Digital Commons Network^™

Strengthening Middle School Students’ Commitment To Social Justice Issues: Building Connections With Teacher Education Candidates, Anne Katz

Department of Curriculum, Foundations, & Reading Faculty Publications

This article was published in Dragon Lode.

Student's Perceptions Of Smartphone Use At Home And At A High School Regarding A New Smartphone Policy: A Case Study, Ana Zurita

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The new generation raised in the digital era continues to present unresolved challenges for both parents and teachers. The purpose of this case study is to analyze students' usage of their smartphones in their lives, and understand the success of a new school policy on smartphone use at an arts school in the U.S. For this qualitative research, I interviewed ten participants from the high school. The literary review informs us that smartphones are potentially addictive, with negative effects for healthy mental, emotional and social child development, as well as a source of misleading information. As a consequence, smartphones in …

The Impact Of An Intensive Blended Learning Reading Intervention On Standardized Assessment Scores, Ashley M. Snyder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study documents the effects of the Language! Live intensive, blended learning reading intervention on the Georgia Milestones Assessment Lexile Scores. The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of an intensive blended learning reading intervention on the standardized assessment scores of middle school students who were at least two grade levels behind in reading at a Title I school in Georgia and aimed to establish if students who were significantly below grade level could make growth with the assistance of an intensive blended learning reading intervention. The study included the data of 133 students in two …

Book Review Of Debunking The Myth Of Job Fit In Higher Education And Student Affairs , Jamie Workman, Daniel W. Calhoun, Steve Tolman

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development Faculty Publications

Book review of Debunking the Myth of Job Fit in Higher Education and Student Affairs by Jamie L. Workman, Daniel W. Calhoun, and Steven Tolman.

Pedagogical Approach To Developing The Hiring Practices Of Higher Education Administrators, Steve Tolman, Daniel Calhoun

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development Faculty Publications

Most student affairs professionals will serve in a managerial and/or supervisory role at some point in their careers, but only a limited number of higher education graduate preparatory programs have required coursework focusing on this competency area. This situation is disconcerting, as there seems to be an assumption within the student affairs field that new professionals have the formal training and experiences needed to immediately be placed into these managerial and/or supervisory roles. In an effort to address this discrepancy, and in particular staffing practices, one higher education graduate preparatory program developed a course on staffing practices, using an innovative …

Pass/Fail Grading In Medical School And Impact On Residency Placement, Brittany Ange, Juliann Sergi Mcbrayer, Daniel W. Calhoun, Antonio P. Gutierrez De Blume, Paul Wallach, Elena Wood

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development Faculty Publications

Objective: There is a trend toward using pass/fail (P/F) grading in the first 2 years of medical school as it has been noted to improve student well-being and academic performance is not negatively impacted. It is important that medical students are afforded the best medical education possible to prepare them for residency placement. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of P/F grading in medical school on residency placement. Methods: This study compared archival residency match data from two medical school classes. The Class of 2016 had tiered grading and the Class of 2017 had P/F …

Innovation In Preservice Teacher Preparation: Undergraduate Research In Special Education, Kymberly Harris, Meca Williams-Johnson, Dana Sparkman

Department of Curriculum, Foundations, & Reading Faculty Publications

Teacher preparation programs emphasize the connection between student outcomes in achievement and behavior, but the framework of teachers as researchers is rarely presented as a foundational basis of good instruction. Teachers are aware of the need to consider scores and trends and alter their instruction based on the response of the students to their teaching, but the techniques involved are not explicitly taught as research methods in most preparation programs.

The initial purpose of including a research course in the undergraduate program of study was to provide preservice teachers with research skills to enhance their instruction. The long term goal …

Growing The Youth Of Tomorrow: Applying Leadership Skills In A Hands-On Effort For Food Security, Chasity D. Tompkins

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

The objective of the poster presentation is to highlight the development of student leadership and goal setting skills through 4-H. The collaborative effort with local school systems and the County Extension Offices provides a strong foundation to pursue student growth outside of the classroom. This presentation benefits school officials and community partners.

Stop, Look, And Listen To What Your Data Is Telling You!, Simone Danielson, Jeffrey Harris, Jeff Barnett

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Join us for a ride on the Data Train where you will STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN to what your data is telling you and use the information to develop a process of continuous improvement in your after-school program to be an effective co-collaborator of closing the achievement gap. This workshop will provide information and strategies to be used in K – 12.

1. Participants will learn the importance of data analysis in afterschool.
2. Participants will learn how to work with regular day school professionals in determining what data sources to use.
3. Participants will be able to analyze sample data and develop …

Educational Leadership Doctoral Faculty Academic Qualifications And Practitioner Experiences In Georgia, Steven Tolman, Juliann Sergi Mcbrayer, Deborah Evans

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development Faculty Publications

Aim/Purpose

This study examined doctoral faculty of educational leadership within the state of Georgia in the United States. The aim was to illustrate the academic qualifications and practitioner experiences of the faculty that develop students in educational leadership programs to be scholarly practitioners and future educational leaders.

Background

Faculty of educational leadership programs prepare their students to hold imminent senior leadership roles in P-12 school administration and higher education administration. In this apprenticeship model, doctoral faculty utilize their academic qualifications and/or practitioner experiences to develop students into scholarly practitioners.

Methodology

A descriptive quantitative study utilizing content analysis was conducted to …

Hopscotch 2.0: An Enhanced Version Of The Model For The Generation Of Research Designs In Social Sciences And Education, Ivan M. Jorrín Abellán

Georgia Educational Researcher

The development of educational research designs might be daunting for novice researchers that have to make choices among the plethora of philosophical frameworks, research traditions, and different methods existing in the field. In this article we describe the process followed to formally evaluate Hopscotch, a model and a web-tool created by the author in 2015 to help novice researchers in the generation of solid and well-informed qualitative research designs. To do so, a responsive evaluation based on case study methods was conducted. The obtained results led us build a new 2.0 version of the Hopscotch's web-tool overcoming the limitations identified …

Predictors Of Community College Students’ Academic Success In The Corequisite Model, Damon Andrews

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine predictors of community college student academic success in the corequisite model. Academic success was defined dichotomously on a pass or fail basis. The population in this study included 1,933 students that enrolled in at least one corequisite English and/or mathematics course at the college between the fall semester of 2015 and summer semester of 2018. The predictors examined were a student’s sex, race, age at time of enrollment, Pell grant recipient status, first-generation college student status, high school GPA, placement test scores, academic major, time spent receiving academic tutoring in college’s …

Literacy-Based Action Research: Strategies For Improving Student Achievement, Anne Katz Ph.D., Deborah Jaudon, Danielle Russell, Jennifer Formby

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

The presentation will highlight literacy-based action research projects by three Reading Specialist M.Ed. graduate students. The topics of enhancing struggling readers’ vocabulary development using technology; effects of technology during summer school on student promotion; as well as infusion of dialogue and metacognitive strategies to promote self-efficacy and early reading success were explored. Tools for attendees to implement the process of action research in their own classroom will be outlined.

Building A Better Risk Prevention Model, Steven Hornyak

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This presentation chronicles the work of Houston County Schools in developing a risk prevention model built on more than ten years of longitudinal student data. In its second year of implementation, Houston At-Risk Profiles (HARP), has proven effective in identifying those students most in need of support and linking them to interventions and supports that lead to improved outcomes and significantly reduces the risk of failure.

Changing The Music: Understanding Educational Obstacles For Youth In Foster Care, Amie J. Stearns, Iyc

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Due to increased tendency of children in foster care placements to perform poorly in school and to become involved with the juvenile justice system, there is a dire need for school districts to improve support systems for this vulnerable student group. This presentation may be of most interest to conference attendees as it explores the specific barriers which may hinder educational success for youth in foster care.

Motivate My Mindset: Teachers, Parents And Students Setting Their Minds On Achievement, Growth And Excellence!, Stephanie Leggett

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

We have heard that the 'mind is a terrible thing to waste'. This session supports where the ‘Mind is set Matters Most!’ Activities and strategies that K-12 teachers and parents can implement will aid a diverse student population to have growth mindsets that are set for A.G.E. – Achievement, Growth, and Excellence despite the subject or task!

1. Why Use Norm Referenced Standardized Tests To Answer: Did I Teach? Did They Learn?, John Hobe

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

1. : If it is state law that students must attend school or be home schooled until they are a certain age, then must the state protect them while at public schools? The answer seems self-evident. Indeed, the United States Constitution’s 14^th Amendment guarantees equal protection under the laws to its citizens. But do school practices unintentionally violate this protection?

A Multicultural Education Praxis: Integrating Past And Present, Living Theories, And Practice, Peggy A. Shannon-Baker

Department of Curriculum, Foundations, & Reading Faculty Publications

In our current climate of heightened conservatism and criticism, multicultural education is as important as ever. This article argues for the need to reframe multicultural education as a praxis based on its social justice- oriented principles, values, and practices. Using practitioner action research, I examine my implementation of such a praxis in a college course. I discuss critical reflections on demonstrating the interconnections between current and historical social movements, theory and lived experiences, and the students’ and my learning. I conclude by arguing that reframing multicultural education as a praxis could encourage more coalitions within and beyond schools.

Honors @ Georgia Southern, University Honors Program Students And Staff, Georgia Southern University

Honors@Georgia Southern

• Bob Mikell and Darin Van Tassell
• Honors Students ‘Fight Dirty’
• Honors Travels to D.C.
• 2017-2018 Graduates

A Phenomenological Study Of Teachers' Emotional Responses To Tkes, A High-Stakes Evaluation System, Kristina J. Hirsch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers experience a plethora of emotions relating to being evaluated and we are losing a lot of good teachers due to some of these emotions. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate how teachers at one rural high school describe their emotional responses to evaluation and the implementation of TKES as well as if there were gender differences in their responses. This research is important because teachers need to understand that their emotions are not taboo and they are not alone in the evaluation process. Additionally, evaluators benefit from knowing how teachers respond to evaluation so that they …

A Meta-Assessment Of An Institution's Administrative Assessment Processes, Cynthia Groover

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many institutions establish assessment teams to assist faculty in developing their knowledge of and confidence in conducting academic program assessment, and some extend these teams to address administrative and student affairs assessment as well. These teams may function as more formal distributed leadership models, as described by Spillane (2006), or they may be less formal groups with little or no leadership roles. Regardless of their level of formality, these teams are often used to implement other resources such as rubrics, peer review, and feedback, but the effectiveness of these resources and processes is not commonly reviewed through an intentionally designed …

An Astronaut’S View Of Choices, Influences, Contributions And Later Discoveries, Col. Frederick D. Gregory

Norman Fries Distinguished Lectureship Series

Frederick D. Gregory is a former astronaut with NASA, a retired Air Force Colonel and was the first African-American man to command a space shuttle mission. Gregory has logged more than 400 hours in space and says his travels often led him to reflect. As he looked down on the Earth from above, he wondered what choices its people had been offered and taken; what goals they considered, evaluated and selected; what influences shaped their paths and what molded their characters. He believes that each choice taken — or not taken — has a profound effect on a person’s life, …

Developing Your Research And Literature Review, Lucas Jensen, Richard E. Cleveland

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development Faculty Presentations

This presentation was given during the College of Education Summer Graduate Research Workshop.

Irb Processes And Guidelines, Richard E. Cleveland

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development Faculty Presentations

This session is for Students who have completed some coursework in their EdS or EdD program and want to get oriented to the research process and/or students who are about ready to start their action research projects (EdS) or dissertations (EdD).

Dr. Richard E. Cleveland will present an introduction and overview of IRB processes and guidelines. The session will facilitate both small- and whole-group interaction. Students are encouraged to bring current IRB materials (at whatever stage of completion) for peer collaboration.

Women's Education: An International Perspective, Nneka B. Dean

Honors College Theses

The purpose of this study is to dissect a topic that is heavily discussed around the world: women’s education and the many diverse ways in which it is practiced. One of the reasons women’s education is such a highly-debated topic is because there are still many differences in how people believe it should be accomplished while other places do not see the advantage or purpose of educating women. There are many countries with male dominated enrollment because of the women’s traditionally-held gender role of staying at home or because the family’s socioeconomic status. This study compared the experiences of women’s …

Comparison Of Theory-Practice Link In Us And Uk Student Nurses, Thayer W. Mcgahee, Betty Abraham-Settles

SoTL Commons Conference

Nurse education in Higher Education aims to prepare student nurses to develop their abilities to integrate theory taught within the classroom into their clinical or practice placement. A collaborative, qualitative research project was undertaken between the University of South Carolina Aiken, USA and University of Hertfordshire, UK to explore, compare and evaluate the influence of Academic Professors/ Link Lecturers* in enabling 1^st year student nurses to make the connection between theory and practice. The study was informed by current literature on theory-practice, Academic Professors/ Link Lecturers and student nurses’ experiences and perspectives.

(*faculty in the US are called academic …

Honors @ Georgia Southern, University Honors Program Students And Staff, Georgia Southern University

Honors@Georgia Southern

• Tony Hudson, Jr. Named Rangel Fellow
• Honors in Action
• 35 Years of Honors
• Alumni Updates

Academic Engagement, Motivation, Self-Regulation, And Achievement Of Georgia Southern University Sophomore Students, John O. Lemay Iv

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that engagement, motivation, self-regulation, and their individual effects on student achievement are established factors that influence college students’ success. However, what is less clear are these variables’ relationships and their collective influence on achievement. Since students face unique trials as they persist through college, consideration of these relationships and their effect on the achievement of all students is necessary. There is a widening achievement gap between sexes; females have now passed males in enrollment, persistence, and graduation rates. Previous research in this area has been largely centered on undergraduate female students in their freshman year, but the …

Interview With Bettina Love: Creating Spaces That Matter, Meca Williams-Johnson

Department of Curriculum, Foundations, & Reading Faculty Publications

This is an interview with Dr. Bettina Love on her work with the Kindezi Schools, a small, high-performing charter group in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Love’s thought provoking responses provide insight into the dynamics that make Kindezi Schools successful at reaching their students. Additionally, she shares concerns about the dilemma of Opportunity School Districts (OSD) and the schism OSD’s create in minority communities. Lastly, she shares how Kindezi became an opportunity school for Atlanta youth. This interview will be beneficial for parents, principals, teachers, and stakeholders who are interested in understanding how and why creating spaces to nurture student learning matters.

Review Of Quantitative And Qualitative Methodologies, Richard E. Cleveland

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development Faculty Presentations

This presentation was given during the Georgia Southern University SoTL Academy.