Education Commons^™

Fluency Interventions And The Impact On Comprehension, Colleen Cook

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Reading fluency is understood to be the rate and accuracy of that which is being read and comprehension is the understanding of what has been read. Many studies support the concept that fluency skills support reading comprehension. Many students with specific learning disabilities lack the fluency skills needed for successful reading comprehension. This study provided fluency interventions to elementary students with specific learning disabilities and evaluated any comprehension gains. Students graphed their own fluency gains during the interventions and a pre-test and post-test were given to monitor comprehension. There was in increase in both the average fluency rate for each …

The Effects Of Visual Vocabulary Strategies On Vocabulary Knowledge, Maria Phillips

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of picture word pairing and semantic mapping strategies on the vocabulary understanding of second grade students. Fourteen second grade students were given a teacher created pretest on vocabulary words found in their story for the week. Then, the teacher enhanced the usual vocabulary instruction with two visual strategies, picture word pairing and semantic mapping strategies. Finally, they were given a posttest to show how much they improved. Results indicated that the intervention improved all participants’ scores by 15%. Eight out of fourteen had a score of over 80% on the …

Education All A'Twitter: Twitter's Role In Educational Technology, Rikki Elaine Mccormick Lowe

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine whether current uses of Twitter by educators correlate with the literature on the uses and advantages of using Twitter in education through an examination of United States educators and West Virginia educators. Data was obtained from responses to the online survey, Education All A’Twitter: Twitter’s Role in Educational Technology, content analysis of public Twitter feeds, and semi-structured interviews that were sorted, coded, organized, and analyzed to identify emergent themes. The study had a population that included 97 survey responses, 78 Twitter feeds, and 8 semi-structured interviews. There were survey respondents …

A Study Of Outcomes Based Educational Interventions And Moral Development Of Undergraduate College Students, Jay Christopher Robert Wildt

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Discussions regarding moral development and subsequent behavior are common in political and philosophical arenas. The consensus is that resolutions of moral dilemmas are best accomplished through careful deliberation and the use of principled moral reasoning. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in moral development in undergraduate college students who participated in an outcomes based education program. The study also investigated the influence of certain demographic and attribute variables on moral development within the same population.

This study examined extant data from 295 University of Charleston (UC) students who took the Defining Issues Test as freshmen and then …

A Case Study Of A Professional Development School In Rural West Virginia, Cheryl Ann Terry Jeffers

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The focus of this qualitative research study is the Professional Development School (PDS) partnership between a university and an elementary school in Central Appalachia. Data were collected through participant observation, individual and focus group interviews, and document analysis. The research focused on the participants’ experiences and perceptions of the Professional Development School and any enabling and/or constraining factors related to its effectiveness. Participants included school-based individuals ─ students, teachers, and administrators of Dolen Elementary (pseudonym) ─ as well as university-based participants. The most significant finding was a genuine willingness to learn that was exhibited by participants, both school-based and those …

Losing Diana: Children And Families Reflect On The Closing Of A School In Rural West Virginia, Allison Nicole Pyle

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This was a phenomenological study that explored school consolidation through the lived experiences and perceptions of students and their families. This study included five elementary students, ranging from second through sixth grade and six adult participants, including parents and grandparents. Individual interviews, focus groups, and artifact exploration were utilized as the primary data collection methods. Because school consolidation is a social as well as an individual experience, this study worked through the constructivist perspective to allow a greater understanding of the complexities and nuances of personal relationships that develop and evolve throughout the consolidation process. This study also utilized feminist …

Survey Of Classroom Assessment Practices Of Community College Faculty, Joyce R. Wawiye

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The Spellings Commission (U.S. Secretary of Education Commission on the Future of Higher Education) notes that there are far too many college graduates entering the workforce without the initial employment skills and predispositions needed in a current global economy. Specify measurements of relevant learning within community colleges is therefore called for as effective assessment and instruction go hand in hand to ensure that the full range of student achievement and talent is elicited. This quantitative study was designed to address the gap in faculty assessment, and gain insights into the perceptions of WV community college faculty about their classroom assessment …