and employment. Based on Moran's conceptual framework of culture, this study addressed a gap in the literature by examining the effects of 2 innovative technologies, wikis and eBoards, and their potential to improve …

A Q-Methodology Study Of Adult English Language Learners' Perceptions Of Audience Response Systems (Clickers) As Communication Aides, Lisa Ann Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study explored the perceptions of adult English language learners about the use of audience response systems (clickers) to facilitate communication in a classroom environment. In the early stages of second language acquisition, learners' receptive capabilities surpass expressive capabilities, often rendering them silent in their second language. Educational strategies and tools may be available to help English language learners communicate more effectively by enabling them to demonstrate their knowledge and express their opinions nonverbally. Many studies have been conducted with clickers, but none were found pertaining to adult English language learners. Second language acquisition theory provided the theoretical base for …

Grounded Theory Approach To Understanding Student Perceptions Of Asynchronous High School Learning Environments, Paige N. Morabito

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although the development of cyber high schools over the last 10 years has increased, no data are reported in the literature regarding the factors that have contributed to the increased enrollment or student perceptions of success. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to develop a theory describing why students currently enrolled in an online high school program chose an asynchronous setting and their subsequent perceptions of success. Critical pedagogy, as a basis of transformational experiences through education, served as the conceptual framework. An attitudinal survey, provided as a limited data set by the high school, was used to …

Perceived Attributes And Organizational Support Influencing Course Management System Adopter Status In Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Gayla Spooner Keesee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rapid growth of online learning fueled by technologies including course management systems (CMS) has transformed the traditional educational landscape. Little research shows why faculty members at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been slow to adopt this new teaching paradigm. This quantitative, nonexperimental study utilized Rogers's diffusion of innovation theory as the theoretical base. Research questions explored faculty perceptions of the CMS's attributes (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, observability) and organizational support (policies, procedures, and norms) in order to predict adopter status. The study used a convenience sample of 137 full-time faculty from 3 public and 2 private …

Serving Students From A Distance: A Content Analysis Of Persistent Characteristics In Distance Learners, Ann L. Sorensen

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Distance learning has experienced a noteworthy increase in both the number of institutions offering alternatives to traditional classroom instruction, and the number of students participating in the various distant modalities. Accompanying the increase of students utilizing distance learning is the subsequent increase in students leaving their studies before completion. These two opposing increases have elevated the need to address retention in distance learning and specifically, online distance learning. This study utilizes the results of a Transfer Student Survey administered to criminal justice and nursing online students between 2006 and 2008. Survey results were used to determine if specific traits of …

The Effects Of Instructor-Learner Interactions On Learner Satisfaction In Online Masters Courses, Angelene Carol Mclaren

Wayne State University Dissertations

THE EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTOR-LEARNER INTERACTIONS ON LEARNER

SATISFACTION IN ONLINE MASTERS COURSES

by

ANGELENE C. MCLAREN

May 2010

Advisor: Dr. Monica Tracey

Major: Instructional Technology

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the extent instructor-learner interaction types affected learner satisfaction in online, semester-long Masters courses. This research study lent itself to several questions: To what extent do instructor-learner interaction types affect learner satisfaction in online Masters courses; To what extent does instructional immediacy affect learner satisfaction in online Masters courses; To what extent does instructor availability affect learner satisfaction in online Masters courses; To …