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Motivation And Perceptions Of Learner-Centered Practices At A Military Service Academy, Joel Leonard Witzel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Considering today's expeditionary warfare, it is essential the United States military service academies produce cadets and midshipmen who are intrinsically academically motivated, intellectually curious, and ready to meet the diversity of "publics and parliaments" they may influence during worldwide deployments (Scheffer, 2007). Research shows teachers' learner-centered practices that focus on students' needs positively influence college students' academic motivation. The purpose of this study was to measure cadets' levels of academic motivation and perceptions of learner-centered practices at the United States Air Force Academy.

This was a quantitative correlational study examining the relationship between cadets' perceptions of five learner-centered domains of …

Even In The Face Of History: The Experiences Of Gifted African-American Students, Rivian Segal Bass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While schools are experiencing unparalleled racial, linguistic, and ethnic diversity, gifted programs do not reflect these changing demographics. In fact, African-American students are less than half as likely to be in gifted classes and programs than are their European-American counterparts. In addition, little is known about the impact of gifted programs on students.

This qualitative study incorporated oral history interviews to examine the experiences of four gifted African-American students who attended full time programs or schools designed for gifted students. In telling their stories through narratives, participants constructed past events with a focus on the personal meanings ascribed to their …

Extraordinary Leaders For Unordinary Times: A Grounded Theory Study, Doris E. Candelarie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Across the United States, school districts are working to turnaround their lowest performing schools in order to meet the requirements of Adequate Yearly Progress mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. These failing schools are facing district, state, and federal sanctions of closure, takeover, or restructuring. A new phenomenon emerging from this dire state in education is the turnaround leader. An educational turnaround leader is one who leads a high poverty, low performing school to dramatic improvement. Limited research exists on educational turnaround leaders, but what is available hypothesizes that turnaround leaders have different characteristics and qualities. …

Perceptions Of Race And Academic Success In An Affluent Suburban Middle School, Robyn Ashley Duran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Public school districts across the nation are organizing to eradicate the racial predictability of academic achievement between African American and Hispanic children and their White and Asian peers, (Ferguson, 2001). This phenomenological study was designed to better illuminate the phenomenon of the racial achievement gap in an affluent educational setting. The story of race and academic achievement was told through perceptions held among minority and non-minority parents in an affluent educational setting.

Parents are a large piece of the bedrock which determines the academic success of all students. The role of the parent is particularly important in shaping the academic …

Exploring The Views Of Rural Colorado High School Students About College, Kathleen Mcmahon Klug

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Exploring the views of rural high school students about college has significant implications for the question: "Why are Colorado's kids not choosing college in greater numbers?" Since the State of Colorado has one of the most highly educated adult populations in the nation, yet consistently underperforms in sending its high school students to college this dissertation is topical in presenting the opinions and perceptions of 1,012 rural high school students.

By including the voices of rural Colorado students through a survey, by investigating what the students are thinking and feeling about their future, and by learning what their level of …

Examination Of Universal Screening In Response To Intervention At The Secondary Level, Debra Allison Layland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine three means of universal screening to identify students in need of reading interventions at the secondary school level. Specifically the results of the Colorado State Assessment Program (CSAP), the Test of Silent Contextual Reading Fluency (TOSCRF) (Hammill, Wiederholt, & Allen, 2006) and the Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency (TOSWRF) (Mather, Hammill, Allen, & Roberts, 2004) were used to group students in a Response to Intervention Framework of Tier 1 (needing no intervention), Tier 2 (needing intervention) and Tier 3 (needing intensive intervention). Categorization results were compared to determine the accuracy of …

English Teachers And English Language Learners In Middle School Classrooms: Perspectives And Practices, Elmer Celso Manzanares

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Public school classrooms in the United States are composed of an increasingly diverse population of learners. The number of students with limited proficiency in English has grown exponentially across the United States, yet their level of academic achievement lags significantly behind that of their language-majority peers.

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes, opinions and practices of middle school language arts/reading teachers regarding the inclusion of ELL students and the support they receive in their classrooms. The researcher administered a survey to 171 language arts/reading middle school teachers and interviewed six teachers from fourteen schools in a …

An Historical Inquiry Into Thomas Jefferson's Influence On The American Educational System, Tory Lynn Richey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to take a deeper look at the influence of an important American historical figure, Thomas Jefferson, on the institution of the American Educational System. Thomas Jefferson was involved in many decisions involving the traditions, practices and institutions of many educational establishments of his time period. His writings have had a lasting influence on our society and the world. His words have been incorporated into many different countries' constitutions across the world. It was important to study decisions of the past in order to understand how to make well-educated decisions in the future. Thomas Jefferson's …

An Exploration Of Identification Of Leadership For Gifted Students, Christine Estelle Phillips

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Leadership has been designated a talent area in federal and state definitions of gifted students who require differentiated programs since the Marland Report came out in 1972, yet it remains the least discussed of the curricular areas for gifted students. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions and attitudes of administrators of gifted programs in Colorado and Idaho concerning identifying students gifted in leadership. Public K-12 school districts in Colorado and Idaho were surveyed using a researcher-created survey including questions targeting attitudes and twelve questions specific to leadership traits. Response rate was 51%. In general, respondents indicated …

A Case Study Of Reform At One Urban High School, Linda Nadene Sorenson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Our schools in America are in crisis. At particular risk are poor and minority students who attend high schools in urban areas. With so many urban high schools failing, reformers have sought ways to improve schools and increase student achievement. Effort toward urban high school reform is occurring across the United States. What happens to a school during the process of reform?

The purpose of this case study was to describe the significant events and changes that characterize one urban high school's reform efforts and analyze stakeholders' perceptions about the reform themes found in the researcher literature on high school …

Freshman Academy: Making The High School Transition, Tracy L. Srofe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Numerous freshman transition programs are conducted throughout the nation to address the middle school to high school transition issue. The current study focuses on a high school transition model, the Freshman Academy, to improve ninth-grade attendance, academic achievement, and school engagement for at-risk students. School engagement encompasses three interrelated components: emotion, behavior, and cognition.

The current study used a quasi-experimental pre- and posttest comparison design with no random assignment to measure the impact of the Freshman Academy on attendance, academic achievement, and school engagement. Student interviews were conducted to see what aspects of the Freshman Academy promote school engagement and …

Effective Teaching, Karen Pickles Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the characteristics of nine teachers considered effective by their school administrators. Qualitative methodology was used to examine characteristics of effective teachers in three Colorado public high schools. Data was collected through observations and interviews and examined through the lens of Elliot Eisner's educational criticism and connoisseurship. Through in-depth interviews, these effective teachers identified and interpreted experiences that have contributed to them being considered "effective" teachers: Personal Experiences, Motivational Techniques, Obstacles They Overcame, and Skills They Now Posesss as "Effective Teachers". Conclusions were as follows: The common characteristics the teachers shared were preparedness, caring, collaboration, and reflection.

Occupational Stress And Coping Resources Of K-12 Probationary Teachers, Lori Ann Wagner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to measure what factors impact the stress levels of probationary teachers who may or may not be new to the field of education, to determine what demographic characteristics are related to higher levels of stress, to determine what coping resources were successful in reducing stress, and to compare the stress levels and coping resources of probationary teachers to other professionals.

The study used the OSI-R to determine the stress levels of k-12 probationary teachers as related to role overload, role insufficiency, role ambiguity, role boundary, responsibility, and physical environment as measured by the Occupational …

Examining The Effects Of Linguistic Accommodations On The Colorado Student Assessment Program—Mathematics, Marisol Enriquez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act changed assessment for English Language Learners (ELLs). Under the law, states must validly assess ELLs' English Language Proficiency (ELP) and content knowledge. The law shed light on the achievement of ELLs while also creating challenges for states in validating state assessment and accountability systems. Test accommodations are used for ELLs to reduce threats to test score validity and measure academic achievement as accurately and fairly as possible. Since ELLs are working towards proficiency in English, they face linguistic and socio-cultural barriers under the confines of large scale assessment. A limited body of research …

Effects Of Plain Language Revision On Item Difficulty, Discrimination And Dif, Holly E. Baker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Colorado assesses approximately 98% of students enrolled in grades 3-10 in the area of mathematics. In 2005, 69,872 English Language Learners (ELLs) in grades 3-10 participated in the state content area assessments. In 2007, 88,060 ELLs participated in the state content area assessments. With this dramatic growth in the ELL population in the state of Colorado and elsewhere in the nation, ensuring that ELLs have access to comprehensible materials on state assessments is of paramount importance. Accommodations provide access for students based on their individual needs. Likewise, assessment items designed and/or revised using the principles of plain language and universal …

Competency-Based Curriculum For A Master's Program In Service Science, Management And Engineering (Ssme): An Online Delphi Study, Rahul Choudaha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The overarching purpose of this research was to provide theoretical and conceptual foundations for developing a competency-based curriculum for an interdisciplinary master's program in Service Science, Management and Engineering (SSME). Specifically, the objective was to ascertain the competencies and courses that are relevant for developing a competency model for a service scientist and a curriculum blueprint for SSME. The study employed three rounds of the online Delphi survey to achieve the research objectives. The three rounds were used to identify, prioritize, and define competencies and courses. A panel of industry professionals and university faculty were invited to participate as experts. …

Integrating Service-Learning Into Undergraduate Students' Curricula: Recommendations For Best Practices, Neivin Mahmoud Marzouk Shalabi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Several recent studies have revealed that there is increasing individualism and declining interest in politics and civic engagement among college students. Accordingly, many scholars called for reinvigorating the civic mission of higher education. This thesis study examines academic service-learning as an effective pedagogy for promoting students’ civic engagement. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the best ways of integrating service-learning into the curricula of undergraduate students. Using McCarthy’s (2003) conceptual framework, the “Concept of Triangles,” this study provides a comprehensive review of literature on the theoretical underpinnings, partners, and relationships of academic service-learning. The results of the study …

Toward A New Social Contract: A Tripartite Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Social Sustainability At Three Land-Grant Universities, Lyndsay Josephine Agans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasingly, colleges and universities in the United States are adapting toward a model of behavior that incorporates issues of sustainability. This adaptation in universities and in society has implications on the organizational and nation-state level, the very core of which may serve to reshape the social contract between the two. In addition to supplying a strong counter-hegemonic argument that alters the competitive economic agenda-setting paradigm, this study serves as a tripartite comparative case study analysis of university adaptation toward social sustainability. By employing a social capital lens to understanding social sustainability in higher education, this study seeks to examine the …