Digital Commons Network^™

Meeting The Psychological Needs Of School-Aged Native Students In An Extreme Geographic Region, Deborah Diette Wilson

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to meet the psychological needs of a unique Native population through a continuum of services and the utilization of technological platforms. The host community has experienced significant historical events including the exclusion in full participation education and the provision of educational curricula by individuals lacking the cultural competency base to provide appropriate educational experiences sensitive to Native learning styles. Psychological services were dictated by Federal and State mandates and consisted solely of educational and ability testing for the purpose of special education eligibility determination. As a result, school-aged Native students experienced significant social and emotional …

A Parental Involvement Initiative At Fews Alternative School, Lorenzo Harrison

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The major purpose of this study was to improve parental involvement at an alternative school in Montgomery, AL. Eighty-nine percent of the students indicated prior to the intervention that they believed their parents were not involved in their schooling. The intervention consisted of launching a media campaign to target and invite parents to the school and hiring a parent coordinator.

The design that was most conducive for this applied research is a descriptive design. Pre and post survey data was compared to determine if the students perception regarding their parents involvement improved. Logs of all parents contacted and how many …

An Evaluation Of The Failure Free Reading Program Used With Learning-Disabled Students, Shelia M. Martin

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This study examined the effect of using Failure Free Reading (Lockavitch, 1995) as a supplemental intervention reading program with fourth- and fifth-grade LD students at Howard Elementary School. The reading achievement and reading perceptions of 16 LD students were studied. An overview of the assessments for determining the perceptions and achievement of the students is discussed. Although an analysis of the data indicated some gain in pre- and posttests scores on the Standardized Test of Assessment of Reading (STAR) for some of the students, positive perceptions of reading were noted by all of the LD students in the study.

Implications …

A System-Level Comparison Of Cost-Efficiency And Return On Investment Related To Online Course Delivery, Thomas R. Ramage

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This study was concerned with identification, categorization, and calculation of course-level costs of online courses from community colleges of disparate size in terms of enrollment, support services, costing and accounting methods, and administrative structures.

A survey consisting of the Cost Identification Worksheet was administered to Chief Financial Officers at 12 community colleges in Illinois requesting data related to actual, direct, fixed, and variable costs related to online courses. Data were compiled into institutional spreadsheets for analysis and a composite developed of community colleges in Illinois.

The goal of the study was to compare costs and revenues of Illinois community colleges …

A Comprehensive Reading Program To Increase Reading Skills Of Low-Performing Students, Annie C. Savage

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This dissertation describes a schoolwide program that was designed to improve reading skills of students at a middle school with a population of 700 students. Located in the northwest section of Huntsville, Alabama, the public school houses students in grades 6, 7, and 8. An analysis of data from the Stanford Achievement Test, the Qualitative Reading Inventory, and the Student Test and Assessment of Reading indicated that more than 50% of the students in the school were reading below their grade-level equivalency.

Several previously implemented instructional strategies, such as Accelerated Reader and the Alabama Reading Initiative Program had not impacted …

Desarrollo De Un Ambiente Virtual De Aprendizaje En Salud Pública, Mariano Fernández Silano

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Esta disertación aplicada fue diseñada para evaluar la contribución de los ambientes virtuales de aprendizaje, basados en la web, en la enseñanza de la salud pública. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo de la implementación de una asignatura del Curso de Ampliación de Conocimientos en Salud Pública. Este estudio aportó información relevante para la implementación y optimización de los cursos en la enseñanza de la Salud Pública. La Escuela de Salud Pública, dicta cursos de capacitación bajo la modalidad semi-presencial en el interior del país, con gran éxito. La alta demanda de cursos, la disponibilidad limitada de recursos humanos y financieros …

Development Of Strategies To Increase The Enrollment And Retention Of Female Engineering Honor Students At Purdue University With A Plan For Evaluation And Implementation, Gayle E. Hartleroad

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The Purdue University Schools of Engineering committee, charged with development of a new strategic plan, set a recruitment and retention goal to “. . . increase the percentage of women undergraduates in engineering to 30 percent” (Purdue University Schools of Engineering Compton Committee, 2002).

A ten-year decline in female enrollment at Purdue University’s Schools of Engineering became a topic of true concern, especially to the Freshman Engineering Honors Program. This enrollment decline is exceedingly problematic because the Schools of Engineering has had a reputation of graduating a nationally known, large population of female engineers. The previously noted goal of 30% …

Development Of A Sports Management Option To The Associates Degree In Health And Exercise Science At Camden County College, With A Plan For Implementation And Evaluation, Nicholas J. Dicicco

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The department of health and exercise science at Camden County College (CCC) offers certificate, and degree programs. The degree program is its largest. The problem is that the curriculum in this program has not evolved to keep pace with advances in the field. This has led to a disconnect between the four-year institution program offerings in this field, and the program offerings at CCC, a trend of declining enrollments, and the loss of credits upon transfer by students in the degree program.

As a response to this problem, a sport management option to the curriculum was developed, along with a …

The Development Of A Work Plan To Fund The Building Of A New Facility, Gayle Florence Cane

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

All schools face the substantial challenge of providing adequate facilities for the instruction of students. When a small private school met with increasing enrollment levels, administrators were faced with the challenge of planning for school expansion. Construction planning required new skills and knowledge for the president of the school and the board of directors.

This applied dissertation was designed to gather data on facilities planning and school construction financing and to organize the processes and activities into a useful planning tool. The practical and logical organization of relevant collected data into a work plan to fund a new school facility …

Promoting Social Emotional Intelligence In Elementary School Children, Beryl Irene Bailey

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide educators with a curriculum embedded program to prevent, curtail, or reverse the negative trajectory of poor social emotional development of elementary students. Third-grade students failed to demonstrate social emotional intelligence. They lacked discipline. They exhibited difficulty staying on task and working cooperatively with peers, repeatedly interrupted instruction, used negative language, did not return homework, and were often referred to the office for disciplinary action.

In a 5-week training session, teachers learned how to implement the writer’s Sowing SEEDS (Social Emotional and Educational Development of Students) Curriculum. This literacy-based program contained children’s literature aligned …

Development And Implementation Of A Plan To Reduce Aggressive And Violent Behavior Of Middle School Students During And After The Lunch Period, Carrissima W. Faust

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Aggressive and violent behavior in schools is a growing problem being debated at the national, state, and local levels. Quantitative and qualitative research techniques were used to determine staff and student perceptions regarding aggressive or violent behavior at Fitz Simons Middle School. Fifty-five teachers and staff were surveyed; 110 students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 were surveyed, and 10 students from each Small Learning Community (SLC) were also interviewed.

The results of the surveys indicated a concern about the number of incidents occurring in the afternoon. Quantitative data of reported serious incidents showed an increase of aggressive or violent …

Efecto De Una Metodología Basada En Tecnologías De Diseño, Instrumentación Y Evaluación Sobre El Rendimiento En Bioquímica De Estudiantes Universitarios De Medicina, Vanessa Miguel

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Esta disertación aplicada tuvo como objetivo determinar el efecto sobre el rendimiento de estudiantil en la asignatura Bioquímica de una metodología instruccional en los seminarios basada en tecnologías de diseño, instrumentación y evaluación en comparación con la metodología tradicional y su relación con el sexo, la edad, la forma de ingreso, los conocimientos previos y la vez que cursa la asignatura.

Se utilizó un diseño cuasi-experimental con equivalencia de grupos. La muestra estuvo conformada por 108 alumnos, de los cuales 53 fueron ubicados en grupos bajo la metodología tradicional y 55 en los de la metodología basada en tecnologías. Se …

Balanced Literacy: An Evaluation Of A Ninth Grade Literacy Program, Drew Ashley Atkinson Jr.

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This report describes the evaluation of an existing program that uses balanced literacy in ninth grade English classrooms to accelerate the reading development of students entering high school reading below grade level. This evaluation consisted of two target goals for the program. Goal one set a target improvement standard of two full grade levels of improvement for students reading at or below the sixth grade level upon entering high school, and one full grade level of improvement for students reading at the seventh grade level. Goal two dictated a standard of statistical significance between the mean reading ability of an …

Improving Reading Achievement By Integrating Technology In After School Instructional Programs, Timothy L. Cliby

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This research endeavor institutes change in an after school program for elementary students of an inner city elementary school. The program seeks to improve student performance on standardized English language testing, improve student motivation and attendance. The hypothesis that a prescriptive after school program, that utilizes Web based activities as an integrated component of instruction, will lead to improved student performance through increased motivation, instructional habits and attendance. Redesigning the program will establish an environment capable of sustaining student motivation and attendance resulting in sustained instructional engagement.

The instructional design is a transformation of traditional instructional practices for this program. …

Development Of An Applied Phd Degree Program In Hospitality Administration For Nova Southeastern University’S H. Wayne Huizenga School Of Business & Entrepreneurship, George Alexakis

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem was the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business & Entrepreneurship’s (SBE) programs needed a marketing edge. A PhD program was designed to fuel enrollments and improve budgetary figures. The purpose was to develop an applied hospitality administration PhD program for the SBE. The Research Questions were. (a) What are the needs of hospitality educators and administrators related to an applied PhD degree in hospitality administration? (b) What PhD program content best meets the needs of hospitality educators and administrators? (c) What is an appropriate strategy for implementing a PhD program in hospitality administration? (d) What is an appropriate …

Implementing Therapeutic Conflict Management Groups To Decrease Serious Incidents Of Misbehavior In A Middle School Setting, Kelvin E. Rogers

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

A review of the literature indicated that there were concerns from the public and public school officials regarding too many serious acts of misbehavior being committed in our public schools, which included recent events of violence in Oregon, Colorado, and California that resulted in multiple deaths and injuries of students and staff. During the 2001-2002 school year at this writer’s site, discipline records indicated that several students were suspended off-campus for fights, verbal abuse towards their peers, weapons on campus, and gross defiance towards school authority.

In order to combat the amount of episodes of serious acts of misbehavior, 30 …

Implementation Of Measures That Establish An Atmosphere Of Safety, Order, And Discipline On School Grounds, Robert N. Baldwin

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to determine the effects that specific interventions have on student behavior change regarding drug and alcohol use on school grounds. A change in leadership philosophy, drug and alcohol survey results, and school community input were the impetus for a study as to the effectiveness of interventions of behavioral indicators. The researcher was clearly interested in systematically reducing alcohol and other drug use on school grounds in order to promote an environment of high-level learning. School accountability was focused on increasing student achievement levels in English language arts and math. A review of related research substantiated …

Developing A Support-Based Program To Decrease The Complaints Of Racial Profiling In The Miami-Dade Police Department, Richard E. Holton

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to focus on the problem that African American citizens are complaining about being stopped and detained unnecessarily by police officers and treated unfairly for no apparent reason in Miami-Dade County. National police organizations, special interest groups, and local citizens have defined this action as Racial Profiling or Driving While Black (DWB). The Miami-Dade County Commission adopted a resolution prohibiting racial profiling; however this problem continues to exist. Minorities have argued in town hall meetings and filed complaints, indicating that the criminal justice system has been insensitive to what appears to be a system that supports …

The Value Of A Public School Literacy Program In A Rural Setting, Wanda Brownlee

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This report describes the effect a balanced literacy program on student achievement in reading. The evaluation focuses on the reading achievement of 94 seventh-grade students in a rural middle school setting. In previous standardized test administrations, many of the students were not making adequate gains as expected in reading.

Strategies used to evaluate the balanced literacy program included (a) comparing the text level scores of 7th-grade students for a 3-year period (1999-2001) and (b) interviewing balanced literacy teachers to determine program effects on teacher behavior and to ascertain their perception of the program's utility.

The overall goal of this project, …

Using Graphic Organizers To Enhance The Academic Achievement And Self-Esteem Of Haitian Esol Students, Ingrid Chrisphonte

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to increase the academic achievement and self-esteem of English to Speakers of Other Languages Haitian students in language arts through reading and writing. Haitian students were not at the academic level of their counterparts in English. Teacher assessment and observed student behavior in writing assignments and class participation were evidence that a problem existed. Haitian students submitted writing tests that were incomplete. They were unlikely to participate in classroom discussion or to share answers aloud. It was important to make learning enjoyable in a nonthreatening environment.

The writer used various strategies to accomplish the goals. …

The Impact The Organizational Leadership Has On Selected Factors At The Georgia Commission On Equal Opportunity, Lisa L. Burroughs

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to research the impact the organizational leadership has on selected factors--climate and culture, employee retention, and employee training and development--at the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity (GCEO) in Atlanta, Georgia. Over the years, the GCEO had implemented several privileges in an attempt to retain and motivate the employees. These privileges were compressed work schedules, teleworking, and maintaining a high level of technology. Other benefits that were offered were paid holidays, vacations, and sick days. The question became whether these were enough to retain quality employees. Although these benefits had created longevity in a few employees, …

Improving High School Students’ Daily Class Period Attendance, Marvin E. Gantt

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to examine a cooperative system to resolve the class-cutting problem of 9th–grade students in an urban high school. The process included teachers, parents, and students. All attendance records at this school were handwritten and manually generated on forms. The process was slow, immediate feedback was difficult, and the system was cumbersome to manage. Teachers did not have a remedy for the situation, parents displayed indifference, and students denied their perpetration.

Separate surveys were developed and administered to teachers, parents, and students before and after the intervention to determine their various viewpoints on school attendance and …

Improving Science Education For Middle-School Students By Integrating Mathematics Into The Scientific Method Process, Robert L. Wells

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to improve student success in science by integrating mathematics into the scientific method process. Students were routinely asked to perform experiments that required mathematical computations in measurement, numeration, geometry, and statistics; however, they were largely unable to perform these calculations because of their inability to apply mathematical concepts outside the mathematics classroom. The mathematics curriculum did not afford the student the opportunity to apply mathematics to real-life situations, nor did the science curriculum consistently apply mathematics to experiments.

The writer developed a series of science experiments that incorporated these four mathematical concepts into earth science …

Resiliency Training Of Sixth-Grade Students In An Educational Setting, Matthew K. Boggan

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This study was designed to investigate the effects that resiliency training had upon a selected group of students in a rural school with a student population of approximately 600. Planned solution strategies included staff development training and implementing activities to establish the school climate and student readiness.

Resiliency Skills and Abilities Scale was used as a pretest, a 45-item survey to determine resiliency scores, before implementing resiliency skills. Training from The Resiliency Training Program, a Training of Trainers by Nan Henderson, M.S.W. was used as an intervention strategy. The intervention strategies involved a section of sixth-grade students, teachers, counselor, administrators, …

The Effect Of Three Variables On The Academic Performance Of Elementary Students, Teresa F. Mccorry

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The major purpose of this study was to determine the extent that 3 variables influence the student achievement of 3rd-grade students in this elementary school setting. More specifically, the researcher was concerned with the extent to which the independent and combined effects of the variables parental involvement, attendance, and reduced class size had on the academic performance of 3rd-grade students on the reading and mathematics section of the Ohio Off-Year Proficiency Test (Ohio Department of Education, 1997).

The design that was most conducive for this applied research is a descriptive design. An experimental design was not feasible because control groups …

Saturday School: An Alternative To Suspension Program To Reduce Suspensions And Student Violence, Todd S. Meiklejohn

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

During the 2001-2002 school year, Homestead Senior High School suspended 417 students on 772 occasions. Thus, 13.5% of the student body was suspended from school for disciplinary reasons. More significantly, 32.4% of all outdoor suspensions were a result of violence. To further compound the problem, there was no feasible course of action to deal appropriately with student conflict or violence.

An assessment of the problem revealed various causes. Specifically, the school’s out-of-school suspension rate was amongst the highest in the district; male students were suspended 3 times more than their female counterparts; and Homestead Senior High School students committed double …

Establishing A Culture Of Reading At The Middle School Level To Improve Reading Achievement, Neal W. Clark

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Based on an analysis of the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT), 30% of 6th-8th graders at Wheeler County Middle school were not meeting state reading standards. Based on evidence from questionnaires and surveys to administrators, parents, students, and teachers, students spent little time reading and have poor attitude toward reading. Students at Wheeler County Middle School simply were not reading enough to build a sufficient vocabulary or an effective level of reading comprehension. Thus, the problem on which this study focused was how to get students to read more and be more positive about reading.

The intervention for this study …

Development Of A Historic Preservation Outreach Program With Evaluation Plan For The University Of Arkansas At Little Rock History Department, Franklin Allen Latimer

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem is that the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program (AHPP) is ignoring the large potential constituency on the state’s college campuses. By ignoring this potential constituency, the agency is not meeting its goal of educating the public on historic preservation to the fullest extent and the agency is missing an opportunity to recruit people into working for preservation of the state’s cultural resources. This project was intended to develop a preservation outreach program to facilitate delivering information on the state’s historic resources as well as services offered by AHPP to the students in the history department of the University of …

Efecto Del Estilo De Aprendizaje Y El Uso De Estrategias Metacognitivas En La Conducta De Búsqueda De Información Precisa En Hipermedios En Estudiantes Universitarios, Lydia Pujol

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Esta disertación aplicada se propuso determinar los efectos de las variables estilos de aprendizaje y la frecuencia de uso de estrategias metacognitivas y su interacción, en la conducta de búsqueda de información precisa en hipermedios, en 101 estudiantes de carreras tecnológicas de una universidad pública. Esta institución se planteó introducir los hipermedios como herramienta de apoyo al proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje y en la investigación académica. La conducta de búsqueda de información en hipermedios, es un requisito para ingresar en sistemas educativos que incorporen estas tecnologías. Los estudiantes en este contexto evidenciaron poca eficiencia al investigar información (Valarino; Menéses; Yáber y …

Integrating Socioemotional And Moral Education Within Early Childhood Teacher Preparation, Dianne K. Alexander

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to prepare early childhood student teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of a peacemaker to manage classroom aggression with competence and confidence. During field placements student teachers reported frustration in their ability to manage the increasingly aggressive and disruptive socioemotional behaviors of their young students. Recurring patterns of anti-social behavior became a daily challenge, exacting a toll not only on instructional time, but also on student teacher attention, patience, and, over time, efficacy. An in-depth study of the university nursery through third grade early childhood teacher preparation program revealed little or no violence prevention …