Education Commons^™

Higher Education Leadership And Communication Apprehension Reduction Efficacy, Shane Puckett

Doctoral Dissertations

Universities use public speaking courses to reduce the communication apprehension among the student population of the institution. Previous research connects lower communication apprehension to higher university retention rate and higher student success rates. However, a gap in current research does not explain if communication apprehension reduction is as significant when a student enrolls in a public speaking course taught online as opposed to a public speaking course taught in a traditional face-to-face manner. The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of systematic desensitization as it is used in public speaking courses online. This study set-out to answer …

The Effect Of A District-Wide Literacy Initiative On English/ Language Arts Standardized Test Scores, Sheri R. Robken

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a District-Wide Literacy initiative that implemented the 18 literacy strategies and Silent Sustained Reading activities incorporated in the 2008 Revised Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum on English/Language Arts standardized test scores. Standardized test scores were obtained for seventh and eighth grade students from a control group (n=204, 2006-2008 tests administrations) and an experimental group (n=185, 2008-2010 test administrations). An Analysis of Variance was used to determine significance (p

Identifying Gifted African-American Students: A Case Study Of A Louisiana School System, Donna Lynn Sutton

Doctoral Dissertations

In 1995, the Office for Civil Rights conducted a compliance review of the Bayou Parish School System (a pseudonym) in Louisiana. The review revealed a statistically significant underrepresentation of African-American students in the Bayou Parish gifted program. This case study examined how African-American representation in a gifted program may be increased through the use of research-based interventions implemented by the Office for Civil Rights.

The researcher used both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect and analyze data. Documents from the Office for Civil Rights and the Louisiana Department of Education were examined to: (a) show patterns of African-American and nonminority …

Factors Affecting Computer Implementation And Impact On Teaching And Learning In Northeast Louisiana, Ruth Bonner-Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between degree of computer implementation and (a) teacher personal use of computers, (b) teacher motivation, (c) curriculum integration training, and (d) curriculum integration support. The study also investigated the relationship between degree of computer implementation and (a) collaborative learning, (b) self-directed learning, (c) active learning, and (d) teacher practices. An analytical survey provided a numerical description of bow the independent variables and the dependent variables were related in the population.

Quantitative data were analysed using the following statistical procedures: (a) Mann-Whitney U test to determine the relationship between teacher motivation and degree of computer implementation, …

Effect Of Cooperative Learning (Student Teams -Achievement Divisions) On African American And Caucasian Students' Interracial Friendships, James Edward Cook

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gauge the impact of cooperative learning teams on interracial friendships. The participants were 256 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in English classes (20% African American and 80% Caucasian) at a rural middle school in Louisiana. After delivery of instruction, the experimental group studied worksheets in teams, received rewards based upon the team's performance, and received individual grades based upon individual exam scores. The control group studied worksheets individually and received individual grades. This eight week study utilized the sociometric question, “Who are your friends in this class?” as the pretest and posttest …

The Effects Of Structured One-On-One Tutoring In Sight Word Recognition Of First-Grade Students At-Risk For Reading Failure, Laureen Goers Mayfield

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an alternative reading program on the performance of at-risk first graders. Sixty first graders from three north Louisiana public elementary schools with high poverty rates, who were determined by their teachers and principals to be functioning in the bottom 20 to 30% of first grade reading students, were purposefully selected. Students were pretested on three subtests of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test-Revised (WRMT-R), Form G: Letter Identification, Word Identification, and Word Attack. Participants were randomly assigned to either a control or an experimental group. Experimental group students received 15 …