Education Commons^™

A Study Of The Teaching Beliefs Of The Modern Post Secondary Science Instructor And Implications They May Hold For The Future Of Science Education, Michael Charles Howard

Dissertations

It was the purpose of this study to examine the teaching beliefs of community college science instructors and discover whether their teaching beliefs were student oriented or instructor oriented. In addition, this study sought to examine demographic factors and find their relation, if any, to these teaching beliefs, as well as explore topics that may be useful in the future to helping community colleges science instructors’ curricula and beliefs come together and work in unison. To do this, the study built on the foundation laid by Sampson et al., in their creation of the Beliefs about Reformed Science Teaching and …

Effective Instructional Strategies Utilized In Successful And High Performing Secondary Schools In The Southern Region Of Mississippi, Jeanifer Lynn Pearson

Dissertations

The schools in the United States have implemented measures intended to close the achievement gap for over fifty years (Solomon, 2009). The mandates handed down by the federal government cannot be altered. Therefore, schools are required to determine specific measures that increase student academic success. Prior research has demonstrated that schools can be successful if effective leadership at the district, school, and classroom level was present (Gregory, 2003; Johnson, Livingston, & Schwartz, 2000). At the classroom level, it was the leadership of the individual teacher to determine the creation of innovative techniques aimed at academic success of all students (Farr …

Development Of Workforce Skills: Student Perceptions Of Mentoring In First Robotics, Katie Joan Veal Wallace

Dissertations

In today’s global economy, new workforce competencies are needed for success at both individual and societal levels. The new workforce skills extend beyond basic reading, writing, and arithmetic to include higher order processes such as critical thinking and problem solving. Technical job opportunities have grown by approximately 17%, yet the United States continues to decline in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Further, U.S. students earn average or below average test scores when compared to other developed countries. Researchers cite the need to incorporate the learning of workplace skills into secondary education curriculum, and advocates call for new teaching …

Elementary Teachers' Sense Of Self Efficacy And Professional Development Experiences Of Teaching Informational Text, Mary Desiree Lee

Dissertations

According to the International Reading Association, becoming a successful citizen in one’s career and personal life requires the use of literacy skills (International Reading Association, 1999). However, students in the United States have scored low on the literacy portions of the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the ACT prompting the National Governor’s Association to author a set of standards with a goal of providing students a balance between narrative and informational text (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). Scores were below the national average in the southeastern region of the United …

Perceptions Of Urban High School Teachers Transitioning From Traditional Instruction To Blended Learning, Michael Wayne Hamilton

Dissertations

Increasing demands for technology integration at the K-12 level have led school districts to explore blended learning as an option for sustaining productive instructional strategies while increasing technology integration in the classroom. Furthermore, Disruptive Innovation Theory (Christensen, 1997) offers insights as to the potential impact of blended learning on the field of education. This phenomenological study attempted to capture the lived experiences of urban high school teachers who were transitioning to a blended learning instructional strategy. In addition, this study utilized the Stages of Concern (SoC) component of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) to isolate the phenomenon and provide …

Pre-Service Teachers: A Study Of Self-Theories Of Intelligence And Attitudes About Web 2.0, Lee Ann Smith

Dissertations

This study examined the relationship of pre-service teachers’ self-theories of intelligence (mindset) and their attitudes about Web 2.0. The research questions evaluate: (a) Whether a significant correlation exists between pre-service teachers’ mindsets and attitudes about Web 2.0 (social media), and (b) Whether significant differences exist between demographic groups (e.g., age, certification area, gender) and their attitudes about Web 2.0 (social media). Results of the study indicate that a weak correlation between pre-service teachers’ perceived mindsets and perceived attitudes about Web 2.0 was statistically significant. In addition, significant differences were found based upon certification area, gender, and age with the sample’s …

Place-Based Education: An Impetus For Teacher Efficacy, Tamara Chase Coleman

Dissertations

This research investigated professional development in place-based (PB) methodology on the efficacy of science teachers. While teachers are expected to use best practices they do not always implement them due to a lack of efficacy in implementation. A professional development program (PD) was designed to increase confidence among teachers planning to incorporate PB methods. Place-based education (PBE) is recognized as a best-practice among professional educators. PBE includes the selection, design and engagement with science using the geographic place as the content. The literature reports that student learning and teacher efficacy will improve when teachers are prepared effectively in PB practices. …

How Do Middle School Core Content Area Teachers In A Title 1 School Use Cooperative Learning In The Context Of High Accountability For Student Proficiency: A Multiple Case Study, Martha Cunigan-Wells

Dissertations

This action research case study describes how content area teachers in a middle school with low reading achievement levels utilize cooperative learning and curriculum integration (with a focus on the integration of literacy skills and thinking skills) in their content area given the current context of accountability for student mastery of tested core content outcomes. The participants were four urban middle school teachers from the core areas of science, social studies, mathematics, and language arts who had varying levels of training and experience with cooperative learning and curriculum integration. Data sources included audio-recorded pre-conferences, video-taped classroom observations, audio-recorded post-conferences, and …

Implementation Of A Modified Reading Program In An Urban High School Setting, Ann Vayre

Dissertations

READ 180 is a popular reading program among high schools seeking to improve their reading scores. To date, few studies have examined modified versions of the program, with none focusing on the fidelity of implementation. This study examines a modified READ 180 program where scheduling only allowed for a 50-minute per day block of time, in contrast to the 90-minutes utilized in the original design. Research questions focus on urban high school teachers’ usage of READ 180 components and strategies, consistency with the program’s original design, the level of importance teachers attached to each of the components and strategies, and …

The Implementation Of Common Core Standards And Teacher Intent To Persist, Eddie Miles Louis Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the implementation of the Common Core Standards (CCS) into schools had an impact on teacher intent to persist in the classroom. Specifically, this study sought to determine if the implementation of the CCS was a factor of novice and veteran teachers’ intent to persist in schools located in south Mississippi. A review of the literature indicated that teacher shortages were not primarily due to recruitment and training, but rather, to a significant extent, were the result of teachers leaving the profession long before retirement (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004).

Data were collected …

Teacher Trust Levels And How They Differ Between School Settings And Impact Teacher Involvement In Student Achievement Activities, Gretchen Kaeding Bergan

Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has brought accountability to the world of education. The Act’s purpose was to bring a standards-based educational reform process nationally by establishing measurable goals and high academic standards for students and teachers. The mandate to the states from the federal government specified that each state set up incremental assessments of all children, and schools have responded with significant efforts to improve student outcomes. One factor, teacher-to-teacher trust levels, has been shown through research (Bryk & Schneider, 1996) to improve professional working environments and student learning.

This was a comparison study of teacher-to-teacher …

Problem-Based Learning (Pbl) In The College Chemistry Laboratory: Students’ Perceptions Of Pbi And Its Relationship With Attitude And Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Lloyd Madalitso P. Mataka

Dissertations

A convergent mixed methods research study was used to investigate whether or not students who participated in the problem based learning (PBL) environment improved their self-efficacy beliefs (SEBs) in and attitudes toward chemistry. The study also investigated the students’ views of the PBL environment. The Chemistry Attitude and Experience Questionnaire (CAEQ) was used as a pre- and post-test to determine changes in students’ attitudes and SEBs. The PBL Environment Inventory (PBLEI) was used to investigate students’ views of the PBL environment. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to re-validate both instruments with the study group: students in general chemistry laboratories at …

Effects Of Project-Based Learning Professional Development On 21st-Century Skills, Debra Sue Atwell

Dissertations

This research project was designed to add to the limited available research concerning effects of project-based learning professional development on 21st-century skills within rural Arkansas settings. The researcher sought to determine if high school teachers, trained in project-based learning in the NTN model, perceived they taught and assessed their students’ 21st-century skills differently than high school teachers not trained in project-based learning under the NTN model.

This casual comparative study was conducted in 20 school districts in Arkansas with a total student population of approximately 11,646 from 6th grade to 12th grade. The 21st-Century Teaching and Learning Survey was used …

Effects Of Response To Intervention On Academic Achievement In High School Literacy And Mathematics, Scott Embrey

Dissertations

This study examined the effects of a multi-tiered Response to Intervention (RTI) framework on literacy and math in an effort to determine the potential benefits in a secondary setting. Specifically, this study compared literacy and mathematics achievement for 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students, as measured by end-of-course exams, between a secondary school utilizing RTI and a secondary school not using RTI. Furthermore, the disaggregated test scores based on gender and socioeconomic status were analyzed from each school to determine the disparity in academic performance between groups of students, referred to as the “achievement gap”.

A quantitative, causal-comparative strategy was …

Identifying The Relationship Between The Map And Wj-Iii Reading Tests To Make Instructional Decisions Within A Rti Framework, Lauren Brittany Martin

Dissertations

The current study explored the relationship between the reading tests of the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), a screening test, and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement, Third Edition (WJ-III), a diagnostic academic achievement test. By examining the relationship between these two tests, more reliable instructional decisions within a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework can potentially be established. Reading scores were collected for 234 students who completed the MAP three times per year both in first and second grades. One hundred of those students were randomly selected and administered the five reading subtests of the WJ-III in the spring of their …

Teaching The Writing Methods Course: A Multiple Case Study Of Teachers’ Professional Journeys, Teaching Contexts, Theoretical Frames, And Courses, Kristin A. K. Sovis

Dissertations

This study, situated within the fields of English education and writing teacher education, illustrates not only what is happening in writing methods courses but why in its examination of writing methods courses and instructor influences. The writing methods course is identified by English educators and writing teacher educators as “pivotal” in K-12 English teacher preparation, and the purpose of this study is to better understand multiple versions of this course and how teacher influences affect the design and implementation of the course (Grossman, 1990; Smagorinsky and Whiting, 1995; McCann, 2005).

This study builds upon scholarship that explores individual versions of …

Differences In Elementary School Team Communication And Practices For Students Of Varied Educational Status, Kathleen Kroll

Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on interdisciplinary problem-solving teams used to address the academic needs of elementary students struggling with reading. Use of teams has a strong theoretical base and wide endorsement by educational leaders, but limited empirical base. Three studies explore teams that convene students of differing academic status: typical learners (TL), literacy-learning risk (LLR), or language-learning disability (LLD).

The first, a survey study of 183 elementary school personnel in 8 professional categories, examines perceptions of teams convened for students with identified learning disabilities in the area of reading, compared with students struggling but unidentified. Results indicate principals, general education teachers, …

A Case Study Of The Leadership Program At Andrews University: Its Origins And Early Development As Reflected In Documents And Relics, Participant And Faculty Interviews, And Participant-Observation, 1994-2003, Priscilla Tucker

Dissertations

Purpose. The Leadership Program was established at Andrews University in 1994 as a non-traditional, competency-based, adult-oriented doctoral program. The purpose of this case study was to relate the story of the creation and development of the Leadership Program from 1994 through 2002 by examining the concepts incorporated into the program and the experiences of participants, faculty, and staff involved in the program during those years.

Method. Using a case-study approach, I have examined the conceptual development and procedural evolution of the Leadership Program at Andrews University from 1994 through 2002; that is, from the year of the program’s …

The Effect Of Prosody Instruction On Reading Fluency And Comprehension Among Third-Grade Students, Tammy B. Overstreet

Dissertations

Problem

Many students are failing to become proficient readers with current instructional methods used in American schools. Students frequently make improvements in two of fluency’s dimensions, rate and accuracy, but these improvements have not consistently correlated to improvements in reading comprehension, which is the objective of reading. The automaticity plus prosody (APP) model was developed by this researcher from Topping’s deep processing fluency model to explain why teaching and assessing the multiple dimensions of fluency (rate, accuracy, and prosody) improve comprehension. The purpose of this study was to compare students in a private school in a small town in southwestern …

Culturally Responsive Leadership: A Case Study To Explore Stakeholders’ Perceptions Of Culturally Responsive Leadership In A K-12 Public Charter School In North Carolina, Kimberly Michelle Jones Goods

Dissertations

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore stakeholders’ perceptions of the culturally responsive leadership practices of charter school leaders. The goals were: (a) to explore how the school leadership team perceived culturally responsive leadership in a K-12 charter school in North Carolina, (b) to explore how the teachers perceived culturally responsive teaching and learning in a K-12 charter school in North Carolina, and (c) to explore how parents perceived a culturally responsive home-school connection in a K-12 charter school in North Carolina. Because this study involved an examination of stakeholders’ perceptions of culturally responsive leadership in a …