Education Commons^™

Perceptions Of Blended Learning In The High School Classroom, Kelli Murphy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As innovative technologies and accessibility increase in the K12 environment, teachers are offered opportunities to rethink the paradigm of the instructional and learning process. They are at the forefront of instructional change. One type of change is the use of technology as an instructional strategy. Blended learning is a type of instructional strategy which incorporates both online and face-to-face instruction.

The instructional choices a K12 teacher makes under their own volition to present new content in a technology-rich school is the focus of this study. A quantitative research study was performed in a high school with high technology accessibility. Teachers’ …

A Case Study Of An Online Teacher Study Group As A Digital Professional Development Tool, Jessica Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, there appears to have been a shift in professional development approaches for teachers from short-term workshops to teacher communities of professional practice, which extend over a while and focus on the expert knowledge teachers need to use in their setting (Goya, 2014). A supportive approach to teacher learning communities is a teacher study group. An even more promising and flexible approach to teacher learning communities in a global aspect is an online teacher study group. An online teacher study group provided a universal and flexible venue to engage in collaborative discussion between general education and special education …

The Implementation Of Online Classroom Management Professional Development For Beginning Teachers, Kaytlynn Milliken

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Effective classroom management practices are well known, yet the most efficient ways to teach them to beginning teachers is not. Online professional development is growing in popularity—though there are few examples of online classroom management training in the literature. The purpose of this qualitative study was to evaluate the experiences and implementation practices of beginning teachers that participated in online classroom management training as part of their new teacher induction program. The results suggest that online classroom management professional development as part of new teacher induction is a practical option. The beginning teachers were observed utilizing the classroom management strategies …

Factors Influencing Faculty Use Of Screencasting For Feedback, Berlin Fang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored faculty concerns in using screencasting to give feedback, why they choose to adopt it, and what training and support would benefit them in the adoption of such a method. This is a single embedded case study using a stages of concern questionnaire, semistructured and open-ended interviews, as well as media comment reviews as data collection methods. Some 21 professors from a southwestern private university participated in the research, representing 51 potential participants who have been exposed to screencasting for feedback through software ownership, training, or coaching. After the completion of this questionnaire, 16 participants were interviewed in …

Investigating The Relation Between Saudi Teachers’ Self-Perceptions Of Tpack And Their Practical Application In Lesson Design, Amnah Albuloushi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Online education is a relatively new phenomenon in Saudi Arabian universities and best online teaching practices are still gaining ground in teacher training. At one university, which offers degrees primarily through distance education, this study sought to investigate online teachers’ perceptions of their TPACK (only the TK, PK, and TPK domains) as well as analyze their practical application of TPACK knowledge in designing unit plans. The researcher adopted a mixed methods approach to data collection by administering surveys (n=60) and analyzing unit plans (n=60), which were analyzed quantitatively, and conducting interviews (n=6), which were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Survey …

The Roles And Responsibilities Of Makerspace Educators, Kelli Duhaney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The maker movement is rapidly growing as schools look to address learning in the subjects of STEM subjects. This movement emerged from Papert’s 1980 theory of constructionism. Makerspaces are venues where students have the opportunity to create artifacts that demonstrate their learning about a subject. Students may also tinker and create new artifacts within a makerspace. Much research on the maker movement is anecdotal, focusing on the student experience in makerspaces. Little was known about the role of the educator in a makerspace. The purpose of this study was to examine the roles and responsibilities of educators while implementing makerspaces …

The Impact Of 1:1 Technology Initiatives On Lesson Planning, Michael Amick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Districts across the country are quickly moving toward a 1:1 student to laptop ratio. Where computer labs or carts were once the norm, many districts are now purchasing all students a laptop to start the year. This movement is occurring at a rapid pace, despite a growing body of research that shows that increased technology does not automatically lead to achievement gains. The teacher plays a vital role in student outcomes, with or without technology. In particular, the manner in which teachers plan lessons is significant to classroom outcomes. This is evident in that the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching …

The Influence Of Question Sequencing Using Formative Assessment In Introductory Statistics, Bryan Nelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Formative assessment has long been used to gauge students’ understanding of course material prior to taking an exam. With the advent of more advanced technology, only recently have instructors been able to combine formative assessment with a student response system to allow students to respond to questions in real time during class. Previous studies show mixed findings on the relationship between the use of student response systems and student learning. For example, some studies show that those students who used a student response system performed better on exams or in the course when compared to those who did not, while …

Gamification: Badges And Feedback, Brian Macon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gamification, the implementation of game elements in a non-game context, is a rapidly growing field of research. One element of gamification that has experienced a rapid growth in popularity is the use of digital badges. Despite widespread adoption in educational settings, there are still gaps in the understanding of their effects on motivation, engagement, learning, and other factors. Furthermore, feedback delivered through badges can include a symbolic reward for successful completion of a task, providing a credential for gaining a skill, or acknowledging mastery of a particular piece of knowledge. This study implemented digital badges in online courses at a …

Faculty Perceptions And Use Of Web 2.0 Tools In Saudi Arabian Higher Education, May Alashwal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated factors that predict Saudi Arabian faculty members' intentions to adopt and use Web 2.0 tools and to assess faculty's awareness of the educational benefits of Web 2.0 tools to supplement classroom instructions in higher education. One hundred and three faculty members (34 male and 69 female) from a large university in the Western region of Saudi Arabia participated in the web survey. The framework and model for explaining and predicting the contributing factors towards the decision to adopt and use of Web 2.0 tools was the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior (DTPB). The partial least squares structural …

The Impact Of 1:1 Technology Initiatives On New Literacy In The Secondary Elar Classroom: A Metasynthesis, Abbey Matatall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Guided by socio-cultural learning theories of Vygotsky’s (1979) social-constructivism and cultural-historical activity theory (Engeström, 2014), the researcher of this study formed three research questions regarding the emergent research trends on 1:1 technology initiatives in the secondary ELAR classroom and new literacy. In response, a meta-synthesis of relevant studies was conducted. To provide an initial framework for the synthesis, the researcher provided conceptual definitions and backgrounds of 1:1 technology initiatives, socio-cultural learning theories, and new literacy, supported by the history of literacy movements that led to this new model of literacy. Utilizing narrowed inclusion and exclusion criteria, the research yielded …