Digital Commons Network^™

An Examination Of Attitudes And Actions Of Regular Classroom And Gifted Teachers Toward Differentiating For Gifted Learners Involved In A Pullout Gifted Program, Melissa Nicole Logan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bridging the gap in student performance has changed the teaching practice in classrooms across America. Educators have the responsibility to teach all learners. There is a need for instruction to be tailored to boost the higher-level achievers and balance the gaps. This study examined the attitudes and actions of regular and gifted teachers toward differentiating instruction for gifted learners to find out: (a) the types of differentiated instruction regular classroom teachers use for gifted learners, (b) the differences in gifted teachers' lesson plans from regular teachers' lesson plans, (c) the evidence in lesson plans that demonstrate differentiated instruction, and (d) …

College And University Developmental Education: The Professional Development Needs Of College And University Remedial Instructors, Kyle Trevor Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed method study, which utilized both survey data and personal interviews, was to determine if Murray's (2001) theory of six constructs applies to faculty who instruct remedial students at both four and two-year institutions. The research study used both quantitative and qualitative methods of research. A survey that included 23 items concerning college and university remedial faculty's perceptions about professional development at their institutions was administered to 300 remedial instructors. Ninety seven participants' responses were analyzed for the study. Survey answers were analyzed using factor analysis with Cronbach's ? reliability tests. Survey responses from college and …

Sequence Stratigraphy And Source Rock Characterization Of Organic-Rich Shales Within The Jurassic Smackover Formation, Conecuh Embayment, Alabama, U.S.A., Patrick W. Niemeyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Upper Jurassic Smackover Formation is a prolific producer of hydrocarbons known throughout the U.S. Gulf Coast region, and typically consists of carbonate lime mudstones, ooid grainstones, microbial boundstones, and dolostones. Recent exploration efforts in the Conecuh Embayment of southwest Alabama revealed the presence of two black, siliciclastic shale layers containing abundant terrestrially derived organic matter within the Smackover Formation. The shale layers provide interesting insight into the sequence stratigraphy and paleoclimate of the Conecuh Embayment, and the source of the hydrocarbons accumulated there. The two shale layers reach a maximum thickness of 50 feet along the longitudinal axis of …

Equity In Mississippi: A Study Of Public School Funding, Michael Lee Putnam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study analyzes the level of equity of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program funding formula through an analysis of the base per-pupil per district allocation system. This study researches the levels of horizontal equity, vertical equity, and fiscal neutrality in relation to the equity designed in the original 1993 proposal. The relationship between the current levels of equity found in the Mississippi Adequate Education Program and the proposed levels of equity holds significant interest for the Mississippi state legislature and educational leaders throughout the state of Mississippi. The funding formulas for Fiscal Year 2004 and Fiscal Year 2010 are …

Zero Divisor Graphs And Poset Decomposition, Bette Catherine Putnam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A graph is associated to any commutative ring R where the vertices are the non-zero zero divisors of R with two vertices adjacent if x · y = 0. The zero-divisor graph has also been studied for various algebraic stuctures such as semigroups and partially ordered sets. In this paper, we will discuss some known results on zero-divisor graphs of posets as well as the concept of compactness as it relates to zero-divisor graphs. We will dicuss equivalence class graphs defined on the elements of various algebraic structures and also the reduced graph defined on the vertices of a compact …

Experimental Damage Diagnosis Of A Model Three-Story Spatial Frame, Samantha Sabatino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Structural damage can be induced by a variety of events from short-term abnormal stresses to long-term natural aging. Detection of changes in a structure's ability to withstand subsequent loads can aid decisions on safety, repair, rehabilitation, and demolition. Dynamic property shifts can show internal cracks and minor damage before propagation or failure occurs, but only if a proper indicator is selected. In order to evaluate potential damage indices, a three-story metal frame building was constructed. Using Star Modal software, dynamic structural properties were obtained from modal decomposition on experimental tap test responses. The natural frequencies and mode shapes of the …

High Temperature And Pressure Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy Study Of Metal Hydride Systems, Rasheed Adebisi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation is to characterize the elastic properties of palladium hydride near the tri-critical point as a classic example of metal hydride systems using the resonant ultrasound spectroscopy. A high temperature and high pressure resonant ultrasound spectroscopy system which include the RUS cell and the direct contact transducer set-up was designed and constructed. The temperature and pressure dependent of elastic moduli of palladium hydride and palladium crystals were obtained at five isotherms near the critical temperature, 293 °C and for pressure range of 250–500 psi. A strong softening of the shear modulus was observed at temperature and …

A Strange Union: Science And Politics In The Loyalty Of Cadwallader Colden, Katherine Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract: Cadwallader Colden remains one of the least-studied Crown officials. His reasons for remaining loyal to the Crown have not been investigated, nor has the interaction between his scientific interests and his politics. This thesis explores the relationship between Colden's loyalty and his science, primarily through study of Colden's published papers and letters, as well as the letters and papers of various other colonial officials and amateur scientists. Ultimately this thesis concludes that Colden formed his closest friendships with other amateur scientists, and that these relationships significantly affected his politics.

They Burn You They Bury You They Pull You From The Water, Travis Eugene Morris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ditch Row Ballot of Characters In Daviess County, Kentucky, the Ohio River's ancient bank separates the people living in Owensboro. Those drowning in the plasmatic shallows, in the flood plains of the city, are a vigilant, tribal array of religions and mysticism. The closer a community comes to the actual banks of the river, the more enflamed characters of families become. As most places in Kentucky associate themselves with distinct counties--never being from a city--the people inside Daviess County align on streets. They Burn You They Bury You They Pull You from the Water, is the phoenix of one family …

Perceptions Of Social Mobility In Community College Scholars At Bucknell University, Nadir Sharif

Master’s Theses

While national leaders have joined the discussion more recently, scholars in the fields of education, psychology, and sociology, have been exploring the ways in which students? socioeconomic background affects the outcomes they experience as a result of their education (Lareau, Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, 2003).Furthermore, the role played by the education system in creating or diminishing socioeconomic disparity has also been studied in depth (Bourdieu, 1977; Boudon, 1977). However, the journeys of students from low-income families that begin their education at community colleges and continue it, through careful planning or chance, at elite four-year institutions, has not …

Rodents And Other Vertebrate Invaders In The United States, Michael W. Fall, Michael L. Avery, Tyler A. Campbell, Peter J. Egan, Richard M. Engeman, David Pimentel, William C. Pitt, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Gary W. Witmer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Contents

Introduction

Assessing impacts of rodents and other vertebrate invaders

Accounts of some important vertebrate invaders
Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)
Roof rat (Rattus rattus)
Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans)
House mouse (Mus Musculus)
Nutria (Myocastor coypus)
Gambian giant pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus)
Feral swine (Sus scofa)
Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus)
Rock pigeon (Columba livia)
House sparrow (Passer domesticus)
European starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)
Brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis)
Burmese python (Python …

Effects Of Management On Double-Crested Cormorant Nesting Colony Fidelity, Bronson K. Strickland, Brian S. Dorr, Fred E. Pogmore, Gary Nohrenberg, Scott C. Barras, John E. Mcconnell, John Gobeille

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The increase of double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus; hereafter, cormorant) populations during the last 2 decades has impacted many stakeholder groups. The negative effects of nesting cormorants on trees and other vegetation have motivated private organizations and government agencies to manage nesting colonies and reduce their impacts to private property and public resources. Management induced reproductive failure has been shown to influence cormorant inter-annual nesting colony fidelity, but not complete abandonment from a nesting colony site. We attached very high frequency (VHF) transmitters and Global Positioning System (GPS) transmitters to nesting cormorants to monitor their movement response on a …

A Model For Integrating A Career Development Course Program Into A College Curriculum, Charles Michael Austin

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to address the need to practicalize higher education by expanding career coursework into an ongoing career curriculum, beginning in a student's freshman year of college. Career development needs to serve as a finishing school for a college degree, the place where all a student has learned is combined into an awareness of the talents and skills they have developed, and can now be marketed to potential employers. The working world has become a volatile environment, and we do our students a disservice if we do not properly prepare them for the reality of the …

A Case Study Of Students Entering Writing Courses At College Of Sequoias, Jill Andrea Peck

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study is to discover whether English Language Learners' (ELLs'), English as a Second Language (ESL) students', and First Generation College Students' (FGCSs') participation in College of the Sequoias' writing center encouraged or yielded students' personal and professional involvement. The purpose of this study is to encourage faculty, staff, ESLs/ELLs/FGCSs, and community stakeholders to enroll in the services offered at the college discipline's writing center. More specifically the research questions for this study are as follows: According to student and staff members, is the writing center at College of the Sequoias maintaining effective reading and …

Factors Related To Special Education Teacher Job Commitment: A Study Of One Large Metropolitan School District In Southern California, Joseph David Green

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have focused their attention on the subject of special education teacher attrition for many years. While these researchers have made valuable findings, the need to abate the staggering numbers of special education teachers who leave the field still exists. Districts desiring to retain their teachers must place greater emphasis on the development of evidence-based strategies to reduce teacher attrition (Billingsley, 2004). The purposes of this study were to: (a) provide an overview of the extent to which, if at all, perceptions of job commitment among current special education teachers in a large metropolitan school district in Southern California differ …

Augmented Hands-On: An Evaluation Of The Impact Of Augmented Reality Technology On Informal Science Learning Behavior, Karen J. Elinich

Theses and Dissertations

This evaluative comparison study was designed to determine the extent to which the application of augmented reality technology increases realization of a hands-on exhibit device's intent and how augmented reality technology might influence family learning behaviors and facilitate the integration of the experiential and interpretive aspects of an informal science learning experience. The study was conducted at The Franklin Institute Science Museum during the summer of 2010. Twenty families interacted with an exhibit device called "Be the Path" in both its traditional hands-on condition and a novel augmented condition. While the sample size was too small to generate statistically significant …

Transformational Leadership And Personal Development: The Impact Of The Youth Citizenship Seminar On Former Participants, Keichea Lashun Reever

Theses and Dissertations

The researcher investigated how the Southern California Youth Citizenship Seminar (YCS) impacted the personal development (as outlined by Cashman, 2008) of 142 former participants who responded to an open ended question in a survey administered by Kirnon (2008) and Musick (2008). This qualitative, within site case study utilized detailed analysis and coding of 142 open ended question responses submitted by former Southern California Youth Citizenship Seminar (YCS) participants. The findings of this study revealed that the transformational leadership style utilized by the counselors and guest speakers of the Southern California YCS positively impacted the personal development of 97% of former …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Professional Learning Communities In Public Schools On Saipan, Jessica Yumiko Sakairi Barcinas Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

School improvement in varying degrees and stages requires change. In order for schools to become successful, they must work toward building communities of learning and empowering teachers to lead this change. One way schools can build communities of learning is through the model of the professional learning community (PLC). The only way schools will improve is through the collaboration that takes place in learning communities. One of the purposes of this study was to explore the connections between schools functioning as PLCs and increases in student achievement, as recommended in Grider's (2008) work. The participating schools worked together as PLCs …

Parental Involvement In Middle School Mathematics, Ligia Varela Hallstrom

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the impact of the Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS) program developed by the National Network of Partnership Schools. Data collection methods included session pre-and post-assessments of parents, structured parent journal questions, a parent focus group, and researcher field notes. A purposeful sample of parents was selected from 105 students enrolled in pre-algebra at a lower-class primarily Hispanic middle school in Southern California. All of these parents--27 parents of 23 of these low-achieving students--were invited and agreed to participate after an initial recruitment and orientation meeting. Meetings days and time were selected based upon teacher and parent …

The Implementation Of Corporate Downsizing By Human Resource Managers, A Phenomenological Study, Denise Fazio

Theses and Dissertations

This descriptive study explored the phenomenon of corporate downsizing as experienced by Human Resource (HR) managers who were directly involved in its implementation. It was concerned with two primary questions: First, what is the essential structure of the phenomenon of downsizing as experienced by the Human Resource (HR) managers who have been directly involved in its implementation? Second, how does this phenomenon or experience take place? Through the detailed descriptions of four corporate Human Resource managers' downsizing experiences--gathered through in-depth, face-to-face interviews--and my analysis of that data, I explicated the structure (the relationship among the most invariant constituents of the …

Factors Affecting Teachers' Level Of Technology Implementation In A Texas Private School, Billie J. Mcconnell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to discover if there was a relationship between the levels of technology implementation and teachers' instructional practices, personal computer use skills, and experiences in a Texas Private School. The LoTi Digital Age Survey was used to assess the current beliefs of the teachers along with additional questions regarding age, subject, experience, and years that the teacher has participated in the school's current professional development program. The results of this study did not find any statistical relationships with any of the variables. However, the study did show that the teachers have made progress in using …

A Phenomenological Study On The Perceptions Of University Professors Regarding The Philosophical Orientations Underlying The Assessment-Driven Model Of Education, Stephen Pietrolungo

Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study of the current education reform model concerns this central research question: What are the perceptions of five California university professors working within a school of education in terms of learning theory, curriculum perspectives, and philosophical orientations? Throughout the history and development of American education, concurrent political ideologies influenced reform. Interviewees were university professors preparing students to serve as teachers and administrators within the public school system. Findings revealed that the current reforms are at odds with the development skills like problem solving, global awareness, critical and creative thinking, independent learning, collaborative learning, communication, and reflection. Schools need …

Baldrige System Reform In New Mexico: A Grounded Theory Study Of Elementary School Principals' Implementation Of The Strengthening Quality In Schools (Sqs) Initiative, George Schumpelt

Theses and Dissertations

In 1992, the New Mexico Governor's Business Executives for Education (GBEE) launched the Strengthening Quality in Schools (SQS) initiative and Baldrige Reform. In 2006, Dr. Peter Winograd, Director of Educational Accountability for the New Mexico Public Education Department, studied 48 Baldrige schools and discovered increased student achievement in only 63% of the schools. The purpose of this research was to gather state-wide data about the Baldrige Reform implementation process and develop a grounded hypotheses aimed at increasing the reliability of the implementation. The following questions served as a guide for the study: What barriers do New Mexico elementary principals at …

Assessing In-Kind Middle School Teachers' Concern About & Use Of Soars: School Online Assessment Reporting System, John M. Marion

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years technology has been integrated into every sector of education. Using Student Online Assessment Reporting System (SOARS) to assess score results and design instructional strategies for improved learning is a challenge and will cause concern to teachers. This is a descriptive comparative study designed to measure select Middle School teachers' Stages of Concern and Levels of Use regarding the SOARS assessment tool. SOARS was adopted by Jeffco Public Schools (CO) to chart student progress by presenting Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) score data. This study determined if there was a significant difference between the Stages of Concern and …

Simple Rules Leaders Use To Guide Their Organizations During Times Of Rapid Change, Kristine Quade

Theses and Dissertations

Few leaders would refer to their organization as a complex adaptive system (CAS)--one that is irreversible and unpredictable. They might say their organization contains diverse elements and is constantly learning--the other two aspects of a CAS. Few top leaders rarely are able to identify the self-organizing patterns as they emerge. This study involved 58 senior leaders in five 5 market sectors who were guiding their organizations during times of rapid change. Using a Delphi method, the intent was to identify what simple rules the leaders used to shape the speed, direction and outcomes of self-organizing patterns. A simple rule expands …

The Perceptions Of Middle And High School Students Participating In A School-Based Mentoring Program, Annette Marie Marshall

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative descriptive study included a pool of 22 middle and high school students who participated in the Stand By Me Mentoring Program during the 2010-2011 school year, exploring their perceptions related to the positive and negative aspects of their mentoring relationship, the positive and negative aspects of the impact of their mentoring relationship, and the positive and negative aspects of the mentoring program. Focus group interviews were used to collect data from the participants. Questions asked during the focus group interviews were modified with permission from What's Working? Tools For Evaluating Your Mentor Program, by Saito (2001) for The …

M-Learning: An Exploration Of The Attitudes And Perceptions Of High School Students Versus Teachers Regarding The Current And Future Use Of Mobile Devices For Learning, Jason Messinger

Theses and Dissertations

Despite rapid growth and use of mobile Internet devices, schools have remained resistant to the adoption of the devices. The cost of the devices, the distractibility of the devices to the learning environment, and safety and privacy issues that come with the devices are all reasons that schools have used against the implementation of the devices. Nevertheless, studies have shown that students become more motivated when technology and social media are allowed for their learning (Kozma, 2005). To better understand the usage gap, teachers and students at a high school underwent an online survey and follow up focus group. The …

Storytelling Strategies For Leading Change In University Prestige, Matthew T. Paden

Theses and Dissertations

Universities across the United States desire to enhance their level of institutional prestige in order to recruit top students, hire outstanding faculty members, and increase financial support. The purpose of this study is to discover storytelling strategies for leading change in university prestige. This qualitative study utilized the Dynamic Narrative Approach in conducting interviews to collect data from university leaders whose titles included president, provost-vice president, and academic dean. The interview instrument consisted of semistructured questions, was reviewed for validity by a panel of experts, and was administered through the use of technology. A review and synthesis of the literature …

Leading A Successful Change Effort At The School Level, Sindy Samantha Shell

Theses and Dissertations

Schools that have implemented professional learning communities (PLCs) have been experiencing the initial intention of professional learning communities, however, the essence of shared leadership, using collaboration as a problem solving component, and data-driven decision making is not in fact what is taking place in schools. The term "PLC" has become an overused and often detrimental label. This observed outcome could be attributed to how the professional learning community is implemented in the school. In order to have the change be effective, the new endeavor must be anchored in the culture. In fact, it has been observed that missing component in …

Editors' Message, Nancy Defrance, Nancy Patterson, Elizabeth Petroelje Stolle

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.