Digital Commons Network^™

Exploration, Language And Application: An Approach To Teaching Beginning Instrumental Jazz Improvisation, Jeremy Todd Pownall

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide preservice and inservice teachers with an alternative approach to teaching beginning jazz improvisation to instrumentalists in a classroom setting. It was determined that there exists a need for an accessible (to both teacher and student) method for teaching beginning jazz improvisation to instrumentalists. This is due to the lack of emphasis on jazz improvisation at both the public school and university level, as well as the inclusion of improvisation in both the national and Georgia state standards for music performance. The teaching method presented in this study is based on previous research, …

Examining The Decision Making Process Of A Literacy Coach For Literacy Implementation In A Secondary School Setting, Sandra J. Wilson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the role and responsibilities in the decision-making strategies and actions of a literacy coach while implementing literacy practices within secondary school setting. The influence of these decisions upon instructional practice within the school setting through professional development was also explored. The qualitative study utilized a case study theory methodology in the process of data collection and analysis. Purposeful sampling was used to select four secondary schools defined as post-primary grade, including middle school that was currently implementing a coaching model with active literacy coaches. Data was gathered through on-site, semi-structured one-on-one interviews …

Exploring The Principal's Role In High Poverty Schools With High Literacy Achievement, Jill E. Jay

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to exploreEducational aspects which help explain high early-literacy acquisition in high-poverty elementary schools. Through this qualitative study, the perceptions of key staff members, including the principal, in four high achieving, high-poverty schools were explored in three areas: 1) contributing aspects of high-level, early-literacy achievement in their particular school setting; 2) role of the principal in a high-poverty school that attains a high level of early-literacy achievement; and 3) how high early-literacy achievement occurred in their particular school setting. The schools in the study were located in multiple states that the researcher had access …

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 …

A Study Of The Innovation, Creativity, And Leadership Skills Associated With The College-Level Millennial Generation, Melinda Lester

Theses and Dissertations

As the economy has become increasingly global, organizations whose employees are more creative and innovative compete at a higher level than those who do not. And, organizations that incorporate multi-generations into their workforce will realize more creativity and innovation within their organizations. Now, and in the future, leaders will encounter a new generation of employees that will challenge their leadership ability. The challenges addressed in this study gravitate to these areas: Creativity and innovative abilities that will compete in the global economy; the Millennial Generation and their unrealized creative skills due to the influence of the No Child Left Behind …

Citizen Journalism And Digital Voices: Instituting A Collaborative Process Between Global Youth, Technology And Media For Positive Social Change, Robin Worley

Theses and Dissertations

Millions of youths in developing countries are described by UNICEF as "invisible and excluded." They live at the margins of society, facing challenges to their daily existence, powerless to make positive changes. But the emergence of citizen journalism and digital storytelling may offer these youths a chance to share their voices and positively impact their lives. The Internet and mobile devices have allowed ordinary citizens to become citizen journalists by sharing news when and where it happens with a global audience. Digital storytelling is also growing as a means of sharing one's personal story with a larger audience than ever …

Personality Types As An Indicator Of Online Student Success And Retention, Ben P. Meredith

Theses and Dissertations

With online education courses within public institutions realizing lower than average retention and success rates for students, current retention practices and models are falling woefully short of providing workable, viable answers to keeping students and helping them be successful without lowering academic standards. While a relationship between specific occupations and personality types have been noted, currently little research exists linking personality type with online student success and retention. This study sought to determine the relationship between the personality types of online students and their success and retention in online programs. In summer 2009, 149 students from Olympic College in Washington …

Moving Away From Programming And Towards Computer Science In The Cs First Year, James Heliotis, Richard Zanibbi

Articles

After completing a pilot study using the Python programming language to transition to Java within our first-year introductory programming sequence, our department opted to make a more radical change. We assert that our students are better served in their first year of study by a focus on problems in computer science and their solutions, rather than programming. Our new introductory sequence emphasizes algorithm development and analysis, object-oriented design, and testing. As in our pilot, programming is first done in Python, switching to Java when object-oriented design and static typing become advantageous. Students reported liking the problem focus of the courses, …

The Anglo Politics Of Latino Education: The Role Of Immigration Scripts, Edmund T. Hamann

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In the 41 states without a substantial historic Latino population, large-scale schooling of Latinos is a comparatively new issue and the nature of that schooling is fundamentally shaped by how the more established (usually Anglo) populations understand this task. This chapter describes the understandings that led to, but also limited, one particularly comprehensive attempt in Georgia to respond to Latino newcomers. In that sense, this is a study of the cosmologies that can undergird the politics of schooling of Latinos. This chapter utilizes the concept of the script, or broadly shared storylines about how things are or should be, to …

State Constitutional Design And Education Reform: Process Specification In Louisiana, Scott R. Bauries

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

As to education, the Louisiana Constitution contains the familiar general mandate for the establishment of a public school system, now ubiquitous among state constitutions. But unlike the founding documents of any of the other states, Louisiana's constitution also provides for a very specific process-based allocation of the responsibilities for determining appropriations levels in education from year to year.

It is well-known that state constitutions often treat numerous—sometimes trivial—subjects, or contain provisions that seem hyper-specific and statutory, rather than foundational and constitutional, and state constitutions have been roundly criticized (and sometimes defended) for these features. In this Article, I argue that …

History Education And Identity Formation: A Case Study Of Uganda, Takako Mino

CMC Senior Theses

History education builds the foundation of a common past necessary for the formation of group identity. Evaluating History curricula is important because group identity guides people’s political behavior. This Uganda case study demonstrates how different actors have manipulated History education in order to enhance the saliency of ethnic, national, and regional identities. The expansion of nationalized education and the teaching of Ugandan, East African, and African history have contributed to fostering the rise of national consciousness in Uganda. Greater awareness of national identity has promoted national integration while marginalizing non-school educated people.

Re-Evaluating Poverty Alleviation Strategies: The Impact Of Microfinance On Child Labor In Bangladesh., Lauren C. Smith

CMC Senior Theses

Microfinance has become one of the most promising tools for development and poverty alleviation over the past two decades. Millions of borrowers around the globe have utilized microcredit to start or expand their small businesses and raise their household income. One poverty-induced problem microfinance could potentially alleviate is child labor. Despite international legislation prohibiting it, child labor continues to deprive millions of children of their right to education. Without education, there is little hope for a country to increase productivity and wealth in the future. A number of scholars have highlighted a negative correlation between credit rationing and child labor. …

Capturing The Unseen Experience Of Asian International Students In The United States, Martel Pipkins

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

International students bring unique elements to the campuses everywhere. Through their efforts we are able to experience their culture through events such as Japan Night, Nepal Night, Vietnamese New Year, and Africa Night among others. However, there are experiences of international students that are less likely captured. Through one-on-one semi-structured interviewing, the unseen experience of international students from Asia was brought to light. The specific focus here is on challenges they may face during their time of study. The three core challenges presented are 1) living situations, 2) developing relationships, and 3) language. These core challenges seem to have a …

Mhc Class I-Dependent Acquisition And Maintenance Of Natural Killer Cell Function, Julie Chase

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Natural killer: NK) cells are hematopoietically derived immune cells of the lymphoid lineage. Their effector functions, including cytokine secretion and cytotoxicity, are controlled by the integration of signals received from both activating and inhibitory receptors. In a phenomenon known as "missing-self" recognition, NK cells eliminate self-tissues with aberrantly low or absent MHC class I surface expression, as is common in settings of viral infection and transformation, when these cells fail to engage the critical NK cell inhibitory receptors. Interestingly, NK cells that develop in an MHC class I-deficient environment are defective in natural killing and hyporesponsive to stimulation through their …

Cultivating Care: Nurturing Nurses For A New Tomorrow, Caroline J. Vafeas, Melanie Lauva, Tania Beament

Research outputs 2011

In large academic institutions, students often feel very lost, confused, lonely, and anxious or even a fraud at being there. At Edith Cowan University in Western Australia, researchers identified a gap in provision for Nursing Students which addresses these concerns. This study used a qualitative case study utilising rich narrative and aesthetic expression to explore and describe the experiences of both student mentees and academic mentors over the trajectory of the student’s Bachelor Degree programme. Findings emerging show students both want and need academic mentorship but the form upon which that takes is highly individual and changeable as the individuals …

Investing In Sustainable And Resilient Rural Social Space: Lessons For Teacher Education, Simone White, Graeme Lock, Wendy Hastings, Maxine Cooper, Jo-Anne Reid, Bill Green

Research outputs 2011

An opinion is presented that the relationship between teacher education and the sustainability of rural communities is reciprocal. Such a reciprocal relationship is explored using research findings of an Australian Research Council funded project (2008-2010) of schools and communities that identified sustainable practices concerning staff recruitment and retention. The paper discusses the context of the study, its method and conceptual framework as well as emerging themes from twenty case studies across Australia. The implications of these themes in terms of better preparing a future rural teacher workforce are examined.

Digital Curation Education In Practice: Catching Up With Two Former Fellows, Samantha Guss, Lisa Gregory

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

From 2008-2010, as part of the grant: ‘DigCCurr I: Preserving Access to Our Digital Future: Building an International Digital Curation Curriculum’ (DigCCurr I) funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a number of fellows at the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) were comprehensively trained by library and archive professionals in digital curation theory and practice. This paper examines the curriculum skill areas matrix of the DigCCurr I program from the perspective of two former fellows, now employed in professional positions that utilize digital curation principles. Each …

Context And Process In International Teacher Recruitment: The Experiences Of Global Educators Outreach (Geo) Teachers From Africa In The U.S.A., Omar A. Kamara

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the experiences of three teachers recruited from African countries to teach in Chicago‘s public schools. The purpose of the study was to highlight the experiences of the teachers through the lens of changing global dynamics that make such international recruitment of teachers more likely than ever before. It was apparent through this research that the movement of the teachers from developing countries to the United States of America had professional, economic and social impact on the teachers, their families and their communities. Although the teachers interviewed were hopeful that the skills they are gaining could one day …

Understanding The Relationship Between Hyper-Violence And Educational Disparity: Listening To The Voices Of Latina Youth From Oakland, Yanira Madrigal-Garcia

Master's Theses

The hyper-violence that exists in Oakland, California, has persistently made national headlines. When examining the violence that exists in low-income urban cities, studies usually overemphasize the male experience. The studies that center on female experience usually focus on extreme cases such as gang-involved and incarcerated girls. This study foregrounds the experiences of Latina high school girls from Oakland who are "in the middle," neither gang-involved nor academic high-achievers.

The purpose of this study was to investigate: 1) how the participants make sense of and understand the violence that is present in their communities; 2) how violence impacts their everyday lives …

Effects Of Monetary Incentives On Academic Performance Of Fourth-Grade Students From Low Socioeconomic Status, Sandra O. Dafiaghor

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Scientific investigations of monetary incentives on students' academic achievement have not explored effects on performance of students from low socioeconomic status (SES), nor has there been exploration of teachers' perceptions of how monetary incentives impact academic performance of students from low socioeconomic status. The present study explored how low SES students perceive their academic performances being impacted by extrinsic monetary incentives. The study also explored the fourth-grade teachers' beliefs about the impact of monetary incentive on students' academic performance. The study found that students believe monetary incentives will increase academic performance, depending on the size of the cash incentive. The …

Teacher Bullies: A Factorial Analysis Of Perceptions Of Teachers' Bullying Behaviors, Sally Walter Davies

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bullying in schools is a global phenomenon that can infringe upon the rights of students to learn and grow in a secure and fostering environment. Most of the past and current research on school bullying focuses on peer bullying, but there is a gap in the understanding of types and characteristics of bullying behaviors. This study centered on a type of abusive behavior that has received very limited attention: teachers bullying students. For the purpose of this study, the definition of teacher bullying behavior is a repeated pattern of conduct used to punish, manipulate, or disparage a student, rooted in …

The Effects Of Mere Exposure On Responses To Foreign-Accented Speech, Lea Grossman

Master's Theses

The present study examined the effects of repeated exposure to the accent (standard American English vs. Asian Indian) of a prospective college professor on participants' cognitive reactions, affective reactions, and passage comprehension. Based on data collected from 115 undergraduate students, results showed that an Asian Indian-accented professor was perceived as being less competent, less likable, but more motivated than a standard American English speaking professor. In addition, the trustworthiness of the Asian Indian-accented professor decreased over time as well as participants' negative opinions of the professor. Finally, the results of the study indicate that when listening to the professor's foreign …

Hiv Education For Youth In Transition To Adulthood, Peter Eugene Gamache

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the role of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) stigma in program implementation. A case study design comprising qualitative methods provided in-depth, context-sensitive comparisons of adult educator (n = 8) and youth (n = 67) perspectives among programs that provide HIV services and those that provide risk reduction services. Nearly half of the youth participants were male, 42% were female, and 6% identified as transgender. Two thirds of participants were Black or African American, one quarter of participants were Hispanic or Latino, and the average participant age was 19. Although program personnel from all youth service programs in this …

Longevity In The Superintendency: A Case Study Of New Jersey District Factor Group Cd Superintendents, Annette C. Giaquinto

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Length Of School Calendars And Student Achievement In High Schools In California, Illinois And Texas, James M. Pedersen

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Academic Language Teaching And Learning In The Third Space Classroom: A Preservice Teachers' Perspective, Cinzia Forasiepi

Doctoral Dissertations

The increased percentage of immigrant children in the public school system in the United States has challenged schools to provide adequate academic language instruction to reach the same levels as their monolingual peers. Teachers must demonstrate the ability to support the development of academic language in accordance to both the standards' requirements and the linguistic needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. It is very important to shed light on teacher preparation programs and how they support their candidates to develop a pedagogy that can best respond to students' needs. This study explore the beliefs and practices of preservice teachers …

An Evidence-Based Toolkit For Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Education Of Female Adolescents In The School Setting, Nancy R. Kloha

DNP Projects

A new vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus infection was approved in 2006 in the United States (U.S.). Uptake of the vaccine has been less than optimal (CDC, 2010c). New venues for promoting vaccine acceptance are needed (Middleman & Tung, 2010). The goal of this capstone clinical project is to create an evidence based toolkit for use by school nurses in educating female adolescents, parents, communities and other healthcare providers about the HPV vaccine.

Schools nurses have daily access to young people in the target group for HPV immunization. A vital component of vaccine acceptance is education of those who are …

The Effect Of Optional Summer Transition To High School Program Participation And Required School Year Long Placement On A Core Content Team On Ninth-Grade Students At-Risk Measured Achievement, Engagement, And Behavior Outcomes, Frances K. Pokorski

Student Work

No significant difference in beginning ninth-grade pretest compared to ending ninth-grade posttest comparisons of American History t (17) = 0.34, p = .37 (one-tailed), d = 0.09, English t (17) = 1.40, p = .09 (one-tailed), d = 0.34, and Biology (t (17) = -1.58, p = .07 (one-tailed), d = -0.22, course grade scores were observed for students at-risk who accepted optional summer transition to high school program participation and completed the required school year long placement on a core content team. Students at-risk who refused optional summer transition to high school program participation but completed the required …

How Can The Rural Energy Poor Obtain Appropriate Sustainable Energy Technologies?, Michael Waggoner

Publications

Solutions to a current serious problem for the rural energy poor might best be found at least in part in older practices.

The problem comes from cooking over open fires, impairing the health of the cook and of others in her family, using fuel so inefficiently as to threaten forests, and releasing soot that contributes to global warming. Small, cheap, reliable cooking stoves could address these issues, improving health by reducing smoke and exhausting it through a chimney and thus away from the cook, using fuel more efficiently so that less needs to be gathered, and more completely burning the …

From Brown To Bakke: Race Change And The Birmingham City Schools, 1963-1983, Johnmark Allen Edwards

All ETDs from UAB

When in 1954 the US Supreme Court declared that "separate but equal" was inherently not equal, every segregated school system in America was supposed to desegregate. This was easier said than done, and more successful in some systems than others. Here is a case study of that episode in American history focused on Birmingham, Alabama. This city's tumultuous road to educational desegregation unfolded in four phases: non-compliance (1954-1963), incremental desegregation (1963-1967), "freedom of choice" (1967-1970) and zoned integration (1970-1983). In this context, the thesis has three objectives: first, to explore how people of Birmingham - black and white, male and …