Digital Commons Network^™

A Case Study Of The Interactions Amongst The Elements Of An Elementary Teacher's Educational Belief System, Goals, Enactment, And Reflection, Phillip Pittman

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Contemporary educational reform has attempted to improve teaching quality and raise student achievement through high-stakes teacher evaluation and through the introduction of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). However, to advance teaching and learning, instructional leaders must shift their focus from teacher evaluation and the CCSS themselves to how teachers attempt to meet the CCSS in their classrooms through decisions about curriculum, instruction, and assessment and why they make those decisions. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study is to develop a deep understanding about the elements of, and interactions between, a fifth grade teacher’s educational belief system (consisting of …

A Case Study Of The Design And Implementation Of A New Teacher Evaluation System In A Northern Michigan School District, Scott Moore

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify how one district attempted to meet the need for greater accountability in the teacher evaluation process as mandated by law and to describe strategies that were employed by the district to ensure the integration of student achievement data. This research highlighted how a teacher evaluation instrument evolved over a 5-year period from 2011 to the end of the 2014–2015 school year. This qualitative, single-case study comprised examination of interview responses of 17 stakeholders including a former superintendent, technology director, two board of education members, three former principals, and ten teacher-leaders. Open-ended interview …

Different Tools For Different Tasks: Strategies For Assessing Student Learning From Civic Engagement At The Student, Program, And Institutional Levels, Lynn E. Pelco

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This presentation was given at the SCHEV Civic Engagement Education and Assessment meeting on June 9, 2017.

Assessing Technical Inefficiency In Private, Not-For-Profit, Bachelor's And Master's Universities In The United States Using Stochastic Frontier Estimation, James L. Refenes

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This research explored the technical inefficiency of 813 private, not-for-profit, four-year, bachelor’s and master’s colleges and universities in the U.S. using data from 2006 to 2011. The goal of the study was to describe and explain the level of technical inefficiency in this group of institutions that can be identified using a stochastic frontier estimation (SFE) method and to evaluate the applicability of SFE to higher education. Categories of expenditures were utilized to create a production frontier against which the inefficiency of individual institutions to produce degreed students was measured. The analysis using panel data showed this sector of higher …

Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail: 40 Lesson Plans, Rolando Avila

Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) Educational Resources

Dr. Rolando Avila, in this collection of forty lesson plans, brings the era of the American Civil War in the Rio Grande Valley to life for 4th, 7th, 8th, and 11th grade students. With them they now have an opportunity to understand the significant role the region played in the larger conflict. They also join college-level students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in U.S. History I (HIST 1301), and thousands of residents and visitors in their discovery of this important and interesting era in American history.

Sponsored by the Summerlee Foundation of Dallas.

Ai Education: Open-Access Educational Resources On Ai, Todd W. Neller

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Open-access AI educational resources are vital to the quality of the AI education we offer. Avoiding the reinvention of wheels is especially important to us because of the special challenges of AI Education. AI could be said to be “the really interesting miscellaneous pile of Computer Science”. While “artificial” is well-understood to encompass engineered artifacts, “intelligence” could be said to encompass any sufficiently difficult problem as would require an intelligent approach and yet does not fall neatly into established Computer Science subdisciplines. Thus AI consists of so many diverse topics that we would be hard-pressed to individually create quality learning …

The Dividing Lines Of Opportunity: The Relationships Among Student Characteristics And Selected Institutional Services At Two-Year Public And For-Profit Colleges, Elizabeth Anne Gilblom

ETD Archive

This study examined if and to what extent selected institutional services and special learning and credit opportunities in the 2-year private, for-profit college sector and community colleges in the United States are related to race, socioeconomic status and urbanicity. The researcher evaluated whether the institutional services and special learning and credit opportunities available to students at these 1,479 institutions are stratified by the socioeconomic and racial characteristics of their student bodies and their local communities, by institutional control, by the institution’s degree of urbanization, and the student financial aid characteristics. The researcher also investigated the relationship among institutional services, special …

Factors Affecting Student Success In Oregon Associate Degree Nursing Programs, Tracy Fawns

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Multiple factors contribute to student retention and attrition rates in undergraduate nursing programs. Attrition rates are rising, which affects society as the population is aging and there is a need for more nurses. Identifying attrition risk as a method to increase student success is imperative in order to produce more nurses. The purpose of this project was to analyze and evaluate predictive factors and academic issues that affect student success at Oregon Consortium of Nursing Education (OCNE) schools in order decrease attrition rates in the science courses and increase associate degree of nursing (ADN) program completion.

Methods: This records-based …

An Exploration Of Job Satisfaction Levels, Pathways Into Education, And Recruiting Behaviors Of Teachers In Indiana, Tricia Johnson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teacher retention and recruitment has been studied from many different perspectives, but there is limited research on the issue from the perspectives of current teachers. The purpose of this quantitative study was to gather data to fill a gap in the research concerning teacher recruiting behaviors by asking teachers if they were likely to encourage different categories of people (friend or relative, community member, current student, other students, recent high school graduate, and their own child) to enter the field of Education as a profession. Analysis of the data from 2,083 current Indiana teachers found multiple statistically significant differences in …

International Students Career Development: Acculturative Stress And Career Outcomes, Sneha J. Pitre

ETD Archive

International students face many challenges as they adapt to a new host country. These challenges are present in social, psychological, academic, and career domains of life. Although students aim to reduce the difficulties encountered in the acculturation process, negative experiences often have a harmful impact. Acculturative stress can negatively affect mental and physical health, as well as career outcomes. The literature focusing on the career-related needs and placement concerns of international students with relation to acculturative stress is scare and needs further exploration. The present study investigated the relationship between acculturative stress and the career outcomes of work hope, career …

Teacher Motivation Matters: An Hlm Approach To Understanding Motivation Towards The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme, John Murphy Moore

ETD Archive

The International Baccalaureate Organization’s Middle Years Programme (IBMYP) has experienced explosive growth in the United States since its early stages in 1994. Despite its aggressive expansion, little research has explored the relationship between teachers and the program, ignoring the role of motivation in the ways in which the external standards and practices of the program are internalized and enacted. External regulation threatens teachers’ autonomous motivation and is thus associated with compliance attitudes, increased burnout, and less autonomy-support in the classroom. Conversely, teachers who experience more autonomous motivation are generally more creative, resist burnout, and inspire lifelong learning in students.

This …

Teacher Self-Identity: A Narrative Inquiry Into The Lives Of Teachers And The Influences On Their Interactions With Students, Hannah Marie Reid

ETD Archive

New teachers are supported extensively while participating in teacher training programs and during the first years of teaching. During this time, there are opportunities for the new teacher to explore their self-identity and determine how they will interact with students in the classroom. As teachers enter the later years of their careers and are considered experienced, they are forced to contend with changing political and societal factors that influence their experiences around teaching in the classroom, often times without the extensive support that is provided for the teachers in their first years. Through a lens of social constructivism, narrative inquiry …

Parent-Teacher Perceptions Of The Factors That Interfere With Productive Parent-Teacher Relationships In Urban Schools, Darryl Marc Mason

ETD Archive

The main premise of this study is that teachers and parents (that is, single head-of-household mothers) of Black males living in urban communities should engage in collaborative, mutual, and respectful dialogue. A barrier to fostering such collaboration, however, lies in differences between the worldviews of teachers and parents based on a variety of cultural, social, economic, and individual factors. If external and/or internal barriers to developing a productive parent-teacher relationship can be overcome, Black males will have a significantly greater chance of succeeding in school. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of single African American …

"Serviam": A Historical Case Study Of Leadership In Transition In Urban Catholic Schools In Northeast Ohio, Sarah M. West

ETD Archive

The purpose of this historical case study was to explore, through the lens of knowledge transfer, answers to the following two questions: how did the Sister-educators from one community in Northeast Ohio prepare themselves for leadership, and when it became clear that the future of their urban school depended on transitioning to lay leadership, how did Sister-principals prepare their religious communities and their school communities for that change. This qualitative study focuses on six members of one active, engaged, service-based community which has supported schools Northeast Ohio for over a century. The research revealed that a successful Sister-to-laity leadership transition …

Blended Learning Benefits Academic Growth, Lindsey Harris

WRIT: Journal of First-Year Writing

The research in this writing piece discusses the academic advantages of integrating technology into traditional learning through the platform of Blended Learning.

Undergraduate Student Acceptance And Use Of Mobile Learning In Speech Preparation Using Skype, James Ray Edwards Jr.

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mobile device use in Educational learning contexts tends to draw more interest among researchers, educators and students, when mobile learning methods can be applied to enhance learning opportunities, addressing real-world skill acquisition and practical application within existing coursework. This study explored the use of Skype as a tool for students to practice a prepared speech in a communications course to determine perceptions of students in using mobile learning to improve public speaking skills. This quantitative study examined undergraduate students behavioral intention to use mobile learning in speech preparation. The study examined whether behavioral intention to use mobile learning was significant …

Ethical Sensitivity Assessment In Educational Settings: Examining Awareness Of Ethical Issues Related To Media And Diversity, Rebecca A. Lind, Tammy Swenson-Lepper

Communication Studies Faculty Works

From the use of the word “thug ” by journalists to describe #BlackLivesMatter protesters, to calling trans women such as Caitlyn Jenner “he/she” or even “it,” to seemingly mundane stories about urban food deserts, coverage of matters that explicitly or implicitly reflect issues of socially constructed differences present ethical concerns for journalists and audiences alike. Covering stories highlighting issues of race, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation, and so forth is challenging because of the many ethical issues that arise. Yet ethical issues related to diversity or socially constructed differences may occur in nearly any news story. In this chapter, …

Determining The Specific Transition Needs Of Military And Veteran Students (Mvs), A Qualitative/Mixed Methods Study, Donald Accamando

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A number of challenges await military and veteran students (MVS) as they make their way to college campuses. These non-traditional students will transition to an environment different from the one they experienced while serving. This problem exists because a majority of the post-secondary schools across the country are not prepared to assist with their transition.

An initial review of the literature related to a veteran student’s transition to college has shown that very few colleges and universities offer a transition program developed specifically for this non-traditional student group. This has led to the formulation of two research questions:

1. What …

Modeling With A Conceptual Representation: Is It Necessary? Does It Work?, Rebecca C. Jordan, Steven Gray, Amanda E. Sorensen, Samantha Pasewark, Suparna Sinha, Cindy E. Hmelo-Silver

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

In response to recent educational imperatives in the United States, modeling and systems thinking have been identified as being critical for science learning. In this paper, we investigate models in the classroom from two important perspectives: (1) from the teacher perspective to understand how teachers perceive models and use models in the classroom and (2) from the students perspective to understand how student use model-based reasoning to represent their understanding in a classroom setting. Qualitative data collected from 19 teachers who attended a professional development workshop in the northeastern United States indicate that while teachers see the value in teaching …

Computer Science Technology Education: An Incredible Explosion, Iwasan D. Kejawa

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

This paper explore what computers are, their usages and their functionalities. Computers can be used to learn or comprehend the understanding of all subjects, be it physics aerobics, swimming, biology, mathematics, agriculture, chemistry, business administration or commerce, just to name a few. In education, computers are used to project information to individuals in the classrooms or anywhere education is taking place, in churches, homes, schools, conference halls and so on. It is also used to convey the logic of a subject or behind a topic. Computers play an important role in educating our mind. With the usage of computers, we …

Perception Of Administrators: Characteristics Of Effective Teachers In High-Poverty Secondary Schools And The Alignment Of These Characteristics With The Teacher Evaluation System, Toni Baggiano-Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of an effective teacher in a high-poverty school as perceived by high school administrators and the alignment of these characteristics with the teacher evaluation system. School administrators identified the characteristics of an effective teacher in a high-poverty school. The characteristics of an effective teacher in a high-poverty school were compared with the teacher evaluation tool, EDUCATEAlabama. The comparison of the characteristics of effective teachers in high-poverty school with EDUCATEAlabama revealed the attributes of an effective teacher in a high-poverty school did not align with the state evaluation tool, EDUCATEAlabama …

A Study Of Mathematics Achievement, Placement, And Graduation Of Engineering Students, Sara Hahler Blazek

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how background knowledge impacts freshmen engineering students' success at Louisiana Tech University in terms of grades in two different freshman classes and graduation. To determine what factors impact students, three different studies were implemented. The first study used linear regression to analyze which demographic and academic variables significantly impacted freshman math and engineering courses. Using regression discontinuity, the second study determined if the university's placement requirement for Pre-Calculus was appropriate. The final study analyzed factors that impact graduation for engineering students as well as other disciplines to determine which significant variables were …

Promoting Shade On A Public Playground: An Occupational Therapy Approach To Promoting Community Health, Andrew P. Baglia

MOT Student Capstones

Background Recent studies have raised concern regarding inadequate shade on public playgrounds, leading to an increased risk of sun and heat injury and decreased opportunities for play participation for children. Adequate shade has been shown to be an effective measure to mitigate heat and sun exposure. This Capstone project aimed to positively impact the community of the city of Saluda, North Carolina (NC), by using occupational therapy intervention approaches of promotion, modification, prevention, and education to promote the procurement of adequate shade at the Saluda Elementary School (SES) public playground. Methods This project employed a parent survey to measure attitudes …

Moral Distress And Associated Factors Among Baccalaureate Nursing Students: A Multisite Descriptive Study, Lorretta Krautscheid,, Deborah A. Demeester, Valorie Orton, Austin Smith, Conor Livingston, Susan M. Mclennon

Faculty Publications - College of Nursing

Moral distress and its associated negative consequences among postlicensure nurses have been extensively discussed in the literature. Moral distress is defined as knowing the ethically correct action one should take but feeling constrained from acting on one’s convictions because of internal and external constraints (Epstein & Delgado, 2010; Hamric, 2014; Jameton, 1984; McCarthy & Gastmans, 2015; Musto, Rodney, & Vanderheide, 2015). The focus in much of the reviewed literature is on measuring and describing moral distress, moral residue (lingering feelings associated with moral distress), and subsequent deleterious consequences (frustration, apathy, compassion

Implementing Multifactorial Education Modules With Older Adults: Individualized And Interactive Fall Prevention Education, Salvador Chavez, Jocelle Flores, Rachelle Yambao

Student Research Posters

Falls are a significant concern for community-dwelling older adults (OAs), with one in four OAs reporting a fall every year. Occupational therapy students collaborated with first responders of the Novato Fire District to identify gaps in fall prevention community outreach programs and found that many interventions lack an interactive or individualized approach. Based on the gap analysis and current literature, seven education modules were developed to address key risk factors including home modifications, polypharmacy, fear of falling, and balance exercises. Thirty community-dwelling OAs participated in the education modules and were implemented at two senior community sites in Marin County. Participants …

Social Competence: Why Is This Important?, Brandie M. Oliver

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Dr. Oliver investigates the importance of social competency in schools and shares strategies to consider.

A Critique Of The Uniquely Adversarial Nature Of The U.S. Legal, Economic And Political System And Its Implications For Reinforcing Existing Power Hierarchies, James D. Wilets, Areto A. Imoukhuede

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Creative Confidence In Organizational Knowledge Creation: A Synthesis Of The Literature, Elnaz Dario, Rafael Landaeta, Resit Unal, E.H. Ng. (Ed.), B. Nepal (Ed.), E. Schott (Ed.)

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Creative confidence is a newly rising topic in the innovation study area. In a world where creativity has become a vital source of knowledge creation, not believing in one's own creative capacity could be a barrier. At the organizational level, many good ideas are disappearing before ever being written down or shared. Organizations may lose talented people who have great creative potential by either not giving them the opportunity to express their creative ideas or due to a lack of confidence from the employee side, in sharing these ideas. This paper will contribute to the research stream on the role …

The College Admissions Problem: Effects Of Income And Ability Of Postsecondary Education Outcomes, Martha Whamond

Honors Theses

This paper examines the effects of students’ pre-college income on student outcomes and college admissions decisions. Under the assumption that colleges maximize utility by maximizing student outcomes, a two-stage regression model for student outcomes is building using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the 1997 National Youth Longitudinal Survey (NLSY97). The first stage estimates a model for college quality using the IPEDS dataset. The college quality estimates are then used as independent variables in the second stage. The second stage estimates student outcomes as a function of pre- college income, ability, college quality, and demographic characteristics …

Female Education: The Facilitating And Hindering Factors Regarding Female Education In Gilgit-Baltistan Context Of Pakistan, Sultan Alam

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

This paper reports a study conducted in one of the villages of Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan. The purpose of the study is to explore the perceptions of female students and their parents regarding female education. A qualitative case study method was employed to investigate the subject matter. The participants were selected on the basis of pre-determined criteria. The findings of the study showed that female education in the context is influenced by various factors including societal norms, parents perceptions and teachers attitude. It was depicted that female students have adapted such critical circumstances and are motivated to acquire their education. Since …