Education Commons^™

An Investigation Into Instructional Support For Data Analysis In High School Science Inquiry, Anika Rae Baker-Lawrence

Dissertations and Theses

The implementation of scientific inquiry in the high school classroom has proven to be not only relevant and exploratory, but challenging and engaging as well. This style of curriculum design has been recognized as a primary means of achieving the goals and objectives set by the National Resource Council (NRC, 1996). While much research has shown that science inquiry helps students to gain understanding of content knowledge, little research has been conducted to assess gains in higher order thinking skills, specifically those related to data analysis (Anderson, 2002; Germann and Aram, 1996; Hofstein, Navon, Kipnis, and Mamlok-Naaman, 2005; Miner, Levy, …

How Does Student Understanding Of A Concept Change Throughout A Unit Of Instruction? Support Toward The Theory Of Learning Progressions, Brian Jay Dyer

Dissertations and Theses

This study documented the changes in understanding a class of eighth grade high school-level biology students experienced through a biology unit introducing genetics. Learning profiles for 55 students were created using concept maps and interviews as qualitative and quantitative instruments. The study provides additional support to the theory of learning progressions called for by experts in the field. The students' learning profiles were assessed to determine the alignment with a researcher-developed learning profile. The researcher-developed learning profile incorporated the learning progressions published in the Next Generation Science Standards, as well as current research in learning progressions for 5-10th grade students …

Science Journals In The Garden: Developing The Skill Of Observation In Elementary Age Students, Karinsa Michelle Kelly

Dissertations and Theses

The ability to make and record scientific observations is critical in order for students to engage in successful inquiry, and provides a sturdy foundation for children to develop higher order cognitive processes. Nevertheless, observation is taken for granted in the elementary classroom. This study explores how linking school garden experience with the use of science journals can support this skill. Students participated in a month-long unit in which they practiced their observation skills in the garden and recorded those observations in a science journal. Students' observational skills were assessed using pre- and post-assessments, student journals, and student interviews using three …

A Comparative Study Of Administrator And Special Education Teacher Perceptions Of Special Education Teacher Attrition And Retention, Danielle Angelina Sheldrake

Dissertations and Theses

This mixed methods study identifies perceived causes of and solutions to the attrition of special education teachers. Researchers have documented that special education teaching positions encounter higher attrition rates than their general education peers (Katsiyannis, Zhang, & Conroy in Olivarez & Arnold, 2006; Mitchell & Arnold, 2004; Otto & Arnold, 2005; Stempien & Loeb, 2002). More than 66 administrators and 200 special education teachers/Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSAs) employed in the Portland, Oregon metro area (Washington, Clackamas, and Multnomah counties) completed a survey on special education teacher attrition and retention and identified what they believed are the causes of high …

Facilitating Master's Student Success: A Quantitative Examination Of Student Perspectives On Advising, Sarah Brooks Drummond Hays

Dissertations and Theses

Faculty advising is crucial for student success, but little is known about the specific relationship between advising and master's students' success. Given that master's student enrollment is growing and diversifying, examining the relationships between advising and success is imperative for institutional efficiency and educational excellence. This quantitative study investigated nearly 1,000 master's students' experiences with two primary types of advising--administrative and mentoring. The study looked for correlations with multiple proxies of student success (e.g., graduation, retention, institutional commitment, and GPA). As well, other potentially influential individual, educational, and organizational variables (e.g., background characteristics, peer culture, and department climate) were examined …

Negotiating The Inclusion Of Nanoscience Content And Technology In Science Curriculum: An Examination Of Secondary Teachers' Thinking In A Professional Development Project, Jennifer Gayle Wells

Dissertations and Theses

The Next Generation Science Standards represent a significant challenge for K-12 school reform in the United States in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines (NSTA, 2012). One important difference between the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) and the Next Generation Science Standards (Achieve, 2013) is the more extensive inclusion of nanoscale science and technology. Teacher PD is a key vehicle for implementing this STEM education reform effort (NRC, 2012; Smith, 2001).

The context of this dissertation study is Project Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Outreach (NANO), a secondary level professional development program for teachers that provides a summer workshop, …

Increasing Evidence Based Reasoning In An 8th Grade Classroom Through Explicit Instruction, Erol Chandler

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates the effectiveness of an instructional strategy that uses students' prior understanding of informal evidence based reasoning (EBR) to build an understanding of scientific EBR. A pre and post instructional strategy survey revealed that students' understanding of EBR increased over the length of the study. Data collected from pre and post instructional discussions also showed increases in the amount of EBR students used.

Grouped To Achieve: Are There Benefits To Assigning Students To Heterogeneous Cooperative Learning Groups Based On Pre-Test Scores?, Arman Karl Werth

Dissertations and Theses

Cooperative learning has been one of the most widely used instructional practices around the world since the early 1980's. Small learning groups have been in existence since the beginning of the human race. These groups have grown in their variance and complexity overtime. Classrooms are getting more diverse every year and instructors need a way to take advantage of this diversity to improve learning. The purpose of this study was to see if heterogeneous cooperative learning groups based on student achievement can be used as a differentiated instructional strategy to increase students' ability to demonstrate knowledge of science concepts and …

Thinking Aloud In The Science Classroom: Can A Literacy Strategy Increase Student Learning In Science?, Lindsey Joan Mockel

Dissertations and Theses

This research study investigated the effect of using the think aloud protocol while reading informational text on students' ability to learn from text in a secondary science classroom. The participants in this study were high school students (n=47) in three classes of a mixed-grade Integrated Biology, Chemistry, and Physics course. The study tracked student achievement during a four-week curriculum unit on the theory of evolution and evidence for biological evolution. All students received instruction on using the think aloud protocol, and all students practiced the think aloud protocol when reading short articles related to scientific evidence for evolution. The researcher …

The Retention Puzzle Reconsidered: Second Year Student Attitudes And Experiences With Advising, Michael Edward Walsh

Dissertations and Theses

College student retention has been described as a puzzle because retention rates have stagnated, and in some cases declined, despite over seventy years of research into the problem. The magnitude of the problem is that 50 percent of college students will leave their institution before obtaining a degree (Braxton, Hirschy, & McClendon, 2011). In an effort to improve retention rates, colleges and universities have concentrated their attention on first year students. But this concentrated strategy may have simply transferred the retention problem into the second year where retention rates for many schools are as low as first year rates (Amaury, …

Short-Term International Service-Learning: Faculty Perceptions Of And Pedagogical Strategies For The Design And Implementation Of Successful Learning Experiences, Thomas Jacob Van Cleave

Dissertations and Theses

Faculty-led short-term international service-learning (STISL) experiences are thought to have great potential in developing students' global citizenship through combining study abroad and community service pedagogies. However, thorough investigation of the pedagogical strategies employed in STISL courses to achieve such outcomes has yet to be conducted. This qualitative narrative inquiry of STISL faculty at 7 different institutions across multiple academic disciplines and country service sites sought to fill that void. Data reveal a new conceptualization of STISL teaching, learning, and service success that involves culturally contextualized solidarity, global civic engagement, and global competence, which culminate into students' global agency. Emerging from …

Exploring Online Community Among Rural Medical Education Students: A Case Study, Ryan Tyler Palmer

Dissertations and Theses

There is a severe shortage of rural physicians in America. One reason physicians choose not to practice, or persist in practice, in rural areas is due to a lack of professional community, i.e., community of practice (CoP). Online, "virtual" CoPs, enabled by now common Internet communication technology can help give rural physicians the CoP experience they traditionally have lacked, despite their remote practice locations. Therefore, it is important for rural medical education programs to provide technological experiences that give students the skills needed to create virtual CoPs in future rural practice contexts.

The Oregon Rural Scholars Program (ORSP) provides such …

Elementary Teacher Candidates' Images Of Mathematics, Diverse Students, And Teaching: An Exploratory Study With Implications For Culturally Responsive Mathematics Education, Bernd Richard Ferner

Dissertations and Theses

Children from many culturally diverse backgrounds do not achieve in mathematics at the same rates as their counterparts from the dominant White, European-American culture (Gay, 2010). This so-called achievement gap is an artifact of an educational system that continues to fail to provide equal learning opportunities to culturally diverse children (Ladson-Billings, 2006; Nieto & Bode, 2011). Teachers who employ culturally responsive teaching (Gay, 2010) may help to close this opportunity gap and hence, the achievement gap. This study investigated, "How do elementary teacher candidates perceive teaching mathematics in a multicultural environment"; Using a critical constructivism research paradigm, this qualitative instrumental …

Improving Assessment Practice At The Course And Programmatic-Levels In Community Colleges: Developing The Guidebook For Student Learning Outcomes & The Assessment Loop, Steven George Beining

Dissertations and Theses

This project-based dissertation described, in detail, a seven-step research and development (R&D) process used to create, and bring to operational use, an educational tool that supported the academic use of the assessment loop: the Guidebook For Student Learning Outcomes & The Assessment Loop. The dissertation established the problem that this product solved, provided relevant research, including a literature review, and the process and methods that led to the development of this useful product. It described the purpose of this specific guidebook and for guidebooks in general.

This project was informed by research of instructional design of text-based teaching materials, R&D-focused …

Impact Of Teachers' Planned Questions On Opportunities For Students To Reason Mathematically In Whole-Class Discussions Around Mathematical Problem-Solving Tasks, Sarah Elizabeth Enoch

Dissertations and Theses

While professional developers have been encouraging teachers to plan for discourse around problem solving tasks as a way to orchestrate mathematically productive discourse (Stein, Engle, Smith, & Hughes, 2008; Stein, Smith, Henningsen, & Silver, 2009) no research has been conducted explicitly examining the relationship between the plans that teachers make for orchestrating discourse around problem solving tasks and the outcomes of implementation of those plans. This research study is intended to open the door to research on planning for discourse around problem solving tasks.

This research study analyzes how 12 middle school mathematics teachers participating in the Mathematics Problem Solving …

Academic Advising Structures That Support First-Year Student Success And Retention, Brett Leland Mcfarlane

Dissertations and Theses

Academic advising has been touted as a key to student success and retention. Today's academic advising delivery models vary considerably and little is known about the efficiency and effectiveness of these models. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between how academic advising is delivered to first-year students at a four-year public, high research activity university located on the west coast and the students' satisfaction with advising, advising learning outcomes, and retention. In the study, responses of 628 first-year students to a survey which asked them about their attitudes toward and experiences with academic …

Lighting The Fire: How Peer-Mentoring Helps Adult Learners Increase Their Interest In Stem Careers: A Case Study At The Community College Level, Patricia Marie Deturk

Dissertations and Theses

In the U.S., about 7,000 high school students drop out each school day, representing a loss of talent and ability. Concurrently, there are a decreasing number of enrolled students taking science-related courses at the high school and college levels. Adults, who return to obtain their General Educational Development (GED) certification, are an untapped resource that could be steered toward STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers. In this case study, 15 GED students were shown a STEM video, and then peer mentored by 8 CLA (Clinical Laboratory Assistant) students, in a student-centered laboratory experience. Individual interviews of the GED students …

State Need-Based Aid And Four-Year College Student Retention: A Statewide Study, Kara Lynn Mcfall

Dissertations and Theses

Every college age student should have the opportunity to attend college and earn a degree, but the fiscal realities for lower income students prevent the majority from attending and the vast majority from completing college, thus perpetuating an intergenerational trend of limited postsecondary education and a likelihood of marginal income and status. Past research studies have shown that, among lower income students, those who receive higher levels of grant funding to offset college expenses are more likely to persist toward completing their educations than those who do not receive the same level of grant funding and thus are forced to …

First-Generation Latinos At Pacific Northwest University: Their Adjustment And Experience During Freshman Year, Marco Antonio Aguirre

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis details the lived experiences of ten first-generation Latino students at a large public university in the Pacific Northwest. Their experience and adjustment reveal that they relied on their friends and family, especially their parents for the male participants, for support and encouragement. The help these students received in the form of caring and social capital from faculty and staff during their freshman year ensured that they made a successful adjustment to college. Participants cite influential people and programs that motivated them to succeed and become comfortable in the college student role.

Special Education Teacher Candidates And Mentors: Case Studies Of Collaboration In Pre-Service Field Experiences, Rebecca Lynn Schulte

Dissertations and Theses

Collaboration between general and special education teachers is essential for students with disabilities to have access to general education curriculum and instruction, and improved outcomes in school. The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), and No Child Left Behind Legislation, include mandates that increase demands for collaboration. However, many general and special education teachers report not feeling prepared to step outside traditional roles to collaborate to meet the needs of this population. Collaboration is also a strong element of teaching and special education standards for teacher preparation. Yet, research shows many teacher education programs lack coursework and field experiences that focus …

Impact Of Teacher Feedback On The Development Of State Issued Scoring Guides For Science Inquiry And Engineering Design Performance Assessments, Timothy Paul Fiser

Dissertations and Theses

In 2010, Oregon Department of Education (ODE) developed a set of rubrics designed to score a state required performance assessment targeting Science Inquiry (SI) and Engineering Design (ED) skills. During the development of the rubrics, ODE invited six panels of teachers to provide feedback on an early draft of the rubrics. This case study analyzed the teachers' feedback and the revisions of the rubrics to identify the types of feedback teachers offered and how ODE used that feedback to develop the rubrics. The results showed the teachers' feedback focused on defining the skills students were asked to demonstrate and distinguishing …

L1 Influence On L2 Intonation In Russian Speakers Of English, Christiane Fleur Crosby

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis investigates the development of intonation in questions and L1 influence. It is a longitudinal study using data from classroom interaction over six ten-week terms. The data was from video recordings at the National Labsite for Adult ESOL at Portland State University.Yes-no/and wh-/questions from one Russian speaking learner of English were analyzed over time and by language support level. Both acoustic and perceptual analysis was done. The yes-no/questions showed a clear pattern of target-like boundary tones more often without language support than with language support. A much smaller percentage of wh-/questions were target-like. The influence of L1 on L2 …

Learning To Adapt: Online Social Science Instruction In Higher Education, Patrick Steven Smith

Dissertations and Theses

Online learning is a rapidly growing phenomenon in post-secondary education. Institutions of higher learning have embraced online learning for its perceived merits, but without the consideration of how instructors deal with this different learning medium. Little is known of the extent to which different disciplines are suited to the online medium; this is pertinent to disciplines that rely on spontaneous in-person discussion. Furthermore, as colleges continue to invest heavily in online learning, instructors who only possess face-to-face teaching experience may begin teaching online. This poses a pedagogical challenge for instructors who are unfamiliar with the medium. This qualitative, in-depth interview …

An Investigation Into Teacher Support Of Science Explanation In High School Science Inquiry Units, Rebecca Sue Hoffenberg

Dissertations and Theses

The Framework for K-12 Science Education, the foundation for the Next Generation Science Standards, identifies scientific explanation as one of the eight practices "essential for learning science." In order to design professional development to help teachers implement these new standards, we need to assess students' current skill level in explanation construction, characterize current teacher practice surrounding it, and identify best practices for supporting students in explanation construction. This multiple-case study investigated teacher practice in eight high school science inquiry units in the Portland metro area and the scientific explanations the students produced in their work samples.

Teacher Instructional Portfolios (TIPs) …

Deoxyribonucleic Acid And Other Words Students Avoid Speaking Aloud: Evaluating The Role Of Pronunciation On Participation In Secondary School Science Classroom Conversations, Stacie Elizabeth Beck

Dissertations and Theses

Student's verbal participation in science classrooms is an essential element in building the skills necessary for proficiency in scientific literacy and discourse. The myriad of new, multisyllabic vocabulary terms introduced in one year of secondary school biology instruction can overwhelm students and further impede the self-efficacy needed for concise constructions of scientific explanations and arguments. Factors inhibiting students' inclination to answer questions, share ideas and respond to peers in biology classrooms include confidence and self-perceived competence in appropriately speaking the language of science. Providing students with explicit, engaging instruction in methods to develop vocabulary for use in expressing conclusions is …

The First Year: Development Of Preservice Teacher Beliefs About Teaching And Learning During Year One Of An Ma Tesol Program, Emily Spady Addiego

Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative, longitudinal study followed four first-year MA TESOL students through their initial year in a teacher training program with the goal of determining whether their overall beliefs about teaching and learning changed over time as a result of program curriculum and other outside factors. An analysis of semi-structured interviews with each participant, conducted one to two times per quarter, revealed that participants' beliefs appeared to evolve as a result of coursework and teaching practice. Participants' identities as teachers also showed signs of evolution and development. The participants attributed the majority of their development to hands-on teaching practice, though there …

The Role Of Expectations On Nonnative English Speaking Students' Wrtiting, Sara Marie Van Dan Acker

Dissertations and Theses

This study centered on the expectations of a non-native English-speaking undergraduate student and her teacher in a general education course at Portland State University during winter term 2012. This was a qualitative case study, where I collected data throughout the duration of the course by means of interviews, classroom observations, and written assignment sheet data. I triangulated verbal data from interview transcripts from the two participants, along with data from the observation notes and the assignment sheets in order to gain a better understanding of the expectations each participant had about writing assignments.

Data from four sources were collected and …

The Effect Of Teacher-Identified Classroom Management, Monica Rose Root

Dissertations and Theses

The framework of this study was monitoring classroom management strategies and student behaviors in the classroom, then providing strategies and feedback to increase effective classroom management and decrease problem student behaviors.

There were 15 evidence–based practices that were researched and used in the study. Specifically teachers were asked to focus on 5 of them. These practices were: using 5 positive feedback comments to 1 negative comment; having classroom rules and expectations that were posted, taught, practiced, consistent, and positively reinforced; using an attention getting cue that had been taught, practiced and positively reinforced; having continuous active supervision including moving and …

The Use Of Music As A Pedagogical Tool In Higher Education Sociology Courses: Faculty Member Perspectives And Potential Barriers, Jerry C.L. Loveless

Dissertations and Theses

Previous research has identified student engagement as an important antecedent to student learning in higher education. Although student engagement is viewed as important for learning, a significant number of college students still report frequently feeling bored in their courses. The use of music as a pedagogical tool is believed to be beneficial for promoting student engagement and student learning in higher education sociology courses, yet it has been suggested that sociology faculty members do not commonly incorporate the technique into their courses. The purpose of this comparative interview study is to explore higher education sociology faculty members' understandings of the …

Understanding Pervasive Language Impairment In Young Children: Exploring Patterns In Narrative Language And Functional Communication, Anna Jeddeloh Waters

Dissertations and Theses

Research has identified language impairment as a pervasive disability (Bishop & Edmundson, 1987; Greenhalgh & Strong, 2001). Classroom communication behaviors have a role in the maintenance of special education eligibility and functional communication difficulties for young children with language impairment. This paper reviews the theoretical and experimental literature on narrative skills and language impairment as well as empirical support for understanding language delays as part of a group of risk factors that affect child development. The present study describes patterns in the communication skills of a small group of young children with a predetermined diagnosis of language impairment using a …