Digital Commons Network^™

Conceptual Change: The Integration Of Geologic Time Into The Teaching Of Evolution, David L. Ramseyer

Theses and Dissertations

This study attempts to discern if geologic time is a threshold concept for student understanding of evolutionary theory. A threshold concept enables the learner to unpack other concepts because of its importance in thought construction. In this study three teachers and ten sections of biology were investigated from the same high school. Each teacher used the same activities, in the same sequence, and with identical evaluation methods. Students in the treatment group covered a unit on geologic time prior to completing course work on evolutionary theory. Student misconceptions in both control and treatment groups were assessed using a composite concept …

The Effect Of Co-Teaching On Student Achievement In Ninth Grade Physical Science Classrooms, Karen M. Lafever

Dissertations

Co-teaching is a method that is increasing within schools across the US as educators strive to leave no child behind. It is a costly method, having two paid instructors in one classroom, with an average of 24 students shared between them. If it significantly increases the achievement of all students, it is well worth the costs involved. However, few studies have analyzed the effectiveness of this method on student achievement. This research follows the academic accomplishments of students in a ninth grade physical science course. Nine sections of the course “Force and Motion” were taught with a single teacher, and …

Can You Hear Us Now? Investigating The Effects Of A Wireless Grid Social Radio Station On Collaboration And Communication In Fragile Populations, Sarah Anna Chauncey

School of Information Studies - Dissertations

The ability to interact with peers and coworkers in online digital networks is essential in learning and business environments. Our digital participatory culture is based on communication in response to purposeful activity and is facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICT). Students with emotional, behavioral, and learning disabilities are often disengaged and excluded from this knowledge-building conversation. This disengagement results in a cycle of failure exhibited through diminished self-efficacy and inadequate academic and emotional self-regulation. A critical goal of those who work with these students is to bolster their resilience, persistence, participatory, and communicative skills--to invite them back into the …

Criminal Justice Students' Perceptions Of Restorative Justice: A Study Of Demographic Variables And Restorative Justice Values, Lana Adelaide Mcdowell

Dissertations

As time progresses, criminologists continue to search for philosophies and policies which possess the ability to reduce criminal behavior. One such philosophy and policy may be restorative justice. This study explores the meaning of restorative justice as well as types of restorative justice processes including peacemaking circles, group conferencing, reparative boards, victim offender mediation/reconciliation programs, victim offender panels, social justice initiatives, and community justice. This study also provides a tentative definition/theory of restorative justice which suggests crime creates broken relationships; therefore, reparation, inclusion, acceptance of responsibility, remorse, apology, forgiveness, resolution, reintegration, reconciliation, and restoration are necessary components of justice.

Logistic …

Pages News, Volume 20, No. 2, December 2012, Takeshi Nakatsuka, Ryuji Tada, Kenji Kawamura

PAGES

Contents: Inside PAGES -- PAGES calendar -- Special Section: Japanese Paleoscience Editorial -- Japanese paleoscience on past climate and environmental changes -- Science Highlights -- Ocean circulation in the North Pacific during the last glacial termination -- North Pacific - North Atlantic linkages during the Last Glacial Termination -- Teleconnection between Asian Monsoon and the North Atlantic -- Latent 1500-year climate oscillation in the Holocene -- The history of Lake Biwa drilling -- Lake Suigetsu 2006 Varved Sediment Core Project -- Monsoon in subtropical Asia from oxygen isotope ratios of tree-ring cellulose -- Hydroclimate reconstruction in Indonesia by stalagmite isotopic …

Uplift And Blame: Minority Parents In The Discourse Of Professional Educators, Katie Mitchell

Master's Theses - Sociology and Anthropology

This historical document analysis explores the professional discourse on minority parents in education during the Progressive (1900-1914), Post-Civil Rights/ESEA (1960-1974), and NCLB/Accountability Eras (1995-2009). Grounded theory was used to code and analyze 430 articles mentioning parents and/or home life from two peer-reviewed journals of education. Research questions asked which minority parents are of interest to educators in each era, how minority parenting roles are portrayed in the educational discourse, and why minority parents concern educators. Findings include a focus on immigrant parents in the Progressive Era and on African American and Hispanic parents in the Post-Civil Rights/ESEA and NCLB/Accountability Eras. …

The Relationship Between Perceptions Of School Climate And Student Achievement In Schools That Use Jostens' Renaissance Programs, Amy Yarborough Coyne

Dissertations

Each school has unique attributes and a personality that gives the school a distinct climate. Psychological qualities that schools possess might include trust, collaboration, cooperation, teaching attributes, expectations, community involvement, and engagement (Rhodes, Camic, Milburn, & Lowe, 2009). Given information regarding school climate, relationship needs, and motivation, the purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of teachers involved in change and improvement processes and to determine whether academic change was related to the use of programs such as Jostens’ Renaissance.

The participants of this study consisted of 242 faculty and staff from five public schools from three separate …

Is There A Relationship Between Ninth Grade Transitional Programs And At-Risk Student Achievement?, Susan Marie Stoddard

Dissertations

Transition into the ninth grade has long been a critical juncture for students as they make the move to a larger environment with less personal support and a more rigorous academic challenge. In an effort to help make the move from middle-to-high-school transition as smooth as possible, school districts are using Ninth Grade Academies, or innovative transitional strategies designed to address the key factors contributing to students dropping out: poor academic achievement, disengagement, and poor attendance. The purpose of the study was to determine if a statistically significant relationship existed between the type of ninth grade transitional program and at-risk …

Seeing The Chemistry Around Me – Helping Students Identify The Relevance Of Chemistry To Everyday Life, Tracy Lynn Moore

Dissertations

The study attempted to determine whether the use of a series of reading and response assignments decreased students’ perceptions of chemistry difficulty and enhanced students’ perceptions of the relevance of chemistry in their everyday lives. Informed consent volunteer students enrolled in General Chemistry II at a community college in the southeastern United States during the Spring 2012 semester participated in this study. Students were assigned to read a series of short articles that connect chemistry to a specific aspect of everyday life and then answer a series of questions for each article. Open-response research instruments (initial questionnaire and final questionnaire) …

The Development Of The Simulation Thinking Rubric, Jessica Doolen

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

School Type And Student Achievement: Does School Type Affect Student Achievement In Hidalgo County, Texas?, Krystal Estarei Garcia

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study concentrates on identifying whether school type affects student achievement. Throughout this thesis, school type is the independent variable and student achievement is the dependent variable. School type was measured according to whether the school was classified as either a public school or charter school. In addition, school type was further defined according to the following variables: total academic and administrative staff, number of principals, number of assistant principals, school size, number of teachers, student teacher ratio, and student type. School expenditures, time, and method of teacher certification are the control variables. For the purpose of this thesis, student …

The Relationship Of Peer Acceptance, Age, Gender, Ethnicity, And Appearance Among Preschoolers, Kora Klaire Stuffelbeam

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine preschool children's acceptance of peers. The term peer acceptance is defined as "the degree a child is Socially accepted or rejected by his or her peer group." Johnson et al. (2002) found children between the ages of three and five were able to develop friendships and Social skills that would impact their acceptance among peers. The study determined if children based their choice of peers according to a child's age, gender, ethnicity, appearance, and/or Social skills. The subjects of this study were 31 children whose ages were three-, four-, and five-years-old who …

Family Policies And Institutional Satisfaction: An Intersectional Analysis Of Tenure-Track Faculty, Heather Lee Schneller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gender and faculty career advancement have been examined with a focus on academic work environment, including faculty workloads, mentoring relationships, access to research networks, and work-life balance. Previous studies concerned with gender, employment, and care work only have considered child care. Additionally, the exploration of faculty and care work focused specifically on gender instead of examining the interaction of race and gender. To date, no study on academic work-life policies includes faculty perceptions of their importance and effectiveness nor has the faculty assessment of eldercare policy been examined in relation to career success.

Guided by an intersectional perspective, this study …

What Is The Participant Learning Experience Like Using Youtube To Study A Foreign Language?, Yuan-Hsiang Lo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research is to explore and understand participants' experience using YouTube to learn a foreign language. YouTube and learning has become more and more popular in the recent years. The finding of this research will be adding more understanding to the emerging body of knowledge of YouTube phenomenon. In this research, there are three interviews and two questionnaires. The interviews are conducted to find in-depth responses from participants; the questionnaires are used to inquire demographic and basic information about the participants. There are twelve themes found in this research. These themes reflect on the perceived experience using YouTube to learn …

The Lived Experience Of The Parents Of High School Dropouts: A Phenomenological Study, Christine Ann Silano

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to describe the experiences and perceptions of parents whose children did not receive a high school diploma. This subpopulation has been rarely studied. The central question is, "What are the perceptions and experiences of the parents of public high school dropouts as they pertain to schools, their children, and themselves?"

This phenomenological study examined the lived experience of the parents of high school dropouts. Five women and one man participated in the study by sitting for interviews. The collected interview data was transcribed and analyzed using qualitative methodology including open and axial coding as …

A Comparison Of Student Success By Faculty Qualifications, Kristine A. Garner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Providing the best qualified faculty to ensure the most successful student outcomes is a priority in higher education. The use of adjunct faculty in colleges and universities is continually increasing, especially for lower level courses. Previous research has come to conflicting conclusions regarding the quality of adjunct faculty. Indicators of student success were compared between part-time instructors with professional doctoral degrees and full-time instructors with academic doctoral degrees. Results of statistical analyses of both a comparison of final grade distributions and knowledge of course content determined that there were no significant differences between two comparable groups of students in a …

Aesthetic Qualities Of Websites And Their Effects On Public Perceptions Of Agricultural Issues And Organizations, Chase Tyler Hundley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to evaluate perceptions of agricultural issues and organizations based on how information is presented visually in websites. Researchers intended the results to be used to help the agricultural industry more effectively communicate information through better website design and increased persuasiveness. The study was conducted through the use of three focus group sessions as mapped out by Krueger (1998a, 1998b, 1998c) and Morgan (1998a, 1998b). The study used non-agriculture students purposively selected from a class in the University of Arkansas School of Human Environmental Sciences as participants in the study. The subject demographics closely resembled the primary demographics …

Teaching Accessibility And Design-For-All In The Information And Communication Technology Curriculum: Three Case Studies Of Universities In The United States, England, And Austria, Paul Ryan Bohman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Digital technologies allow people with disabilities to participate independently in society in ways they never could before. The full realization of these new opportunities remains elusive, though, because working professionals in the information and communication technology (ICT) field rarely receive adequate training in how to make digital ICT accessible to people with disabilities. Adding accessibility to the university ICT curriculum can help create a critical mass of ICT professionals with accessibility awareness and expertise to finally realize the full accessibility potential of digital technologies. This dissertation provides a rich informational context from which ICT curriculum leaders can decide how to …

A Case Study Using Principal-Agent Theory To Explore How A Public, Four Year University Interacts With A System Office, Annie Macias

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The focus of this research was to examine the funding relationship between a single public institution of higher education and its accompanying system office. Such a study is important in order to obtain insight into the relationship between a System Office and an institution, and thus how institutions carry out their fiscal responsibilities, not directly to the state but to the System Office they serve. The study provides insight into how the System Office communicates and transacts with an institution regarding financial allocations. Also important is whether that institution receives effective communication and whether the institution's perceived expectations are as …

Inquiry-Based Instruction In The Social Studies: Successes And Challenges, Crystal Maree Beshears

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions, understanding, and use of inquiry-based instruction in the Social studies, to assess the impact of inquiry-based units on instruction, to detail implementation successes and challenges reported by teachers when implementing inquiry-based instruction, and to provide recommendations for future efforts. Teachers' perceptions of teaching and learning, particularly their beliefs about inquiry-based instruction, changed during the study. Throughout the study, teachers' perceptions and beliefs about teaching Social studies had an impact on how they planned, implemented and reflected on inquiry-based instruction. Many of the teachers changed their perceptions and began regularly teaching …

Ideal Adults, Deficient Children: The Discourse On The Child In Western Philosophy, Michael Dean Burroughs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The child of Western philosophy is conceptualized in a two-fold manner: first, in the work of philosophers ranging from Plato to Rawls, the child is defined through a negation of the positive traits of the adult. The child is not-rational (as the adult is), not moral (as the adult is), not-citizen (as the adult can be). In short, the child is conceptualized as the non-adult, lacking (or possessing in primitive form) the qualities of the adult. Second, given his deficient classification, the child is regarded as a being-to-be-transformed. The child must be corrected and become the adult prior to his …

Assets And Education Research Symposium Report–Linking Savings And Educational Outcomes: Charting A Course For Scholarship And Policy, William Elliott Iii

Center for Social Development Research

Assets and Education Research Symposium Report–Linking Savings and Educational Outcomes: Charting a Course for Scholarship and Policy

Learning Within A Computer-Assisted Instructional Environment: Effects On Multiplication Math Fact Mastery And Self-Efficacy In Elementary-Age Students, Loraine Jones Hanson

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of basic multiplication mastery (0-12) and self-efficacy outcomes for elementary age students attempting to master multiplication facts in a Computer-Assisted Instructional (CAI) environment. Timez Attack (TA), a modern Internet based 3-D multiplication video game, was the computer program used in this study. Four third- and four fourth-grade classes of students at a public charter school received either 12 20-minute Teacher-Led Instructional (TLI), or TA multiplication practice sessions. Pre- and post Math Attitude Survey (MAS), timed multiplication tests, observations, and informal interviews were used to assess and compare TA and …

Lee V. Weisman: Unanswered Prayers, Marilyn Perrin

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Household Model Of Careers And Education Investment, Jessica F. Young

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper develops a two-stage non-cooperative household game, in which parents make career decisions and an investment into their child’s human capital. The model is solved for Nash equilibrium outcomes and extended for a cooperative solution. In non-cooperative pure strategies, both parents choosing to work is a Nash equilibrium, though there are alternative outcomes when the conditions underlying the career decision are varied. The investment behaviour of agents is analysed. We find that choices are critically affected by the magnitude of the cost (and reflected quality) of a high education investment relative to a low investment, and the intrinsic value …

Variation In Standards In Pakistani School Examination Boards, Thomas Christie

Examination Board

No abstract provided.

Parental Perceptions Of School Quality : Contesting The Notion Of Quality, Dilshad Ashraf

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

Education Program Changes 10/18/12, Curriculum Committee

Curriculum Committee Reports

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Water On Girls' Formal Education: A Study Of Kenyan Secondary Schools, Jennifer Emick

Master's Theses

This study applies a human rights lens to view how the lack of access to potable water in Kenya’s rural areas impacts girls’ education. This research is intended to serve as a baseline for iteration and expansion, with the long-term goal of developing a greater understanding of the ways in which water development projects and the smarter provision of basic resources can be used as strategies for achieving gender equality in both education and civic participation.

School As Community Center: Redefining The Relationship Between The Community And The School In Minsk, Belarus, Kate Talkachova

Architecture Thesis Prep

"A society that values education should place emphasis on the facilities and incorporate in them the values and progress, not blindly stick to the traditional. For a country fighting to regain its identity, it is important that the divisions between the neighborhoods are blurred and a sense of a whole is created. With the school as community center, education remains the central focus, as well as provides the necessary link to the surrounding neighborhoods, becoming more than just a physical center, but an activity center as well."