Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of The No Child Left Behind Act And School Choice On Student Achievement, Wendy Ruddell Pettett

Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act, signed into law in January 2002, established a decade of test-driven school reform in an attempt to increase student achievement and reduce the student achievement gap. The state of Georgia created the Criterion Reference Competency Test (CRCT) to align with the guidelines of NCLB. This study examined longitudinal student achievement data on eighth grade math CRCT in 25 middle schools from 2002–2007 and 2008–2011 in a large suburban school district in Georgia.

The study found that all subgroups increased in student achievement from the onset of NCLB in 2002–2011. Furthermore, the study found …

Mathematics Classrooms At The Middle School Level: Does Grouping Make A Difference In Achievement, Adam Smieja

Mathematics Graduate Theses

This paper reviewed related research on student achievement based on how students were grouped, homogeneously or heterogeneously. Questions examined were whether students performed better in heterogeneous or homogenous groupings and to what extent did high-, average-, and low-ability students perform better in a particular group. Results showed that high-ability students in homogeneous groupings had higher gains in achievement when compared to their counterparts in heterogeneous groupings. However, gains for these high-ability students were not statistically significant. On the contrary, average-, and low-ability students did show statistically significant gains in achievement in the heterogeneous groupings. Yet, despite their effectiveness, implementation of …

Learning To Teach Mathematics With Reasoning And Sense Making, Amy L. Nebesniak

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study uses teacher research to examine teacher learning in the context of instructional coaching. The author, a mathematics instructional coach, engaged in an intense three-week coaching relationship with a high school Algebra teacher. A detailed description of the teaching and learning of quadratics that took place during this research provide information about what and how a teacher learns to teach mathematics with reasoning and sense making. Mapping the terrain of quadratics deepened the teacher’s understanding of the mathematical content and encouraged him to adapt his textbook in order to build mathematical reasoning. Through the coaching process, the teacher also …

Effective Science Teaching In A High Poverty Middle School, Georgette Meyer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative case study described the characteristics of science teachers in a high poverty urban middle school whose 2010 scores on South Carolina's Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) ranked second in the state. Data was obtained through classroom observations, open-ended interviews, school documents, and photographs taken inside the school from ten participants, who were seven science teachers, a science coach, and two administrators. Findings revealed a school culture that pursued warm and caring relationships with students while communicating high expectations for achievement, strong central leadership who communicated their vision and continuously checked for its implementation through informal conversations, frequent …

The Effects Of Technology Instruction On The Academic Achievement Of Fifth Grade Students, Karen Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A digital native is an individual born between 1981 and 2001, and children born after 2001 are called millennials. Educators are expected to meet the needs of today's technologically savvy students. Some researchers assert that an academic `moral panic' is taking place that lacks the empirical and theoretical knowledge to support the claims that education needs to change to meet the needs of digital natives and millennials. The problem is that considering that the majority of students today are digital natives are educators meeting the learning needs of their students. This research study focused on the use of instructional technology …

Interactive Whiteboard Use: The Catalyst Of Student Achievement, Tenneille Terrell Lamberth

Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 forced school districts to become more accountable by requiring all students to read on grade level by the year 2014. However, President Obama’s educational policy shift is allowing states to develop their own accountability and improvement system. This study examined fourth and eighth grade math achievement on the Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd edition and interactive whiteboard use, attitudes and perceptions, and professional development. Data were collected from 21 participating Mississippi Gulf Coast area schools to determine if a correlation existed between fourth and eighth grade math achievement and interactive whiteboard use, …

Roadblocks To Integrating Technology Into Classroom Instruction, Courteney Lester Knight

Dissertations

Although research has concluded that technology can enhance the teaching and learning processes, teachers have not yet fully adopted technology to support their teaching methodologies. In the last decade or so, as the accessible gap narrowed, the focus switched to other factors. This study attempts to answer the question: Why teachers do not fully integrate technology into their classroom instruction?

Recently a preponderance of the literature on technology integration has inquired into teachers’ knowledge of technology, the role of the administrator, the curriculum and teachers’ perception of the benefits of technology in instruction. The problem was to determine the relationship …

Educational Technology Integration And High-Stakes Testing, Tracy Demetrie Daniel

Dissertations

Determining if the investment in educational technology will improve student achievement is complicated and multifarious. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of teacher technology integration on student achievement as measured by the Mississippi Subject Area Testing Program (SATP) and to explore the relationship between technology integration and other factors (a teacher’s age, gender, computer self-efficacy, and technology training).

This non-experimental, quantitative study included 106 secondary school teachers from six school districts in Mississippi. The respondents completed a questionnaire based on their SATP course (Algebra I, Biology, English II, and U. S. History) teaching experiences. This study …

Departmentalization And Twenty-First Century Skills, Toy Coles Watts

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between school organizational style and student outcomes. The research questions that guided this study were, “Is there a difference in mathematical performance of fourth graders who receive departmentalized instruction as compared to fourth grade students who receive self-contained instruction?,” Does the number of years of implementation affect academic outcomes in a departmentalized organizational style?,” “Are teacher attitudes toward a departmentalized organizational style influential on the academic outcomes of the students?,” and “Does teacher preparation in their area of instruction affect testing outcomes?”

The results of this study indicated no significance …

The Relationship Between Student Achievement Of At-Risk Students And The Georgia Performance Standards In Mathematics, Loralee Ann Hill

Dissertations

Educational leaders continue to be challenged in terms of accountability measures for increased student achievement, as mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). In particular, schools must show adequate yearly progress (AYP) reaching 100 % proficiency levels for all students in the areas of English language arts and mathematics by 2014. In 2008, the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) in mathematics were implemented at the high school level. Coupled with this new curriculum, a newly developed Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) in mathematics was administered in March 2011. The purpose of this study was to add …

The Influence Of Classroom Instruction And Test Preparation On School Accountability Levels, Karen Adair Carter Bryant

Dissertations

Federal and state educational agencies provide guidelines for public schools across the United States to follow (Linn, 2008; Levy, 2008). During a time of highstakes testing fueled by school accountability standards, educators strive to meet requirements for academic growth in order to maintain a successful accountability level and avoid being labeled as a school under improvement (Behrent, 2009; Hardman & Dawson, 2008). Some argue that the demands of accountability standards pressure administrators and teachers to provide less than adequate instruction in order to focus on the content of mandatory state tests (Abrams & Madaus, 2003; Anderson, 2009; Behrent, 2009; Hamilton, …

K-1 Teachers’ Visual Arts Beliefs And Their Role In The Early Childhood Classroom, Blythe Annette Goodman-Schanz

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe the visual arts beliefs and practices of eight K-1 teachers in four schools and in two different school districts in a southern state. Using a phenomenological framework (Creswell, 2007; Leedy & Ormrod, 2005), the research revealed the teachers’ understandings of beliefs and how they applied them to their early childhood classrooms. Data were collected consisting of formal and informal interviews with the eight teachers. Interview data were analyzed using triangulation in phenomenological reflection suggested by van Manen (1990). The analysis yielded three major themes and three sub-themes. The first …

Relationships And Learning In Early Childhood Education: A Structural Equation Model, Alicia Gordy Westbrook

Dissertations

A study of the relationship between mediated learning experiences (MLE), social and emotional development, student-teacher relationships, and overall development using structural equation modeling was conducted. With attachment theory as the theoretical base, the current study proposed that the educational constructs have a direct effect on the overall development of young students and the relationships between the constructs have an indirect effect on overall development. This research suggests that through positive student-teacher relationships, teachers engage students in mediated learning experiences which promotes social and emotional development and effects the students’ overall development.

Data collected from 118 pre-primary teachers and students were …

The Relationship Between The Pedagogical Use Of Differentiated Instructional Strategies And 3rd, 4th, And 5th Grade Language Arts Achievement, Kenitra Lasha Barnes

Dissertations

Today’s classrooms are comprised of students who perform on a myriad of levels. As a result of both state and federal mandates, educators have been charged with the task of ensuring that all students master the required grade level benchmarks at the end of each school term. The challenge in carrying out that duty is finding strategic ways of reaching all students, regardless of their performance levels. The stricter state mandates have placed many classroom teachers in a compromising position that leaves them with no time to remediate students who may struggle with mastering a skill and minimal time to …

Elementary Teachers' Perceptions Of Their Teaching Practices To Foster Creative Thinking In Their Students, Jessica Roy

Curriculum and Instruction Undergraduate Honors Theses

Divergent thinking is a 21st century skill that allows individuals to create innovative ways to alleviate some of the burdens on society by finding new solutions to old problems. However, creativity is often overlooked or ignored in the classroom environment because the rigid atmosphere of authority does not allow for the simultaneous use of multiple cognitive abilities. What can teachers do, or are they doing, to ensure that divergent thinking is fostered in their classrooms? Three surveys were administered to 32 elementary school teachers to determine if there is a disconnect between what teachers believe fosters creativity in relation to …

Student Usage Patterns And Perceptions For Differentiated Lab Exercises In An Undergraduate Programming Course, Heng Ngee Mok

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Differentiated instruction in the form of tiered take-home lab exercises was implemented for students of an undergraduate-level programming course. This paper attempts to uncover the perceptions and usage patterns of students toward these new lab exercises using a comprehensive survey. Findings reveal that these tiered exercises are generally very well received and preferred over their traditional "one size fits all" counter-parts. Although the study does not show that tiered exercises have improved proÞciency or scores, it does seem to indicate higher student engagement and motivation levels. Based on the survey results, a list of recommendations is put forth for the …

Exploring German And American Modes Of Pedagogical And Institutional Sustainability: Forging A Way Into The Future, Lindon N. Pronto

Pitzer Senior Theses

Rooted deep in Germany's past is its modern socio-political grounding for environmental respect and sustainability. This translates into individual and collective action and extends equally to the economic and policy realm as it does to educational institutions. This thesis evaluates research conducted in Germany with a view to what best approaches are transferable to the United States liberal arts setting. Furthermore, exemplary American models of institutional sustainability and environmental education are explored and combined with those from abroad to produce a blueprint and action plan fitting for the American college and university.

Academic Libraries: Sustainability In Action, Marianne A. Buehler

Library Faculty Presentations

Faculty and Librarian Collaborations:
- Sustainability Across the Curriculum
- Sustainability Research
- Sustainable Activity
- Opportunities

Defining Industry Expectations And Misconceptions Of Art And Technology Co-Creativity, Vanessa C. Brasfield

Department of Computer Graphics Technology Degree Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to establish whether or not students and industry professionals share the same views about what students should be learning in animation education, what skills are necessary, and whether or not students graduating with a bachelor’s degree would be adequately prepared for an entry level position. To establish where misconceptions lie, surveys were issued to three groups: undergraduate students, post-graduate students, and industry professionals. These surveys were then analyzed using paired t-test for validation and question relevance, and ANOVA models to establish whether or not groups shared viewpoints. These data established significance within the …

The Play's The Thing: An Examination Of Play's Role In The Cognitive Development Of Adolescents, Ian Scheu

Theses and Dissertations

The study explored the relationship of play and development in adolescents. It was developed to determine if play in adolescents has a cognitive developmental purpose. The research design was a quantitative study with qualitative elements. The design of the study consisted two groups of participants who engaged in either a computer program to test cognitive skills or a computer game which contains the same tests. The participants (N = 216) were adolescent males and females (ages 12-19) from urban mid-Atlantic Catholic high schools. After vetting the data, the total was N = 167 and only included males (ages 14-19). The …

Guided Reading And Motivation, Allyson L. Hauptman

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between Guided Reading and student motivation across fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. The study defined literacy motivation as: (a) task value; (b) self-perceived competence; (c) students’ perceptions of the Guided Reading format. Factor analysis and repeated measures ANOVAs were used to determine differences in motivation after implementation of Guided Reading. The Developing Language and Literacy Teaching Rubric-Guided Reading data were used in determining the level at which participating teachers implemented the Guided Reading format. Results showed that Guided Reading is not a motivating instructional strategy for fourth, fifth, and sixth …

Learning To Teach Argumentative Historical Writing By Analyzing Student Work, Chauncey Monte-Sano, Susan De La Paz, Mark Felton, Roderick Carey, Kelly Worland, Laura Yee

Faculty Publications

History education researchers have called for an emphasis on historical thinking in K-12 classrooms, for its authenticity in representing the discipline, for its potential to cultivate the critical thinking necessary to an informed citizenry, and for its relationship to advanced adolescent reading and writing skills (Barton & Levstik, 2004; Moje, 2008; Wineburg, 2001). Yet, such an emphasis requires that teachers understand the discipline and its structure, as well as the ways of thinking, reading, and writing that are its foundation. Although many regard history as the study of fixed information (VanSledright, 2008), teaching historical thinking emphasizes constructing arguments about the …

Preparing Stem Graduate Teaching Assistants To Teach, Sue Ellen Dechenne

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

No abstract provided.

Rediscovering The Garden In Kindergarten: Towards A Holistic Approach, Beth R. Bleeker

Master of Education Program Theses

Dress-up clothes, wooden blocks, and art easels are seemingly collecting dust in the back closets of many of today’s kindergarten classrooms. Where once creativity, imagination, and exploration were vividly expressed during times of free play, the youngest of students in many of today’s education system are trading in their toys for textbooks. This was not the vision of Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852), the German philosopher who provided the foundation and validity of play as a vehicle for learning within the establishment of the kindergarten movement. The 21st century kindergarten has evolved from nurturing the child’s sense of play towards a stronger …

Musical Linguistics: How Music And Artistic Creativity When Delivered As A Linguistic Practice, Help Students Master Academic Skills In English Language Arts, Cynthyny Ann Lebo

Theses Digitization Project

This Masters project consists of two elements: 1) an integrated after-school program to improve student English language reading and academic outcomes for third graders' vocabulary development by incorporating music, artistic creativity and linguistics; 2) a pilot sample curriculum that demonstrates the approach for building student comprehension through musical theater and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) content experiences. Called "Water Buddy", this is an after-school program uses singing, dancing, writing, and play to build reading and vocabulary skills. The goal is to improve learner academic outcomes by mastering the elemental building blocks of words, letters, symbols by making memorable the …

Integration Of Student Centered Physiology Learning Into Related High School Science Courses, Sowmya Anjur

Faculty Publications & Research

Student centered teaching was previously found to enhance student understanding and even improve performance of students in other courses taken in the same semester in high school (6). In an effort to improve student performance in related science classes, the same student centered methods used in my Physiology and Disease (PAD) class were implemented in a Biophysics class this semester. Initial student surveys showed that students felt that integrating physiology concepts into Biophysics helped them understand the material from two very different perspectives, giving them a "more complete picture". Test scores from each of the four units were compared in …

The Mathematics Portfolio: An Alternative Tool To Evaluate Students’ Progress, Marla A. Sole

Publications and Research

This article describes the need for more thorough and varied forms of assessment to evaluate students’ level of understanding in mathematics. Portfolios are one type of assessment tool that, when added to a teacher’s repertoire can improve students’ comprehension and retention and enable students to monitor their own progress and to take more responsibility for their own learning. Portfolio assignments can also help students and teachers to detect and remedy weaknesses and misunderstandings and can increase students’ self-confidence in mathematics. This article discusses what a portfolio is, gives an example of a unit portfolio used in an undergraduate Finite Mathematics …

The Engineering Design Process As A Model For Stem Curriculum Design, Krystal Sno Corbett

Doctoral Dissertations

Engaging pedagogics have been proven to be effective in the promotion of deep learning for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students. In many cases, academic institutions have shown a desire to improve education by implementing more engaging techniques in the classroom. The research framework established in this dissertation has been governed by the axiom that students should obtain a deep understanding of fundamental topics while being motivated to learn through engaging techniques. This research lays a foundation for future analysis and modeling of the curriculum design process where specific educational research questions can be considered using standard techniques. Further, …

How To Reach All Types Of Learners Through The Use Of Manupulatives In Grades Three, Four, And Five, Cadie Fairchild

Mathematics Graduate Theses

This paper is an examination of research concerning the use of manipulatives with third, fourth, and fifth grade mathematics instruction. The research discusses the power of child discovery, stages of representation, using manipulatives to support learning, eliminating manipulatives prematurely, and eliminating negative stereotypes linked to manipulative use. A major concern of teaching with manipulatives is the knowledge of the teacher. An educator’s role is to provide the best learning opportunities for students. Research reviewed for this paper indicates frequent hands on activities using manipulatives. They need to be aware of the many learning stages and how to address each individual …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Ipads In The Classroom, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

Today, iPads and other tablet devices have become the next great device to have a purported impact on classroom teaching. The 2010-11 MACUL Grant I was awarded was designed to purchase one iPad and one iPod Touch (along with several accessories for both devices), and supplement that number with a loan of an additional four iPads and accessories from the College of Education at Wayne State University, to develop an iterative professional development for a small group of high school science teachers on using the iPad as a tool for technology integration.