Educational Methods Commons^™

The Effect Of Online Collaborative Learning On Middle School Student Science Literacy And Sense Of Community, Jillian Wendt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examines the effects of online collaborative learning on middle school students' science literacy and sense of community. A quantitative, quasi-experimental pretest/posttest control group design was used. Following IRB approval and district superintendent approval, students at a public middle school in central Virginia completed a pretest consisting of the Misconceptions-Oriented Standards-Based Assessment Resources for Teachers (MOSART) Physical Science assessment and the Classroom Community Scale. Students in the control group received in-class assignments that were completed collaboratively in a face-to-face manner. Students in the experimental group received in-class assignments that were completed online collaboratively through the Edmodo educational platform. Both …

More Than Just A Good Book: Employing U.S. Department Of Education Guidelines To Teach Character Education Using Literature, Suzy Besson-Martilotta

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this research study, which was conducted as a qualitative content analysis, was to discover to what extent children's literature from a popular anthology could be used to teach the tenets of character education according to U.S. Department of Education (2005) guidelines in a pre-Kindergarten through second grade setting. A team of participant-coders, which consisted of experienced early childhood educators, evaluated and analyzed each of the 44 complete books contained in the 320 page anthology, The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury: Celebrated Picture Books and Stories to Read Aloud (Schulman, 2005), in order to investigate opportunities to explore …

Happiness And Well-Being On A Global Scale: Implications For Business Education, Carol Blaszczynski, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

This article presents information about happiness and well-being and their implications on business education. Focus is placed upon the workplace, social connections, blue zones, and well-being.

Effects Of An Interprofessional Simulation Activity To Improve Students' Perceptions Of Other Healthcare Professions, Chase Raymond Poulsen

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Healthcare professionals have historically been educated and trained by members of their own profession within a curriculum that reinforces their individual discipline-specific strengths. This differentiation has contributed to students having little interaction with other professionals until after they have entered the workforce and consequently little formal education in collaboration or integration. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to evaluate the impact of an interprofessional (IP) collaborative activity on student's perceptions of the others discipline for the improvement in care of medical patients.

The sample population consisted of students from two programs, nursing (n=40) and respiratory therapy (n=33). Students were …

An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of The Khan Academy Videos For Teaching Mathematics At Menzi High School, Naman Barman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The goal of this practicum is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Khan Academy videos as a tool for teaching Maths in a low-resourced school. The Khan Academy is a nonprofit organization based in California whose mission is to produce engaging videos for students to learn Maths, science, and other subjects. The Khan Academy videos have garnered more than 350 million views on YouTube and have thus proven to be a valuable learning tool for many students. This project analyzes the effectiveness of these videos for teaching Maths to Grade 9 students at Menzi High School, a low-resourced school in …

Playing Stakeholders: Experiencing Decision Making Procedures On National And Supranational Levels, Georg Tafner, Ph.D., Verena Liszt-Rohlf, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

The European Union is a unique “postnational construction” (Habermas 1998) which is much more integrated than other international institutions. Nevertheless, it is not a country with some sort of nation-wide history or culture. In its core, it is a union of different member states serving as a platform for common decisions. Citizens of the EU are both citizens of the national state and of the European Union. Its uniqueness and complexity makes the EU to a didactic and pedagogical challenge (Tafner 2012): Firstly, introductory lessons usually present the topic EU from a legal perspective. But legal topics can be boring …

Fostering Team Building: An Example For Business Educators, Elisabeth Riebenbauer, Peter Slepcevic-Zach, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

The rising importance of teamwork is indisputable in any kind of business field. Developing students’ ability to work in a team as well as their leadership skills is therefore a persistent challenge in business education. This paper analyses different theories for team development processes and introduces possibilities for integrating team building in business education programs. The method “Teams in Maze” will then be presented and discussed concerning its planning, instruction, realization, reflection and its benefit for teamwork.

Skill Level Of Web 2.0 Technology Applications Of Certified Educators And The Link To Iste/Nets Standards, Elisha C. Wohleb, Chistal C. Pritchett

International Journal for Business Education

The research study was designed to examine the degree of perceived skill level of utilizing Web 2.0 technology applications among certified education professionals. In addition, this research study was designed to examine differences among various groups as well as reasons for these differences. Furthermore, the Web 2.0 applications presented in the survey were linked to the International Society for Technology in Education’s National Educational Technology Standards and presented to participants to increase knowledge of Web 2.0 technology applications. The population included all certified education personnel at 34 schools. The perceived skill level of business educators as compared to all educators …

Honors Research Symposium Program [Spring 2013], University Honors Program Students And Staff

Honors College: News & Publications (2008-2020)

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Metacognitive And Self-Regulatory Strategy Instruction On Impoverished Students' Assessment Achievement In Physics, Jaunine Fouche

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this nonequivalent control group design study was to evaluate the effectiveness of metacognitive and self-regulatory strategy use on the assessment achievement of 215 9th-grade, residential physics students from low socioeconomic status (low-SES) backgrounds. Students from low-SES backgrounds often lack the self-regulatory habits and metacognitive strategies to improve academic performance. In an effort to increase these scores and to increase student self-regulation and metacognition with regard to achievement in physics, this study investigated the use of metacognitive and self-regulatory strategies specifically as they apply to students' use of their own assessment data. Traditionally, student performance data is used …

Accelerated Reader And Its Effects On Fifth-Grade Students' Reading Comprehension, Jan Nichols

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Schools in the United States have been using the Accelerated Reader (AR) program since the mid-1980s. A search of the literature related to the effectiveness of the AR program revealed that many of the studies were conducted more than a decade ago, and a large number of those studies failed to utilize a control group to provide comparative data. Researchers and educators have examined the use of the AR program, whose parent company is Renaissance Learning, for more than 20 years, yet there is still little definitive data on whether the system positively affects student reading comprehension and motivation to …

The Effect Of Georgia Ninth Grade Academies On End Of Course Test Scores, Graduation Rate, And Attendance, Andrea Irvin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to explore the effect of Ninth Grade Academies as Small Learning Communities as an approach to further student success in comparison to Traditional Comprehensive High School structures in the state of Georgia. This study sought to determine if students who attended a Ninth Grade Academy as a Small Learning Community during their freshman year had a higher rate of attendance, increased student achievement as measured by the Georgia End of Course Test scores in Ninth Grade Literature and Ninth Grade Algebra I, and a higher Graduation Rate in comparison to students who …

Gifted Learners And Mathematical Achievement: An Analysis Of Gifted Instructional Models, Lezley Anderson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to examine whether differences exist in the mathematics achievement of fifth grade gifted students based on the instructional delivery model used for mathematics instruction, cluster or collaborative, as defined by the Georgia Department of Education. The content area of mathematics, an area susceptible to underachievement among gifted learners, was investigated using archival data from a sample of 67 participants from rural Southwest Georgia over three academic years. The STAR Math assessment and the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT): Math assessments were used to measure overall mathematics achievement. The subscales on the CRCT were …

The Impact Of Service-Learning On Community Involvement Attitude In Career And Technical Education Students, Christopher Daniel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Service-Learning is a teaching methodology, which incorporates community service and classroom learning. Students take the skills and techniques gained in the classroom into the community to address real world problems. The basis for this methodology comes from the theories of John Dewey and more recently the Experiential Education Theory of D.A. Kolb. The three phases of preparation, action, and reflection move service-learning beyond other models of experiential education to build a reciprocally beneficial model for all stakeholders. This quantitative study examines the effect service-learning has on attitudes toward community involvement among community college, career and technical education students of eastern …

Impact Of Looping On Middle School Science Standardized Achievement Tests, Tammy Barger

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Looping may be defined as a teacher remaining with a group of students for multiple academic years. In this quantitative study, looping was examined as a factor on science achievement. State-wide eighth grade school level 2010 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) data were used. By responding to a mailing, school administrators indicated if 2010 eighth grade students had or had not been looped. The schools' percentage of advanced and proficient Science PSSA data were used to determine if the independent variable had a significant impact on science achievement. The results of the independent t-test analysis suggest that looping does …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Impact Of Pre-Service And In-Service Training Regarding The Integration Of Twenty-First Century Technologies Into Selected Teachers' Instruction, Christopher Clark

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to understand how in-service teachers with three to five years of experience perceive their pre-service and in-service training regarding the integration of twenty-first century technology into their instruction. Twenty participants from a rural public school system in southeast North Carolina participated. This study attempted to describe the following: (1) How do third through fifth year teachers in one public school district in North Carolina feel about their technological awareness and ability to integrate twenty-first century technologies into their instruction? (2) How do third through fifth year teachers in one public school district …

The Contributions Of Vocabulary And Letter Writing Automaticity To Word Reading And Spelling For Kindergartners, Young-Suk Kim, Stephanie Otaiba, Cynthia Puranik, Jessica Folsom, Luana Greulich

Faculty Publications

In the present study we examined the relation between alphabet knowledge fluency (letter names and sounds) and letter writing automaticity, and unique relations of letter writing automaticity and semantic knowledge (i.e., vocabulary) to word reading and spelling over and above code-related skills such as phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge. These questions were addressed using data from 242 English-speaking kindergartners and employing structural equation modeling. Results showed letter writing automaticity was moderately related to and a separate construct from alphabet knowledge fluency, and marginally (p = .06) related to spelling after accounting for phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge fluency, and vocabulary. Furthermore, …

Exploring The Amount And Type Of Writing Instruction During Language Arts Instruction In Kindergarten Classrooms., Cynthia Puranik, Stephanie Otiba, Jessica Sidler, Luana Greulich

Faculty Publications

The objective of this exploratory investigation was to examine the nature of writing instruction in kindergarten classrooms and to describe student writing outcomes at the end of the school year. Participants for this study included 21 teachers and 238 kindergarten children from nine schools. Classroom teachers were videotaped once each in the fall and winter during the 90 min instructional block for reading and language arts to examine time allocation and the types of writing instructional practices taking place in the kindergarten classrooms. Classroom observation of writing was divided into student-practice variables (activities in which students were observed practicing writing …

The Artisan Teacher: A Field Guide To Skillful Teaching, Michael A. Rutherford

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the College of Education at Morehead State University by Michael A. Rutherford on March 26, 2013.

Is The Sat The Root Of All Evil? Reviewing The Evidence On Admission Policies And Diversity In Higher Education, Loris Fagioli

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

It is imperative to achieve diversity in Higher Education. With affirmative action policies under fire, it is becoming difficult to enroll a diverse student body. Many critics see standardized tests, and the SAT in particular, as contributing to the problem. This paper reviews research on such criticism, about suggested alternative approaches, and regarding recommendations on how to improve the current situation. In general, this review finds little evidence against a judicious use of the SAT. Also, alternative approaches such as percent plans or abolishing the SAT have had little success in increasing diversity. However, most specialists agree that a comprehensive …