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Full-Text Articles in Education

The Effect Of Co-Teaching On Student Achievement In Ninth Grade Physical Science Classrooms, Karen M. Lafever Dec 2012

The Effect Of Co-Teaching On Student Achievement In Ninth Grade Physical Science Classrooms, Karen M. Lafever

Dissertations

Co-teaching is a method that is increasing within schools across the US as educators strive to leave no child behind. It is a costly method, having two paid instructors in one classroom, with an average of 24 students shared between them. If it significantly increases the achievement of all students, it is well worth the costs involved. However, few studies have analyzed the effectiveness of this method on student achievement. This research follows the academic accomplishments of students in a ninth grade physical science course. Nine sections of the course “Force and Motion” were taught with a single teacher, and …


Adult Jewish Women’S Motivations To Participate In Adult Jewish Education, Teresa Lynn Mareschal Dec 2012

Adult Jewish Women’S Motivations To Participate In Adult Jewish Education, Teresa Lynn Mareschal

Dissertations

Although there have been numerous studies on adult education participation and on adult religious education, little is known about Jewish women’s participation in adult education. A key component of the Jewish religion is lifelong learning, which is nurtured in Jewish people from an early age. Research has indicated that Jewish women participate in adult Jewish educational programs at higher rates than their male counterparts, yet there is a lack of research into what motivates them to engage in these learning opportunities. This research study was designed to examine Jewish women’s motivations and participation in adult Jewish educational programs. A survey …


Faculty Members’ Perceptions Of Community College Centers For Teaching And Learning: A Qualitative Study, Sandra Ann Frey Dec 2012

Faculty Members’ Perceptions Of Community College Centers For Teaching And Learning: A Qualitative Study, Sandra Ann Frey

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore faculty members’ perceptions of community college Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs); whose main purpose is to promote, facilitate, and honor excellence in teaching and learning through the support of full-time and adjunct faculty, at all career stages. A generic qualitative study with a grounded theory approach was conducted to understand faculty members’ perceptions and to develop recommendations for community college CTL directors, administrators, and faculty. Focus group interviews were conducted with groups of faculty at each of three Midwestern U.S. community colleges. Faculty were placed in one of three groups; frequent …


Examining Institutional Climate In Higher Education: Administering The Nilie-Pace Instrument At A Private University In Central China, Linda Fraser Jacobsen Dec 2012

Examining Institutional Climate In Higher Education: Administering The Nilie-Pace Instrument At A Private University In Central China, Linda Fraser Jacobsen

Dissertations

The first known campus climate study in central China was conducted for purposes of formative assessment by mixed methods, utilizing an instrument called the Personal Assessment of the College Environment (PACE) developed by the National Initiative for Leadership and Institutional Effectiveness (NILIE) at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Surveys were translated into Mandarin and distributed in bilingual format to 1,170 campus employees at Central China University (a pseudonym) in Henan Province, and 945 surveys were returned, a rate of 80.8%. Participants who self-identified included both Chinese and foreign faculty, administrators and staff. Because the North American-normed instrument was administered …


Family Science: An Ethnographic Case Study Of The Ordinary Science And Literacy Experiences Of One Family, Glenda Margaret Mccarty Dec 2012

Family Science: An Ethnographic Case Study Of The Ordinary Science And Literacy Experiences Of One Family, Glenda Margaret Mccarty

Dissertations

Despite the copious research available on science learning, little is known about ways in which the public engages in free-choice science learning and even fewer studies have focused on how families engage in science to learn about the world around them. The same was true about studies of literacy development in the home until the 1980s when researchers (e.g. Bissex, 1980; Heath, 1983; Taylor, 1983) began documenting the literacy happenings and practices of young children in natural settings. Findings from intensive emergent literacy research studies have challenged traditional approaches to the teaching and learning of literacy, especially drawing attention to …


A Behavioral Analysis Of Counselor Supervision: A Multiple Baseline Design, Deirdre J. Walker Dec 2012

A Behavioral Analysis Of Counselor Supervision: A Multiple Baseline Design, Deirdre J. Walker

Dissertations

This paper consists of a concurrent multiple baseline across participants study that measured the effects of behavior analytic techniques to teach three counselor trainees basic counseling skills. The literature surrounding the development of basic counseling skills is reviewed in addition to the use of single case designs in counseling and counselor supervision. The literature surrounding combining behavior analysis and counseling research methodologies is also examined. Results indicated that a behavior analytic approach to basic skills training was an effective means for increasing targeted basic counseling skills. The supervisory working alliance between the principal investigator and all participants was measured and …


Narrative Identities Of American Muslim Women In A Midwestern City, Emily Anastasia Hager Dec 2012

Narrative Identities Of American Muslim Women In A Midwestern City, Emily Anastasia Hager

Dissertations

In the years since September 11, 2001, increased racial profiling changed what it means to be an Arab, and/or Muslim in the United States. While a small but growing number of studies have focused on Arab-American adolescents and identity development (Chadhury, 2008; Sarroub, 2002), few have studied those who were “emerging adults” (Arnett, 2000) at the time of the attacks, or analyzed how they construct their current lifespan narratives (McAdams, 2006) in light of the national discourse linking terrorism and Islam. To fill this gap in the literature, my study explored the links between community discourse and narrative identity development …


Impact Of An Online Homework Program On The Achievement Of College Students Enrolled In First Semester General Chemistry, Brian D. Huesgen Nov 2012

Impact Of An Online Homework Program On The Achievement Of College Students Enrolled In First Semester General Chemistry, Brian D. Huesgen

Dissertations

Technology is finding an ever increasing role in university level courses. One area of particular interest is the use of online or computer based homework programs. This study investigated the potential impact of one of the leading commercial chemistry homework management systems on the performance of students in a first semester general chemistry course. Two groups of students were identified, one which used a basic homework program and one which used a Web-based, customizable, problem-grading application that was provided prompt feedback. The 2005 American Chemical Society First Semester General Chemistry Exam as the benchmark of understanding general chemistry. No statistically …


Perspectives Of Higher Education Administrators And Staff: Programs And Services For First Generation College Students, Latishua E. Lewis Aug 2012

Perspectives Of Higher Education Administrators And Staff: Programs And Services For First Generation College Students, Latishua E. Lewis

Dissertations

This dissertation is an investigation of the perspectives of higher education administrators and staff who provide services that support the academic and social sustainability of African American first generation college students (FGCS). In this study the researcher operated in a dual capacity. The two roles the researcher served as are FGCS and staff member. The researcher is a first generation college student and provides programs and services for the FGCS student population. The participants were from two urban institutions that are in the same overarching academic system. This inquiry focused on administrators and staff sharing their perspectives in narrative form. …


A New Look At Genre And Authenticity: Making Sense Of Reading And Writing Science News In High School Classrooms, Angela Marie Kohnen Jul 2012

A New Look At Genre And Authenticity: Making Sense Of Reading And Writing Science News In High School Classrooms, Angela Marie Kohnen

Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the importance of the genre and authenticity as teachers sought to bring science journalism to the high school science classroom. Undertaken as part of the National Science Foundation-funded grant “Science Literacy through Science Journalism (SciJourn),” this work was conducted as a series of smaller studies addressing the following issues: the definition of the genre from the point of view of professional journalists; teachers’ motivation for joining the SciJourn project; qualities of science teachers compared to science journalists; science teachers’ approach to writing and writing response; and the teachers’ reflections on their own implementation strategies. Data collected …


Finding Voice From A Distance: Learning Voice In Writing Through Online Learning, Amy Marie Ade Peach Jul 2012

Finding Voice From A Distance: Learning Voice In Writing Through Online Learning, Amy Marie Ade Peach

Dissertations

One of the primary objectives for many instructors of first-year composition (FYC) is to encourage students to use their own voice/persona, or express themselves with authority in their writing. While there are many pedagogical methods to address this in a face to face environment, there is now need to understand how the course tools and architecture in online versions of the course can facilitate “voice” in writing. This qualitative study observed a summer FYC (First Year Composition) course online at one institution in the Midwestern United States. At the conclusion of the course, two students and the instructors were interviewed …


Paradigm Adherence And Personality Correlates Across Mental Health Professions, Laura Anne Rauscher Jul 2012

Paradigm Adherence And Personality Correlates Across Mental Health Professions, Laura Anne Rauscher

Dissertations

Paradigm adherence has been developed as a meta-theoretical approach to organize and to classify the multitude of different theories of counseling and psychotherapy. Four paradigms have been identified in the literature: The Organic-Medical, The Psychological, The Systemic-Relational, and the Social Constructivist paradigms. Only one other study to date has examined paradigm adherence of a group (Marriage and Family Therapists) and how it can be of value to the mental health professionals. This study examined the relationship between paradigm adherence and different characteristics of mental health professionals in the state of Missouri. In this study, Licensed Psychologists, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, …


Political Judgement, Freedom Of Thought, And Standardized Testing: A Critical Enquiry, Matthew Edward Schuler Jun 2012

Political Judgement, Freedom Of Thought, And Standardized Testing: A Critical Enquiry, Matthew Edward Schuler

Dissertations

The practice of “standardized” testing has been embedded in United States federal education policy since at least the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. First and foremost, for a test to be “standardized” the knowledge tested must be assumed to be “true”—universally accepted as being outside the bounds of values. This enquiry recognizes that the primary purpose of American public education has been to prepare students for the fundamental political office of citizen. Citizens must ideally be able to make informed political judgements utilizing the full spectrum of thought—knowledge in its broadest sense including knowledge unbounded …


Exploring The Nature Of High School Student Engagement With Science And Technology As An Outcome Of Participation In Science Journalism, Jennifer M.G. Hope May 2012

Exploring The Nature Of High School Student Engagement With Science And Technology As An Outcome Of Participation In Science Journalism, Jennifer M.G. Hope

Dissertations

In a mixed-methods study of high school student participants in the National Science Foundation-funded Science Literacy through Science Journalism (SciJourn) project, the new Youth Engagement with Science & Technology (YEST) Survey and classroom case studies were used to determine program impact on participant engagement with science and technology as well as describe the experience of SciJourn students. Student engagement with science and technology is considered as a construct made up of three components: student action, interest, and identification. Analysis of quasi-experimental administration of the (YEST) Survey resulted in rejection of the hypotheses that SciJourn high school student participants would exhibit …


Assessing The Impact Participation In Science Journalism Activities Has On Scientific Literacy Among High School Students, Cathy Farrar May 2012

Assessing The Impact Participation In Science Journalism Activities Has On Scientific Literacy Among High School Students, Cathy Farrar

Dissertations

As part of the National Science Foundation Science Literacy through Science Journalism (SciJourn) initiative (http://www.scijourn.org; Polman, Saul, Newman, and Farrar, 2008) a quasi-experimental design was used to investigate what impact incorporating science journalism activities had on students’ scientific literacy. Over the course of a school year students participated in a variety of activities culminating in the production of science news articles for Scijourner (http://www.scijourner.org). Participating teachers and SciJourn team members collaboratively developed activities focused on five aspects of scientific literacy: contextualizing information, recognizing relevance, evaluating factual accuracy, use of multiple credible sources and information seeking processes. This study details the …


A Critical Enquiry Into The Relationship Of Literature In American Public Education And Michel Foucault's Governmentality, Lucille Ann Van Alstine May 2012

A Critical Enquiry Into The Relationship Of Literature In American Public Education And Michel Foucault's Governmentality, Lucille Ann Van Alstine

Dissertations

The purpose of this Critical Enquiry was to describe how literature taught in American public school can be viewed as an instrument of governmentality. The late popular Twentieth century philosopher/historian Michel Foucault viewed governmentality as a perspective of rule within a society, or more accurately, the pervasive thought attached to power of the given ruling structure of a particular historical time period. Foucault’s governmentality provided a framework in which to examine the relationship between citizens' voice as a collective "We, the People" or as "I, the individual." These balancing voices appear in literature taught in American education and parallel the …


A Study Of The Relationship Between Nonverbal Kindergarten Ability And Third-Grade Reading Achievement, Aaron John Wills May 2012

A Study Of The Relationship Between Nonverbal Kindergarten Ability And Third-Grade Reading Achievement, Aaron John Wills

Dissertations

Increased scrutiny of educational proficiency targets has intensified the urgency for educators to identify measurements that indicate students’ likelihood of eventual achievement in reading. This regression analysis explored the relationship between nonverbal ability in kindergarten as measured by the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) and eventual third-grade achievement in reading and writing as measured by the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP). Naglieri and Ronning (2000) found a range of correlational r values from .49 to .56 when comparing NNAT results to results from the Stanford Achievement Test 9 (SAT-9) in reading when tested concurrently at various grade levels. The present research …


The Integration Of Character Education And Its Impact On Teachers' Professional Practice, Katie L. Bahm May 2012

The Integration Of Character Education And Its Impact On Teachers' Professional Practice, Katie L. Bahm

Dissertations

Research on pre-service teacher training in character education is minimal at best, as is the case with research on best practices in pre-service education in general. What does exist suggests that there is a lack of pre-service training about specific character education strategies. There are few empirical studies investigating the effects of pre-service character education training as it applies to later practice in K-12 school settings. This study explored the perceptions of beginning teachers regarding their past preparation and current implementation of character education. Each participant graduated from a university in a Northwest state that currently implements character education in …


Evaluating The Pragmatic Analytical Reading Level Instruction Framework: A Mixed Methods Research And Development Case Study, Katherine Elizabeth Bradarich Apr 2012

Evaluating The Pragmatic Analytical Reading Level Instruction Framework: A Mixed Methods Research And Development Case Study, Katherine Elizabeth Bradarich

Dissertations

In light of the escalating literacy demands of the 21st Century workplace, and the reality the adolescent literacy rates remain stagnant despite considerable focus on them, there appears to be a need for translation of the role that reading comprehension plays in the growth of literacy of adolescent learners. A framework that recognizes the inherent complexities of reading at the secondary school level and provides a systematic and targeted means for flexible instruction to remediate the reading comprehension deficits of a diverse population of struggling adolescent readers was developed. The Pragmatic Analytical Reading Level Instruction (PARLI) framework integrates the essential …


The Relationship Between Secondary School Teacher Perceptions Of Grading Practices And Secondary School Teacher Perceptions Of Student Motivation, Matthew T. Bailey Apr 2012

The Relationship Between Secondary School Teacher Perceptions Of Grading Practices And Secondary School Teacher Perceptions Of Student Motivation, Matthew T. Bailey

Dissertations

Teacher grading practices and student motivation continue to be important topics in education and research. Although studies have documented teacher grading practices and strategies to increase student motivation, few studies have analyzed teacher perceptions of grading practices and teacher perceptions of student motivation and the relationship between these two perceptions. This quantitative study examined the relationship between secondary teacher perceptions of grading practices and secondary teacher perceptions of student motivation. By using data from two instruments, the Teachers’ Perceptions of Grading Practices (TPGP) questionnaire and the Perceptions of Student Motivation (PSM) questionnaire, this study examined the relationship between teacher perceptions …


The Impact Of Students With Special Education Needs In The General Education Setting On Missouri’S State Assessment, Chad D. Lent Apr 2012

The Impact Of Students With Special Education Needs In The General Education Setting On Missouri’S State Assessment, Chad D. Lent

Dissertations

Schools and educators have been increasingly educating students with disabilities in the general education setting; while at the same time the level of accountability for making a positive outcome on high stakes assessments for all students has increased. This study began with utilizing the data from 1250 elementary schools from all 524 districts in the state of Missouri over a three-year period (i.e. 2008, 2009, and 2010). This study examined the impact that students with disabilities participating in the general education setting had on the Missouri’s Assessment Program’s (MAP) Communication Art and Mathematics assessments for student with and without disabilities. …


Reflective Practices In Professional Learning Communities: A Case Study Of The Missouri Professional Learning Communities Project, Mary Ann Burns Feb 2012

Reflective Practices In Professional Learning Communities: A Case Study Of The Missouri Professional Learning Communities Project, Mary Ann Burns

Dissertations

ABSTRACT Dewey (1933) provided the foundation for reflective practice in education with the notion that learning is not in the doing, but rather it is in the thinking about the doing that creates learning. Evidence is growing about the importance of reflection for improving teaching and learning practices to increase student achievement (York-Barr, et al., 2006). The professional learning community (PLC) has become the new catchphrase as schools engage in systems-change efforts for school improvement. DuFour, Eaker, and DuFour (2005) call professional learning communities the “most powerful strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement” (p.7). If reflective practice is a means …


Self-Monitoring As A Means To Generalize Social Skills, Deborah Wildman Childs Feb 2012

Self-Monitoring As A Means To Generalize Social Skills, Deborah Wildman Childs

Dissertations

Social skills are important for success in school as well as in life. Social skills training (SST) has been effective in teaching students required skills within the context of the training site, but often these have not generalized to additional settings (DuPaul & Eckert, 1994). This study researches the effect of adding self-management to an existing training program to determine if it will increase generalization of learned behaviors. Elementary students in a mid-west school were taught social skills in a pull-out program, but those skills did not generalize for many of those students into the classroom or other settings. Five …