Education Commons^™

The Influence Of Peer Tutors And Technology-Actuated Reading Instruction Process On Third-Grade Students' Self-Perceptions As Readers: A Multiple Case Study, Brenda Shill Daw

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Driven by Lev Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory (1986), my study investigated the self-perceptions and interactions of seven underperforming, third-grade readers while using Technology-Actuated Reading Instruction (TARI). Partnered with same-age peer tutors, readers used digital tools to listen to, read/record, and playback oral reading passages. They practiced, peer- or self-edited, and selected their best reading products as part of the iterative process. As reading is a complex cognitive skill (Reinking, 2005), TARI incorporated higher cognitive learning activities via a synthesis of Gagné's (1985) nine conditions of learning and the Four-Component Instructional Design Model (van Merriënboer & Kester, 2005).

Much of the current …

Enhancing The Cultural Competence Of Women’S Health Nurses Via Online Continuing Education, Ella T. Heitzler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

By 2050, current minority groups will comprise almost half of the US population further challenging healthcare providers and nurses to deliver culturally competent care. Numerous organizations have published documents supporting cultural competence and its incorporation into nursing curricula has been encouraged since 1986. However, practicing nurses, specifically those providing care to childbearing women and families, continue to acknowledge their lack of cultural competence. This is concerning as large health disparities exist between culturally diverse women and cultural competence can lead to greater health equality and better client care. Studies have shown face-to-face education increases the cultural competence of healthcare providers; …

Best Instructional Practices For Distance Education: A Meta-Analysis, Robin Michael Roberts

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Recent meta-analyses on the efficacy of distance education have concluded that no significant difference exists between face-to-face and distance education. At the same time, these meta-analyses noted that considerable heterogeneity existed between the individual studies used in the meta-analyses. Investigation of moderators responsible for that heterogeneity suggested that four things other than media delivery were primarily responsible for the majority of variation between study outcomes: methodological quality, instructor involvement, type of interaction, instructional methods and time-on-task. A comparative meta-analysis was performed to further investigate these moderators. Methodological quality, maturational differences in students and any undetermined media effects were controlled for …

Learning Middle School Mathematics Through Student Designed And Constructed Video Games, Camille M. Mccue

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Mathematics achievement is an area in which American precollege students are faltering. Emerging research suggests that making mathematics instruction relevant and applicable in the lives of youth may impact math achievement, especially when it capitalizes on high-interest technologies such as video games.

Employing a quasi-experimental and descriptive approach, this study examined the mathematics (i.e., numbers and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, and probability) that middle school students employed during their design and construction of video games. First, it examined the mathematics content learned by 19 sixth and seventh graders during their analysis, synthesis, and programming of three video game projects over …

Using Graphs To Represent Physical Phenomena In A Fourth Grade Classroom, Mehmet Fatih Dulger

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined to what extent inquiry-based instruction supported with real-time graphing technology improves fourth grader's ability to interpret graphs as representations of physical science concepts such as motion and temperature. This study also examined whether there is any difference between inquiry-based instruction supported with real-time graphing software and inquiry-based instruction supported with traditional laboratory equipment in terms of improving fourth graders' ability to interpret motion and temperature graphs. Results of this study showed that there is a significant advantage in using real-time graphing technology to support fourth graders' ability to read and interpret graphs.

Personality, Presence, And The Virtual Self: A Five-Factor Model Approach To Behavioral Analysis Within A Virtual Environment, Michael Patrick Mccreery

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For several decades, researchers have explored the existence of the virtual self, or digital embodiment of self found within an avatar. It was surmised that this new component of one’s overall identity not only existed in conjunction with the public and private persona, but was replete with the necessary physical and psychological characteristics that facilitate a broad range of cognitive, cultural, and socio-emotional outcomes found within a virtual environment (e.g., Second Life, World of Warcraft). However, little is known with regard to whether these characteristics do indeed impact behavioral outcomes. For this reason, this study employed an observational assessment method …