Digital Commons Network^™

2016-2019 General Education Course Mapping To Gen. Ed. Goals, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Assessment Center Reports

General Education Course Mapping to Gen. Ed. Goals report produced by the SWOSU Assessment Center

Three-Year Health-Related Fitness Knowledge Growth In One Curriculum Context: Impact Of Sociodemographic Factors, Xihe Zhu, Justin A. Haegele

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study aims to (a) examine elementary school students' health-related fitness knowledge growth under one curriculum condition and (b) examine the impacts of student/school-level factors on health-related fitness knowledge and its growth rate in physical education. Method: We used an observational, longitudinal repeated-measures design, and conducted analyses on an existing dataset. Participants were 7,479 third, fourth, and fifth graders (48.9% girls) from 152 elementary schools. Measures were a knowledge test and sex at the student level, and socioeconomic data, academic performance, and student–faculty ratio at the school level. We ran three-level hierarchical linear models on the data. Results: Fitness …

Pension Effect On Out-Of-State Teacher Turnover In North Carolina, Daniella Henry

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper examines the impact on pension generosity on teacher turnover in North Carolina Public School teachers. It specifically focuses on the impacts of vesting, employer contribution, and pension generosity for out-of-state teachers in their first five years of teaching. High rates of teacher turnovers, especially teachers in their early career, have been shown to negatively impact North Carolina students. As states search for solutions to decrease turnover and recruit more qualified teachers, the effects of pension programs on teacher turnover has yet to be thoroughly examined. This paper found that there was a slight negative correlation between teacher turnover …

Exploring The Relationship Among Students' Preconceptions, Attitudes, And Major, Matthew Dwyer

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The Force Concept Inventory, (a multiple-choice classical mechanics exam given as a pre-test within the first two weeks of a course and as a post-test within the last two weeks of a course) is one of the most widely used tools in physics education research. The most basic research, which has been implemented at Northern Illinois University for many years, employs a pre- and post-test structure to observe improvements in students' scores over a semester and is used as a quantitative representation of students' learning over the duration of a course. While many studies have been published about best practices …

Supporting Teacher And Student Competency With Scientific Practices Through Lesson Study, Jonathan Robert Bowers

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Although numerous studies have documented the benefits of using scientific practices in K-12 education, many in-service teachers continue to use traditional pedagogical practices. In order to address the underlying deficiencies in teacher pedagogical design capacity (PDC) for practices, we developed a lesson study (LS) based professional learning (PL) program, which we implemented at a low socio-economic status (SES) school district. Using classical content analysis and supplementary assessments, I investigated the impact this LS based PL program had on teacher PDC for scientific practices (particularly the practice of argumentation), student argumentation competency, and teacher self-efficacy. My results demonstrate that teacher PDC …

Hidden Cracks In The Leaking Stem Pipeline: Retention Within First-Generation Latinx Students In Baccalaureate Stem Programs At Predominately White Institutions, Kevin Kandamby

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis documents the lived experiences of first-generation Latinx students navigating

through predominately white institutions while attaining or attempting to attain a STEM degree. To examine this, twelve students from five different institutions were interviewed in semi- structured focus groups to better understand the educational trajectories of students in STEM. Inadequate high school preparation, educational disparities, mental health, and lack of institutional support were some of the reoccurring concerns students had across all focus groups. Students also highlighted that cultural competency across faculty in STEM, support from identity groups, and returning back to their Latinx community to serve as professionals …

Active Learning Strategies For Higher Education: The Practical Handbook, Centre For Higher Education Research, Policy And Practice, Shaun Ferns, Nicola Duffy

Books

The manual itself is based on a sound method that the Educator can easily deploy. This is made up of easy stages for each activity which they and their students can embrace. This student-centred pedagogical approach allows learners to build their understanding while also taking responsibility for their own learning where the educator acts in a facilitator or enabler role. This active, enquiry-based approach is at the heart of what Durham College, UOIT and TU Dublin endeavour to provide to students as it can be applied to diverse problems and contexts within their educational journey and across disciplines. It also …

A Review Of Technology And Its Impact On Middle School Classrooms, Curtis Alan Gustafson

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This literature review is an explorative examination of the current research related to how technology integration impacts the middle school classroom. With technology becoming more common in the home, work-pace, and school, studies highlighting the usefulness of these different tools are becoming a necessity for educators as they move forward with the development of the institution of education. This review covers multiple aspects of integration of educational technology in the middle school due to the fact that most studies were explorative in nature and or that the researchers were limited by aspects of their studies. In a broad sense, the …

Differential Benefits Of Prekindergarten For Low-Income Black Children : A Quasi-Experimental Study, Janice Marie Parker

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract

Cross-Community Collaboration Among Knowledge Building Communities, Guangji Yuan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Cross-community collaboration which expands community members’ interaction to a larger social scale plays a crucial role in increasing information exchange and extending inquiry learning. This dissertation uses a design-based research approach which aims at testing a multi-level emergence design in multiple learning communities. This design serves the urgent need to enable students’ idea sharing and build-on with members from other communities who have similar interests for mutual learning and collective knowledge advances.

Transformative Technology For English Language Learners, Lashonda K. Gardenhire

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Across the United States, communities are becoming more linguistically and culturally diverse. Throughout previous times of change, schools have been the bedrock of transforming society and it’s workers. However, if education in the United States is ever going to level the playing field between the affluent and the poor, white students and minority students, native-born and foreign-born, it will not be enough for English Language Learners to simply learn to read and write in English. Educators must reflect on how to adapt their teaching practices for a plethora of student needs. Subsequently, the focus of this paper will specifically be …

Education, Skills, And Wage Outcomes Among Mid-Career Adults : A Cross-National Study, Kai Zhou

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Interest in the role of non-cognitive skills on successful life outcomes (such as academic performance) has increased in recent years. Policy makers in many countries have prioritized the learning of non-cognitive skills in the school curriculum and training frameworks. Although studies in labor economics have provided important insights about the impact of non-cognitive skills on earnings (e.g., Lindqvist and Vestman 2011; Heckman, Stixrud, and Urzua 2006), solid evidence about how labor markets produce or facilitate the acquisition of non-cognitive skills in different country settings is lacking. The linkage between education, skills and wages has been at the core discussion of …

Synthesis And Adsorption Experiments With Metal-Organic Frameworks For High School And Undergraduate Laboratory Settings, Kate Holley

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Seven experiments are described and outlined here that introduce high school and undergraduate students to metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and their applications. The experiments were designed to be completed with basic laboratory equipment and supplies and without the use of expensive characterization instruments, simulating typical high school chemistry laboratory conditions. Students synthesized two well-known MOFs, HKUST-1 and aluminum fumarate, using simple, safe, and rapid methods (fast enough to be performed within the time constrains of a typical high school class). Students then use their synthesized MOFs to explore their inherent sorption properties. In one set of experiments, the synthesized MOFs are …

The Role Of Quality Education In The Economic Development Of Mexico, Betzayra Perez

CMC Senior Theses

Mexico’s education system ranks among the lowest in terms of quality and achievement levels. Given the importance of education for a country’s economic development, it is crucial to understand how improvements in Mexico’s education quality can result in economic growth for the country. This thesis aims to create awareness about how the quality of learning rather than total schooling can result in improving Mexico’s economic development. First, a general literature review provides significant findings of the quality of education, the difference between learning and schooling, and educational equity, and its effects on economic development. Moreover, a detailed overview of the …

A First-Year Teacher’S Implementation Of Short-Cycle Formative Assessment Through The Use Of A Classroom Response System And Flexible Grouping, Adrienne Irving Dumas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As teachers we are tasked with ensuring that our students are equipped with the skills necessary to not only perform with proficiency on local state and national assessments but also to provide our students with opportunities to develop confidence and competence as learners of mathematics through meaningful challenging and worthwhile activities. As such many teachers have turned to technology and cooperative groups as staples in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to understand how one first-year teacher implemented what she was taught in her undergraduate coursework in teaching two specific units of instruction in two sections of high …

An Examination Of The Relationship Among The Intentions, Features, Affordances, And Outcomes Of Saturday Academy For Math Professional Development For Mathematics Teachers, Brian Buckhalter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using a design framework to connect the features of SA4M to the affordances reported, participants of SA4M deepened their content knowledge on both conceptual and skill specific levels, and expressed intentions to incorporate many of the tasks from SA4M into their practices. There are implications for those tasked with creating and evaluating professional development for teachers.

How African American Men From Challenging Backgrounds Beat The Odds And Graduated From College, Valisha Terry

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

While Bettis and Sternod (2009) asserted the notion of boys being in crisis as not a new phenomenon but a historically cyclical one, present research contends that African American men are one of the most at-risk groups in the United States. School and criminal-justice systems show similar results. African American men continue to lag in terms of graduation rates and college enrollment, while being overrepresented in victim violence and the criminal justice system. They also lead the nation in homicides as both victims and perpetrators. Despite these obstacles, many at-risk African American men graduate from college and excel in life. …

The Role Of Data Analytics In Education: Possibilities & Limitations, Robert L. Moore

STEMPS Faculty Publications

In the last decade, we have seen dramatic increases in the integration of technology within education. It has now become commonplace for K-5 educators to apply learning management systems (LMS) in ways that were previously only seen in higher education contexts. Similarly, on the higher education side, we are seeing a significant increase in online learning evidenced by the growing number of for-profit online colleges and universities (Picciano, 2012). This chapter utilizes Khan’s Learning Framework (Khan, 2001, 2005) to explore the role data analytics can play in education by looking at the possibilities and limitations of analytics.

College Students’ Experiences With High School Science: Promoting Interest And Achievement In Science, Monica Wyman

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Research in the past ten years has shown that there has been a lack of professionals to fill the jobs available in science. One possible reason for the lack of participation in science fields lies in students’ beliefs in their ability to do science, or science self-efficacy, which is linked to interest and achievement. Their perceptions of science are influenced by prior achievement and experiences, and serve as predictors of future interest and achievement. Since teachers provide much of early scientific experiences, this research looked at the impact of specific instructional practices as well as background factors influencing student attitudes …

Technology Integration In Education In Egypt / دمج التكنولوجيا في التعليم في مصر, Alaa Afdal Mogheith, Aya Ahmed Wahb, Lobna Abdallah Yassin

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

Our policy paper focuses on exploring the introduction of the tablets to the first secondary stage in the national educational system. Furthermore, it tackles the implementation processes that are now taking place in Egypt.

Just Another School: The Need To Strengthen Legal Protections For Students Facing Disciplinary Transfers, Miranda Johnson

Faculty Publications & Other Works

Over the past decade, there has been increasing national, state, and local attention focused on the negative impacts of school expulsion and suspension. As a result of the well-documented and long-standing research showing the harm to students of exclusionary school discipline practices, states and school districts have begun reforming their policies and practices to limit the use of suspensions and expulsions. Many of these new reforms, however, have not included changes to provisions in state law and district policies allowing for students to be transferred from their neighborhood schools to alternative schools for disciplinary reasons. In this article, we argue …

A Critical Review Of Current Approaches And Practices In Computing Ethics Education, Sophia Farquhar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Recent scandals caused by the results of negligent, malicious, or shortsighted software development practices highlight the need for software developers to consider the ethical implications of their work. Computing ethics has historically been a marginalized area within computing disciplines, so educators in these disciplines do not have a common background for teaching the topic. Computing ethics education, although often a required part of coursework, can vary widely in the method of implementation from university to university.

In this report I summarize the insights I gained from interviewing four educators from three different institutions on their pedagogical approaches to computing ethics. …

The Influence Of The "Emotionally Disturbed" Classroom Label On General Education Teachers' Sense Of Efficacy, Giovanna Perricone

Scripps Senior Theses

Students identified as “emotionally disturbed” face resistance to inclusion in classrooms with typically-developing peers on the part of the general education teachers. This study aims to address whether the classroom label of “emotionally disturbed” affects teacher efficacy and whether this relationship is moderated by the amount of applied inclusion training a teacher has received. General education teachers will read identical case studies of a student who either spends some of his school day in an “Emotionally Disturbed Class” or a “Self-Regulation Skills Class.” They will complete a measure of student-specific teacher efficacy and then report how many hours of inclusion …

Best Practices To Encourage Landfill Diversion In Waste Management Programs, Sondra Abruzzo

Scripps Senior Theses

Waste generation in the United States is at an all time high. Over half of the country’s waste goes to landfill, yet 70 percent of this waste can be recycled or composted. Since landfills pose one of the largest manmade threats to the environment, sustainable waste management strategies should focus on landfill diversion. A successful waste recovery program needs to engage the public, and ensure individuals participate correctly in available waste management systems. This paper sheds light on effective education and awareness strategies used to encourage participation in local waste management systems and promote landfill diversion. By highlighting successful programs …

Um Só Currículo: Actividades Para Uma Educação Integrada Em Sexualidade, Género, Hiv E Direitos Humanos, International Sexuality And Hiv Curriculum Working Group, Nicole Haberland, Deborah Rogow

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Education on sexuality and HIV can help adolescents develop the capacity for healthy, respectful relationships and protect themselves from unwanted and unsafe sex, unintended pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections. A 2015 Population Council study found that sexuality and HIV education programs that address gender and power in intimate relationships are five times more likely to be effective than programs that do not. However, most curricula still do not address these issues. "It’s All One Curriculum" provides a rationale, content, and sample activities for placing gender and rights at the center of sexuality and HIV curricula—both as stand-alone modules and integrated …

Analyzing The Impact Of Home Locales On Access To Tertiary Education; Trends In Students’ Access To Bucknell University, Emily Tevebaugh

Honors Theses

Access to postsecondary education has been found in previous studies to be correlated with socioeconomic status as well as with various other indicators, such as parents’ education levels and cultural expectations. However, addressing the impact of home locales and geographical proximity to colleges in addition to these individual characteristics is a crucial part of understanding college access. In this honors thesis, the following questions will be examined: how has access to college and the decision to matriculate changed in recent years? How does distance from colleges and differing characteristics of home locales influence acceptance to a university and the decision …

The Challenges For A Closed-To-The-Public Animal Sanctuary: Prioritizing Animal Welfare While Engaging In Educational Community Outreach, Lisa Tweed

All Master's Theses

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is a small primate sanctuary in Cle Elum, Washington, and is presently home to seven chimpanzees who were retired from biomedical research. I used this sanctuary as a case study to find out how a closed-to-the-public sanctuary can engage in educational outreach without compromising the welfare of the residents. I employed a combination of semi-structured interviews of sanctuary personnel, ethnographic participant-observation as a volunteer caregiver, and an online survey offered to the local community to help me understand the goals and limitations of sanctuaries. I also designed and conducted two educational programs for local area schools as …

I Was The Only One In The Building. Lived Experiences Of Black School Counselors Post-Brown V. Board Of Education In Predominantly White Schools, Yevonne A. Jones

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of Black school counselors post- Brown v. Board of Education (1954) decision and their integration into predominantly White public schools. A literature review was conducted which included the history of school counseling, Brown v. Board of Education , and its impact on the displacement of Black educators. The literature also explored the experiences of Black teachers and students post- Brown and current demographic data of school counselors. A qualitative study was conducted to capture the lived experiences of participants using multiple case studies and narrative life stories. Four Black …

A Quasi-Experimental Study Of Middle Level Student Engineering Understanding Pre-And Post-Treatment, Emily Driessen

Theses and Dissertations--Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education

This qualitative quasi-experimental study analyzed middle-level students’ understanding of engineering before and after instruction. Students from four teachers were examined. Before and after instruction, all students completed the Draw an Engineer Test (DAET) and the Views of Nature of Engineering (VNOE) survey. Additionally, sixteen students (eight girls and eight boys) from each group (Treatment and Comparison) were interviewed before and after instruction. Findings revealed that after instruction (1) many students viewed engineers as makers/builders/workers (just as they did pre-instruction), however, the percentage of students who listed engineers as inventors, designers, and creators increased; (2) fewer students from both groups noted …

Effective Relationships: Managing And Measuring The Impact On Learning And Teaching, Emily Ann Brown

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the quantitative study was to take the researched components of the teacher-learner relationship and operationalize them into a survey instrument to measure and operationalize the relationship so that it can be studied and improved upon. The seven components of the teacher-learner relationship are empathy, showing care and concern, mutual respect, going above and beyond, passion and enthusiasm, perseverance and patience, and belief in the learners abilities. This quantitative study was based on the theories of emotional intelligence, client-centeredness, and attachment theory. While there is a wealth of literature about what makes a teacher-learner relationship important and what …