Education Commons^™

Participation In Open Up Resources By Gender And Family Income Level On Mathematics Achievement Of Grades 7 And 8 Students, Timothy Brister

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the effects by gender and by family-income level between students using Open Up Resources (OUR) curriculum (a Problem-Based Learning [PBL] curriculum) versus traditional curriculum on mathematics achievement of Grades 7 and 8 students. A stratified random sample of 320 students from four Central and Southeast Arkansas schools (n = 160 for Grades 7 and 8, respectively) was drawn for this study. Data analysis involved the use of 2 x 2 factorial ANOVAs. The key findings of the study were that the mathematics achievement of Grade 8 students using OUR was significantly higher …

A Strategic Plan To Thread Genomics Competencies Into Undergraduate Curriculum, Holly Mathis

Dissertations

Problem: Genomics in undergraduate nursing education has experienced slow adoption in the United States. Various approaches have been proposed but do not address barriers to successful implementation.

Methods: A strategic plan was developed to increase the amount of genetics and genomic content in the curriculum of an undergraduate nursing program. A gap analysis was performed on the curriculum revealing a paucity of content. A SWOT analysis informed the strategic plan, which included a faculty education program using the ANA/ISONG’s Essentials of Genetic and Genomic Nursing: Competencies, Curricula Guidelines and Outcome Indicators (2^nd ed.) (2009) as a foundation.

Results: Faculty …

Effects Of Participation In The Summit Learning Platform By Gender On Student Academic Achievement, Taryn Enjoli Echols

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the effects by gender of the Summit Learning Platform on student achievement in mathematics, English, reading, and Science measured by the ACT Aspire Summative Assessment for ninth-grade students in four schools in Arkansas. This study provides an in-depth study of mastery learning versus personalized learning through the Summit Learning Platform. The theoretical framework is centered on the comparisons of the mastery mode of learning. Schools A and D participated in the Summit Learning Platform for 2 years. Schools B and C did not participate in the personalized learning platform. Scores from 120 …

Institutional Adoption And Implementation Of A Mandated Community College First Year Experience Course, Carmen Varney Purpus

Dissertations

This purpose of the research study is two-fold. The first aim is to establish strategies that can guide community colleges interested in the implementation of a mandated First Year Experience course as well as to identify barriers community colleges may encounter to help them move from desiring a mandated student success course to acting to create one. It is widely believed that student success course helps students learn to be successful, but it is not a widely accepted practice to mandate it for all students.

The second objective is to add to the limited body of research. A nonexperimental descriptive …

Embedding Diversity Into The Curriculum: Facilitating Challenging Conversations, Chimille E. Dillard

Dissertations

Wagner, Kegan, Lahey, Lemons, Garnier, Helsing, and Rasmussen’s (2006) four C’s, consisting of competency, conditions, culture, and context, were used to think systemically when looking at the current (As-Is) and projected (To-Be) in the Galaxy School district. This paper focused on the need to embed past and current racial and gender diversity issues into the everyday curriculum in an effort to have a positive impact on students’ social-emotional learning skills. The current curriculum has limited racial and no gender diversity. Students can go from Kindergarten to eighth grade being taught very little history and current events that are racially and …

Teachers' Confidence And Preparedness For Teaching Mobile Learners, Kelley Kirk Gonzales

Dissertations

Mobile devices, such as tablets, laptops, and Smart phones have changed the landscape of education requiring teachers to integrate technology in the classroom. The integration of mobile devices in the classroom is referred to as mobile learning, and requires teachers to be confident and prepared in their ability to teach mobile learners. This study was an attempt to explore and examine teachers’ confidence and preparedness in teaching mobile learners and close some of the gaps in the research. A quantitative method of investigation and analysis was used for this study to draw conclusions relative not only to teachers’ confidence and …

Refreshment For The Soul: A Phenomenological Study Of The Student Experience Of Beauty In School, Paul Reiff

Dissertations

Prompted by the ratio-scientific emphasis in the curriculum, I conducted this study to explore the lifeworlds of students to understand their lived experience of beauty in school. This investigation entailed a phenomenological study, the method of which included in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with four high school students. This study aimed to examine the essence of beauty in the lived experience of students in school, to explore the perceptions of students regarding school as a place to appreciate beauty, and to understand the needs of students as a place that develops their aesthetic sensibilities. The findings include the description …

Curricular Instruction Of Global Leadership At Colleges And Universities In The United States, Tara L. Edberg

Dissertations

Colleges and universities in the United States have made leadership education a priority as they prepare students to confront adaptive challenges in the 21st century; “wicked problems” such as poverty, uneven opportunities for education, homelessness, and illnesses worldwide. In addition, with the increased globalization of our world, the need to teach students how to lead in a complicated, multicultural context intensifies. Global leadership is an emergent concept in the leadership field combining leadership practices with those of global cultural competency while highlighting the significance of a dynamic and complex context in the leadership process.

While there has been a significant …

Curriculum-Related Trends In K-12 Adventist Education In The North American Division: An Inductive Analysis Of The Profile Surveys--1987-2007, Monica Desir

Dissertations

Problem

For several years, curriculum developers in the North American Division (NAD) have used the biennial results from the Profile Surveys to help guide their decisions in terms of educational policy. While some comparisons have been made between individual studies and ensuing results have been used to influence curriculum development, overall trends in the 10 studies up to 2007 have not been identified. As the studies increased in number, an integrative effort was needed in order help reveal the trends in the combined results and to make them available in more compact form for use by curriculum developers.

Method

The …

Science Youth Action Research: Promoting Critical Science Literacy Through Relevance And Agency, Elizabeth Coleman

Dissertations

This three-article dissertation presents complementary perspectives on Science Youth Action Research (Sci-YAR), a K-12 curriculum designed to emphasize relevance and agency to promote youth's science learning. In Sci-YAR, youth conduct action research projects to better understand science-related issues in their lives, schools, or communities, while they simultaneously document, analyze, and reflect upon their own practices as researchers. The first article defines Sci-YAR and argues for its potential to enhance youth's participation as citizens in a democratic society. The second article details findings from a case study of youth engaged in Sci-YAR, describing how the curriculum enabled and constrained youth's identity …

Prekindergarten And Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of Demographic Determinants And Academic Success, Melanie Ellen Boyle

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine kindergarten and prekindergarten teachers' perceptions of academic success for children based on the type of care children received prior to beginning kindergarten, as well as other demographics, which could cause variations in academic success. The researcher used a seven section multi-method survey instrument, which included teacher demographic questions, Likert-scale perception questions, and one open-ended question. Sections of inquiry included: Common Core, general academic risk factors for students, barriers to overall academic success, student demographics, and promotion of academic success for students. The survey instrument was distributed to prekindergarten and kindergarten teachers in …

Student Thoughts And Perceptions On Curriculum Reform, Douglas D. Vanderjagt

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how students experience and respond to Michigan’s increased graduation requirements. The study was conducted in a large, suburban high school that instituted a change to a trimester system in response to the state mandate. A criterion-based sample of 16 students, both college bound and non-college bound, participated in one-on-one interviews regarding their knowledge about, their understanding of, and their experience with the new Michigan Merit Curriculum, and how this increase impacted the student participants’ high school academic choices and/or postsecondary plans. Additionally, this study engaged focus groups of one or …

An Initial Exploration Of The Undergraduate English Major Curricula Issued By The 2000-2001 Member Schools Of The Council For Christian Colleges And Universities, Maralee Sue Crandon

Dissertations

Problem

This study made the initial exploration of English major curricula among 101 members of the 2000-2001 Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), describing their nature and state and discerning evidence of Christian thought.

Method

Stewart’s (1989) Modified Categories of English Majors and Eisner’s (1991) education criticism provided frameworks to categorize all curricula and to describe a purposeful sampling of 20 selected by region, religious, and enrollment.

Results

Types 1.0 Straight Literature and 1.5 Primarily Literature majors represented 78% of the population and 75% of the sampling; Type 2.0 More Flexible majors represented 18% of the population and 25% …

Technology Partnership Curriculum Initiative: A Descriptive Case Study Of Its History, Development, And Implementation, Ingrid Wright-Jones

Dissertations

Problem

Curricular reform has a pathetic history. Curriculum documents, some of the major tools of reformers, have had a minor effect on transforming education because the power of pedagogy has been ignored (Cuban, 1993). Teachers in the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) system voiced similar concerns about curriculum documents. Additionally, they felt that their 2-4-day in-service training did not adequately prepare them to implement curricular changes. This initiative, aimed at restructuring both the content and process of teaching, was to be implemented in a distance-learning pilot project in eight one-teacher schools.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to: (1) define the …

De-Emphasizing Grade-Level Identities: A Case Study Of Mathematics Instruction In An Intermediate Elementary Multiage Classroom, Kevin Oconnor

Dissertations

This is an interpretive study that investigates the nature of the issues, dilemmas, and successes of planning and implementing a mathematics program with minimal reference to grade-level designations in a multiage classroom setting of fourth—and fifth-grade students.

The study focused on how one teacher conceptualized, designed, and structured a mathematics curriculum. An analysis of over 60 hours of interviews conducted over six months revealed a teacher who integrated her knowledge of elementary mathematics with her knowledge and practice of teaching and learning theories, mathematical understanding, curriculum perspectives, and classroom management. This integration is explained through a conceptual framework of the …

Inclusion Of Gregorc's Mind Styles Concepts In Physical Therapy Curriculum And Instruction In Selected Baccalaureate And Post-Baccalaureate Programs, Keith R. Gaden

Dissertations

Topic

The topic under study in this paper was the application of Gregorc's mind styles concepts in two baccalaureate and two post-baccalaureate physical therapy programs.

Purpose

The purpose was to determine how these concepts were used while addressing the teaching and learning theory competency of the accreditation standards.

Sources

I examined intra- and extra-classroom activities, noting how information on styles was given and/or modeled to the students. Gregorc's Energic Model of Styles formed the basis for style determination. The research design was multiple-case study (embedded). Accreditation documents, curriculum file materials, handout materials, and videotaped classroom sessions were interpreted to determine …