Education Commons^™

A Comparative Study Of Three Approaches For Enhancing Teaching Knowledge Of Dyslexia, Kayla Steltenkamp

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Teachers are the foundational component of the education system. Annually, they are required to engage in professional development opportunities to expand their knowledge. Since 1985 there has been a profusion of legislative attention to the reading disability dyslexia. Included in legislation is the mandate for teacher training, but there is a lack of research on effective professional development to increase teacher knowledge of dyslexia. This study compared three models of professional development to assess their efficacy in increasing declarative knowledge of dyslexia for elementary general education teachers. The results indicated that the use of simulation training alone was less effective …

The Impact Of Expertise And After-School Program Dosage On At-Risk Student Achievement, Heather E. Orman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

After-school programs (ASPs) aimed at improving at-risk student achievement abound and receive considerable funding. Research provides some evidence that ASPs can improve reading and math achievement for at-risk students, although rigorous evaluation of the programs and outcomes is minimal. Specifically absent from current ASP literature is examination of dosage, in the form of hours of program attendance, and its impact on at-risk student achievement. ASP research; research on learning and time; and expertise theory indicate dosage rates that are too low and too high will not impact student achievement.

This study investigates the impact of after-school program dosage and expertise …

The Potential Of A Virtual School To Help Mobile Students, Amy G. Dickinson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

An average of 1.8 million students drop out of high school each year (National Council of Education Statistics, 2014). Dropping out of high school is a problem for both society and the individual (Rumberger, 2003). It can lead to lower wages, unemployment, and incarceration. Mobile students make up a part of those who drop out of school. Students are considered mobile if they attend more than one high school in four years (Rumberger & Larson, 1998). One way of helping highly mobile students is to offer asynchronous virtual classes. Using Institutional Theory (Rumberger, 2001) and Academic Mediation Theory (Vygotsky, 1978; …

Implementation And Evaluation Of A Charge Nurse Development Project Bundle, Kathy L. Rose

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Charge nurses play pivotal roles in healthcare organizations. Yet, studies related to charge nurse development programs are presently limited. The purpose of this project bundle was to develop, implement, and evaluate interventions to enhance charge nurse leadership skills in a 250-bed acute care hospital. Although the interventions did not result in measurable changes in leadership practice ratings by the charge nurses, the manager and observer leadership practice ratings improved, which were statistically significant.

The Impact Of Full And Half-Day Head Start Programs On Kindergarten Readiness, Amanda R. Mcmullan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

The 2013-2014 school year brought mandated school readiness screenings to 173 school districts across the state of Kentucky. According to the Governor’s Task Force on early childhood development and education (2012), school readiness is defined as: each child enters school ready to engage in and benefit from early learning experiences that best promote the child’s success. To assess whether students were school ready the use of the Brigance^© Screens III was implemented across the state. This study investigated the impact of enrollment in half and full-day Head Start programs on kindergarten readiness for students in Kentucky as measured by …