Education Commons^™

The Impact Of Project-Based Learning On Students In High School Chemistry In Rural Maine, Brianna Degone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Project-based learning (PBL) is an instructional strategy that is promoted throughout education for its use of active learning and ability to connect to real-world applications. Studies have been conducted on PBL ranging from early elementary grades through graduate courses, however little research considers the effectiveness of PBL at the secondary science level. This thesis considers the use of PBL and describes the implementation of a PBL unit in a rural Maine 11th grade chemistry classroom. The thesis aims to better understand the impact PBL has on students’ content learning and additional skills acquired through the PBL learning process. Along with …

Examining Opportunities For Higher-Order Thinking In Secondary And Middle-Level Proficiency-Based Mathematics Classrooms, Quinton Donahue

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2011, the state of Maine introduced a statute that required all diplomas to be awarded on the basis of proficiency by 2017. During this period of time, school districts moved to incorporate Proficiency-based Education (PBE) systems of instruction and learning. This prompted educators to bring clarity to standards, assessment, and grading practices. In many schools, they also began to focus on the idea that mastery drives movement. Districts were encouraged to integrate higher-order thinking opportunities for students when making these changes to their learning system. Despite this guidance, it is not clear as to the extent that higher-order thinking …

Embodying Resilience In The Writing Center: A Study Of Tutor Training Handbooks And Videos Towards An Understanding Of The "Ideal" Tutoring Session, Katelyn Emily Parsons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines two distinct datasets (handbooks and videos) to explore whether writing tutors embody their training. This research project was grounded in Bruffee’s (1984; 1995) work with collaboration and its link to conversation (both verbal and nonverbal communicative acts) to analyze the peer-to-peer relationships that are observable in writing center tutorials. Research on collaboration and conversation provided a useful framework for qualitatively coding six (6) tutor training handbooks and sixteen (16) tutor training videos. In taking up Thompson’s (2009) and Olinger’s (2014; 2020) calls for further research on writers’ embodied understandings of language, the video component of this research …

A Quantitative Study Of Mathematics Anxiety In First-Generation Pre-Service Teachers, Wendi Malenfant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many pre-service teachers suffer from mathematics anxiety which can lead to mathematics avoidance, poor mathematics performance, and the potential to pass on mathematics anxiety to their future students. More and more first-generation college students, who also suffer from math anxiety, are attending four-year universities and studying to be teachers. School leaders, educators, and researchers must recognize the serious nature of mathematics anxiety, how it negatively impacts learners, and how the cycle is perpetuated if the root causes of mathematics anxiety are not mitigated, especially in elementary teachers.

This quantitative study, which utilized an anonymous mathematics anxiety survey, examined the prevalence …

An Investigation Of Students' Use And Understanding Of Evaluation Strategies, Abolaji R. Akinyemi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One expected outcome of physics instruction is that students develop quantitative reasoning skills, including evaluation of problem solutions. To investigate students’ use of evaluation strategies, we developed and administered tasks prompting students to check the validity of a given expression. We collected written (N>673) and interview (N=31) data at the introductory, sophomore, and junior levels. Tasks were administered in three different physics contexts: the velocity of a block at the bottom of an incline with friction, the electric field due to three point charges of equal magnitude, and the final velocities of two masses in an elastic collision. Responses …

Investigating The Attitudes, Beliefs And Practices Of High School Chemistry Teachers Regarding The Differentiation Of Instruction, Anna Tyrina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Differentiation of instruction (DI) is a broad term used for a group of pedagogical tools that teachers use to individualize instruction for students of different abilities and needs. Differentiation of instruction is a practice that has been researched and characterized to have a variety of instructional benefits, some of which include increased student motivation and engagement (Tomlinson, 2001). This study sought to characterize the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of ten high school chemistry teachers in Maine regarding the differentiation of instruction. Through a phenomenological approach, interviews with these teachers were analyzed to understand how high school chemistry teachers define differentiated …

Using Peer Supports To Improve Positive-To-Negative Teacher/Student Interaction Ratios By Novice Teachers, Karen Robbie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A critical teacher shortage continues to exist throughout the United States. Challenges with student behavior and classroom management are identified as a top reason for teacher attrition. Educational research has demonstrated that PreK-12 students who receive social-emotional-behavioral support through evidence-based classroom management (EBCM) practices are more likely to achieve academic success. When teachers deliver high ratios of positive interactions to their students, positive student outcomes are likely to occur. However, researchers have consistently found that, like other EBCM practices, this low-intensity, high-impact practice is typically implemented at significantly lower levels than necessary to promote positive student outcomes. This implementation gap …

Empathic Instruction Through Literary Narratives: A Quasi-Experimental Study Of An Occupational Therapy Course, Cavenaugh P. Kelly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines concerns within the field of occupational therapy on the growing disconnect between the profession’s roots and espoused beliefs in empathic-centered care, and the modern realities of health care. In particular, the study examined whether the empathy levels of occupational therapy students would change after a course involving the close reading of literary narratives. Close reading of literary narratives has correlated with improved levels of empathy. Empathy is defined as a four-step dynamic process involving Theory of Mind (ToM), emotional resonance, emotional regulation, and empathy as a willful act. Initial study of the proposed curriculum found improved scores …

A Case Study Into Middle School Students' Conceptualizations Of Motion And Interpretations Of Negative Velocities, Peter A. Colesworthy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Student difficulties surrounding motion have been well documented for many years. This work was inspired by the work of former MST students into the instruction of Newton‟s Second Law of Motion at the middle school level. The purpose of this study was to further investigate how middle school students talk and reason about motion. Particular attention was paid to how students defined the term “motion,” how those definitions fit into a larger framework of what encompasses understanding motion at the middle school level, and how students justified negativity of a calculation of a negative velocity.

A tutorial lesson was developed …

An Examination Of Community Band Members' Ratings Of Skills, Traits, And Behaviors Of Community Band Conductors, Anita-Ann Jerosch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine community band members’ perceptions of the skills, traits, and behaviors of community band conductors. Community band members rated the importance of a range of such skills, traits, and behaviors in relation to their experience within their band. Adult community band members learn differently from the ways that school-aged students do because they have different life experiences, motivations, and educational needs. Adult learners desire to be part of their own learning, and they need a conductor who has the skills, traits, and behaviors that are important from their perspectives.

The conductor/musician relationship is …

Chinese Percussion Instruction Through The Lens Of Western Pedagogy, Jonathan D. Fox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Chinese percussion instruction, there is an almost singular focus on folk repertoire. Instruction typically involves a three-step process: rote transmission from the teacher, memorization by the student, and reinforcement through the observation of live performances. Because this learning process is atypical of Western percussion studios, it is unsurprising that Western-trained percussionists often lack the knowledge to perform Chinese folk repertoire with appropriate instrument choice, sound, style, and technique. This study investigates socio-political impacts on the greater Chinese educational system, analyzes and contrasts percussion curricula of American tertiary institutions with their Chinese counterparts, reveals insights about contemporary Chinese percussion instruction …

Examining Factors Predictive Of Hazing In Ncaa Division Iii Athletics And Considering The Implications For Prevention, David James Kerschner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hazing is a concern throughout postsecondary education, with students experiencing psychological, emotional, and physical harm. Although several scholars have identified college athletes to be an at-risk group for hazing and Division III is the largest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), there is a lack of research focused on hazing in this context. Utilizing a critical quantitative research paradigm and considering limitations of the extant literature focused on NCAA Division III, I examined the nature and extent of varsity athlete and non-athlete hazing and factors predictive of hazing experiences for students and varsity athletes at five NCAA Division …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of A Tool For Classifying And Assessing Student Energy Diagrams In Pre- And Post-Covid-19 Instruction, Michael Dudley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Energy is a broad concept that is used to interpret and understand scientific phenomena, and appears throughout the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) at all grade levels and across disciplines. The NGSS specifies no single approach for energy instruction, and makes use of different energy metaphors, often within individual standards. Gray, et al. (2019) created a checklist (the “Gray Checklist”) to identify whether or not a diagram exhibits evidence of core constituent ideas that align to the energy model of the NGSS. This study used the Gray Checklist to find trends in student energy diagrams that were produced during a …

Where Are All The Women?: Understanding The Factors Influencing Potential Departure Intentions Of Women Coaches At The Ncaa Division Iii Level, Jennifer Laney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to understand the factors influencing the potential departure decisions of women coaches in Division III college athletics in the United States. More specifically, this research examined the relationship between gender stereotyping, work-family conflict, burnout, job satisfaction, and organizational support on the potential departure intentions of women coaches at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III level. Moreover, the data collected were analyzed to understand how these relationships differed by sport, race, and sexual orientation. A total of 59.3% (n = 118) of respondents had considered leaving their coaching position within the last …