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Theses/Dissertations

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

2019

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Full-Text Articles in Education

The Expatriate And Transnational Distance Student Phenomenon: A Series Of Investigations, William H. Stewart Iii Dec 2019

The Expatriate And Transnational Distance Student Phenomenon: A Series Of Investigations, William H. Stewart Iii

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The scale and scope of distance education has changed significantly over the last 250 years. Technology, from the early days of correspondence courses to radio, television and satellite broadcasting, has continually increased the scope, scale, and access potential to education. Distance courses and programs, however, were typically serving local, regional, or national communities. The Internet, by contrast, has transformed distance education by enabling access to education by virtually anyone, anywhere in the world. Students are no longer limited or constrained by geography or residency, yet how such potential has been conceptualized, identified, and subsequently researched has been limited by homogenous …


Ideological Misalignment In The Discourse(S) Of Higher Education: Comparing University Mission Statements With Texts From Commercial Learning Analytics Providers, Leif A. Nelson Dec 2019

Ideological Misalignment In The Discourse(S) Of Higher Education: Comparing University Mission Statements With Texts From Commercial Learning Analytics Providers, Leif A. Nelson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes, interprets, and compares texts from different educational discourses. Using the Critical Discourse Analysis method, I reveal how texts from university mission statements and from commercial learning analytics providers communicate and construct different ideologies. To support this analysis, I explore literature strands related to public higher education in America and the emerging field of study and practice called learning analytics. Learning analytics is the administrative, research, and instructional use of large sets of digital data that are associated with and generated by students. The data in question may be generated by incidental online activity, and it may be …


Perceived Impact Of Virtual Scenario-Based Branching Simulations Among Radiology Program Students, Kimberly Lynn Onstott Dec 2019

Perceived Impact Of Virtual Scenario-Based Branching Simulations Among Radiology Program Students, Kimberly Lynn Onstott

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The influx of medical technology and medical knowledge creates challenges for healthcare providers in maintaining up to date knowledge and skills for their practice. Healthcare educators are further challenged in that the goal is to encourage learners to become competent healthcare providers who are knowledgeable and skilled, self-directed, and who will think critically and ethically when faced with challenging situations. Advancing imaging technologies and new complex procedures in radiology increase the risk of harm for patients and providers as advanced imaging is often learned outside of a primary degree in radiology with real patients through on the job training. Online …


The Convergence Of Negotiated Imaginative Play, Literacy Learning And Kindergarten Common Core English Language Arts Standards, Grace Salinas-Casper Dec 2019

The Convergence Of Negotiated Imaginative Play, Literacy Learning And Kindergarten Common Core English Language Arts Standards, Grace Salinas-Casper

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The implementation of strict academic requirements is replacing play as a previously widely accepted developmentally appropriate practice in kindergarten classrooms around the United States, resulting in an imbalance in cultivating the whole child. Research focused on the importance of play in children’s cognitive, linguistic, physical, moral, creative, emotional and artistic development exists. Couched in Vygotsky’s social development theory and the Reggio Emilia principle this ethnographic case study investigates how kindergarteners demonstrate literacy learning, practice and mastery of Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CC.ELA) through imaginative play in a negotiated environment. Research outcomes suggested that negotiated play appears to provide …


Mentor’S Perspective: Impact Of Working In A Professional Development Partnership, Kimberly Tucker Dec 2019

Mentor’S Perspective: Impact Of Working In A Professional Development Partnership, Kimberly Tucker

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this single case study was to explore a Physical Education (PE) mentor teacher’s perception of working with a Professional Development Partnership (PDP) for over 17 years. The researcher coined the new term PDP, which deviates from a Professional Development School in that a PDP is not a school-wide endeavor. A PDP can be a model used for a teacher education program for subject areas where there are limited, or only one, teacher at the given school, as seen in PE.In particular, this study examined how a PDP influenced a mentor teacher’s professional development and the ways in …


How Accurately Can Religious Educators Predict Student Achievement?, Kyle Lyons Dec 2019

How Accurately Can Religious Educators Predict Student Achievement?, Kyle Lyons

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Teachers make a variety of judgments as they teach. The accuracy of these judgments may influence instruction and student achievement. The present investigation examined (a) how accurately religious educators judge student learning, (b) what cues religious educators report using to judge student learning, and (c) how cue utilization affects the accuracy of judgments of student learning. The research in this study shows the accuracy of judgments for participating teachers is significantly lower than the average judgment accuracy reported in a recent review of teacher judgment literature (Südkamp et al., 2012). The cues participating teachers self-reported using for judging student learning …


Chinese Transnational Adolescents’ Responses To Multicultural Children’S Literature In Culture Circles, Yuwen Chen Dec 2019

Chinese Transnational Adolescents’ Responses To Multicultural Children’S Literature In Culture Circles, Yuwen Chen

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine how Chinese transnational adolescents (CTAs) negotiate their identity based on their cultural knowledge and experiences through book discussion in Freirean “culture circle” (Freire, 2000, p. 120). This study is an interpretivist qualitative study of community-based action research (Glesne, 2010). The participants were seven American-born Chinese, two current Chinese and Taiwanese, and one Chinese adopted adolescent. Within the culture circles, CTAs responded to seven selected multicultural children’s literature which represents Chinese immigrants’ stories in the United States. The topics of the books included (1) who am I, (2) relationships with extended family I, …


Faculty Perceptions Of Online Teaching At A Mid-Sized Liberal Arts University In The Pacific Northwest: A Mixed Methods Study, Dana Shreaves Aug 2019

Faculty Perceptions Of Online Teaching At A Mid-Sized Liberal Arts University In The Pacific Northwest: A Mixed Methods Study, Dana Shreaves

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Faculty resistance to online teaching is a problem that can affect institutions looking to increase online learning options for students. Prior research has identified a number of encouraging and discouraging factors that may affect faculty motivation to teach online. Given limited institutional resources, it would be difficult for an institution to address all of the factors identified in prior research. Furthermore, faculty at liberal arts colleges have not been studied as a specific population of interest in prior research. Therefore, to increase acceptance and participation in online teaching at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), this study employed a convergent, parallel mixed-methods …


The Influence Of Tape Diagrams And Bar Models On Middle School Students' Proportional Reasoning, Katie Paulding Aug 2019

The Influence Of Tape Diagrams And Bar Models On Middle School Students' Proportional Reasoning, Katie Paulding

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Proportional reasoning is an integral component of adolescent mathematical cognitive development and a foundational concept for students to understand in order to be successful in higher level mathematics and science courses. Yet research indicates students struggle to proportionally reason. Task features of proportional reasoning problems are known to influence student cognition and success in problem solving, including familiarity with problem context, problem type, numerical content, and mode of task representation. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of two iconic representations (tape diagrams and bar models) and three ratio relationships (6:3, 8:2, and 5:2) on student cognition …


Student Involvement And The Impact On Academic Success, Christopher Hyer Aug 2019

Student Involvement And The Impact On Academic Success, Christopher Hyer

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Universities have been trying to increase graduation rates for decades. Using Astin’s student involvement theory (1984), which posits the more a student is involved at the university, the more likely the students will be retained and graduate from the university. Much of the research over the past 20 years has been limited to study the impact of one form of involvement has on retention and graduation, while this study combines different forms of involvement and how they impact retention and graduation rates. This study occurs with a first-year cohort entering fall 2012 at a public four-year university in the Pacific …


Online Graduate Students’ Sense Of Community To Their Higher Learning Institution: A Mixed Methods Study, Shannon Renee Skelcher May 2019

Online Graduate Students’ Sense Of Community To Their Higher Learning Institution: A Mixed Methods Study, Shannon Renee Skelcher

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Establishing a sense of community is important for student success in online environments. However, how online graduate students experience a sense of community to the higher learning institution providing their courses or degree is an area not fully explored. This study investigated how graduate students in a completely online program perceived their sense of community to their institution. Further, this research examined how the institution supported or could better support its students through services and/or aid to develop a greater sense of connection and belonging among its online learners. A mixed methods approach was utilized, gathering quantitative data using the …


Predicting Teacher Usage Of Learning Games In Classrooms, Joseph M. Waarvik May 2019

Predicting Teacher Usage Of Learning Games In Classrooms, Joseph M. Waarvik

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses a problem of ambiguity in academic writing regarding whether learning games are underutilized in educational settings, what type of educators use learning games, and what factors are the most important in predicting educator usage. The purpose of the study is to clarify and explain the current state of educator usage of learning games in these areas in order to inform designers of educator professional development. There are two well-known frameworks that can be used to understand learning game integration by educators: the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. This study uses …


Faculty Perceptions Of Smartphones And Smartphone Integration In Faculty Development And The Classroom: A Case Study, Jeanna R. Cronk May 2019

Faculty Perceptions Of Smartphones And Smartphone Integration In Faculty Development And The Classroom: A Case Study, Jeanna R. Cronk

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This research examined the perceptions of university faculty on the integration of smartphones in faculty development programs. The literature on higher education smartphone integrations has focused almost exclusively on individual courses or mobile learning implementations limited to pre-service teacher education departments. Current practice indicates that faculty are electing to use smartphones for their own professional learning. This study advances our understanding of faculty perceptions, outside of education departments, to provide insight for faculty developers designing programs that incorporate smartphones by addressing the following research questions: (1) What are faculty perceptions of smartphones? (2) How are faculty using smartphone technologies for …


Using The Technology Acceptance Model To Determine Student Perception Of Elearning Readiness In Kazakhstan, Anthony Ray Hetrick May 2019

Using The Technology Acceptance Model To Determine Student Perception Of Elearning Readiness In Kazakhstan, Anthony Ray Hetrick

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Researchers widely accept the technology acceptance model (TAM) to determine behavioral intention that leads to actual technology use. However, researchers are advised to exercise caution when applying TAM to different cultural contexts. This study used TAM to assess the readiness of students to engage in elearning in Kazakhstan, which is classified as a developing nation. This project then compared the results of the TAM analysis of student perceptions of a learning management system (LMS) to elearning studies in developed countries to ascertain if the determinants are the same. This study determined that TAM was unpredictable, and that perceived ease of …


Personalized Professional Learning Experiences And Teacher Self-Efficacy For Integrating Technology In K-12 Classrooms, Allison Barsnica Hall May 2019

Personalized Professional Learning Experiences And Teacher Self-Efficacy For Integrating Technology In K-12 Classrooms, Allison Barsnica Hall

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The studies in this dissertation were designed to develop an understanding of the impact of personalized professional learning experiences for K-12 teachers. These studies took place in a large, preK-12, public school district in the Southwest region of the United States. Through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodology, these studies measured the growth of teachers’ perceptions of their ability to work with technology tools and their self-efficacy towards integrating technology purposefully to improve the learning experiences of their students, as well as delving into the personal experiences of select teachers in the program. The Core Conceptual Framework for teacher …


Using A Multifaceted Robotics-Based Intervention To Increase Student Interest In Stem And Computational Thinking Skills, Mary Alice Hudson May 2019

Using A Multifaceted Robotics-Based Intervention To Increase Student Interest In Stem And Computational Thinking Skills, Mary Alice Hudson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the impact of a robotics-based intervention on elementary-aged students’ interest in STEM subjects and careers and development of computational thinking skills. Previous research suggests educational robotics programs integrate a wide array of skills projected to be essential for success in the workforce of the future. The current research was motivated by two research questions: (1) What is the impact of a robotics-based intervention on elementary-aged students’ interest in STEM subjects and careers? (2) What is the impact of a robotics-based intervention on elementary-aged students' computational thinking skills? To answer these questions, action research was used to examine …


Representative Bureaucracy: Representation Of American Indian Teachers And Their Impact On American Indian Student Access And Performance, Selena M. Grace May 2019

Representative Bureaucracy: Representation Of American Indian Teachers And Their Impact On American Indian Student Access And Performance, Selena M. Grace

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Using a cross-comparative, qualitative case study approach, my research seeks to determine whether the presence of American Indian teachers (passive representation) positively influences educational access and performance of American Indian students in two rural Idaho public school districts located within tribal reservations. One district has representation of American Indian teachers and the other does not. Representation of American Indian teachers is a form of passive representation which the theory of representative bureaucracy suggests should lead to active representation (implementation of culturally relevant curriculum and teaching practices). My research analyzes de-identified student- and district-level data on access and performance as well …


Service-Learning In An Introductory Environmental Science Course: How Participation Impacts Course Content Knowledge And Agency, Mari Rice May 2019

Service-Learning In An Introductory Environmental Science Course: How Participation Impacts Course Content Knowledge And Agency, Mari Rice

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Service-learning (SL) is a high-impact pedagogical strategy that has been shown to have both cognitive and affective benefits for students and has the potential to engage and involve a more demographically diverse spectrum of students into the field of STEM. However, research on the impacts of SL in STEM courses is limited, and therefore there is a great need to identify the specific outcomes linked to participation. In addition, faculty from STEM fields have been hesitant to incorporate SL into their curriculum due to perceptions that it lacks academic rigor. This purpose of this mixed-methods case study was to examine …