Education Commons^™

Beyond Access To Education: Using Collaborative Learning To Promote Agency In Unauthorized Latinos Entering Community College, Amanda C. Price

Master's Projects and Capstones

The US is widely recognized as a nation of immigrants; however, when an estimated 70,000 unaccompanied child migrants arrived from Central America in 2014, unauthorized immigration became a full-blown humanitarian crisis. Unauthorized immigrants, 71% of whom come from Mexico and Central America, make up an increasingly significant portion of the population. This is particularly true in California, where 28% of unauthorized immigrants reside. However, despite the overwhelming consensus that command of English is paramount to a successful life in the US, an alarming 51% of unauthorized immigrants speak English “not well” or “not at all”.

Unauthorized immigrants face unique challenges …

Supplementing Esl Classroom Activities With Social Media For Young Adult Learners, Clair M. Yeo

Master's Projects and Capstones

The classroom material currently utilized in English as a second language (ESL) classrooms is often disconnected from the real world. Publishers of ESL instructional materials often attempt to bridge this gap by including topics on popular news, films, songs, and famous persons at the time of printing. However, these are often outdated as quickly as they can be printed. As such, many ESL teachers face the challenge of keeping ESL classroom material relevant to the real world while seeking to maintain students’ interests in what they are learning.

The purpose of the project is to make use of social networking …

The Gender Imbalance In U.S. Outbound Study Abroad: A Case Study Of Semester At Sea, Jessica L. Ryan

Capstone Collection

The purpose of this study is to explore the phenomenon of female college students studying abroad with Semester at Sea (SAS) at twice the rate of their male peers, in the hope of better understanding the significant gender imbalance overall in U.S. outbound study abroad. To put this issue into context, this study uses the theoretical framework of Deci and Ryan’s (1985) Self-Determination Theory of Motivation. Data was analyzed through the lens of intrinsic verses extrinsic motivation to answer the guiding research question: Is there a difference between male and female college students in their motivations to study abroad and, …

A Hidden Culture Of Carelessness: A Comparative Qualitative Study Of Gender Inequality And Its Implications For African American And South African Black Women Higher Education Administrators, Dawn S. Singleton

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and compare the lived and career experiences of Black women higher education administrators in the United States and South Africa. This comparative study elucidated the women’s experiences while giving voice to Black women, whose experiences and status are often further marginalized under new managerial practices. This research used the theoretical lenses of intersectionality and carelessness, a new managerial practice within higher education, to uncover the challenges, opportunities, and contexts experienced by these women within gendered, racialized organizational structures and practices. A major finding of the research is that Black women shared …

A Deeper Semiotic Richness: Empowering English Language Students Through Digital Storytelling, Karah Parks

Master's Projects and Capstones

The current philosophies underpinning TESOL higher education curricula and classroom practices still reinforce the essentialized narrative of the native speaker and teach English as an objective, disinterested, linguistic system of static signs (Blommaert, 2010; Kramsch, 2009; Larsen-Freeman, 2015; Pennycook, 1997). This has significantly limited the development students’ identities, and agency within English language speaking communities. To address this issue, this project contains a supplemental, online digital storytelling curriculum for intermediate to advanced adult learners at the university level in U.S. colleges as a means of scaffolding intentional identity development through multimodal, symbolic competence in the English language. Entitled Creative ESOL: …

Hidden Voices: The Missing Narratives Of Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Participants From 2000 To 2004 And Student Transfer Participants From 2013 To 2014, Miranda Temecka Ming

Dissertations

This study explored the perspectives of students participating in the Voluntary Inter-district Choice program from 2000-2004 and the experiences of participants in the Student Transfer Program attending the same suburban district due to the lack of accreditation in their neighboring schools during 2013-2014. The study uncovered the voices of participants in the VICC and student transfer program and to provided their voices in hope that it may be used as an instrument of change. This subjective, phenomenological qualitative study explored the lived experiences of high school students transferring to suburban districts and provides an in-depth analysis of their social, emotional, …

Tactile Learning: Touch And Touch Self-Efficacy In College Dance Instruction, Alyson J. Cartagena

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to (a) identify the level of touch self-efficacy (TSE) of college-level dance faculty as measured by the Touch Self-Efficacy (TSE) Scale, (b) explore the factors that influence the use of touch in dance instruction, and (c) describe the perceived benefits as reported by college-level dance faculty.

Methodology: In this mixed-methods approach, a sequential explanatory design was conducted in 2 separate phases of research. The first phase provided an opportunity to quantitatively investigate the levels of TSE in college-level dance faculty. The second phase qualitatively explored the factors influencing the use of touch in …

Integrating Emotion Regulation Strategies And Religiosity/Spirituality In Counseling Sessions: Perceptions Of Counselors In Christian School Settings, Kathleen Karigan

Dissertations

Counselors working in religious schools have a unique opportunity to help students integrate religious/spiritual (R/S) practices, teachings, or beliefs and emotion regulation (ER) strategies to control intense emotions. The primary research question guiding this study was to explore how school counselors integrate ER strategies with R/S practices, teachings, or beliefs to support adolescents in grades 7-12. Eighteen interviews, journal entries, and responses to a vignette were analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Four males and 14 females (ages 32-69) from 15 schools, (4 all female, 5 all male, and 9 co-educational) participated in this study. The findings revealed that counselors are …

Women, Sex, And God: Women's Sexuality And The Internalization Of Religious Messages, Petra Sterling Blum

Dissertations

Grounded theory methodology was used to explore women’s internalization of religious messages regarding their sexuality. Two research questions served as the guide for this study: how are women’s sexual self-views informed by their religious teaching, and how are these messages, along with their experiences, lived in them sexually, psychologically, and spiritually? Eleven women (ages 30-74) were chosen who had been raised in a Western Christian tradition in the US (8 Protestant, 3 Catholic). Participants were interviewed through an in-depth three-interview process to gain an understanding of their experiences and how they resolved their concerns with sex and spirit. The findings …

Arthur L. Washington, Twentieth Century Educator And Change Agent At Sumner High School, Herman Leo Harris

Dissertations

In the history of the United States, the Midwest, in general, and Missouri, in particular, has had a complex role concerning issues of race. For example, St. Louis was the site for the 1857 Dred Scott Case, which determined those of African ancestry could never become citizens. Fast forward to the 1940s and ‘50s and Missouri, as well as the rest of the United States, is still divided by race and largely segregated. As an African American man, Arthur L. Washington, would not be satisfied with the culture of the day. Born December 14, 1917, Washington envisioned the world with …

Increasing Number Sense At The Preschool Level, Sarah Marie Koenig

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This capstone addresses the question, “What strategies can be used to increase number sense at the preschool level?”. Current research states that preschoolers need opportunities to learn about numbers and math concepts through a balance of natural play and exploration, intentional teaching, and structured learning activities embedded in their daily routines. Through the process of curriculum design using McTighe and Wiggins’ Understanding By Design framework, the author created a learning plan that includes lessons, resources, and parent/child activities using a variety of instructional strategies to teach number sense at the preschool level. The learning plan includes a sequence of activities …

Using Guided Math And Flipped Learning In A Fifth Grade Fractions Unit, Kristin Leigh Moore

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was: How can I design a math curriculum that will increase fifth grade students’ understanding of fraction concepts? The author began her research by investigating the struggles elementary students face when learning fraction concepts, which led to a study of four instructional strategies: ability grouping, differentiation, flipped learning, and guided math. The author considered the work of Boaler, Sammons, Tomlinson, Tucker, and Vann to inform her research. After careful reflection on the benefits and limitations of each strategy, the author chose to create a hybrid unit utilizing both guided math and flipped learning. …

Somali Stories: A Development Of A Story-Based Esl Literacy Tool For Use With Older Adult Somali Women, Susan Renee Marshall

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study is on incorporating what was learned through research to develop a curriculum resource. The primary research question addressed in this project is how educators can incorporate stories from older adult Somali women into English language instruction to improve these students’ English language writing skills. Key influences include my experience as an ESL educator and my strong interest in stories, including their use in education. The study has a curriculum development design. A curriculum resource, in the form of a story-based literacy tool designed to teach English language literacy skills to older Somali women, was developed. …

Elementary School Teacher Inspiration In Lifelong Musicianship, Austin John Wellman

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This study gathers the stories of musician teachers, asking how teacher avocations in music might impact the students in the classroom. This work begins by telling the music and teaching story of the author. Topics related to music are explored in the literature review, including music as an avocation, educational research surrounding music, and finally music as a possible sense of community. Six teachers are observed and interviewed, three of whom are music teachers, and all of whom are at minimum musicians by hobby. Three notable themes are found common to all teachers participating in the study. First, all participants …

Journey To Inclusion: A School’S Perspective From Self-Contained Ecse Classrooms To Inclusive Preschool Programs, Allison Marie Hirsch

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was, How can a school effectively transition from a self-contained Early Childhood Special Education classroom to a full inclusion preschool program? What I have done in this capstone is set out with the objective of defining what is a successful inclusive preschool program, what are the best strategies for these programs, the benefits and barriers to the programs and how to best implement these programs into a school setting. This study details questions and answers from parents and teachers who are currently part of a full-inclusion preschool program.

Pushing Past The Plateau: A Diary Study Of A Not Quite Intermediate Korean Language Learner, Jonathan D. Wilson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

In this study the author explores the internal and personal aspects of his own learning of the Korean language through the qualitative perspective of a language learning diary. Language fossilization is brought into focus as the author resumes learning the language after a three year break and attempts to push past his perceived plateau. Fossilization is a foundational concept in the field of adult Second Language Acquisition (SLA), yet seemingly none have covered this issue using the diary study design and the unique, inside perspective that this design offers. The author developed his own study plan and recorded regular introspective …

Isn’T Citizen Science A Hoot? A Case-Study Exploring The Effectiveness Of Citizen Science As An Instrument To Teach The Nature Of Science Through A Local Nocturnal Owl-Monitoring Project, Tess Marie Kreofsky

Dissertations and Theses

Citizen science projects present a distinctive opportunity for professional and volunteer scientists to coordinate their efforts to gather unique sets of data that can benefit the scientific and local communities. These projects are assumed to be an effective educational tool to teach nature of science (NOS) to participants (Brossard, Lewenstein, Bonney, 2005). This case study evaluates the effectiveness of participation in a citizen science project as a way to learn about NOS. Through enhancement of the Tryon Creek Owl Monitoring Project the researcher reviewed the characteristics of a citizen science project that were thought to be necessary to impact the …

Are We Prepared For The Future? A Case Study On The Education Of Journalists, Victoria Black

Senior Theses

Throughout my college experience at the University of South Carolina as a journalism major, I heard about one thing for four years – senior semester. Senior semester for journalism majors is a set number of classes the student must take his or her senior year, either the last or second to last semester before graduation. It includes four specific classes on reporting, producing, writing and web management. But there is a catch. The four classes do not meet for specific class periods. Students in senior semester meet Monday through Friday from 8:45am to 6:00pm, producing a 4:00pm newscast every day. …

Identifying Characteristics Of Expert Elementary School Technology Integration Teachers - A Cognitive Task Analysis, Mark Campoli

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

In all domains, certain individuals consistently perform better than their peers. In ill-structured domains such as education, the identification of experts can be difficult. This is especially true when considering technology integration experts (TIEs). In order to be a TIE, one must be an expert in content knowledge, pedagogy, and instructional technology. Systematically identifying and studying TIEs could provide characteristics consistent with expert performance.

Typically, it takes 1,000 hours, or ten years, of practice to acquire expertise. In domains such as education, the acquisition of expertise can happen sooner. Acquiring expertise can be further hastened by deliberate practice. Not all …

Teachers' Attitudes And Their Effect On Placement Recommendations For Students With Cognitive Disabilities, Kathleen M. Everett

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

The implementation of Public Law 94-142 in 1974 guaranteed that students with disabilities had the right to be educated alongside their peers in the least restrictive environment. However, decades later, administrators, teachers, and parents continue to struggle to resolve the issue on how to include students with disabilities in general education classrooms, as well as how to recognize why students with cognitive disabilities were embodied more in self-contained classrooms than in comprehensive environments. In this study, I aimed to understand how special education teachers’ attitudes about inclusion, LRE, and students with cognitive disabilities influence placement recommendations. Through the qualitative thematic …

Education And Entrepreneurship In Amman, Jordan, Nicole Bills

Senior Theses

My thesis examines the potential economic impact of entrepreneurial education in Amman, Jordan. In order to investigate this topic, I also considered the economic impacts of increased entrepreneurism and access to education more broadly. I found that entrepreneurial education is just a small piece of a much larger ecosystem needed to support economic development. In fact, encouraging the creation of nascent firms is a somewhat dubious aim given the lack of scholarship assessing whether there is a shortage of entrepreneurial activity in the Jordanian economy. Institutional factors are a vastly more important component of efforts to spur growth.

Comparison Of Beginning Teachers' And Experienced Teachers' Readiness To Integratetechnology As Measured By Tpack Scores, Heather S. Fontanilla

Dissertations

Despite a growing awareness of the importance of technology in education, increased investment and attention to preparing teachers to integrate technology into the classroom, research shows that technology continues to fail to live up to its potential for transforming education. As schools move from standards based testing to implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), an expectation exists that teachers will be using technology to transform their teaching practices. There is also an expectation that schools are providing students with 21st century skills, including the use of technology. In exploring the reasons teachers are not using technology effectively, much …

How Hope And Motivation Lead To Self-Regulation Middle School Students, Jessica Marie Winter

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The goal of the study was to determine how hope, motivation and goal setting led to selfregulation in middle school students. The research methods used in the study were mixed methods, which enabled students to give voice to the provided data. On the basis of the research, it was concluded there was a relationship between goal setting and selfregulation in middle school students.

When And Why Do Native English Speaking Students In A Spanish Immersion Setting Switch Into English During Math Instruction?, Samantha Marie Judith Holland

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This study addressed when and why do native English speakers in a Spanish immersion switch into English during math instruction? This capstone studied 30 students in a Spanish immersion school in an affluent suburban area in the Upper Midwest. The author used literature from other types of immersion schools to highlight the lack of research on native English speakers in immersion settings. This capstone used audio- recordings, questionnaires and open-ended interviews to research the question. The researcher concludes that teaching Spanish vernacular in the immersion model would decrease the amount of English in the math classroom and that language objectives …

A Comparison Of Three Levels Of Verbal Redundancy In Multimedia Learning And Its Effects On Memory Retention And Transfer In Legal Professionals, Angela Mizell Dooley

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to examine verbal redundancy in multimedia learning and its effects on memory retention and transfer in legal professionals who were randomly assigned to watch one of three multimedia videos. Tests of ANOVA showed no significant differences in performance, mental load, or combined efficiency scores among the three instructional groups, but participants in the complementary text group rated the video with complementary slides as significantly more helpful than the videos with redundant, overloaded text slides and spoken words only. Factorial ANOVA also revealed that the redundant text group with fewer than five years of experience scored significantly lower …

How Can The 5-E Learning Cycle Model Of Instruction Be Used To Develop A Differentiated Science Unit On Evolution Based On Six Minnesota Evolution Standards?, Monica Christine Digre

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this capstone was, how can the 5-E Learning Cycle Model of Instruction be used to develop a differentiated science unit on evolution based on six Minnesota evolution standards? The capstone documents a middle school life science teacher’s experience developing a curriculum for teaching evolution in a nontraditional way. The author explores the difficulties in teaching evolution with a traditional approach by researching experts in the field of both Evolutionary Biology and secondary science instruction. Through the use of the 5-E Learning Cycle Model of Instruction, the author develops an inquiry-based and hands-on curriculum to teach …

The Achievement Gap: A Dual Nation Perspective, Myka Chavez

Honors Projects

This essay seeks to explore the achievement gap, which is a disparity in educational achievement between certain economic and racial groups, by taking a unique approach and bringing a fresh perspective. Specifically, this research focuses on how this gap is manifested in two countries: the U.S. and England. This dual nation perspective opens the door for more information and a better understanding of the gap as a whole. Analysis will be done regarding the various issues surrounding the gap in each country such as its causes, effects, and past/present solutions. Based on how these issues occur in each country and …

Integration Of Impulse-Variability Theory And The Speed-Accuracy Trade-Off In Children's Multijoint Ballistic Skill Performance, Sergio Lupe Molina

Theses and Dissertations

A major purpose of the motor learning and motor control literature is to provide principles and theories (e.g., speed-accuracy trade-off) that can inform the instruction of young learners in motor skill competence. To be optimally effective, these principles and theories must be understood and applied in relation to authentic instructional contexts, complex motor patterns, and specific developmental levels of young learners. It is insufficient, for instance, to generalize research results with adults learning simple movements in controlled laboratory settings to an understanding of how children learn from fundamental movement skills in physical education classes. Based on this premise, the work …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences Of Parents Of A Child Or Children Diagnosed With Deafness, David Patrick Leach

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the lived experiences of twelve parents who have a child or children diagnosed with deafness, and the meaning these parents have made of their experiences. The researcher conducted individual, semi-structured interviews and analyzed the data in accordance with the practices of phenomenological research. Thirty-seven themes were identified in the interview data, which were discussed in terms of their implications for efficacious clinical services to this population, as well as for the field of counselor education.

Empirical Connections Between The Construct Of Value, The Quality Of Stability, And The Construct Of Regret, William Samuel Morris Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The term value is a psychological construct frequently used in the social sciences. This research addresses the issue of stability of ratings of perceived value of participants for monetary, tangible, and intangible items that cross contexts. Also elucidated is the relationship of value to regret. Hypothesis one stated that value would be stable across time and different rating conditions. Forty-four participants rated the value of 72 stimulus items at two time points and in different contexts. Paired samples t-tests indicated 28 participants had no statistical difference in scores. Twenty-eight scores out of 44, when applied to a binomial test, indicates …