Education Commons^™

School Connectedness: Teachers’ Perspectives On The Effects Of A Small Learning Community On Ninth-Grade Student Transition And Dropout, Brittany Richey

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore ninth grade teachers’ perspectives’ of a small learning community and its impact on student connectivity, transition and dropout. The following overarching research question framed this study: (Given the 15-year history of this freshman academy, what are the teachers’ perspectives on the impact of a small learning community on ninth grade transition? (a) What are teachers’ perceptions of how the freshman academy affects students’ sense of interpersonal connectedness? (b) What are teachers’ perceptions of how the freshman academy affects students’ sense of physical and emotional safety? (c)What are teachers’ perceptions of how the …

Determining First-Year College Students' Capacity For Active Engagement In Their Own Learning, Melanie Jan Mcdaniel Duvall

Dissertations

First-year students are at a higher risk of dropping out of college; therefore, student retention and success are at risk. The purpose of this study is to find statistically significant differences among five demographic variables: (1) first college semester hours earned; (2) first college semester GPA; (3) ACT composite score; (4) high school GPA; and (5) first-generation college students and the 10 Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) subscales: Anxiety, Attitude, Concentration, Information Processing, Motivation, Selecting Main Ideas, Self-Testing, Test Strategies, Time Management, and Using Academic Resources, to better determine how to help students be more successful. The LASSI instrument …

Shaking Up Shakespeare: Teaching For The Contemporary High School English Classroom, Megan Sampson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Contemporary high school English students find Shakespeare distant because they believe Shakespeare is hard to understand. Pairing Shakespeare with thematically-similar contemporary texts can make his works more accessible to students. Using different angles on the same theme shows students that Shakespeare presented some universal issues that still have relevance today. The Literacy Design Collaborative modules included within this thesis use Shakespeare in cooperation with other texts to focus on a specific theme. Using the module structure, teachers can organize the unit’s overarching goals and can include all handouts and necessary materials. This structure of design incorporates literacy-centered practices in order …

The Effects Of Community-Building On Achievement, Motivation, And Engagement In Undergraduate Mathematics, Hannak Keith

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This 2 x 2 quasi-experimental study examined the effects of pedagogical method (i.e., direct instruction vs. 5E inquiry) and intentional community-building (i.e., absence or presence) on undergraduate student (N = 103) motivation, engagement, and achievement in mathematics. Conditions were randomly assigned to one of four different College Algebra classes with a one-time occurrence and taught by a trained expert teacher. Findings indicated that intentional community-building – regardless of pedagogical method – had the strongest effects on students’ motivation, engagement, and achievement. Although no differing pedagogical effects were discovered (most likely due to the one-time implementation of the lesson formats), …

Testing The Effects Of Professional Development On Elementary Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Mathematics Inquiry Instruction, Courtney Inabnitt

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In this study, a professional development (PD) seminar was designed and implemented with elementary pre-service teachers (n=20) enrolled in a mathematics content course at a small Midwestern university. The central focus of the PD was on bringing inquiry, specifically the 5E model, into mathematics instruction at the elementary level. The structure of the PD followed the 5E model format and participants learned about inquiry through inquiry. The study utilized a pre-post-test design and measured participants’ knowledge about the 5E model and beliefs about using inquiry in elementary mathematics instruction. Statistically significant growth from pre-test to post-test appears in …

Development Of A Questionnaire To Identify Barriers And Facilitators To Academic Careers For Women In Stem, Charles Leonard Bolton Iii

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this research was to develop a questionnaire to be used to identify barriers and facilitators to women faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academics. The phenomenon known as the leaky pipeline, a theoretical model describing why women are underrepresented in STEM disciplines, was examined. Women have long been underrepresented in STEM professions despite an increase in the number of women earning STEM degrees, suggesting women are faced with barriers that prevent them from achieving equal representation with men. The literature has identified several potential barriers, both historical and new, such as biological inequalities, family responsibilities, …

Comparison Of Academic Achievement, College Readiness, And Perception Between Students From Traditional High Schools And The Gatton Academy, Tim Gott

Dissertations

Secondary education in the United States has been evolving from the early days of Latin grammar schools to the present broad spectrum of high school structures. This study focuses on one of the latest types of high school models – specialized secondary schools. In particular, the intent of this study was to assess whether high ability students in one such program, the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science, demonstrate between-group differences from their high ability peers in traditional high schools in the areas of academic achievement, college readiness, and perceptions on the high school experience.

To determine whether these differences …

Exploring The Direct And Indirect Effects Of School Leadership On Student Achievement In Kentucky High Schools, Sheri Roberts Mcguffin

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Motivation For High School Students To Read:Differences Among Student Perceptions And Differences Between Student And Teacher Perceptions, Angela Dawn Gunter

Dissertations

Many high school teachers are unaware of, or mistaken about, specific strategies and practices that actually motivate their students to read, and that what motivates one group of students may not motivate another. Although content-area instructors may not have been trained in teaching reading strategy and may feel as though teaching reading is not their job, it is an expectation that could largely be met by the implementation of motivational strategies.

This exploratory study utilized the expectancy theory of motivation and wasconducted to determine which strategies and practices would be most motivational for high school students to read. In a …

An Examination Of Reading Assignments In The Secondary Classroom, Rachel Elizabeth Leer

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this research study is to examine reading assignments given in the secondary classroom of a rural secondary school. The intention is to analyze student readiness to handle complex text found in post-secondary education and/or the workforce, based on current reading trends within the school. The research questions guiding this study focus on the average amount of reading students are expected to complete in a week, what strategic support is being provided to students to enhance comprehension of text, the methodology behind how teachers select both reading assignments and reading strategies, and finally the methodology behind how teachers …

Examining Teachers' Knowledge And Perceptions Of Response To Intervention, Ashley Elizabeth Moore Swigart

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-step approach to providing interventions to students within general and special education. This study investigated the relationship between elementary, middle, and high school teachers’ perceptions of RTI and (a) whether they taught general versus special education, (b) grade level taught, (c) knowledge level of RTI, and (d) presence in a school implementing RTI and participation in the process. Understanding teachers’ perceptions is of particular importance to school psychologists and can be used to ensure that teachers participate fully in the RTI process. Participants were given a questionnaire to complete that assessed their perceptions and …

A Survey Of Factors Affecting Enrollment In Mathematics Teacher Education Programs, Rebecca Miller

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Concern for an adequate supply of competent mathematics teachers prompted this research. The study was implemented to identify the factors believed to be of importance in a student's decision concerning whether or not to become a public school teacher.

A comparison was made between two groups of mathematics students at Western Kentucky University. Mathematics students were separated according to whether or not they were pursuing teacher certification.

A two-part questionnaire was administered. The first part asked students to rate the importance of 10 selected career factors in their career decision. The second part asked students to rate these same 10 …

Comparative Instructor Attitudes Toward College Level English And Mathematics Experiences For Gifted High School Students, Bruce Vickers

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Samples derived from a mailed questionnaire were compared. The sample represented high school, community college and university instructors of mathematics and English. The Kentucky public schools sampled were equally represented among high school, community colleges and universities. The research indicated that of those instructors sampled a very high percentage (97.7%) feel that those high school students shown to be academically gifted would benefit from a college experience before high school graduation. The attitudes of those instructors sampled indicated that multiple criteria – grades, recommendations, standardized test scores and personal interview – were considered the preferred method of selection (82.5%). The …

Ua37/30/2 Wku Research Notecards - H Topics, Lowell Harrison

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Notecards created by Lowell Harrison while researching his book Western Kentucky University. The cards transcribed are for 108 topics beginning with H ranging from Hail Storm to Hundred Club.

Comparison Of The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test And The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale In School Age Children, Stephen Skiles

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The correlate relationships and directionality and magnitude of mean differences between MAs and IQs of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and Revised Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (both 1960 and 1972 norms) were investigated in a sample of 225 school age children. It was found that MAs of two instruments were more highly correlated than the IQs. For the total sample, no significant differences were found between mean MAs of the two instruments. The correlation between PPVT and the 1960 Revised Stanford-Binet IQs and the correlation between PPVT and 1972 Revised Stanford-Binet IQs were found to be identical. The PPVT was found …

Teaching French Culture: A Unit Based Upon The Affective Value System, Carl Garrott

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was not simply to construct a unit but to provide an approach to teaching language by combining language and culture in appropriate for advanced high school students French.

For the purposes of this study seven affective values were chosen as representing the most suitable basic listings: (1) l'individualisme; (2) l'intellectualite; (3) le realisme; (4) la famine; (5) la religion; (6) is justice: and (7) la Patrie. armed with the seven values i-or the author of this project, and the grammatical skill, the next step was the actual composition of the historiettes. It became quickly apparent …

Ua11/1/9 Hilltoppers In The News, Wku Public Affairs

WKU Archives Records

Hilltoppers in the News program by Skip Church featuring Richard Roberts, David "Doc" Livingston, Jerry Bean and Jimmy Feix.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process from September 1 through November 30, 1969.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process from June 1 through August 31, 1969.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process from April 1 through May 31, 1969.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process from January 1 through March 31, 1969.

Ua64/4 Yearly Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process in 1968.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process between October 1 to December 31, 1968.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky University Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process from July 1 through September 30, 1968.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process from April 1 to June 30, 1968.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process from January 1 through March 31, 1968.

Ua64/4 A Progress Report On The Activities Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process in 1967.

Ua64/4 The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Working report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding the creation of the center and the work proposed to be done in creating a smooth transition from segregation to desegregation in Kentucky schools.

Ua64/14 Student Teacher Placement Cards - D-E, Wku College Of Education

WKU Archives Records

This document contains the WKU Placement Bureau cards used to place student teachers in schools around Kentucky. The cards give the students’ name, college, position wanted, number of credits and work history. Some cards have a photograph attached. When the photos are detached they immediately follow the student’s card. This particular file contains cards for students Davis to Engler.

Moral And Spiritual Values In A High School Anthology Of Literature, Terrence Eugene Kelsay

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

For some years now the need for the emphasis of moral and spiritual values in our public schools has been recognized by the Kentucky Department of Education. The department has given encouragement to numerous research projects and summer workshops held for the purpose of finding an answer to the problem of emphasizing moral and spiritual values in public education. The concern for this need has informally become known as the “Kentucky Movement.”

This study was not undertaken with the thought of introducing new programs in our high schools. The teaching of moral and spiritual values should be done through the …