Education Commons^™

The Impact Of The “Universal Voyager Literacy” Reading Program On Reading Achievement And Instructional Practices In An Urban School District, Shanika L. Hope

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Studies

Founded in 1994, Voyager Expanded Learning is a provider of K-3 in-school reading programs, as well as K-8 reading intervention programs for school districts throughout the United States. Voyager Universal Literacy's systematic, precise framework fully addresses the five elements of reading instruction, through an explicit succession of ability growth. Voyager Universal Literacy was developed to be a comprehensive program encompassing the subsequent requisites: in-school broad reading program, progress monitoring methods, extensive-day and summer activities, home learning syllabus, implementation monitoring, and on-going professional development. Voyager Universal Literacy Program activities are organized to provide a thorough range and progression for reading instruction. …

The Influences Of Interaction On The Satisfaction, Achievement, And Retention Of Developmental Community College Students, Elizabeth Copeland Wilmer

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of social and academic interaction, demographic characteristics, social and academic adjustment, and learning communities on the satisfaction, achievement, and retention of developmental English community college students.

The literature presented discusses the retention theories of Tinto, Astin, and Bean and their overlapping ideas on persistence. A common thread among these theories is the role of academic and social interaction on the personal development, satisfaction, achievement, and retention of students. Learning communities represent one academic structure that has proven effective in increasing the level of academic and social interaction. Unfortunately, the existing …

The Influence Of Color On The Teaching Of Juggling To Elementary School Children, Anne C. Mccoy

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Learning to juggle is difficult for elementary school students; it involves eye-hand coordination and complex movement patterns. Recognizing and using color for figure- and-ground visual perception is a necessary skill for tracking moving objects to catch them effectively. Can juggling instruction be influenced by the color of the juggling object used? Is one color more effective than another or does a combination of three different colors provide the most effective equipment choice?

Children in third, fourth, and fifth grade physical education classes were randomly assigned to color choices for juggling objects in a month-long unit of juggling instruction. The choices, …

Preservice And K–12 Inservice Teachers' Perceptions Of Appropriateness Of Teacher Self-Disclosure And Its Teaching Effectiveness, Shaoan Zhang

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Situating teacher self-disclosure within a curriculum and instruction context, this research explored preservice and K-12 inservice teachers' perceptions of appropriateness of teacher self-disclosure and its teaching effectiveness as a component of the informal curriculum as well as an instructional tool. The following research questions were explored: (1) Is there any difference among preservice teachers and K-12 inservice teachers in their perceptions of appropriateness of teacher self-disclosure? (2) Is there any difference between preservice teachers and K-12 inservice teachers in their perceptions of appropriateness of teacher self-disclosure? (3) Is there any difference among K-12 inservice teachers in their application of teacher …

Service With Friends: The Influence Of Peer Interactions And Emotions In Community Service Experiences, Jennifer Jill Kidd

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Community service has increasingly become part of students' educational experience. It is seen both as a stand alone requirement and as a core component integrated into course objectives. Much has been learned about the effects of community service on students, but there remain unanswered questions. This study compares four structures of mandatory community service differing in the amount of peer and faculty interaction. It also examines the influence of students' emotional reactions to community service experiences. The participants for the study are college freshmen enrolled in a required environmental course. Hierarchical regressions are utilized to explore the influences of community …

Balanced Literacy Versus Basal Reading Instruction For Urban African-American, Title I Third-Grade Students, Julie Ann Perkins

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study compared third-grade reading achievement of urban African-American, Title I students using a basal reading series with those using a balanced literacy program to determine whether the highly structured skills-based methods advocated by The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act actually foster or impede reading achievement in an urban school setting.

Two hundred forty-five third-grade African-American, Title I students from an urban elementary school in southeastern Virginia served as subjects for the study. Subjects were studied as intact groups to avoid disruption in the educational setting. Participants in the control group were third-grade classes of urban African-American, Title I …

Implementation Of Problem-Based Learning In Senior Engineering Design-I (Ece 485w), Fawaz Muzaffer Hussain

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Problem-Based Learning is an approach where knowledge is acquired in the context of the problem. Students are provided with the problem specifications and resources that might prove to be helpful in solving the problem. They attack these real world problems in groups, analogous to the practice in the professional engineering world. This mode of teaching was adopted to deliver the Senior Engineering Design — I course (ECE 485W), offered to freshman engineering undergraduate students in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Old Dominion University, Norfolk. This thesis documents the various pedagogical methods implemented into the course, which were introduced …

The Effects Of Breakthrough To Literacy On The Phonological Awareness Skills Of Students In Early Elementary School, Amy W. Woodward

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study researched the effects of Breakthrough to Literacy (1998), a phonological awareness computer-based program, on elementary school students in grades kindergarten through three. The treatment group received the Breakthrough to Literacy program in kindergarten. The control group received the traditional curriculum without this program. The students were assessed on phonological awareness skills at the end of kindergarten, the fall and spring of grade one and grade two. Their reading comprehension skills were also assessed at the end of grade 3. Results indicate that Breakthrough to Literacy improved the phonological awareness skills of students who received the program in grades …

A Comparison Of Anonymous E-Peer Review Versus Identifiable E-Peer Review On College Student Writing Performance And Learning Satisfaction, Ruiling Lu

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of anonymous e-peer review with identifiable e-peer review on student writing performance and learning satisfaction. It also investigated whether anonymous e-peer review facilitated a greater amount of critical peer feedback.

Quasi-experimental design was used to test group differences on the dependent variables. Participants were 48 freshmen enrolled in two English Composition classes at Old Dominion University in the fall semester of 2003. The two intact classes taught by the same instructor were randomly assigned to the anonymous e-peer review group and the identifiable e-peer review group.

The results showed that …

The Interactive Question Protocol: Examining The Relationship Between Feedback, Cognitive Development And Student Achievement, G. Simon Richmond

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Feedback is an essential component of effective learning. The advent of the internet as a delivery mode for distance education has expanded the access many people have to higher learning. Despite many advantages that online courses provide for distance learning students, they often lack real time feedback. A software intervention called the Interactive Question Protocol was designed for this study to provide automated, real time feedback. That treatment was then contrasted against changes in student achievement, satisfaction and participation. Learners can be categorized by Perry's scheme of mental maturity according to how they understand and interpret the knowledge they acquire. …

A Comparative Study Of American-Born Chinese And Non American-Born Chinese Students' Language Learning Motivation, Language Acquisition, And Ethnic Identity Development In Chinese Language Schools, Sarah C. Tsai

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This dissertation is a non-experimental comparative and correlational study. It compares the three variables of language learning motivation, language acquisition, and ethnic identity between American-Born Chinese (ABC) and Adopted Chinese students (Non-ABC) at Association of Chinese language schools on the East Coast of the United States. One hundred and eighty-two ABC and 70 non-ABC students enrolled in Chinese language classes in the fall semester of 2004 participated in this study. Additionally, this study identifies the teaching categories that are most commonly applied in the Chinese language school classroom.

The data were collected through a survey method. The research instruments used …

Culture Of Growth: Teacher Collaboration For The Empowerment Of All Students, Kamilla Bahbahani

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Studies

This dissertation documents an in-depth year long qualitative case study of three elementary school teachers to address the following research question: what characterizes, and what are the major influences on, an integrated, constructivist-oriented approach to elementary math instruction? The researcher, working collaboratively with the teachers, used a combination of interviews, observations, journaling, and informal discourse to learn about what they want to do in their classes, the various pressures they feel for performance and student learning, the forces they balance in making their instructional choices, and the ways in which they make instructional choices and change their approaches over time. …

Synchronous Text-Based Chat Vis-À-Vis Asynchronous Threaded Discussion: An Instructional Strategy For Providing An Option In Two Course Delivery Schemes, Shin Yi Lin

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an instructional strategy of providing students an option of two types of online text-based discussion (chat vs. threaded discussion forum) had significant effects on student satisfaction, cognitive achievement, and self-efficacy. In an effort to identify any differential effects associated with student characteristics, students' age and learning preferences were used as blocking variables. The study sample was teacher education students. Statistical procedures employed were MANOVA; MANCOVA, regression analysis, chi-square, and correlation were employed. The findings show that such an instructional customization—providing the online discussion forum option—has positive impacts on student satisfaction and …

Choice And Support: An Individualized Approach To Student Empowerment And Involvement In Combating Procrastination In The Internet Learning Environment, Han Liu

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study was designed to explore effective approaches that could help online students overcome online academic procrastination, raise their satisfaction ratings, and improve their academic performance.

The research was conducted at Old Dominion University, Virginia, with a sample of 165 undergraduate and graduate students (mean age = 30.67, SD = 8.98; male = 33, 20%, female = 132, 80%; undergraduate 95, 58%, graduate 70, 42%). The participants were taking an online course, Social and Cultural Foundations of American Education, required for teacher licensure. The treatments included the Choice Package (choice of assignment due dates, choice of rewards and punishments, and …

A Comparison Between First-Year Alternative Certified Teachers And First-Year Traditional Certified Teachers Based On Students' Academic Achievement: The Case Of A High-Need Urban Southeast District In Virginia, Abdou Maty Sene

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Studies

Debate about teacher supply and demand has been renewed in recent years by an increased concern about the reduced numbers of students entering teacher education programs and the resulting teacher shortages. Thus, American schools are experiencing teacher shortages, especially in low-income urban areas, because of increased school enrollment, teacher retirement, reduction of class size, teacher attrition, and turnover related to low salaries, job dissatisfaction, lack of administrative support and influence over decision-making. Recently, the increased interest in teacher quality has been the topic of debate for educational policy makers, and many researchers have focused on teacher certification.

The purpose of …

Competency-Based Education: Implications For Curricular Development Of The Allied Dental Science Program At The Jordan University Of Science And Technology, Suhair Ref' At Obeidat

Dental Hygiene Master's Papers and Projects

Preface:

The content of this document represents a review of the best practices and principles in competency-based dental and allied dental education. This information is offered in the spirit of collegiality with the intent of improving the allied dental education in general and the dental hygiene education in particular in Jordan. Recommendations presented should serve as a basis for discussion and decision-making by all involved in the Allied Dental Science Program education and administration at the Jordan University of Science and Technology, including the Dean of the Applied Medical Sciences Department and the Allied Dental Science Program Director and Faculty.

Problem-Based Learning: Implications For The Allied Dental Sciences Program At Jordan University Of Science And Technology, Zain A. Malkawi

Dental Hygiene Master's Papers and Projects

The purpose of this paper is to review the problem-based learning literature and recommend changes to the Allied Dental Sciences curriculum at Jordan University of Science and Technology so that problem-based learning can be incorporated into the curriculum. Characteristics of problem-based learning include students' active participation in learning, and interpersonal skills development through discussion, social interaction, collaborative teams or tutorial groups. Problem-based education encourages students to develop communication and critical thinking competencies, enhance self-directedness and ownership of their own learning, and improve, students' knowledge, and independence. For example, two courses in the current Al lied Dental Sciences curriculum, Dental Radiology …

The Effects Of The Help One Student To Succeed (Hosts) Program On The Reading Achievement Of At-Risk 4th And 5th Grade Elementary Students, Kelvin L. Bradley

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study investigated the effects of the Help One Student to Succeed (HOSTS) tutoring program on the reading achievement of at-risk 4^th and 5^th grade elementary students, as measured by the Texas Assessment of Academic Skill (TAAS). Seventy-eight 4^th and 5^th grade at-risk students from four Title I elementary schools in the Plano Independent School District participated in the study. Thirty-nine of these students were enrolled in the HOSTS program and were matched to a comparison group of students according to ethnicity, age, gender, grade, free or reduced lunch, bilingual and English as a Second language …

Site-Based Dropout Identification And Prescription Process For Alternative Education In A Diverse School System, William P. Krupp

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study developed a school site-based dropout identification and prescription process for student placement in alternative education programs in a school system with diverse residential environments—urban, rural, and suburban. The dropout performance-based and measurable predictor variables selected through discriminate function analysis were total retentions, yearly average of absences, total out-of-school suspensions, the state competency tests passed on time, total administrative hearings, and yearly average of poor grades. The combination and nature of these variables allow for early detection of potential dropouts.

While subtle differences existed between the urban, suburban, and rural prediction formulas, the variables selected produced prediction formulas with …

A Meta-Analysis Of The Effects Of Multicultural Education On The Racial Attitudes Of Pre-K Through Grade 12 Students: A Comparison Of Curricular Intervention And Reinforcement Dimensions In Suburban And Urban Educational Settings, Ogochukwu Nkeiruka N. Okoye-Johnson

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This meta-analysis examined the effects of multicultural education on the racial attitudes of students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Multicultural education, which evolved as a direct result of the push for ethnic studies in schools, was operationalized for this study as programs and curricula dealing with racial and cultural diversity.

The findings of thirty selected studies were synthesized in this meta-analysis to examine whether students exposed to multicultural education developed more positive racial attitudes than students who did not. This meta-analysis compared the effect sizes of two dimensions of multicultural education, curricular intervention and reinforcement, to see the relative effectiveness …

Cognitive Complexity And Empathy As Predictors Of Leadership Style In An Urban College Student Population, Scott B. Harrison

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The amount of variation in leadership style predicted by cognitive complexity and empathy was investigated. Differences in cognitive complexity and empathic ability according to students' educational levels and leadership styles was also tested. Leadership style was determined by Fiedler's (1967) Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) measure; cognitive complexity was defined by the Cognitive Complexity Index (CCI), a subscale of the Learning Environment Preferences (LEP; Moore, 1987) instrument which measures Perry's (1998) scheme of intellectual and ethical development; and empathy was measured by Hogan's Scale of Empathy (1969) as scored on the Hogan/Em subscale of the California Psychological Inventory (CPI; Gough, 1987). …

A Study Of The "Pride" Program: A Residential, Summer-School Program For At-Risk Middle-School Students In An Urban Community, Maria Teresa Amillategui Grimm

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This research examined the Pride Program (1991 and 1992)--a residential, summer-school program for at-risk middle-school students. It was conducted with subjects from two large, urban middle schools for the purpose of determining if, after five school years, differences existed among three selected groups (treatment, control and comparison) of at-risk students in the areas of academic achievement, attendance and conduct. Treatment-group self-esteem was examined over a three-year period. Furthermore, this study provided a qualitative program evaluation of the Pride Program for the first two years of its existence.

The results are as follows: The qualitative evaluation indicated that all participants were …

A Survey Of Characteristics Of Effective Alternative Education Teachers As Perceived By Alternative Education Teachers, Administrators, And Students, Barbara Jean Nicholson Anderson

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This study sought to identify the behavior management, programming, and other teaching characteristics of alternative education teachers perceived by teachers, administrators, and students to be effective when the teachers are working with alternative education students. The characteristics examined were taken from empirical and related urban-centered literature, which underscore the behavior management and programming skills needed by teachers who work with students with behavior disorders. Stated and implied characteristics from related alternative education literature were also used.

There is a need to identify effective characteristics of alternative education teachers, since alternative education programs are becoming an integral part of the regular …

A Case Study Of The Perceptions Of Character Education In A Large Urban Community, Suzanne G. Houff

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This case study seeks to provide insight into the community perception of character education in a large urban area that does not currently implement an explicit program in moral values. The community is established through adolescents in middle school, parents of the adolescents, school counselors and community members. Informants are selected in an attempt to ensure a diverse cross section of the middle school communities.

Perceptions of character education are established through the process of interviews and a card sort involving a total N of 72 stakeholders. Each respondent is asked to provide definitions, synonyms and/or examples of a given …

Classical Montessori: A Study Of The Classical Rhetorical Canons In Early Montessori Writing Instruction, Deborah E. O'Neil

English Theses & Dissertations

This thesis begins by proposing that all five classical canons are an ideal theory for guiding any writing pedagogy. The majority of the thesis, then, details how Montessori writing instruction synergistically exploits these canons to create a powerful pedagogy. Devised by Maria Montessori in the late 1800s, her instruction displays standard and nonstandard applications of invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. Because Montessori writing instruction begins in preschool, this thesis concludes with an exploration of the potential benefits of introducing a classical curriculum before college.

The Effects Of Applied Technology Instruction On Mathematics Achievement And Career Interests Of Urban Seventh-Grade Students, Eric M. Fischer

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The present study has been implemented to provide insight as to how, given limited resources, Technology Education curricula might be developed to best support the unique goals of an urban middle school aerospace magnet program. It was hypothesized that applied academic strategies, including interdisciplinary hands-on aerospace and computer-assisted instructional activities, would affect larger gains in mathematics achievement and would enhance career-interest development of urban seventh-grade students to a greater degree than would non-participation in such instruction. A randomized subjects, pretest-posttest control group design was used to assess treatment effects upon 71 urban seventh-grade students. Dependent variables were measured using the …

An Evaluation Of The 2 + 2 For Teachers: Alternative Performance Appraisal Program In The Norfolk Public Schools Prime Project, Alyce C. Leblanc

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The current study was a utilization-focused implementation evaluation of the 2 + 2 for Teachers: Alternative Performance Appraisal Program (2 + 2). The 2 + 2 program is an experimental appraisal program designed to support substantial instructional reform in the Norfolk, Virginia based PRIME (Public school Restructuring through Innovative Mainstream Education) systemic reform project. Through frequent classroom observations by administrators, peers, and students, who offer two compliments and two suggestions for improvement at each observation, the 2 + 2 program provides a framework for teacher collaboration and professional growth. Ultimately, improved instruction is an expected outcome, but was not evaluated …

Computer Anxiety And Attitudes Of Urban Teacher Education Students, Alfred P. Rovai

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This three-part study used quasi-experimental methodologies to: (a) determine how a computer literacy course affects the computer anxiety and computer attitudes of urban teacher education students over time, (b) explain and predict urban teacher education students who are resistant to reduction of computer anxiety, and (c) determine whether a humanistically-focused treatment is more effective than a traditional cognitively-focused treatment in reducing computer anxiety and improving computer attitudes.

For the first part of this study 75 subjects were measured over three observations using a 13-week interval. The treatment, a mandatory computer literacy course for teacher education students, was conducted between the …

Building A Consensus For The Development Of National Standards In History, Mary Vassilikou Bicouvaris

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This research project examines the process used by the National History Standards Project to build consensus for the development of national standards for teaching history in America's schools.

Since the publication of A Nation At Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform by the National Commission of Excellence in Education in 1983, the American educational community has been in the grips of a reform movement. The aim of this movement is to examine where we have been and where we are going as a nation and to redefine what we believe in and what we believe is important to teach our …

The Effects Of An Urban Middle School Dropout Prevention Program On The Academic Achievement, Attendance, Attitudes, And Conflict Resolution Skills Of At-Risk Student, Patricia Hawkins Fisher

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an urban middle school dropout prevention program on the academic achievement, attendance, attitudes toward self and school, and conflict resolution skills of potential dropout candidates. The study compared the differences in grade point averages and Iowa Test of Basic Skills scores, percentages of absences, self concept and motivation towards school scores, and the percentage of suspensions of subjects in three middle schools in Portsmouth, Virginia. A review of literature revealed that traditional dropout prevention efforts have addressed the dropout dilemma with varying degrees of success. More recent dropout initiatives …