Education Commons^™

The Effects Of Missing Data Treatment On Person Ability Estimates Using Irt Models, Sonia Mariel Suarez Enciso

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Unplanned missing responses are common to surveys and tests including large scale assessments. There has been an ongoing debate on how missing responses should be handled and some approaches are preferred over others, especially in the context of the item response theory (IRT) models. In this context, examinees’ abilities are normally estimated with the missing responses generally ignored or treated as incorrect. Most of the studies that have explored the performance of missing data handling approaches have used simulated data. This study uses the SERCE (UNESCO, 2006) dataset and missingness pattern to evaluate the performance of three approaches: treating omitted …

Guidelines For Interpretive Interview Fidelity In Mixed Methods Research Within The Context Of A Randomized Controlled Trial, Amanda L. Garrett

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Interviews fascinate and capture individuals’ attention. Researchers value the data they glean from interviews, while participants enjoy being asked to share their voices and opinions. Some of the most complex, stringent research designs are now being revised to include interviews, such as randomized controlled trials. But, how do we know that the interviews that are conducted are valid? We need to know more about how interviews are developed and delivered within the context of intervention research. Therefore, the aim of this methodological dissertation is to create a set of recommendations for interpretive interviews in a mixed methods randomized controlled trial. …

English Language Learners And Special Education: One District's Journey Through The Collaborative Problem Solving Process, Laura S. Salem

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

English Language Learners are a growing population in schools in the United States. There are many challenges that face this group of students in addition to learning English as a new language. A major issue for teachers, schools, and districts is determining whether an English Language Learner is experiencing academic difficulties based on issues primarily related to language acquisition or whether a learning disability is contributing to the academic challenges. As a result, English Language Learners are often misidentified for Special Education services and may be placed in classrooms that are not adequately prepared or appropriate to meet their needs. …

The Relationship Of Formative Assessment To The Professional Development And Perspective Transformation Of Teachers, Kimberly K. Snyder

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study uses practitioner research to explore teacher perspectives about formative assessment. The researcher engaged in a four-month-long series of professional development sessions with one middle school and two high school English-Language Arts teachers from the Capital View School District. Understanding formative assessment as a process to monitor student learning and then customizing instruction based on the data gathered from the formative assessment is a complex skill in which teachers need practice and even coaching to become adroit. The sessions were intended to help early-career teachers better understand formative assessment and incorporate it as a strategy in their teaching praxis. …

Teacher + Technology = Blended Learning: How Important Is The Teacher In This Equation?, Catherine A. Doom

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This mixed method study investigates teacher belief, knowledge action and technology adoption rate in a blended learning setting and the impact those variables have on student comprehension measures. Surveys and data collected from the blended learning program were used to gather data in pursuit of answers to the following research questions: (a) Does the teacher’s adoption of technology rate impact reading comprehension growth in a blended learning environment? (b) Does the teacher’s knowledge, belief and action in a blended learning environment impact student reading comprehension growth? (c) Does the teacher’s adoption of technology rate combined with the teacher’s knowledge, attitude, …

Implementation Of State Developmental Education Policy: A Multiple Case Study Of Community College Faculty Perceptions Of Involvement, Shirley Davenport

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Numerous studies have indicated that developmental education as it is currently offered in many colleges and universities produces dismal results, with student success rates averaging as low as 25%. To address this issue, legislators in some states have begun to intervene, adopting policies that vary from suggestions for improvements to mandated pedagogical approaches. However, given the higher education organizational environment, the manner in which any change is implemented can be key to its success.

The purpose of this comparative multiple case study was to describe and interpret the perceptions of developmental education faculty regarding their level of involvement in developmental …

Place-Based Learning: Instilling A Sense Of Wonder., Jeanne L. Surface

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

Place-based learning is powerful. It can be implemented in rural, suburban and urban school districts as well as universities. Contextualizing learning with the students lived experiences will increase student achievement and in the words of Rachel Carson, create “a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life (2011).”

Citation Analysis Of Undergraduate Law Projects In Faculties Of Law Libraries In Anambra And Enugu States Of Nigeria, Mercy Ifeyinwa Anyaegbu

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Mainly this study sought to find out primary sources of law undergraduate law students cite in their research projects. It also sought to ascertain most frequently cited sources as well as their availability in faculty of law libraries in Anambra and Enugu States of Nigeria. Five research questions guided the study. The research design was a survey. A total of 543 projects were used for the study. Instrument for data collection were checklist and interview. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages to answer research questions 1,2 and 3. Responses from the law librarians in research …

Unopa Notes, July 5, 2016

UNOPA Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Indian Doctoral Research In Social Sciences With Specific Reference To Library And Information Science, Jyotshna Sahoo, Santosini Mundhial, Basudev Mohanty

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The very purpose of the paper is to focus on the output of doctoral research in different fields of Social Sciences in India. Attempts have been made to project various indicators of Social Science research and more comprehensively Library and Information Science research by analyzing doctoral research works carried out during the period 2010-2012. While presenting quantification of research output in the form doctoral theses for the period of study, the paper highlights distribution of research output by discipline, language, ranking pattern of Universities, States, and supervisors by their output. The paper also indicates the core areas of research activity …

Instructional Framing And Student Learning Of Community Interactions, Nathaniel Niosco

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Ecology is a broad field of science that encompasses many disciplines with large impacts in our society (AAAS, 2011; NRC, 2009). To understand the complex systems and concepts of this discipline requires a foundation of knowledge that students often gain in the classroom (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). Helping students develop this foundation of knowledge requires an understanding of how they use surface and deep reasoning skills to understand and learn new material. In addition, using methods to teach students to transfer these skills between multiple contexts is key to expanding their ability to broadly apply knowledge. The purpose of …

Front Matter, Vol. 17, No. 1

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Cover

Mast Head

Contents

Call for Papers

Editorial Policy

Submission Guidelines

Dedication - Richard Badenhausen

Wilderness Restoration: A Case Study Of Two Place-Based Education Programs, Carolyn Ann Albracht

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Research regarding outdoor environmental education programs for youth tends to be quantitative in nature, examining cause-and-effect relationships between program content and participants’ behavior and attitudes. Some researchers have suggested that programs that help foster an affective connection with nature in its participants may have more lasting and greater impact on participants’ pro-environmental behavior and attitudes than those that take a more cognitive approach. In other words, appealing to youth’s emotional sensibilities may go further than only teaching facts and skills about how to be better environmental stewards. In order to study these affective connections and how they might be fostered, …

Intersecting Asset-Based Service, Strengths, And Mentoring For Socially Responsible Leadership, Lindsay J. Hastings

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

Grounded in a youth leadership and mentoring program, this chapter discusses the value of asset-based community development from the service-learning literature and the concept of generativity from the leadership development literature.

College students are frequently engaged in the community through local mentoring programs, as mentoring youth has become an increasingly popular service-learning pedagogical strategy among many higher-education institutions (Schmidt, Marks, & Derrico, 2004; Wells & Grabert, 2004). While many mentoring programs are designed to build resiliency in at-risk youth, mentoring has been identified as an effective practice in leadership development (Day, 2000; Dziczkowski, 2013).

This chapter will discuss the value …

The Impact Of Implementing A Culturally Responsive Latino Poetry Unit To Examine Language, Identity, And Culture In A Middle School Language Arts Classroom, Kari Loecker

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this practitioner research study was to examine the implementation of a culturally responsive poetry unit in a majority Latino middle school in Nebraska. The experiences of Latino and non-Latino eighth-grade language arts students were documented in an effort to understand the level of engagement and conclusions drawn from the poetry. This study also explores the effectiveness of using a multicultural poetry unit to address state standards. Data sources include student written work, whole-class and individual discussions, pre and post surveys, and daily entries in a teacher research journal. Latino students found the poetry to be representative of …

An Empirical Typology Of The Latent Programmatic Structure Of Community College Student Success Programs, Deryl K. Hatch, E. Michael Bohlig

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

The definition and description of student success programs in the literature (e.g., orientation, first-year seminars, learning communities, etc.) suggest underlying programmatic similarities. Yet researchers to date typically depend on ambiguous labels to delimit studies, resulting in loosely related but separate research lines and few generalizable findings. To demonstrate whether or how certain programs are effective there is need for more coherent conceptualizations to identify and describe programs. This is particularly problematic for community colleges where success programs are uniquely tailored relative to other sectors. The study’s purpose is to derive an empirical typology of community college student success programs based …

Linguafolio® Implementation At The Classroom Level: A Collective Case Study Of North Carolina Teachers, Amanda Romjue

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

LinguaFolio® is a language learning portfolio with a rich history rooted in educational research. This study explores the evolution of LinguaFolio®, a learning and self-assessment tool whose origins can be traced back to the European Language Portfolio (ELP). LinguaFolio® is a learning tool designed to promote self-regulated language learning through goal-setting, task-based language learning, and self-assessment and reflection. This study examined the implementation of LinguaFolio® by five experienced, exemplary teachers in order to better understand how LinguaFolio® can best be integrated into the language classroom.

LinguaFolio® is a highly customizable language learning portfolio that teachers are encouraged to adapt to …

Factor Analysis Of The Preschool Behavioral And Emotional Rating Scale For Children In Head Start Programs, Cynthia J. Cress, Matthew C. Lambert, Michael Epstein

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Strength-based assessment of behaviors in preschool children provides evidence of emotional and behavioral skills in children, rather than focusing primarily on weaknesses identified by deficit-based assessments. The Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scales (PreBERS) is a normative assessment of emotional and behavioral strengths in preschool children. The PreBERS has well-established reliability and validity for typically developing children as well as children with identified special education needs, but this has not yet been established for children in Head Start programs, who tend to be at high risk for development of emotional and behavioral concerns. This study explores the factorial validity of …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 28, No. 3, July 2016

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Content: Welcome New Faculty - ESA-NCB Award Winners - Student Award Winners - Grants - Congratulations! - Student News - Publications - Travel - Meet Airene Millsap, an Online Student - Beekeeping Workshops

Examining Bridges Between Informal And Formal Learning Environments: A Sequential Mixed Method Design, Dagen L. Valentine

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The purpose of this sequential mixed method study was to identify schools implementing a technology-based engineering design intervention in a way that connects or bridges formal learning environments of the school-day to informal learning environments such as afterschool programs. Further, this study investigated educators’ decisions that enabled or facilitated bridging between formal and informal learning environments. This cooperation and/or linking between informal and formal learning time is bridging. Participants included public schools (n=16) in Eastern Nebraska that incorporated the Nebraska Wearables Technology (WearTec) program at their school, club or Out-of-School-Time program during the 2015-2016 school year. Three of the schools …

Comparison Of Nebraska Accreditation Options And Effect On Student Achievement: A Mixed Methods Study, Tami Sue Eshleman

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study is to determine if and how each of the two accreditation options in Nebraska may influence student achievement outcomes. A mixed-methods study was developed. Phase I quantitative analysis determined whether a significant difference existed in the ACT composite scores and the NeSA reading and math assessments in schools accredited by either the Nebraska Frameworks or AdvancED. The analysis revealed that NeSA math was influenced by accreditation choice. Based on the quantitative results, school superintendents were identified for Phase II qualitative methods to survey and interview to share (a) attributes that contributed to their academic success, …

Cultivating A Learner’S Stance For Engagement In Teacher-Inquiry: An Aim For Writing Pedagogy Education, Jessica Rivera-Mueller

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation argues that writing teacher educators (WTEs) can more purposefully advance their commitment to sponsoring inquiry-oriented teacher development by helping pre-service and practicing writing teachers examine how they are developing as inquirers. Building from scholarship in Composition and English Education and the findings from a narrative-based qualitative study that included four secondary and post-secondary teachers of writing, I have named this attention to how teachers learn and grow their inquiry processes a learner’s stance for engagement in teacher-inquiry. This stance is a readiness to see and engage professional work with an eye toward growing one’s ability to engage …

A Study Of Home Emergent Literacy Experiences Of Young Latino English Learners, Guy Trainin, Stephanie Wessels, J. Ron Nelson, Patricia Vadasy

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This empirical study explored the home environment literacy practices of young Latino English learners and their families. The participants were 217 incoming Kindergarten Latino EL students and parents. The data collection included a completed HLEQ by the parents. In addition, children were administered the PPVT, the pre- LAS, the PALS-K screening, the Woodcock Reading Mastery assessment, and the Wide Range Achievement test. All of the literacy assessments given to the children provided the researchers with comprehensive look at their literacy knowledge base. The results of this study indicate that there were two significant paths for students’ achievement: availability of books …

Effects Of Weeding Strategies On Information Resource Management Among Public Libraries In North-Central States Of Nigeria, Tangkat Yusuf Dushu Mr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study investigated Effects of Weeding Strategies on Information Resource Management Among Public Libraries in North-Central States of Nigeria, the researcher observed that Every library's print collection is limited by the space available, and collections must change over time to reflect changes in the community and in the library's goals, as result, five (5) research questions and objectives were formulated with respect to how unwanted information resources managed, shelf-time period of information resources, effects of weeding on library organisation and services and the challenges of weeding in public libraries. Survey research method was adopted for the study and staff in …

Using Surveys To Learn The Opinions Of New Residents, Rebecca Vogt, Randolph Cantrell, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

No abstract provided.

A Reformed College Algebra Course: Understanding Instructors' And Students' Beliefs About Teaching And Learning Mathematics, Mary Williams

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Reforms of undergraduate mathematics (e.g. Bressoud & Rasmussen, 2015; Laursen et. al, 2011) are changing the practice of teaching and learning within their courses. Prior research has established strong connections between practices and beliefs (Brickhouse, 1990; Raymond, 1997; Aguirre & Speer, 1999), therefore changing the practices within these courses may be affecting the beliefs of those tasked to enact the reformed practices. Thus, part of the work of the reforms in undergraduate mathematics is to learn how and why these beliefs may or may not be changing in this culture of reform.

In this qualitative case study, I analyzed the …

Theoretical Modelling To Explain Lecturers’ Use Of Educational Support Systems For Teaching In University-Based Library Schools In Nigeria: Extending The Technology Acceptance Model (Tam)., Taiwo Adetoun Akinde

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

This work is an attempt at theoretical modelling. The result of a search for a theoretical framework and a conceptual model to explain lecturers’ use of Educational Support Systems (ESS) for teaching in university-based library schools in Nigeria. The applicability, similarity and relevance of Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) were discussed. TAM was found to be the most appropriate framework for the research based on its variables and/or constructs; hence, a research model, an adaptation of TAM was drawn and used to guide the research. Based on the …

Perceptions Of Eighth Grade State Writing Assessment At A Nationally Recognized Middle School, Jillian M. Quandt

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study seeks to understand how one at-risk middle school in Nebraska is consistently beating eighth grade Nebraska State Writing Assessment (NESA-W) averages. The school has significant populations of Hispanic, special education, and low-income students. The study answers the following two research questions. What strategies does the at-risk school utilize to enable its students to exceed the Nebraska average on the NESA-W? What attitudes do the school’s writing teachers, administrators, students, and their parents hold about the NESA-W? Students and their parents answered a multiple-choice survey; teachers and administrators answered a longer, open-ended survey. The researcher used a combination of …

Establishing Students’ Abilities To Reason With Relationships In The Context Of Cellular Respiration, Sinan F. Akkoseoglu, Joseph Dauer, Heather E. Bergan-Roller

UCARE Research Products

This study aims to establish the level at which University of Nebraska-Lincoln students reason with simple relationships in the context of cellular respiration at the levels of glycolysis, Krebs cycle, and electron transport chain. These processes are component processes of cellular respiration and each has multiple inputs and outputs. 633 student consented for this study, from which 18 student models were randomly selected, processed, and analyzed. Classroom observations were used to determine structures and relationships that were inputs and outputs to the three processes. In their models, students did not include different numbers of input or outputs when describing glycolysis, …

College-Going Experiences Of Male Foster Youth Alumni Who Have Stopped-Out Of College, Felipe D. Longoria

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative research study examined how foster care experiences and masculinities influenced male foster youth alumni’s decision to go to college. The study also sought to understand the in-and-out-of-college factors that led participants to exit college prematurely. Five participants were each interviewed twice for data collection purposes. Findings from data analysis indicated that establishing and maintaining relationships in college were challenging and affected an already vulnerable population in their help-seeking behavior. Recommendations are offered for higher education professionals and areas for future research are noted.

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