Educational Methods Commons^™

The Cadet Training Program Versus The Student Certification Program: A Study Of It- Support Training Programs At Western Kentucky University, Michael Courtney Moore

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Technology is a critical component of modern-day success. Advancements in technology have improved communication between individuals and companies. Technological advancements have allowed students to earn college degrees online. People who habitually use technology expect a high level of performance and support. As new technologies are implemented, such as complex web services or new operating systems, the dependence for information technology (IT) support grows in demand. Even learning curves can be cumbersome without proper assistance from IT professionals. Companies and institutions must accommodate user needs by implementing fast, efficient, and friendly support. In order to offer optimal customer support, representatives must …

“He Venido A Servir A Mi Gente” El Liceo Guacolda Y La Educación Intercultural En Chile / "I Have Come To Serve My People " The Liceo Guacolda And Intercultural Education In Chile, Jake Highleyman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The concept of intercultural education is present in many countries worldwide: it’s the idea of learning through the lenses of more than one culture, not just the Western or dominant one. In Chile, intercultural education is most commonly associated with the mapuche, the largest indigenous group in Chile. Since 1993, Chile has had a federal Bilingual Intercultural Education program (EIB). However, almost all of the implementation is left up to individual schools. The schools that do apply the program at a high school level only do so in an elective-based manner. That is, only students who elect to take a …

Financial Literacy And Financial Inclusion Of Women In Rural Rajasthan, Emily Levi-D'Ancona

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Financial inclusion is an important step in development, as access to finances can help the poor build money and lift themselves out of poverty. In many parts of the developing world, and especially in India, microfinance is seen as a new approach to fighting poverty by bringing financial services, including low-interest loans, to the poor so that they can afford to start a business or invest and eventually gain self-sufficiency – in other words, a method of financial inclusion for the poor. However, microfinance in India cannot sufficiently reach the poor populations, especially those in rural India, and many of …

La Educación En La Lengua Materna: Una Mirada A La Escuela De Verano En Pacheco Elementary, Elizabeth Tjepkema

World Languages and Cultures

This project focuses on dual immersion elementary education and the importance of native language literacy by observing summer school at Pacheco Elementary. Native language literacy for Spanish-speakers is the foundation for successful second language acquisition and literacy. By having a solid foundation in Spanish literacy, elementary students are able to explore what it means to be fully literate in their own language before moving on to learning English in school. Through the observation of the processes of learning how to read and write in Spanish, I will gain a better understanding of the importance of Spanish literacy for Spanish-speaking children. …

Factors Used In Maine Learning Technology Initiative (Mlti) Device Choice, Caroline A. Pinkham

Education Technology

This Brief describes how schools/districts determined their technology device choice. The purpose of the Brief is to gain a better understanding of the decision making processes regarding the technology device(s) that was chosen by districts in the summer of 2013 and how satisfied they were with those devices for the 2013 -2014 school year. Surveys were administered to Superintendents in the Summer of June 2014 regarding this purpose.

Timizing Springboard: Teaching Creativity To Adults Creatively Using The Torrance Incubation Model, Kristen L. Peterson

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project describes the ways in which the Torrance Incubation Model (TIM) was used to enhance the Springboard into Creative Problem Solving (CPS) course. Springboard is the introductory course that has been taught at the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI) for over sixty years. The finished project includes development of a turnkey Springboard program that includes instructional design, course materials, and a communication campaign that overlays the Torrance Incubation Model (TIM) on how the Springboard program was taught and delivered at the CPSI 2014 Conference.

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 …

We Are Not The Future, We Are The Present: Cantera, Young People, And Community Development, Emily Rapport

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

CANTERA, a community organization in Ciudad Sandino with a popular education methodology, has a mission that emphasizes both personal development of its participants and social change in its community as outcomes of its work. The author of this paper looks at the connection between personal and community development in the youth programs at CANTERA, which include a variety of sociocultural and advocacy groups. The author spent three and a half weeks conducting participant observation of CANTERA's youth programs and interviewing its young people and staff members. The author presents her findings in three distinct sections. First, two case studies of …

Do Degree Maps Facilitate Student Success?, James W. Marion Jr, Jason M. Ruckert, Tracey M. Richardson

Publications

The purpose of this mixed method study was to explore the potential impact of degree maps on facilitating student success. The concept grew out of quantitative evidence suggesting students using degree maps are more likely to enroll in our programs, continue in our programs, register for more classes per term, and have better graduation rates than those students who do not use a degree map. Our methodology included qualitative coding of focus group responses (n = 28) then using those emerging themes to inform a survey instrument to collect student perceptions about the degree map’s impact (n = 211). This …

The Effects Of Ipad Apps On Student Achievement In Literacy For Children In 2nd And 3rd Grade, Deena M. Reyes

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Many educators consider using educational iPad apps to supplement literacy curriculum and facilitate greater student engagement. Student literacy achievement is crucial at the lower elementary level. Students who do not progress through the grade level literacy standards of the Common Core State Standards need intervention instruction to achieve mastery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of using iPad apps based instruction in reading intervention programs for second and third grade students.

This study followed a mixed method approach, a pretest, post-test quasi experimental design where students enrolled in an after school reading intervention program used iPad …

Collaborative Teaching: A Delivery Model To Increase Responsiveness To The Needs Of All Learners Through Academic And Social Inclusion, Dayna Reilly

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Students with special needs often miss out on classroom curricula for specialized instruction. While these services are valued for educational benefits, this instruction method often has negative impacts on social-emotional development and targets students for their differing needs.

Integrated collaborative teaching models include collaborative teaching among general and special educators in an inclusive environment. In this descriptive study, the author examined integrated collaborative teaching as a delivery model to increase responsiveness to the needs of all learners through academic and social inclusion.

This study involved students with a wide range of disabilities from two different grade leveled collaborative classrooms, who …

Documenting The Information-Seeking Experience Of Remedial Undergraduate Students, Shelley Blundell

Proceedings from the Document Academy

As presented at DOCAM’14, this proceedings paper discusses my ongoing dissertation research: Documenting the information-seeking experience of undergraduate students enrolled in a remedial English course at a 4-year state university in Ohio, United States. Because the information behaviors, needs, and information literacy abilities of these students are understudied areas in library and information science and higher education literature; I chose to investigate these areas in my dissertation research toward contributing research to this gap, using descriptive phenomenological (qualitative) methodology to do so. Although secondary data analysis is still in progress, this paper presents findings from primary analysis (a necessary step …

Place-Based Education: An Impetus For Teacher Efficacy, Tamara Chase Coleman

Dissertations

This research investigated professional development in place-based (PB) methodology on the efficacy of science teachers. While teachers are expected to use best practices they do not always implement them due to a lack of efficacy in implementation. A professional development program (PD) was designed to increase confidence among teachers planning to incorporate PB methods. Place-based education (PBE) is recognized as a best-practice among professional educators. PBE includes the selection, design and engagement with science using the geographic place as the content. The literature reports that student learning and teacher efficacy will improve when teachers are prepared effectively in PB practices. …

The Sciences Of Learning, Instruction, And Assessment As Underpinnings Of The Morningside Model Of Generative Instruction, Elizabeth M. Street, Kent Johnson

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

This paper focuses on a subset of the practices that have created the powerful learning technology developed and disseminated by Morningside Academy in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. We briefly describe this technology, known as the Morningside Model of Generative Instruction, and tell how it builds on the selectionist approach of B. F. Skinner and the pragmatic approach of John Dewey. We also describe the critical role Precision Teaching plays at Morningside Academy and its dependence on findings from the science of learning and the science of instruction, including placement of learners, task analysis, content analysis, instructional protocols, and principles of instructional …

Effective Instructional Strategies Utilized In Successful And High Performing Secondary Schools In The Southern Region Of Mississippi, Jeanifer Lynn Pearson

Dissertations

The schools in the United States have implemented measures intended to close the achievement gap for over fifty years (Solomon, 2009). The mandates handed down by the federal government cannot be altered. Therefore, schools are required to determine specific measures that increase student academic success. Prior research has demonstrated that schools can be successful if effective leadership at the district, school, and classroom level was present (Gregory, 2003; Johnson, Livingston, & Schwartz, 2000). At the classroom level, it was the leadership of the individual teacher to determine the creation of innovative techniques aimed at academic success of all students (Farr …

The Word Problem Factor: Assessing The Ability Of Utah High School Career And Technical Education Students To Do The Math Involved In Formulating And Calculating Energy Cost Factors, Kristen Bentley

Theses and Dissertations

Much research has been done showing the difficulty people have with word problems. This has been shown to be true for many types of word problems and for different demographics. Questions have remained unanswered regarding the reasons for this difficulty. It has been unclear if the word problems were hard because the people had forgotten or had not yet learned how to do the math calculations involved or for some other reason. This study deals with high school students who are currently in a high school level math class. They were given an assessment involving word problems and number-only problems. …

Elementary Teachers' Sense Of Self Efficacy And Professional Development Experiences Of Teaching Informational Text, Mary Desiree Lee

Dissertations

According to the International Reading Association, becoming a successful citizen in one’s career and personal life requires the use of literacy skills (International Reading Association, 1999). However, students in the United States have scored low on the literacy portions of the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the ACT prompting the National Governor’s Association to author a set of standards with a goal of providing students a balance between narrative and informational text (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). Scores were below the national average in the southeastern region of the United …

A Study Of The Teaching Beliefs Of The Modern Post Secondary Science Instructor And Implications They May Hold For The Future Of Science Education, Michael Charles Howard

Dissertations

It was the purpose of this study to examine the teaching beliefs of community college science instructors and discover whether their teaching beliefs were student oriented or instructor oriented. In addition, this study sought to examine demographic factors and find their relation, if any, to these teaching beliefs, as well as explore topics that may be useful in the future to helping community colleges science instructors’ curricula and beliefs come together and work in unison. To do this, the study built on the foundation laid by Sampson et al., in their creation of the Beliefs about Reformed Science Teaching and …

Faculty Integration Of Technology In Undergraduate Courses At Private Colleges And Universities, Evelyn G. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to investigate the integration of technology in undergraduate courses by faculty at private colleges and universities. Integration of technology is using technology as an instructional tool to improve teaching and learning (Clayton-Pedersen & O’Neill, 2005; Wilson & Hayes, 2000; Woodbridge, 2004). Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) 7 principles for good practice in undergraduate education provided the theoretical framework for this research. The researcher conducted a survey of full-time faculty at 21 private colleges and universities in Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The results of the study indicated that faculty use …

How Do Middle School Core Content Area Teachers In A Title 1 School Use Cooperative Learning In The Context Of High Accountability For Student Proficiency: A Multiple Case Study, Martha Cunigan-Wells

Dissertations

This action research case study describes how content area teachers in a middle school with low reading achievement levels utilize cooperative learning and curriculum integration (with a focus on the integration of literacy skills and thinking skills) in their content area given the current context of accountability for student mastery of tested core content outcomes. The participants were four urban middle school teachers from the core areas of science, social studies, mathematics, and language arts who had varying levels of training and experience with cooperative learning and curriculum integration. Data sources included audio-recorded pre-conferences, video-taped classroom observations, audio-recorded post-conferences, and …