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A First-Year Teacher’S Implementation Of Short-Cycle Formative Assessment Through The Use Of A Classroom Response System And Flexible Grouping, Adrienne Irving Dumas Aug 2019

A First-Year Teacher’S Implementation Of Short-Cycle Formative Assessment Through The Use Of A Classroom Response System And Flexible Grouping, Adrienne Irving Dumas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As teachers, we are tasked with ensuring that our students are equipped with the skills necessary to not only perform with proficiency on local, state and national assessments, but also to provide our students with opportunities to develop confidence and competence as learners of mathematics through meaningful, challenging and worthwhile activities. As such, many teachers have turned to technology and cooperative groups as staples in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to understand how one first-year teacher implemented what she was taught in her undergraduate coursework in teaching two specific units of instruction in two sections of high …


Bridge To Student Success?: An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of The University Of Mississippi's Jumpstart Summer Bridge Program, Emily Ferris Jan 2019

Bridge To Student Success?: An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of The University Of Mississippi's Jumpstart Summer Bridge Program, Emily Ferris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Summer bridge programs (SBPs) are a popular programmatic intervention of colleges and universities to assist students with the transition from high school to college and provide students with the academic and social tools they need to be successful. Despite their popularity, a survey of relevant literature indicated that bridge programs are not routinely evaluated to measure their effectiveness. This study sought to contribute to the body of existing literature by evaluating the effectiveness of the University of Mississippi’s (UM) JumpStart Summer Bridge Program and its impact on student success outcomes, including GPA, institutional retention, and degree completion, to establish concrete …


Institutional Factors That Affect Transfer Student Success At A University In The Mid-South Region Of The U.S., Elizabeth Moore Jan 2019

Institutional Factors That Affect Transfer Student Success At A University In The Mid-South Region Of The U.S., Elizabeth Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

At a four-year university in the Memphis-metropolitan region of the United States, students who transfer do so with the likelihood of spending more time and money completing a baccalaureate degree than non-transfer students. This is what research scholar Kevin Dougherty (1992) entitled the Baccalaureate Attainment Gap or the transfer gap. In this companion dissertation, using a multi-method approach, we use the quantitative data of transfer student graduation and retention rates along with qualitative data from interviews conducted with administrative staff about transfer student success. We consider these selected outcomes and administrative staff interviews to be institutional factors that help shape …


Twin Text In The Secondary Social Studies And English Classroom, Sarah Booth Quong Jan 2019

Twin Text In The Secondary Social Studies And English Classroom, Sarah Booth Quong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-method study explores the implementation of Twin Text and its effectiveness in the U.S. History and English classrooms with regard to: mastery of the objectives laid out within the course curriculum, perpetuation of deeper learning, and fostering empathy and civic engagement through the use of Twin Text involving tenth and eleventh grade students and United States History and English teachers. The study answers the following questions: (1) What are the experiences of students in a Twin Text setting classroom environment? Three sub questions emerged: (A) In what ways does cross-curriculum teaching with an English Language Arts instructor affect student …


A Study Of Contingent Faculty Representation In Governance At The University Of Mississippi, Mariana Rangel Allushuski Jan 2019

A Study Of Contingent Faculty Representation In Governance At The University Of Mississippi, Mariana Rangel Allushuski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through interviews of members of the 2017-2018 Faculty Senate and of the Task Force, and in the chronological order in which events took place, the following topics were addressed: the role of contingent faculty on campus and in governance, contingent faculty experiences in their academic departments, major arguments for and against representation, Senators and Task Force members’ perspectives of the Task Force initial presentation to the Senate, and the successful outcome that followed. Through the discussion, this study addresses themes such as the role of the Faculty Senate, the future of contingent faculty in governance, the work that lies ahead, …


Civic Engagement Among Emerging Adults: Self-Efficacy, Purpose, And Program Experiences, Rachel Marsh Jan 2019

Civic Engagement Among Emerging Adults: Self-Efficacy, Purpose, And Program Experiences, Rachel Marsh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding how to cultivate civic mindedness and engagement in emerging adults is of central importance. Theories of positive youth development point to the importance of particular youth characteristics for promoting the development of successful and contributing citizens (Lerner, Almerigi, Theokas, & Lerner, 2005). Among these, self-efficacy, or one’s belief in their ability to perform a specific task, is considered essential (Bandura, 1977; DeWitz, 2004; Solhaug, 2006). Scholars have, more recently, pointed to the role of purpose as key for motivating civic engagement (Damon, Menon, & Cotton Bronk, 2003). Beyond youth characteristics, other scholars point to the importance of opportunities for …


The Impact Of Technology On The Implementation Of Formative Assessment Lessons In Eighth Grade Math Classrooms, Lavonda White Jan 2019

The Impact Of Technology On The Implementation Of Formative Assessment Lessons In Eighth Grade Math Classrooms, Lavonda White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Technology use has become commonplace in some mathematics classrooms, often being used for formative assessment. Research supports the use of technology to engage students, but not as much research exists to investigate the impact on student learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a statistical relationship exists between the post-lesson assessment results of students engaging in a formative assessment lesson where the teacher delivers the lesson with technology and students engaging in a formative assessment lesson where the teacher delivers the lesson without technology. The teachers administered pre- and post-lesson assessments to the students after the formative …


Differences In Complete 2 Compete Participant Characteristics: What Can They Tell Us?, Audra Joan Trnovec Jan 2019

Differences In Complete 2 Compete Participant Characteristics: What Can They Tell Us?, Audra Joan Trnovec

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The majority of C2C students participating at the University of Mississippi (UM) are adult students who face different barriers in their return to higher education than traditional students. These barriers necessitate the review of and changes in student services. To better understand this population, an analysis was conducted of 582 C2C participants who had already acquired some college credit at UM. The purpose of this study is to develop a sustainable program that assists more students to successfully return and complete a degree. The study looked at students’ ages, overall earned credits, gender, overall grade point average, ethnicity, number of …


Balancing Reading Motivation: A Comparative Case Study Of High School Students And Their Teachers, Pasteia Garth Jan 2019

Balancing Reading Motivation: A Comparative Case Study Of High School Students And Their Teachers, Pasteia Garth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand how teachers successfully balance instruction in a high stakes tested classroom environment to promote reading motivation.. To analyze, the researcher focused on two tenth grade English classroom, two tenth grade English teachers, and eight tenth grade students who are identified as proficient readers. One teacher has 19 years of teaching experience with only one of those years being a high school English teacher. The other teacher has 12 years of teaching experience of teaching high school, and this is her eighth year teaching 10th grade.


Students’ Perceptions And Strategies For Success In An Associate Degree Nursing Program, Theresa Hargett Jan 2019

Students’ Perceptions And Strategies For Success In An Associate Degree Nursing Program, Theresa Hargett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The three-manuscript dissertation is based on perceptions and personal strategies of successful third-semester nursing students about retention interventions at Holmes Community College Associate Degree Nursing Program on the Grenada Campus. Retention and attrition of nursing students is a current area of concern at Holmes Community College in the Associate Degree Nursing Program. Understanding adaptations that led third-semester students in the ADN program to be successful in their first-year is the focus of this study. The research questions seek to answer second-year, third-semester students’ perceptions of their first-year experiences of faculty interventions and personal strategies applied for success. Understanding adaptations and …


Improving Literacy Rates For Students With Dyslexia In A Rural School District, Steven William Havens Jan 2019

Improving Literacy Rates For Students With Dyslexia In A Rural School District, Steven William Havens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This applied research study aimed to improve literacy rates for students identified as having dyslexic tendencies in the Lynn County School District. The need to improve literacy rates of students with dyslexia in the Reaching Reading Success Program was identified through Mississippi K-3 Assessment Support System data. Using the two elements found in the program evaluation, accurate identification of dyslexic students and multisensory interventions the study sought to improve the literacy rates for students with dyslexia in kindergarten. Assessment, survey, and interview data were used in this applied research study to determine success. The findings indicated early identification, multi-sensory remediation, …


Two Way Street: An Applied Research Study On The Effects Of Increased Parent And Community Involvement Activities On Student Academic Growth In Mathematics At South Lee Middle School, Jason Clifton Arledge Jan 2019

Two Way Street: An Applied Research Study On The Effects Of Increased Parent And Community Involvement Activities On Student Academic Growth In Mathematics At South Lee Middle School, Jason Clifton Arledge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was two-fold. The first overarching goal was to increase student academic growth on the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program mathematics assessment to at least 75%. This was attempted through implementation of grade-level Remind services and the Red Raider Family program. The second overarching goal was to create a cycle of continuous improvement through feedback from key stakeholders in the form of surveys, interviews, focus groups, document analysis, and descriptive statistics. South Lee Middle School evaluated each of these initiatives and utilized resources to adjust these programs for use in the 2018-2019 school year.


Leading Learners To Level Up In A High School Mathematics Classroom, Jennifer Carnes Wilson Jan 2019

Leading Learners To Level Up In A High School Mathematics Classroom, Jennifer Carnes Wilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How often are teachers surprised to find out at the end of a learning episode that students have not actually learned? The first Mathematics Teaching Practice from NCTM’s Principles to Actions asserts that “effective teaching of mathematics establishes clear goals for the mathematics that students are learning, situates goals within learning progressions, and uses the goals to guide instructional decisions” (NCTM, 2014, p. 10). Unfortunately, many teachers struggle to establish clear goals to focus learning, and many students struggle to meet those goals. This research study considered how well students predict success on learning targets for an upcoming test when …


Visualizing The Future: Work-Integrated Learning And The Psychosocial And Professional Development Of Undergraduates, Scott Weldon Kilpatrick Jan 2019

Visualizing The Future: Work-Integrated Learning And The Psychosocial And Professional Development Of Undergraduates, Scott Weldon Kilpatrick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the following central research question: What experiences enhance the psychosocial development (as defined by Chickering & Reisser [1993]) and professional development of students that participate in work-integrated learning programs? Specifically, this study also explored the following sub-questions: (a) how does participation in work-integrated learning support the development of personal and/or professional identity, and (b) how do undergraduate students perceive their growth and preparation for careers as a result of their work-integrated learning experiences?


Addressing The Disparaity Of Outcomes For Economically Disadvantaged Students At Central Intermediate School: An Applied Research Study Related To The Implementation Of Avid Process, Steven Jarvis Hurdle Jan 2019

Addressing The Disparaity Of Outcomes For Economically Disadvantaged Students At Central Intermediate School: An Applied Research Study Related To The Implementation Of Avid Process, Steven Jarvis Hurdle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this applied action research study was to close the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged (ED) students and their non-disadvantaged peers (non-Ed) through the implementation of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) system of processes. This study utilizes both quantitative and qualitative data to answer four core research questions. While the initial implementation of the plan failed to attain the targeted goal of closing the achievement, there were positive indicators for future success. ED students did appear to be effectively engaged with the AVID implementation. This engagement was validated through data about student participation in key AVID strategies, …


Increasing Instructional Leadership: An Applied Research Study On The Effects Of Developing Principals As Instructional Leaders In The Magnolia County School District, Leigh Anne Newton Jan 2019

Increasing Instructional Leadership: An Applied Research Study On The Effects Of Developing Principals As Instructional Leaders In The Magnolia County School District, Leigh Anne Newton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This applied research study seeks to improve principal capacity as instructional leaders. The need for principals to increase their instructional leadership capacity became evident with the ever-changing requirements of state accountability and student achievement. Using four elements in this study, cohort-based professional development for principals, principal PLCs, data meetings, and consultant and district administrator campus visits, the program sought to develop and grow principal leadership. Surveys, focus groups, and interviews were used in the study. The findings reveal improvement in instructional leadership capacity in the district and can provide educators with information, including an action plan, to implement instructional leadership …


Culture Clash: An Applied Research Study On Transforming Student Behavioral Culture In A Failing School, Lindsay Carol Brett Jan 2019

Culture Clash: An Applied Research Study On Transforming Student Behavioral Culture In A Failing School, Lindsay Carol Brett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This applied research study seeks to transform student behavior at a failing middle school. The need to improve behavior in order to improve academic achievement became evident after desegregating data and listening to community and staff members voice concerns. Using three intervention strategies, group counseling, teaching classroom management training, and pro-social activities, the program sought to decrease the number of discipline referrals written for a targeted group of students and students school-wide. Surveys, discipline data, and observations were used in the study. The findings reveal behavior can be improved when teacher efficacy is enriched, positive activities are provided, social-emotional learning …


Investigating Nonstandard Southern American English In Written Sources: A Historical Sociolinguistic Approach To The Tennessee Civil War Veterans Questionnaires, Juliana Norton Jan 2019

Investigating Nonstandard Southern American English In Written Sources: A Historical Sociolinguistic Approach To The Tennessee Civil War Veterans Questionnaires, Juliana Norton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine and describe vernacular speech in East Tennessee during the nineteenth-century. This study combines strategies and methodologies from both historical and sociolinguistics to examine dialect in written sources. Specifically, this study utilizes phonological and grammatical data from the Tennessee Civil War Veterans Questionnaires supplemented with data from other written sources to describe East Tennessee vernacular speech. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, the geographic and social distributions of nonstandard past tense verbs to be and do are analyzed. The findings from this study suggest that nineteenth-century East Tennessee vernacular speech of white men …


African Americans And The Honors College Experience At The University Of Mississippi, Jennifer Lynn Parsons Jan 2019

African Americans And The Honors College Experience At The University Of Mississippi, Jennifer Lynn Parsons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological qualitative study examines a problem of practice and its context within equity, ethics, and social justice. Nationwide, African American students represent a small percentage of all students enrolled in an honors program or college. This study explores the experiences of African American students who are members of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College at the University of Mississippi. Understanding the significance of numerical critical mass, shared identity, and resiliency will yield ways of enhancing the honors college experience for its African American students as well as staff being more knowledgeable regarding more productive recruiting practices thereby enriching the …


The Effects Of Technology Based Self-Monitoring Across General Education Settings For Students With Behavior Disorders, Lane Maxcy Jan 2019

The Effects Of Technology Based Self-Monitoring Across General Education Settings For Students With Behavior Disorders, Lane Maxcy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three articles investigating the effects of technology-based self-monitoring to decrease off-task behaviors and increase academic engagement in students who have behavior disorders. Previous literature has examined the effects of technology-based self-monitoring in special education and alternative placements. Unfortunately, there is a lack of investigation with technology-based self-monitoring in general education settings. Together these three articles will clearly determine the effects of technology-based self-monitoring in general education settings specifically for students with behavior disorders.


Exploring The Impact Of Mississippi Virtual Community College Academy Professional Development For Online Teaching, Terry Woodrow Pollard Jan 2019

Exploring The Impact Of Mississippi Virtual Community College Academy Professional Development For Online Teaching, Terry Woodrow Pollard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As online courses and programs continue to grow in number across Mississippi’s community college system, an examination of the system which trains and supports faculty has gone largely unexamined. The aim of this research was to study the impact of the Mississippi Virtual Community College Academy, the state’s online professional development system, on faculty. Structured interviews were conducted with nine faculty in four community colleges across the state to determine conditions that helped or hindered faculty in their implementation of content learned in online professional development courses on credit-bearing courses they would later teach. Analysis of faculty transcripts indicate faculty …


Find The Most Here: The Academic Success Of First-Year African American Students At The University Of Mississippi, Earl Presley Jan 2019

Find The Most Here: The Academic Success Of First-Year African American Students At The University Of Mississippi, Earl Presley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Three researchers, Shawnboda Mead, Earl Presley, and Alexandria White, collaborated to complete this Dissertation in Practice (DiP) which includes three manuscripts. The three-member team identified the academic success of first-year African American students at predominantly White institutions as a complex problem of practice. Bean and Eaton’s (2001) Psychological Model of Student Retention and Rodgers and Summers (2008) Revised Model of Retention for African American Students at Predominantly White Institutions provided the theoretical framework for this study. The study examines the relationship of academic success and first-year African American students who participated in the 2015 and 2016 Mississippi Outreach to Scholastic …


Relationship Of Expected Family Contribution To Student Success At Belhaven University, Kevin Alexander Russell Jan 2019

Relationship Of Expected Family Contribution To Student Success At Belhaven University, Kevin Alexander Russell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship of expected family contribution (EFC) with student success for 427 freshmen students enrolled at Belhaven University in the Fall of 2016 and 2017. Success is measured by grade point average (GPA) and credit hours completed during the student’s freshman year. These two critical factors are used to determine a student’s satisfactory academic process (SAP). While measuring SAP is important, the contradiction between the university SAP and the SAP required by the state of Mississippi to remain eligible to receive funding are often in conflict.


Factors That Influence The Pronunciation Of Interdentals In Modern Standard Arabic And English By Egyptian Arabic Speakers, Yasmine Mohamed Dahy Sedeek Jan 2019

Factors That Influence The Pronunciation Of Interdentals In Modern Standard Arabic And English By Egyptian Arabic Speakers, Yasmine Mohamed Dahy Sedeek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) has three different interdental fricatives /θ/, /ð/, and the emphatic interdental /ðˤ/, most Egyptian Arabic (EA) speakers do not pronounce these interdental fricative sounds, whether in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or in English, and instead substitute them with the sibilant /s/ and /z/, respectively (Schmidt, 1987), as in the examples ‘three’ and ‘the’. The factors which influence the pronunciation of interdentals by EA speakers vary from one study to another. For instance, Ahmed Ali (2014) and El Zarka (2013) refer to dialect interference in the second language acquisition of phonology, while other studies indicate some …


Improving The Quality Of Teaching: An Applied Research Study On Improving The Quality Of Teaching In Third-Grade Reading At Tigerville Elementary School, Valeree Ellis-Barnes Jan 2019

Improving The Quality Of Teaching: An Applied Research Study On Improving The Quality Of Teaching In Third-Grade Reading At Tigerville Elementary School, Valeree Ellis-Barnes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract This applied research study sought to improve the quality of teaching in third-grade reading at Tigerville Elementary School (TES). The need to improve the quality of teaching in third-grade reading was identified through Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading (STAR. 2017-2018) reading data and Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP 2017-2018) test data. This study used three elements providing instructional support for teachers building teaching capacity and improving student achievement to address the central issue of improving the quality of teaching in third-grade reading. The program utilized an action plan and a program evaluation design to address improving the …


A First-Year Teacher’S Implementation Of Short-Cycle Formative Assessment Through The Use Of A Classroom Response System And Flexible Grouping, Adrienne Irving Dumas Jan 2019

A First-Year Teacher’S Implementation Of Short-Cycle Formative Assessment Through The Use Of A Classroom Response System And Flexible Grouping, Adrienne Irving Dumas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As teachers we are tasked with ensuring that our students are equipped with the skills necessary to not only perform with proficiency on local state and national assessments but also to provide our students with opportunities to develop confidence and competence as learners of mathematics through meaningful challenging and worthwhile activities. As such many teachers have turned to technology and cooperative groups as staples in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to understand how one first-year teacher implemented what she was taught in her undergraduate coursework in teaching two specific units of instruction in two sections of high …


Institutional Factors That Affect Transfer Student Sucess At A University In The Mid-South Region Of The U.S., Patricia Ann Coats Jan 2019

Institutional Factors That Affect Transfer Student Sucess At A University In The Mid-South Region Of The U.S., Patricia Ann Coats

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

At a four-year university located in the Mid-South region of the United States, students who transfer do so with the likelihood of spending more time and money completing a baccalaureate degree than non-transfer students. This is what research scholar Kevin Dougherty (1992) entitled the Baccalaureate Attainment Gap or the transfer gap. In this companion dissertation, using a multi-method approach, we use the quantitative data of transfer student graduation and retention rates along with qualitative data from interviews conducted with administrative staff about transfer student success. We consider these selected outcomes and administrative staff interviews to be institutional factors that help …


Innovation Through Instructional Renovation: An Applied Research Study On Building Capacity Of Mathematics Teachers In Bark County Schools’ Excel Department, Lashonda Quina Ross-Ivory Jan 2019

Innovation Through Instructional Renovation: An Applied Research Study On Building Capacity Of Mathematics Teachers In Bark County Schools’ Excel Department, Lashonda Quina Ross-Ivory

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this applied research study was to build the capacity of middle school mathematics teachers to increase student achievement. The need to build the capacity of middle school mathematics teachers arose from the trend of low content and pedagogical knowledge exhibited by teachers throughout the department. This applied research study uses four elements individual collective and collaborative professional development as well as student achievement to build the capacity of middle school mathematics teachers and measure student achievement growth. A national screener surveys learning walk/focus group and interviews were used in the study. Using of the aforementioned elements and …


Not All Scholars, But Gentlemen: The Making Of Virginian Manhood At St. Christopher's School, 1911-1969, Katelyn Frazer Jan 2019

Not All Scholars, But Gentlemen: The Making Of Virginian Manhood At St. Christopher's School, 1911-1969, Katelyn Frazer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through close study of St. Christopher’s School—an all-boys’ school in Richmond, Virginia—during its first fifty years, this thesis historicizes upper-class white masculinity in Virginia during the first half of the twentieth century. The school’s founder, Churchill Gibson Chamberlayne, linked the Lost Cause myth with other movements in education at the time, especially Muscular Christianity and the country day school movement. By looking at how students and administrators at St. Christopher’s made and remade traditions surrounding notions of masculinity, in addition to more muted manifestations of gender at the school, illuminate the existence of a gender hierarchy even before gender integration. …


Feedback In The Flipped High School Stem Classroom, Trisha Michele Gilbreath Jan 2019

Feedback In The Flipped High School Stem Classroom, Trisha Michele Gilbreath

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how much feedback students received in the flipped high school science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classroom. The flipped classroom is a pedagogical technique where students watch video instruction at home and complete collaborative activities in class. This technique has gained popularity in recent years, especially in STEM classrooms. The literature on the flipped classroom is inconclusive, with studies mainly conducted in higher education. Student and instructor perceptions were often studied, and those perceptions are generally positive about the flipped classroom, though there are concerns to consider. Student performance shows that the flipped classroom is at least …