Digital Commons Network^™

Where The Rocks Are In The Pond : Using Critical Race Theory To Gain Access To More Equitable Educational Opportunities For African Americans, Thomasina F. Hassler

Dissertations

“Where the rocks are in the pond” is a metaphor for the concept of empowerment so that those who have traditionally been marginalized and isolated, typically people of color and the poor, can learn the normative strategies that the dominant culture accesses to success. Developmentally, members of marginalized populations are harmed by the lack of access to quality resources for social, economic, political and educational growth. I have chosen autoethnography as the vehicle to carry critical events that illuminate the deleterious effects of racialization in U. S. society. The study used critical race theory as the theoretical lens to analyze …

Course Design Based On The Kolb Learning Style As It Relates To Student Success In Online Classes, Edward John Perantoni

Dissertations

Educators are taught that differentiated instruction is important to ensuring that students are offered an opportunity to learn. As a result, student learning styles become important in the design of an online course. Certain students prefer group work, discussions, and brainstorming sessions all of which are part of the socialization process. Kolb related the ability of a student to learn through the socialization process to the accommodator and diverger learning styles. The researcher hypothesized that the development of a quality online course, as defined by NACOL, should include socialization techniques such as group work. Therefore, the purpose of this study …

The Use Of Classroom Walk-Through Observations As A Strategy To Improve Teaching And Learning: An Administrative Perspective, Mark J. Weller

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the possible use of structured classroom walk-through observations as a strategy to improve teaching and learning. A wide variety of programs and initiatives have recently been implemented across the country to improve student achievement. One such initiative is classroom walk-through observations. Classroom walk-through observations are briefly performed by school administrators to gauge the effectiveness of instruction in each classroom. The walkthrough observation gives teachers and administrators a snapshot of teaching and learning aspects throughout the school over time. This research was done collaboratively with Leslie McEntire and Tom Sorensen. The research team …

The Nursing Clinical Instructor's Rationale, Preparation, And Meaning For The Post-Clinical Conference, Joseph Michael Mucha

Dissertations

Purpose

Nursing education is a complex combination of classroom and clinical instruction. The clinical portion is usually divided into the pre-clinical conference, direct care, and the post-clinical conference. Many goals are listed in the literature as learning outcomes for the post-clinical conference. The purpose of this study was to describe the most important goals, meaning, rationale, and preparation for the post-clinical conference by clinical nursing instructors in associate degree and baccalaureate degree programs.

Method

This study used a survey design with an instrument developed to identify clinical nursing instructors’ meaning, rationale, and preparation for the post-clinical conference. Two open-ended questions …

Immigrant Stories: Generation 1.5 Mexican American Students And English Language Learning In An Illinois Community College, Thomas Lloyd Hansen

Dissertations

The number of recent immigrants to the United States has increased dramatically in the last few years, and more of these immigrants are members of a group often designated as "Generation 1.5" students. These immigrant students were born in another country, came to the United States at the age of 13 or older, and graduated from high school in this country. This qualitative research study occurs within two Illinois community colleges that require some students to enroll in courses below regular English Composition I as indicated by one or more placement tests. These courses are English as a Second Language …

Examining The Relationship Among Reading Curriculum-Based Measures, Level Of Language Proficiency, And State Accountability Test Scores With Middle School Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners, Nicole Osterman Stokes

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the predictive ability of oral reading fluency (R-CBM) on a sixth grade high-stakes assessment with ELL and non- ELL students, as well as determine the average rate of growth on R-CBM and how that relates to level of English Proficiency. The participants in the current study included 350 sixth grade students from a middle school located in west Phoenix, AZ. Ninety of the 350 students were English Language Learners at varying levels of language proficiency in English. Archival data was used for the study. Each participant completed R-CBM three times throughout …

Principles Of Church-State Relationships In The Writings Of Ellen G. White, Marcio D. Costa

Dissertations

The Topic

Since the beginnings of Seventh-day Adventism there have been real or perceived tensions between two contrasting perspectives of church-state relationships: (1) the “eschatological view” that a union of church and state will lead to persecution in the times preceding the second coming of Christ, and (2) the “temporal view” that in order to accomplish its mission in the present, the church needs to work in an independent, but non-conflictual relationship with the state as far as it can do so without violating its primary allegiance to God.

The Purpose

In order to discover Ellen G. White’s position on …

A Correlational Study Of The Ventures For Excellence Interview-Rating System And First Year Teacher Evaluations, Brian Lee Clemons

Dissertations

Research suggests that the character traits of a teacher seem to be an important element in student learning. Thus, when administrators make hiring decisions, they often utilize instruments to assess candidates’ character traits. However, limited information exists on the identification of character traits as they relate to quality teachers and the accuracy of character interview-rating systems. Therefore, this study evaluates the Ventures for Excellence interview-rating systems for their ability to accurately assess the character traits of teacher candidates. The purpose of this study was to conduct a correlation study of Ventures for Excellence interview-rating system and teacher evaluations. Data were …

Investigating Efforts To Change Educator Attitudes And Teaching Strategies Through Professional Development Focused On The Use Of Backward Design Curriculum And The Principles Of Efficacy: Educator Behavior, Anissa Rochelle Harris

Dissertations

School districts continually face problems associated with student achievement. The 2001–2002 federal mandate contained in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act held schools accountable for success of all students in reading and mathematics. Standardized tests were employed to measure the success. The purpose of this study was to investigate efforts to change educator attitudes and teaching strategies through professional development focused on the use of backward design curriculum and the principles of efficacy. Participants completed a pre and post Likert survey. Three 45-minute professional development sessions were conducted incorporating discussions on the principles of efficacy and backward design curriculum. …

Towards Evidence-Based Practices In Mathematics Instruction: Investigating The Impact Of Writing On Student Ability To Solve Mathematics Problems, Shaalein Carroll Lopez

Dissertations

Achievement in mathematics education for students in elementary school through college has lagged behind that of other students internationally. As a result, enhancing mathematics achievement for students in the United States of America has long been a priority. Best practices in teaching across all grades emphasize using instructional methods that have been validated through research, though a review of the literature demonstrates a lack of such substantiated practices in mathematics education. This dissertation attempts to contribute to the field of research-based practices in mathematics education by measuring the effects of an instructional practice long used in mathematics classrooms in grades …

Raindrop Demise In A High-Speed Projectile Flowfield, Bruce Emerson Moylan

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

High Strain Rate Response Of Eco-Core And Its Modification., Raghu Panduranga

Dissertations

Eco-Core was previously developed as a fire resistant core material for composite sandwich structures. It was made using a large volume of fly ash (Cenosphere) and a small volume of high char yield binder by a syntactic process. The cellular structure of the material offers a potential for shock and blast mitigation applications. Based on the present study, it was concluded that the processing of Eco-Core is repeatable and the static properties are reproducible. Eco-Core was subsequently modified by a surface coating method and an Impregnation method to enhance its energy absorption capability. The modified Eco-Core was characterized by static …

Media Literacy Education : A Case Study Of The New Mexico Media Literacy Project, Sam Nkana

Dissertations

Problem. England and Australia are the frontrunners in the establishment of media literacy education in schools, providing performance and content standards, norm-referenced tests, and pre-service university training for a specialty in media education. Canada is also in the advanced stage in the development of a media literacy curriculum. The United States, although a major producer of media, lags behind these countries in preparing its teachers and students to understand the media. Although national education standards and the curricular frameworks of all 50 states now contain one or more elements calling for some form of media literacy education, only a handful …

Mastery Of Sixth-Grade Mathematics Expectations As Measured By The Seventh-Grade Michigan Education Assessment Program From 2005 To 2007, Marian Prince

Dissertations

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to document sixth-grade mathematics mastery as measured by the seventh-grade Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) over a period of 3 years: 2005, 2006, and 2007. This study investigated whether mathematics performance in Michigan is related to ethnicity by analyzing student responses on the seventh-grade MEAP which evaluates students’ mastery of the Michigan sixth-grade mathematics expectations.

Method

Data from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) containing the student scores of individual test items on the mathematics Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) for seventh-grade students in Michigan for 2005 to 2007 formed the basis for …

The Soul And The Body In Hegel's Anthropology, Nicholas Mowad

Dissertations

I provide a close exegetical reading of Hegel's "anthropology," his doctrine of the human body and soul, located in the first part of the Philosophy of Spirit, volume three of the Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences. In the course of this exegesis I show how Hegel demonstrates that all of the phenomena there under investigation must be understood as at once corporeal and distinctively human. Accordingly, anthropological phenomena should not be understood as essentially the same in humans as it is in animals, though many commentators allege that they should be. I provide a survey of the secondary literature on …

Uncovering Medical And Mental Health Professionals' Decision-Making In The Treatment Of Trans-Variant Patients, Jodie M. Dewey

Dissertations

This project is a study of medical and mental health professionals who treat trans-variant patients. Using in-depth interviews, I show how providers describe the process by which they make decisions with patients who desire, through formal means, to hormonally and/or surgically transition from one gender to the other. This work uncovers the ways professionals make decisions in the absence or limitation of formal knowledge while simulaneously attemping to ground their work in this same knoweldge to obtain respect and legitimacy. Professionals must also acknowledge that they relinquesh some power to patients to make decisions which involve high risk for them. …

Depressive Symptoms In Women Being Screened For Cardiovascular Disease Risk, Suzanne Marie Savoy

Dissertations

Background: Depressive symptomology is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Over 15% of persons with cardiovascular disease have depressive symptoms, and women are twice as likely to experience these symptoms as men. Depressive symptoms in women “ at risk ” for cardiovascular disease has not been well studied.

Purpose: This study investigated the relationship between depressive symptoms, health-promoting lifestyle behaviors, heart disease risk awareness, cardiac risk, and quality of life in women at risk for cardiovascular disease. Whether the effect of depressive symptoms on quality of life was mediated by cardiac risk and/or health-promoting lifestyle behaviors was also examined. …

Illinois Secondary Principals' Perceptions And Expectations Concerning Students Who Use African American Vernacular English In An Academic Setting, Garrard Overton Mcclendon

Dissertations

This study investigates principals’ individual and aggregate perceptions of and expectations for students who use African American Vernacular English. Using the African American English Teacher Attitude Scale (AAETAS), the study seeks to describe the relationship between principals’ demographic characteristics and their perceptions of African American Vernacular English. The study uses raw scores from the AAETAS instrument created by Hoover, McNair-Knox, Lewis and Politzer (1997) and codes the principals’ perceptions of AAVE in a histogram. Principals’ demographic information was gathered on the following categories: race, gender, home language, county location, childhood hometown community, age, years in education, years as a teacher, …

Effects Of Variable Friction Coefficient On The Pressure Distribution Between A Rolling Cylindrical Element And A Deformable Flat Surface, Francis Davis

Dissertations

The goal of this research is to develop a technique to accurately determine the characteristics of the pressure distribution during a rolling process. The determination of the accurate characteristics of a pressure distribution within the contact zone is essential to the accurate estimation of the energy and power requirements for the plastic deformation of the part. It has been determined by metal formers that the nature of the pressure distribution is very sensitive to the value of the coefficient of friction between the roller and the deformed part. It has also been determined that the physics of the deformation process …

An Assessment Of Leadership Traits And The Success Of Six Sigma Projects, Jr. David Chamblee

Dissertations

This study identifies specific leadership traits for green and black belt Six Sigma leaders that have a statistical relationship with the success of Six Sigma projects. The study also tests the reliability of a scale created from the Leadership Trait Questionnaire items. Approximately five hundred (N = 500) Six Sigma leaders were selected from a Tyco Electronics database called Tyco Electronics Business Improvement Tracking (TBIT). The criteria for participants were as follow: (a) They were master black belts, black belts, green belts or lean practitioners; (b) Their projects were related to Six Sigma; (c) Their projects had a hard cost …

Proactive Disciplinary Consequences In Three Illinois High Schools, Sara Golomb

Dissertations

Disciplinary codes of conduct guide administrators when determining the consequences for student misconduct. The codes of conduct commonly found in schools rely on exclusionary measures that have been associated with negative student outcomes and controversy but little is being done to provide positive model for these written policies. Schools need to reconsider their disciplinary practices and begin to incorporate positive strategies into their policies. The goal of this study was to provide an examination of the factors necessary to sustain a positive approach to discipline. Unfortunately, the preliminary information was insufficient. Suggestions are made to continue the exploration of philosophies …

Radicis: Ideology, Argument, And Composition Courses In American Colleges, Donovan Sean Braud

Dissertations

The development of "composition" out of larger rhetorical studies in American

colleges and universities has narrowed the scope of rhetorical training our students

receive, most notably excluding the political and social dimensions of persuasion. This

dissertation is an attempt to recover the larger political and civic scope that was the

original focus of rhetoric. I join a growing chorus of voices seeking to bring classroom

practice to bear on the larger social and civic lives of our students. My approach is

original in that it blends classical rhetoric with contemporary ideological theory to derive

a pedagogy that will allow students …

Pressure Ulcer Risk Factors For Patients With Hospital Versus Community Acquired Pressure Ulcers, Margaret Talley Phd, Mn, Rn, Cns, Cwcn-Ap

Dissertations

Purpose: Pressure ulcers are a major health problem in the United States. Patients who develop pressure ulcers have longer hospital stays, significant increase in morbidity and mortality, added pain and suffering. The purpose of this study was to examine community versus hospital specific pressure ulcer risk factors to identify whether the most severe pressure ulcer stages can be predicted from the knowledge of an individual's risk factors as has been reported in the literature. Methodology: The sample of patients with stageable III-IV and unstageable pressure ulcer patients included in the analysis was extracted from a Microsoft Access database developed by …

An Investigation Into Digital Media: Characteristics Of Learning Objects Which K-12 Teachers Determine Meet Their Instructional Needs, Patricia Ann Guthrie Edd

Dissertations

In recent years, learning objects have emerged as an instructional tool for teachers. Digital libraries and collections provide teachers with free or fee-base access to a variety of learning objects from photos and famous speeches to Flash animations and interactive Java Applets. Learning objects offer opportunities for students to interact with digital media in ways that can bring concepts and ideas to life. Students can visualize what changes in matter might look like and practice math skills like multiplying decimals. They can even receive instant feedback and interact with tutorials as many times as needed. The purpose of this mixed …

The Development Of And Relationship Between Elgin U-46'S Teacher Appraisal System And Mentor Program: 1998-2010, Joseph William Schumacher

Dissertations

This study investigated the historical development of Elgin School District U-46's teacher appraisal system and teacher mentor program during the years of 1998-2010. In 1998 a formal mentor program was implemented for the first time in district history. Shortly thereafter, district and union leadership agreed to revamp the twenty-five-year-old appraisal system. The study aimed to explore how district and union leadership prepared for, adopted, and implemented appraisal and mentoring during this time period through the framework of Thomas Sergiovanni's (1992) sources of authority for leadership.

The research questions of this study focused on five topics: the historical development of the …

The Impact Of Intrusive Advising On Academic Self Efficacy Beliefs In First-Year Students In Higher Education, Lauren Kemner Miller

Dissertations

First-year retention rates have seen minimal gains as high numbers of first-year students are leaving college due to insufficient academic skills and inability to adjust to the academic and social life of college. Programs that provide strategies to improve the transition from high school to college and that help develop skills to facilitate academic success are needed. This study presents a mixed method approach to examine intrusive academic advising and the impact of this program on first-year students enrolled at a four-year, private institution. Semi-structured interviews and the College Self Efficacy Inventory were utilized to gather the data.

First-year students …

Humanity In The Balance: The Relationship Between The Moral Law And The Promotion Of The Moral World In Kant's Ethics, John J. Garcia

Dissertations

This dissertation deals with the tension between two seemingly divergent approaches to morality. On the one hand, there are those who take the view that morality concerns itself with the promotion of certain ends. This is a teleological or consequentialist view of ethics. On the other hand, we see thinkers who take the view that rationality or some other criteria provide us certain moral imperatives that may not be violated, regardless of our desire to bring about a particular end. Kant is usually depicted not only as a member of the latter camp, but indeed as the father of this …

The Effect Of Plea Bargaining Vs. Trial Conviction On The Sentencing Of Offenders Charged With A Drug Offense In Cook County, Illinois, Joseph George Dusek

Dissertations

Traditional wisdom suggests those who lose at trial for a criminal charge receive a heftier prison sentence than those who plea bargain. Plea bargaining reduces strain on the courts, expedites adjudication and may indicate the defendant's propensity for rehabilitation as they accept responsibility for their actions. Some ask why two people charged with the same crime should receive different sentences based on the adjudication method. The Constitution guarantees the right to a jury trial. Innocent defendants may decide to plead guilty for a sure short sentence rather than risk a trial conviction's lengthier one. This study using statistical procedures examined …

An Investigation Of The Test-Taking Skills And Associated Thinking Processes Of Ninth Grade English Language Arts Students, Mary B. O'Shea Edd

Dissertations

Although much is known about how students perform on standardized tests, little research exists concerning how students think and process while taking such tests. This mixed methods action research study was designed to investigate if a constructivist approach to test preparation could yield improved results for 37 English language arts freshmen preparing for the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). The researcher explored student performances on Princeton Review practice CAHSEE tests (versions A, B, and C) over a 3-month period and she performed several statistical tests including repeated measures ANOVA by individual classes (advanced, basic, below basic) to determine differences …

An Analysis Of Teacher Satisfaction In The Seventh-Day Adventist Church Schools In Zimbabwe, Silas Masuku

Dissertations

Problem. Various studies have been conducted internationally on teacher satisfaction in private and public schools. Similar studies have also been done in Seventh-day Adventist church schools around the world. The importance of teacher satisfaction is crucial for the stability of education institutions in shaping students for success in their communities. The purpose of this study was to analyze perceptions of the level of satisfaction on factors deemed important to teachers in Seventh-day Adventist church schools in Zimbabwe. This research study also considered the pattern of teacher turnover in the schools.

Methodology. A stratified random sample of 442 teachers from …