Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching Commons^™

Making Your Traditional Text Work: Input, Scaffolding And Communication, Andrew J. Demil

The Coastal Review

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) studies provide evidence that comprehension activities that involve meaningful language production and communication promote language acquisition more effectively than mechanical drills. Recent studies review the state of foreign language textbooks and demonstrate that the majority of foreign language textbooks do not follow SLA research. This article provides ways that a second language instructor can use a traditional text to help lead to meaningful language instruction.

Community College Faculty Dispositions Towards Blended Learning, Robin A. Hill

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Community colleges are being encouraged to find and provide access to higher education by offering more flexible course delivery methods to meet the needs of their diverse student body. At the same time, these institutions must retain their quality of instruction, accountability for learning outcomes, and institutional obligations. Blended learning, where students attend class both on campus and online, is promoted as one solution for attaining such goals. Among the four-year undergraduate population, blended learning has been shown to support student success, meet diverse learning styles, and meet institutional obligations; however, research within the community college population is limited. In …

The Effect Of Simulation Training On Nursing Students' Content Exam Scores, Lori Ann Podlinski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Simulation training has been implemented at a small nursing school in the eastern United States to improve the currently low content exam scores in nursing courses. With the guidance of Kolb's experiential learning theory, differences in 8 course content exam scores were investigated for students who received simulation training in the content area before the exam and students who received simulation training after the exam, using a quasi-experimental, comparative design. Archival exam scores from 424 content exams, 212 completed by students who received simulation training before the exam and 212 completed by students who received simulation training after the exam, …

Adult Learners' And Millennials' Preferred Methods Of Instruction In The College Classroom, January Marie Baker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Today's college students are diverse and include students who differ in chronological age and developmental learning levels. This recent shift in student demographics, including millennials and adult learners, has created a need for instructors to understand and address their students' learning preferences. Traditionally, student feedback has been collected from course evaluation forms after each term ended, thus preventing instructors from incorporating student feedback into their teaching. Accordingly, this narrative qualitative case study was conducted to explore what instructional methods students in a community college developmental reading course preferred to meet their learning preferences and classroom needs. Willingham's interpretation of informational …

Navigating The New American Classroom: How Adjunct Faculty Empower Themselves To Reach Out To The New Diverse Population Of Students, Yvonne Macrae

Educational Studies Dissertations

With widened access to higher education, and a rise in the enrollment of diverse students, it is increasingly important to understand the experiences of the adjunct faculty members who teach these students. While a number of studies have been conducted on adjunct faculty, most of them focus only on the challenges they face in higher education in general. Few studies have been conducted specifically on their experiences teaching business and management courses in a college of professional studies and/or continuing education. In this qualitative study, thirteen adjuncts with 4 to 30 years of teaching experience in two different universities were …

Arabic Teachers' Perception Of An Integrated Approach For Teaching Arabic As A Foreign Language In Colleges And Universities In The United States, Abeer Al-Mohsen

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the perception of Arabic teachers on whether an integrated approach is critical for students’ communicative competence in Arabic. Additionally, the study attempts to uncover what might be potential barriers to the integrated-approach program-wide implementation in the field of Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language in higher education institutes in the United States. Although many studies investigated students’ perception of learning Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) only, few studies focused on teachers’ perceptions of the issue and understanding of what communicative Arabic instruction should entail.

Using a mixed-method study, the researcher conducted the study in two sequential phases: a …

Junior High Latino Parents' Perceived Roles In Home And School Partnerships, Mytzy Vania Rodriguez-Kufner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A rural K-12 district in the Midwest evidenced a rise in the Latino population from 2002 to 2013, yet parental participation amongst Latino parents at the junior high was low. Low parental involvement has been linked to lowered self-efficacy, which impacts student learning. Although there is a plethora of research on the positive aspects of parental involvement, there is little research on Latino parent involvement in small rural communities. Within this instrumental case study, Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's model of parent involvement was used to explore Latino parents' perceptions of their roles and responsibilities of communication strategies within the junior high …

Making A Difference: Evidence Based Palliative Care Education For Neonatal Nurses, Sherry Elaine Pye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The death of a neonate is a life-changing and tragic experience for the individuals involved in the final moments of the infant's life. As the frontline provider in this clinical scenario, the bedside nurse supports the patient and family through their individual journey of loss. If the nurse does not possess the palliative care educational background and communication skills to support this unique care delivery process, the journey of death can evolve into a particularly negative experience for the parents and the nurse. This specific delivery of care concern was identified and gleaned from a parental bereavement exit interview after …

Examining The Relationship Between Mental Health Professionals Knowledge And Beliefs As Predictors Of Attitudes Toward The Deaf, Pearl M. Weiss

Wayne State University Dissertations

Individuals who are D/deaf experience significant barriers and disparities when accessing mental health services. Factors associated with improving knowledge and beliefs could reduce these disparities among mental health professionals by incorporating cultural competence during professional training, academic curricular, and internship programs. The purpose of this study was to examined the relationship between mental health professionals’ knowledge and belief as predictors of attitudes toward individuals who are D/deaf. Variances in demographic data also were explored as predictors of attitudes regarding individuals who are D/deaf.

A nonexperimental, correlational research design was used for this study. The survey was completed by 65 mental …

Instructors' Perceptions Of Connectivist Characteristics In Adult Undergraduate Courses, John Bannister

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The enrollment of college students in the United States who are classified as adult learners will continue to grow, bringing new challenges to degree programs. Multiple studies have provided insight into how best to teach these learners. However, to maximize learning, institutions must now consider strategies that merge adult learning principles with the integration of technology and students' personal and professional networks. Connectivism, based largely on the work of Siemens, and andragogy, based on Knowles, provided the conceptual framework that guided this basic qualitative interpretive study that examined how instructors experience and interpret the characteristics of connectivism (autonomy, openness, diversity, …

Engagement Behaviors' Impact On Course Success And Persistence Rates Of Community College Students, Van F. Whaley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As enrollment in U.S. community colleges increased, both the percentage of students successfully completing courses and the percentage of students persisting to their second year decreased. This study focused on the problem of low student course success and persistence rates at a community college. The purpose of the study was to determine whether students who demonstrated engagement behavior by visiting a Center for Academic Success (CAS) either passed more courses, persisted more often, or both, than students who did not visit a CAS. Tinto's engagement theory was the theoretical framework as it postulated that students who interacted with school support …

Nurse Practitioner Residency Programs: An Educational Journey, Gregory Paul Rys

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Primary care is in a state of crisis due to the lack of clinicians and increasing numbers of insured patients. Encouraging more students to go directly through school for their doctor of nursing practice degree and nurse practitioner (NP) certifications is one proposal to alleviate this crisis. However, this approach would deliver graduates with minimal leadership and clinical experiences directly into practice. One resolution to mitigate this concern would be an NP residency program. Evaluating the knowledge and attitudes of stakeholders prior to the implementation of a NP residency program is an important first step to this implementation plan. The …

Professional Development Needs Of Faculty Members In An International University In Thailand, Loïse M. Jeannin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an international university in Thailand, with students coming from 92 different

countries, faculty members reported a need for professional development (PD). The purpose of this study was to understand faculty members' needs and preferences in the undergraduate department to help the administration offer appropriate PD programs. In accordance with the situated cognition theory, professional learning was approached as a social process embedded in workplace interactions. Research questions pertained to teachers' perceptions about their learning needs, program preferences, and the relationship between PD and student learning outcomes. In this descriptive case study, data were collected from fulltime faculty members via …

Grit, Student Engagement, And Academic Performance At A Historically Black Community College, Sharonica Marie Nelson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obtaining a college degree benefits individuals and society, yet only 20% of students are graduating from community colleges. At many institutions, graduation rates have decreased over the last 5 years, including one historically Black community college in the southern United States. To explore possible causes of low graduation rates at this unique and understudied type of college, this correlational study examined the relationships among student engagement, academic performance, and grit-persistence and passion toward long-term goals. Tinto's theory of student persistence served as the theoretical framework for this study. The convenience sample included 116 college students who already had a first-year …

Professional Development To Enhance Instructional Leadership And Practice Of Central Office Administrators, Cheryl A. R. Mccue

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Professional Development to Enhance Instructional Leadership and Practice of

Central Office Administrators

by

Cheryl A. R. McCue

M. Ed., Lehigh University, 1990

BS, Kutztown University, 1987

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Education

Walden University

June 2016

Decades of research and practice suggest that educational administrators need to experience opportunities for professional development and continuous learning. This project study addressed the problem regarding the lack of a formal or systemic plan for professional development of central office administrators in a large suburban school district in northeastern United States. Supported by Lave …

Understanding The Relationships Among Students' Goal Orientations, Self-Efficacy, Anxiety, And Accelerated Academic Success In The Redesign Of Developmental Mathematics, Kelly Ann Hogan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The low success rates of increasing numbers of underprepared students taking developmental mathematics classes 'often minority and economically disadvantaged' are challenging community colleges across the United States. These students, who must start in the lowest levels of precollege mathematics courses, are unlikely to pass the first course and earn a credential. Using a mastery goal orientation theoretical framework, a quantitative, survey research design was used to ascertain any correlations between students' goal orientations, self-efficacy, test anxiety, and success in a new model of learning. Survey data were used to answer 3 research questions: (a) the relationship between success and students' …

Nurses' Experiences Transitioning From Staff Nurse To Management In A Community Hospital, Jennifer Sylvia Buffenbarger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This project study addressed the problem of frequent turnover of nurse managers at a Northeastern community hospital. The lack of retention of nurse managers has led to attenuated support for the nursing staff who continued to hold the front line in patient care. The purpose of this qualitative bounded case study was to explore nurse managers' experiences with turnover in order to identify strategies for enhancing retention. Work empowerment and servant leadership theories served as the frameworks for the study. Research questions focused on nurse managers' perceptions of empowerment and servant leadership characteristics that were important in decisions to assume …

Barriers Faced By Canadian Aboriginal Adults As They Return To Postsecondary School, Robert Lawrence Campbell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Aboriginal people in Canada are less likely to complete postsecondary education than are non-Aboriginal people. This lack of education leads to increased rates of unemployment and poverty and the need for additional government supports. The purpose of this project study was to identify and examine barriers faced by Canadian Aboriginal adult students as they return to school for postsecondary education. The conceptual framework for this qualitative study was based on the work of Ertmer, which suggests barriers can be placed into broad categories of extrinsic and intrinsic barriers. A case study design was used with a purposeful sample from a …

Miriam Williford Papers - Accession 157, Miriam Williford

Manuscript Collection

The Miriam Williford Papers consist of correspondence, newspaper clippings, lecture and teaching materials, research notes, professional files, rough notes and drafts of publications, copies of historical manuscripts from other repositories, and other Papers, The collection pertains to Willifords’ teaching and publishing activities, and to her involvement with professional organizations and seminars such as the Latin American Studies Association (1975). Her research files include extensive material on Jeremy Bentham and his interest in Latin America, and includes correspondence with Simon Bolivar and other leaders of Latin American independence; papers on the administration of Mariano Galvez, Chief of State of Guatemala from …

Faculty Knowledge And Use Of Best Practices In Online Professional Continuing Education, Gladys Montane

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A recent mandate by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists requires that U.S. radiologic technologists complete continuous qualification requirements (CQR). This study examined faculty skills and practices at an American university that developed online CQR courses in response to this mandate. It was specifically designed to assess the knowledge and skills of this university's faculty with regard to best practices in an online learning environment, so as to provide the basis for meeting faculty needs in distance education. Dewey's work on constructivism served as the framework guiding this study. A qualitative, intrinsic case study was employed to collect data using …