Education Commons^™

Using Blended Learning And Writing Conferences To Develop High Schoolers’ Writing Skills And Self-Regulated Learning, Ashley Nicole Galloway-Speight

Theses and Dissertations

Strong writing skills are an essential element in all areas of life. Written communication is pervasive in both daily life and the workplace. Yet nationwide studies reveal that many students in America graduate from high school with insufficient writing skills. Studies on writing instruction suggest that a shift to teaching writing as a process rather than a product, presentation of quality individualized, focused feedback, and teaching of metacognitive writing skills can help improve writing skills in high school students. The purpose of this mixed methods action research was to determine how the supplemental use of face-to-face writing conferences combined with …

A Single Case Study Exploring Self-Efficacy In An After-School Program, Dubois T. Mcmillan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this single-case study was to examine the impact that the Young Moviemakers of America (YMA) after-school program had on the self-efficacy levels of six student-participants. Self-efficacy is considered a strong predictor of students’ academic success and social-emotional intelligence that influences life trajectories. YMA was formed to provide an outlet for youth in south Los Angeles to express their creative voices through a project-based, hands-on model where participants write and produce an original short documentary film.

This study was conducted to examine how YMA’s use of self-efficacy building strategies might impact students’ personal perceptions of general self-efficacy. Various …

Movement Break Effects On Second Graders: An Action Research Study, Windy K. Sizemore

Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes an action research study regarding the amount of time elementary school children have to engage in movement and play during the school day. The teacher-researcher focused on using transitional movement breaks before math whole group instruction in an effort to answer the question: How do various types of movement breaks during instructional transitions impact off-task behaviors among second grade students during classroom instruction? The data results showed that physical activity related to students’ abilities to stay on-task during instruction when regularly scheduled movement breaks have been implemented as transitions. Student off-task behaviors decreased after using a physical …

Impact Of An Intervention To Improve Self-Regulation Skills Among Students In The Introductory Biology Course At A Southern Technical College, Jessica Burr Lea

Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes a problem of practice centered on Introductory Biology students’ at a southern technical college’s struggle for course success due to an insufficient ability to self-regulate. It is the concern of the researcher that many students do not experience course success because of their poor time management skills, lack of self-reflective behaviors, and failure to correct unsuccessful habits. Wilde and Hardaker (1997) refer to the need for college students to self-regulate as a form of educational “autonomy” which places a larger portion of the learning in the hands of the student rather that solely at the hands of …

The Impact Of Graphic Organizer Use On The Metacognitive Skills Of Ten Senior High School Students In An English Iv British Literature Class At Seaside High School, Josie P. White

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of graphic organizer use on the metacognitive skills of 10 senior high school students in English IV British Literature at Seaside High School.

This study took place over the course of five weeks in Spring 2017 and involved one section of the teacher-researcher’s English IV British Literature class at Seaside High School. Through student surveys, a pre-study interview with each student-participant, a learning styles inventory, students’ use of graphic organizers, the teacher-researcher’s observations and field notes, two writing assignments, and a post-study interview with each student-participant, extensive data was collected …

Teaching Goal Setting Strategies In A Title I Elementary School; An Action Research Study, Susan Ridgeway Nunamaker

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative action research study is to explore the impact of goal setting on the learning process of fifth-grade students in a Title I school. The subjects of this research study are 17 fifth-grade student-participants along with their homeroom teacher-participant. A goal setting unit was designed specifically for this action research study to enable student-participants to experience setting mastery goals and to develop an academic engagement practice through goal setting; thus empowering them for future learning. Semi-structured student interviews, student data journals in the form of goal setting forms, and an open-ended interview with the teacher-participant provide …

The Impact Of Self-Regulating Practice Strategies On The Achievement Perceptions Of Sixth-Grade String Orchestra Students, Anne Poe Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of self-regulating strategies on the musical achievement perceptions of 8 6th-grade students in a beginning orchestra class. For the purposes of the study, musical achievement was measured using two parameters: (a) student self-reports of improvement and ability to effectively use self-regulating strategies and (b) teacher observations ascertaining improved class performance and student use of self-regulating strategies. During the Fall 2016 semester, students received instruction during class on goal setting, monitoring, and evaluating strategies that they were to incorporate during self-directed practice. Data were collected during pre- and postinterviews conducted in …