Education Commons^™

What Is The Effect Of Differentiated Instruction On Student Engagement In Learning?, Charlotte Lester

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN LEARNING? The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of differentiated instruction on student engagement in learning. This mixed method study inspected the effectiveness of assigning different learning strategies to students according to their academic ability. One class received different assignments that addressed student’s specific learning needs while the other class received common assignments. Attendance, achievement, and behavior data were also collected from this study to determine the overall effectiveness of differentiated instruction. This study was conducted in a middle school located in Georgia. Both classes were …

Student Experiences, Attitudes, And Perceptions Toward Online Collaborative Tools: A Case Study, Jeremy Easley

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

Abstract

This case study (Merriam, 1998) describes the experiences, attitudes, and perceptions of four twelfth-grade students at Bob Jones High School (pseudonym) with literacy deficiencies as they used collaborative technology tools in an online after-school tutoring program that focused on reading and writing skills. Leveraging the sociocultural theory of reading (Freebod & Luke, 1990), participants worked collaboratively to strengthen skills while completing tasks. In addition, students used online collaborative tools, based on the principles of the New Literacies Studies (Gee, 2010), to construct and share meaning. Data collection included semi-structured interviews, participant observation and student artifacts. The data from these …

The Effect Of Smartmusic On Student Practice, Brian Duane Nichols

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to document the use of SmartMusic Interactive Practice Software and its effect on practice habits and motivation. The 12-week study measured participant practice time using paper practice charts and the online grade book/practice chart in SmartMusic Interactive Practice software. In addition, an 11-question Likert survey was administered pre and poststudy to measure students’ reactions and motivations to practice. Participants (N=38) were randomly assigned to either the SmartMusic group (SM, n=19) or the Contact Control group (CC, n =19). Data from an Independent Samples t test measuring group practice time indicate a significant difference between …