Education Commons^™

Evaluating An Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math/Computational Thinking Professional Development Program For Elementary Level Paraprofessional Educators, Aubrey A. Rogowski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

For my dissertation, I looked at a training program one Utah school district used to teach paraprofessional educators science, technology, engineering, math, and computational thinking. Specifically, the program taught them about what computational thinking is and how they could use it when teaching science, technology, engineering, and math to students from kindergarten to sixth grade. While reviewing this program, I evaluated 1) The experiences the paraprofessionals had with the program, 2) Whether the paraprofessionals understood computational thinking, and 3) Whether the program prepared them to teach computational thinking to K-6 students.

I worked with eight paraprofessionals who participated in this …

Designing A Rubric For Evaluating Curricular Resources In Montana's Indian Education For All Repository: A Design-Based Research Approach, Megan M. Hamilton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research study was to create an initial rubric to evaluate social studies lesson plans prior to their addition to Montana Office of Public Instruction’s online repository for Indian Education for All (IEFA) curriculum. In the first phase of this study, I examined Montana’s IEFA curriculum thematically to gain a better understanding of how Indigenous histories and perspectives are being represented using combined theoretical lenses of Tribal Critical Race Theory and culturally sustaining/ revitalizing pedagogy. In the second phase of this study, I used my thematic findings to inform the design of a theory-informed evaluative rubric. The …

The Remote Online Initiative: A Legislative Strategy For Rural Workforce Development In Utah, Amanda D. Ali, Paul A. Hill

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

The Remote Online Initiative (ROI) was a legislative response to growing unemployment and limited job opportunities in rural Utah. The ROI program seeks to reduce unemployment in rural Utah communities via remote job placements. Since 2018, the ROI program has expanded to include three flagship certificate courses – Certified Remote Work Professional (CRWP), Certified Remote Work Leader (CRWL), and Certified Tech Sales Professional (CTSP). To date, evaluation results show that 411 Utah graduates found remote jobs after completing the CRWP course, 55% of participants said their department created a remote work environment and hired, on average, 19 remote employees upon …

Evaluating The “What’S Up Down South” Economic Summit: A Platform For Business Leaders To Share Ideas, Paul A. Hill, Amanda D. Ali

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

The What’s Up Down South economic summit is southern Utah’s largest business gathering. The event provides the business community with economic insights to assist them in making informed decisions. USU Extension evaluated the 27^th annual What's Up Down South economic summit. Results showed the event was an effective platform for disseminating information and advancing knowledge on economic and business topics. Participants felt the summit provided a valuable experience to the business community. These findings support the continuation of the summit's information dissemination activities in the future.

Chapter 13- Improving Mentoring Relationships And Programs Through Assessment And Evaluation, Laura Gail Lunsford

Making Connections

Chapter 13, Improving Mentoring Relationships and Programs Through Assessment and Evaluation, presents frameworks for deciding how to improve mentoring experiences. Assessment activities solicit feedback from or about the participants and focus on participant learning and in situ improvement opportunities. Evaluation efforts determine if the program achieved organizational goals. The chapter has four goals. First, the chapter clarifies the difference between assessment, evaluation, and research. Second, the chapter presents frameworks to guide assessment and evaluation efforts. Third, the chapter describes tools for assessment. Fourth, the chapter describes how to evaluate mentoring programs, what data to collect, when to collect it, …

The Impact Of Utah 4-H On Positive Youth Development, Lendel K. Narine, Kelsey Romney, David Francis, Craig Dart

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

4-H is the largest youth development program in the United States. Utah 4-H conducts programs guided by the principles of positive youth development to help youth across the state lead a successful life. This article discusses the impact of Utah 4-H on the wellbeing of youth.

Communicating Program Outcomes And Impact Using Data Visualization Dashboards, Amanda D. Ali, Paul A. Hill, Dominic C. Bria

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Governed by the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, program performance benchmarks within the Cooperative Extension System relate to (a) relevance, (b) quality, and (c) accomplishments. This study discusses the development and implementation of data dashboards for the Rural Online Initiative, adhering to GRPA’s benchmarks of performance.

Online Prehealth Advising: Impact Analysis Spring 2017 To Fall 2020, Alasdair Ekpenyong, Mykel Beorchia

Publications

At Utah State University, various online, Canvas-based advising programs complement the traditional in-person advising program. The online prehealth advising service assists students who are considering health professions graduate school.

This report explored the association between online prehealth advising participation and student persistence to the next term at Utah State University.

Library Services: Impact Analysis Spring 2018 To Fall 2018, Amanda M. Hagman, Lindsay Ozburn, Hayden Hoopes, Erik Dickamore, Bradford R. Cole, Mitchell Colver

Publications

Libraries are an essential element of learning on university campuses. The content housed within libraries supports academic exploration and growth. Physically, libraries are designed to provide access to materials and spaces that facilitate learning. This report explored the impact of student library resource use on student persistence to the next term.

Students' library resource use was captured with EZ Proxy log-ins and library material check-outs. Students who had a record of using library resources were compared to similar students who did not have a record of library resource use. They were compared using prediction-based propensity score matching. Students who used …

Aggie First Scholars: A Quality Workforce Initiative For Promoting First-Generation Student Success, Amanda M. Hagman, John Louviere, Heidi Kesler, Mykel Beorchia, Lisa Simmons, Mitchell Colver

Publications

Introduction: First-generation students lag behind continuing-generation peers in terms of graduation rates and average time to graduation. This phenomenon has been extensively studied in higher education with the intent of closing the gap seen between generational statuses. Utah State University provides services to support first-generation students. In the 2018/2019 academic year, USU initiative a full-kit initiative to help first-generation student participate in several proven first-year student milestones. This report explores the impact of full-kit use of services and the individual impact of each service on first-generation student persistence. METHODS: Students who self-identified as first-generation on their USU application were invited …

Aggie Recreation Center Impact Report Fall 2015 To Spring 2019, Amanda M. Hagman, Erik Dickamore, Daniel Lawrence, Mitchell Colver

Publications

Recreation facilities are an integral part of the university community. The Aggie Recreation Center is a place that helps foster a well balanced student. The ARC provides students with a myriad of opportunities for recreation, exercise, and community that can support students on their academic journey. This report explored the association between ARC facility use and student persistence to the next term at Utah State University. METHODS: Students recreation center use was captured with entry log-ins as students entered the facility. Students who had a record of using the facility were compared to similar students who did not have a …

Student Nutrition Access Center: Impact Analysis 2019, Amanda M. Hagman, Hayden Hoopes, Nelda Ault-Dyslin

Publications

Introduction: Access to nutritional food items is crucial to student well-being, which in turn is crucial to student success. Student success emerges from “the amount of physical and psychological energy that the student devotes to the academic experience” (Astin, 1984). Campus nutrition programs help students eliminate food security issues so that they can devote more energy to the academic experience. However, creating efficient and convenient nutrition programs requires that administrators understand the complexities of their implementation, their effect on specific student segments, and their effect on decisions to either persist at or leave an institution. This report explores the impact …

Exploratory Advising Impact Report: Spring 2016 To Spring 2019, Amanda M. Hagman, Mykel Beorchia, Stephanie Hamblin, Mitchell Colver

Publications

Academic advising performs a pivotal contribution to student success by providing information about univeristy expectations and avenues towards graduation. Exploratory student advising has the additional task of supporting students in major selection. This analysis investigated the relationship between academic advising and student persistence for exploratory students to better understand the impact of current advising practices. METHODS: Exploratory academic advisors met with an average 53% of exporatory students each semester. Students with a record of meeting with an academic advisor were compared to similar exploratory students who did not. Students were compared using prediction-based propensity score matching. Students who met with …

University Academic Advising: Impact Analysis, Amanda M. Hagman, Mykel Beorchia, Erik Dickamore

Publications

abstract: Academic advising performs a pivotal contribution to student success by providing information about university expectations and avenues towards graduation. The impact of academic advising is routinely assessed to explore its influence on student persistence. This report explores the impact of academic advising between 2016 to 2019 on student persistence to the next term. METHODS: Academic advising met with nearly 40% of students at USU each semester. Students who had a record of meeting with an academic advisor were compared to similar students who did not. Students were compared using prediction-based propensity score matching. Students who met with an advisor …

An Evaluation Of The Social Validity Of The Center For Advanced Professional Studies (Caps) Program, Jason L. Watt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) programs are emerging high school programs emphasizing immersive, real-life professional experiences for students. CAPS programs endeavor to facilitate student-centered partnerships between business and public education to produce personalized learning experiences for students centered around the completion of real-world industry projects.

To ensure successful educational programs, leaders must consider more than simple outcome data or statistical descriptions of the program’s reliability and validity. Successful leaders of schools must also determine the program’s value from the perspective of the stakeholders it purports to serve—that is, by its social validity. Understanding what consumers of education …

An Investigation Of Educators' Perceptions Of The Influence Of A Teacher Evaluation System On Student Learning, Bryon Nielsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this study, the researcher explored the views and opinions held by teachers and administrators toward a teacher evaluation system. The purpose was to learn how educators’ opinions and views might impact how school leaders administer the evaluation system and how teachers receive it. Knowledge gained from this study may provide understanding for district and school-level leaders as they develop training and implementation strategies. Teachers and administrators were interviewed, and district-provided documents were reviewed, to gather data that was analyzed using qualitative research methods. Based on the data analysis, recommendations are made regarding implementation strategies that may improve the evaluation …

Teacher Vs. Tutor, Brady Maynes

Writing Center Analysis Papers

The goal of this paper is to explore the differences between the roles of a tutor in the writing center and a teacher grading their student’s papers. I discuss ways in which tutor and teacher are similar as they both evaluate student’s papers but the end goal is significantly different. A tutor does not nor should they assign a grade to any paper they read in a tutoring session. One of a teacher’s primary intentions is to assign a grade to their student’s papers that reflects the feedback given. There is also a barrier, whether purposely constructed or placed by …

Evaluation Of The Division Of Securities Investor Education Seminars, Kristilyn J. Wilkinson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Investor Education Seminars are taught by the Utah Division of Securities to educate consumers and make them more aware of investment fraud. This research study evaluated the seminar in order to assess the effectiveness of the four classes in helping consumers achieve financial capability. A logic model was used to outline program objectives and to determine the research questions.

Individuals who registered for the seminars were invited to complete three surveys for this study: a pretest, posttest, and three-month follow-up survey. A comparison group that had not yet attended the Investor Education Seminars was asked to complete the same …

An Evaluation Of An E-Learning Training Course To Teach Instructors To Implement Discrete Trial Teaching, Joy S. Pollard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As the rates of autism are continuing to increase each year, it is imperative that we are able to train teachers to work with these children. Training teachers to use effective teaching strategies can be a time consuming endeavor and is challenging because schools may not have the resources to hire an expert trainer to provide this training. A solution may be to use e-learning. This would allow teachers in rural areas the ability to access the training, while also providing a cost-savings to school districts. The current study evaluated an e-learning training course, which is a multi-media computer-based training, …

Parent Evaluation Of A Parent Training Program Of Positive Behavior Interventions, Jeana Washburn

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Parent training programs have been shown to be helpful to parents in regards to implementing behavior intervention strategies with their children. Parent satisfaction with a parent-training program is an important variable in that, if parents like a program, it is more likely to be successful. The purpose of this project was to provide a brief parent training program using Dr. Glenn I. Latham’s website, Parenting Prescriptions, and examine parent evaluations of the program. The participants were four mothers of preschool age children. Each child had an educational classification of speech and language impairment. The project evaluated the parent training program …

Interaction, Internet Self-Efficacy, And Self-Regulated Learning As Predictors Of Student Satisfaction In Distance Education Courses, Yu-Chun Kuo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Online learning research is largely devoted to comparisons of the learning gains between face-to-face and distance students. While student learning is important, comparatively little is known about student satisfaction when engaged in online learning and what contributes to or promotes student satisfaction. Emerging research suggests there are a few strong predictors of student satisfaction, and other predictors that may or may not predict student satisfaction. None of the existing research examines predictors together, or statistically controls for course differences. This study examines the influence of various factors on student satisfaction including three types of interaction, Internet self-efficacy, and self-regulated learning. …

The Effects Of A Self-Evaluation Package On The Presentation, Praise, And Error Correction Skills Of Special Education Teachers, Patsy Ann Milligan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous research has shown that various forms of self-evaluation improve teachers' instructional skills. Common among all studies reviewed is the importance of explicit pedagogy linked to improved student outcomes and clear instruction on how to self-assess. Both of these appear critical to sustained change in teachers' behaviors. In this study new teachers were provided initial didactic instruction to improve their presentation skills, praise rate, and error corrections. In addition, the effects of self-evaluation of targeted skills were assessed with one teacher. All three teachers mastered the targeted skills. Two teachers mastered the skills immediately following didactic instruction and practice in …

Storytelling For The Home Enrichment Of Language And Literacy Skills (Shells), Lisa Boyce, Lori A. Roggman, Vonda K. Jump Norman, Mark S. Innocenti

Course Materials

The Storytelling for Home Enrichment of Language and Literacy Skills (SHELLS) approach uses family storytelling and book-making activities to promote children’s language and literacy skills. This approach was developed to assist practitioners who work with families to promote children’s development by optimizing the powerful influence of children’s natural environments and their family relationships, culture, interests, conversations, and interaction. SHELLS is an evidence-based early language and literacy approach with three primary aims: (a) to increase parent–child conversation and narratives, (b) to create meaningful literacy materials, and (c) to encourage continuing language and literacy activities for children at home. The focus on …

Harnessing User Communities For Website Location And Evaluation, Tim Beal, Mimi Recker

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

The AsiaWeb Project is looking at the problem of accessing quality and relevant information on the Web. It is the product of collaboration between two disciplinary standpoints. Dr Mimi Recker is approaching the problem from a generic, systems viewpoint, seeing the information domain as a case study and Dr Tim Beal has an interest in the computer access and manipulation of information on Japan, and Asia generally. We are taking business information on Asia as the general subject and within this Japan is a priority area. However, it is considered that the techniques developed could be applied to any subject …

Evaluation Of Gifted Programs: Current Practices, Scott L. Hunsaker, C. M. Callahan

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

A brief narrative description of the journal article, document, or resource. Review of solicited gifted program evaluation reports and the literature found a relative paucity of such reports as well as a lack of methodological sophistication, reporting, and utility concerns. Promising practices were seen in some evaluations conducted for program improvement, which employed multiple methodologies, sources, analysis techniques, and reporting formats. (DB)

A Graduate-Oriented Evaluation Of The Music Education Curricula Of Four State College-University Systems In Utah, Harold W. Boyce

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the study was to make an evaluation of curricula-training effectiveness, applicability, and need for additional training within four of the state-supported college-universities of Utah. The schools researched were Utah State University, the University of Utah, Weber State College, and Southern Utah State College. The descriptive research techniques of a closed-form questionnaire were utilized to obtain informational data for the years 1969-1971 from graduates, faculties, and selected graduates concerning common and traditional curricular areas of Ca) music theory, (b) scoring and arranging, (c) music history, Cd) conducting and rehearsal techniques, (e) vocal methods and materials, (f) instrumental methods …

An Evaluation Of The Secondary Teacher Education Program At Utah State University By Selected Graduates, Dallas Lloyd Holmes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Introduction

The present study attempted to identify the strengths and limitations of the Utah State University teacher preparation program, Recommendations of improvements and changes in the program were based on the evaluations of graduates of the teacher preparation program. Information was gathered to determine if any difference in graduate evaluations of the program would be found based on the graduate's sex, age at graduation, community size teaching in, number of years of teaching experience, secondary major area of preparation, and the college graduated from.

Method

A questionnaire was developed to survey the evaluations of the graduates of the teacher preparation …

An Evaluation Of The Differences Among Lower, Middle And Upper Socio-Economic Groups In The Sixth Grades In The Ogden City Schools With Regard To Scholastic Achievement, Milton Kendrick

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There are some inadequacies in our American way of life. One of these is the inadequate help and attention given to the problem of children who become shackled with their lower class environment with little or no desire or incentive to rise above this. The major challenge to any teacher is the ability to stimulate and inspire children to achieve or succeed. There are different degrees of achievement. For one child, great achievement is not the same as for another. The realization of this prompted the decision to see what differences in achievement exist among the three main socio-economic classes. …

Self Evaluation Of A Selected Group Of Teen Marriages, Margaret L. Stone

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The statistical trend toward an increasing number of early marriages in the United States is causing concern for parents and community officials (21). The average age of marriage has been declining since 1890. Half of the girls are now married by the time they are twenty and half of the men by the time they are twenty-three (13). In a study made by Landis (20) of marriages in California high schools, 90 percent of the senior high schools reported one or more student marriages. Similar statistics have been reported in New Mexico (16) and Oregon (18). Research has pointed an …

An Evaluation Of The Willard School As A Community-Centered School, Vaughn Wassom

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Every community must be provided with an educational program attuned to community life. It must provide for increased efficiency in production and widom in consumption. It must train in the ideals, the skills, and the habits essential to the highest level of home and community life. To this end there must be well trained, resourceful teachers who work under conditions that elicit their best efforts. There must be a curriculum that embraces community experiences and physical facilities that promote economy and efficiency of effort (12).

Schools can and should make a difference in their communities. As society's special agencies for …