Education Commons^™

Homeschooling During Covid-19: A Case Study, Rebecca Z. Johnson

All NMU Master's Theses

The purpose of this collective case study was to describe the lived experiences of homeschool families during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically how they managed their day to include teaching elementary school-aged children in the rural Midwestern United States. This qualitative case study allowed the researcher to analyze the phenomenon of homeschooling during a global pandemic, and the strategies necessary to balance home and schooling during unprecedented times. The data for this case study included a pre-interview questionnaire, an interview, and primary source documents from two homeschool families. The means by which the homeschool families organized their day to include the …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Working With Parents To Address High Schoolers’ Chronic Absenteeism, Mercy Modupe Olumoya

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 16% of the U.S. public-school population was missing 10% or more of school days. Distance learning during the pandemic may have worsened absenteeism. The research problem represents a gap in understanding teachers’ perceptions of their experiences working with parents to address delinquent students’ chronic absenteeism at the high school level before and during the pandemic. The purpose and research question of this basic qualitative inquiry explored teachers’ perceptions of their experiences working with parents to address delinquent students’ chronic absenteeism in low-income, urban high schools before and during the COVID-19 pandemic when participating in distance …

Preparing Teachers & Teacher Education Professionals For Dimensions Of Diversity: A Study Of Pedagogical Responses To Diversity In Distance Learning And Traditional Instruction, Rocky Blessey-Bragg

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study framed in Albert Bandura’s Self-Efficacy theory involved 6 teachers from Chaffey Joint Union high School District and 8 teacher education professionals from teacher education programs in southern and central California. It examined reported pedagogical strategies in responding to specific dimensions of classroom diversity: culture, readiness and economics. Participants took Bandura’s Self-Efficacy survey prior to the first of two semi-structured interviews. In the second of those interviews, each group had the opportunity to react to findings from the first round of interviews from their own group and the opposite, as to how their perceptions of diversity have evolved …

Our Stories, Our Voices: The Lived Experiences Of Black Families With Young Children During Covid-19, Devalin Jackson

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of Black families raising young children during shelter in place orders and distance learning due to Covid-19. The study was conducted virtually through Zoom and Google form due to county shelter in place orders. Participants were recruited from the school in which the researcher worked. Through the use of virtual interviews, the five participants highlighted themes of reconnections, isolations, empowerment, family values and conversations. The families shared experiences of resilience and hope and brought thoughts of how these experiences could be highlighted in instructional and curriculum designs; especially during …

How Can Social Emotional Learning Be Improved During Distance Learning?, Morgan Horn

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Social emotional learning (SEL) is an important aspect of school that does not get enough attention. Many teachers are currently focused on academics instead of how their students are handling the stress of COVID-19 and distance learning. The focus issue addressed in this capstone project is SEL in the online classroom during COVID-19. An argument is made that distance learning causes a higher rate of mental health problems in students in all grade levels. Considerations of the issue should include the perspectives of teachers, parents, and students. The three action options that emerged from an analysis of the data included: …

Institutionalizing Blended And Distance Learning In Language Teaching At A Research University, Martine Rheaume

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly exploring innovative strategies to adapt to the 21^st century changing institutional context and to respond to the students’ needs and expectations. Given that technology in all its forms is ubiquitous in Education, one of HEIs’ strategical responses is the implementation of blended learning (BL) and distance learning (DL) as new pedagogies in all faculties. This organizational improvement plan (OIP) examines how a language department, part of the Faculty of Arts in a large research-focused University, can integrate BL and DL in language teaching. As this change is a significant departure from the current …

The Effects Of Multiple Accommodations On Student Engagement And Work Completion In Fifth Grade Students With Reading Disabilities, Allison Ternes

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of several accommodations that may benefit fifth grade students who have been identified with a reading disability in the general education classroom in order to increase engagement and work completion during English Language Arts instruction. Data was collected through teacher surveys, teacher interviews, and on-task/off-task observations. Surveys were conducted prior to the study, mid-study, and post-study. Teacher interviews were conducted at the planning meeting biweekly and observations were completed prior to the study, mid-study, and post study. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the study was not able to be conducted …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Factors Influencing Students’ Academic Performance In Online Courses: A Case Study, Autumn Reyes-Sokolowsky

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The problem at the center of this study was the fact that full-time virtual students often showed less learning gains than their traditional counterparts. The purpose of the study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of internal and external factors influencing students’ academic achievement in online courses. The central research question was: what factors do teachers perceive as a significant impact on online students’ success? A qualitative method with a case study design was adopted. Data were collected through individual teacher interviews and a focus group discussion in southeastern region of the United States. The results showed five significant themes: student …

Student Outcomes In Online And Face-To-Face Classes At A Hispanic-Serving Institution (Hsi), Rebecca S. Cottrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As online course enrollments are increasing in higher education in the United States, it is increasingly important to understand student course outcomes in these classes, particularly at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI), where there has been limited previous research. This current study examines online course outcomes in the form of student course grades and student withdrawal rates as compared to outcomes in face-to-face courses. The setting for the study is Russell University, a public university in the Rocky Mountain west, and an HSI. Data used in this study came from a large, deidentified data set of all enrollments in any course offered …

Organizational Management Of Distance Learning: An Analysis Of Teacher Feedback Throughout Hampton Roads Public High Schools During The Covid-19 Pandemic Response, Cody P. Trudeau

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

Public schools throughout the United States experienced closures and transitions to online curriculum in the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many of the policies and strategies implemented to manage teaching faculty were hastily designed and employed out of necessity. This study sought to examine organizational management policies and strategies throughout public high schools in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia through teaching faculty perspectives. This cross-sectional study examined descriptive and correlational statistics of survey responses to determine and evaluate how schools managed communication, responsibilities and delegation, and training for distance learning in order to provide policy …

Parental Perceptions Of Mobile Device Learning For Students In Special Education, Persjha T. Conry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore parents’ perceptions of the use of mobile devices as tools for learning for their children in special education settings. Research literature on mobile-device use in special education indicates that little is known regarding parents’ perception of mlearning. While studies provided information on teachers’ perspectives of mlearning in their special education classrooms, parents’ perspectives on mlearning to support their children’s needs remained unexplored. The conceptual frameworks used included Rogers’s diffusion of innovation theory and Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s theory of parental involvement. Individual semistructured interviews of eight parents of elementary students in …

Charter School Principals Perceived Self-Efficacy Implementing The Every Student Succeeds Act, Christina Renee Hamilton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Charter school principals have existed in the U.S. public school system for more than 30 years, and the number has grown dramatically in Southern California over the past decade. Like other principals, charter school principals are responsible for implementing the provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA). Yet, charter school principals perceptions of self-efficacy are not well enough understood to determine their effective implementation of ESSA. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and describe the self-efficacy of charter school principals who implemented the multiple accountability measures of ESSA in Southern California. The theoretical framework …

Temporal Contiguity And Verbal Redundancy In Online Instruction: Examining Boundary Conditions For Multimedia Learning, Hal Hinderliter

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning has enjoyed a prominent role in guiding the development of online instruction, but recent research has proposed boundary conditions for some of its key principles. Moreno and Mayer advanced the possibility of a reverse redundancy effect when narration and fully redundant on-screen text are presented in a temporally contiguous manner. The current study investigated the interaction and main effects of temporal contiguity and verbal redundancy by randomly assigning university students to one of four narrated text-only online lectures. Existing knowledge of the topic of instruction, information literacy, was assessed using a 15-question selected-response instrument …

Investigating Student Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of A First-Year Experience Online Program On Student Retention, Jennifer P. Bowman-Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation is a mixed-methods study designed to collect student perspectives of an online First-Year Experience (FE) course and to determine the overall value of the FE course. The researcher sought to identify what is the value of the FE course to the students enrolled in this online course. In the study’s survey, students will be asked a series of questions designed to determine the overall value of the FE course. For this study, the online FE course survey addressed the following theme areas: Course Content, Overall Satisfaction, Transfer Perceptions, and the participants are the new incoming students (first-year …

Perspectives Of Elementary Teachers Implementing Blended Learning While Participating In Virtual Coaching, Jessica Kristin Anderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As the use of blended learning in classrooms has increased across the United States, it is important to provide differentiated professional development and support to educators. As a technology-enabled form of professional development, virtual coaching connects teachers with experts in the field. However, the usefulness of individualized virtual coaching as a differentiated professional development support for elementary teachers implementing blended learning is not well understood. Using Kolb’s experiential learning theory and Magana’s T3 framework, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore elementary teachers’ perspectives on the usefulness of individualized virtual coaching in supporting blended learning implementation and …

Next Evolution Of Workforce Experiential Learning For 21st Century Global Access Learners, Jasmine D. Darnell

Theses and Dissertations

The rapid pace of technological innovations has created opportunities, but also made it difficult for higher education institutions to keep up with 21st Century workplace readiness skills for students. By the time students graduate from college and enter the workforce, many are lacking the skills and capabilities needed to be proficient in their job functions. These skill and capability gaps are even wider for global access learners, or online learners. Due to new entrants possessing skill and capability gaps, leaders in workforce development, typically housed in learning and development, talent management, or other human resources arm, have taken ownership of …

Equivalence-Based Instruction To Teach Single-Subject Designs In Higher Education, Griffin Decuir Williams

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

With the increasing prevalence of online courses and instruction, advanced methods to teach technical concepts for students in higher education are of value. Equivalence-Based Instruction (EBI) is an effective, efficient, and empirically validated teaching methodology. This study developed a match-to-sample EBI protocol embedded in CANVAS to teach four common single-subject designs to graduate students. Results were compared between an equivalence group receiving a reduced-intensity EBI protocol and a group receiving a traditional video lecture to serve as the control. The ability of the participants to generalize the trained relations to novel stimuli was also evaluated. Results indicate that the EBI …

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 …

Strategies For Improving Student Performance In An Online Introductory Computer Course, Sharon C. Little

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The failure rate for students enrolled in the online sections of a gateway course, Introduction to Computers, was 15% higher than for students enrolled in the face-to-face sections at a rural community college in the southeastern United States. The computer course is required by all of the college's programs of study to obtain an associate degree. Failure to complete the gateway course increases attrition, time to graduate, and educational expenses. Guided by Bruner's constructivist theory, which maintains that students are active learners who construct their knowledge, the purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of students and …

Adult College Students' Perceptions About Learning Mathematics Via Developmental Mathematical Xmoocs, Pelagia Alesafis Kilgore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Debates over the promising change Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) might offer to traditional online learning now produce significant attention and discourse among the media and higher education. Ample articles discuss the potential benefits of MOOCs from the perspectives of faculty and administration. However, little is known about students’ perceptions of MOOCs. Given the lack of relevant literature and the reality that MOOCs are created to benefit students, it is important to elicit current college students’ perceptions of MOOCs since it is well documented learning mathematics online has its problems (Ashby, Sadera, & McNary, 2011; Frame, 2012; Ho et al., …

Student Persistence And Factors Which Affect Retention In Online Courses At A Small Rural College, Loni L. Nadeau

M.S.Ed. in Educational Leadership Research Projects

With declining enrollment and retention issues among Maine public universities it would be beneficial to try and determine what factors are contributing to online student retention and student persistence to ensure we are meeting the needs of online students which may help lead to better attrition rates, student success, and degree completion. This mixed-methods study sought to determine the various factors which may have contributed to student persistence and retention in online courses and programs at the University of Maine Fort Kent. The research correlated student experiences and perceptions with institutional efforts in order to address any gaps in services …

Determining The Extent To Which Information Literacy Online Learning Objects Follow Best Practices For Teaching And Assessing Critical Thinking, Goodsett Mandi

ETD Archive

Critical thinking is widely accepted as a primary goal of higher education. The skills and dispositions of critical thinking have much in common with those of information literacy, and instruction librarians could improve their information literacy instruction by integrating critical thinking. However, it is not currently clear to what extent instruction librarians encourage critical thinking in their teaching. Moreover, rather than credit-bearing courses, much of library instruction currently consists of either “one-shot” (single class period) sessions or online learning objects which students complete asynchronously. This study focuses on online learning objects, which are often created with great effort, have long-lasting …

Language Proficiency And Cultural Intelligence In Distance English-Language Learning, Jared Marcum

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study is to explore the viability of an international distance English-language program in the development of language and cultural proficiency. Students participated in tests at the beginning and at the end of the course to determine how well they developed both language and cultural proficiencies. The measures included (a) the computer-administered Oral Proficiency Interview (OPIc) from theAmerican Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), (b) ACTFL-aligned assessments of reading, listening, grammar, and vocabulary skills, and (c) the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS). In addition, course activities surveys provided additional information about student perceptions of course activities. …

Higher Education Distance Advising In The 21st Century: Distance Learning Students' And Advisors' Perceptions, Brooke Lambert Brown

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The intent of this study was to focus on distance learning students’ and advisors’ perceptions of distance advising at a large, public university. Specifically, this study addressed four questions: what were the perceived performance gaps between distance learning students and distance learning advisors practice, how distance learning students’ needs were being satisfied, what tools and technology resources were being incorporated, and how advising needs differed based on college. The Winston and Sandor Academic Advising Inventory (AAI) served as the foundation for this quantitative research. The survey was modified accordingly and sent to two populations: distance learning advisors and distance learning …

Learner-Directed Vs. Instructor-Provided Curriculum Among Undergraduate Students, Christopher D. Martinez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There has been little or no research on the use of a Learning Object in the field of religious studies. The purpose of this research study was to assess undergraduate student knowledge gain outcomes between instructor-provided and learner-directed methods, which is the independent variable, using asynchronous, online, narrated PowerPoint presentations compared to undergraduate student knowledge gain using an online learning-objects unit, in a college-level world religions survey course at St. Petersburg College. This study assessed undergraduate student knowledge gain outcomes between instructor-provided and learner-directed methods among 90 college undergraduate students and determined whether there was a significant difference in the …

The Formation Of A Distance Learning Institute: Transforming People, Process, And Product, Martha Eddings

Education Dissertations and Projects

The Distance Learning Institute (DLI) was formed in response to decreasing enrollment and increasing attrition rates ("White Paper: Research in Online Learning", n.d.), to provide another educational option for students, and to compete with other online educational institutions (“The Attack of the MOOCs,” July 2013). This consultancy project documents the initiation of a DLI from proposal to implementation, to offer complete online degrees and certificates. The DLI was planned in four phases with milestones and projected completion dates as follows:

Phase 1: Established the Oversight Committee, researched best practices, determined the need for the DLI, anticipated and actual completion date …

Identifying Professional Development Needs Of High School Teachers Tasked With Online Course Design, Debbie Jean Lugar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

To satisfy demand for online learning opportunities at the high school level, 3 school districts in the northeast United States established a consortium to share resources to develop and deliver online courses. High school teachers who volunteered to develop courses for the consortium attempted the task without previous training in online course design and facilitation. High school students enrolled in the courses often did not successfully complete them, which obstructed the mission of the consortium. The purpose of this qualitative single critical case study was to explore teachers' experiences with and perceptions of designing and developing online courses without accompanying …

The Impact Of Declining Student Persistence In Distance Learning On American College Completion Goals, Francine Adams

Theses and Dissertations

Academic institution leaders, education researchers, and policy makers have come together to restore America’s ranking among the top nations who are educating citizens to prepare for the technology jobs of the future. President Barack Obama tasked the nation to do so after alarming figures in student achievement were revealed from the 2009 PISA reports. The White House and Lumina Foundation called for a transformation, setting deadlines for 2020 and 2025, respectively, that 60% of Americans should attain degrees or credentials. This study centered on degree attainment by, assessing distance learning persistence for warning signs of impeding these goals. This study …

Evaluating The Quality Of Online Courses Within The Kentucky Community And Technical College System (Kctcs), Kevin R. Dunn

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

The purpose of this exploratory, multi-phased iterative study was to explore the extent to which Kentucky Community and Technical College (KCTCS) faculty utilize quality standards during the design and continuous improvement of their online courses. The study also explored how leadership supports quality online instruction. More specifically, this study sought (a) to determine to what degree KCTCS quality assurance rubrics aligned with national quality standards, (b) to what degree did faculty use quality standards to design, develop, and improve courses, (c) to what role did KCTCS leadership play in ensuring course quality, (d) to examine the quality of KCTCS online …

Multimedia Design, Learning Effectiveness, And Student Perceptions Of Instructor Credibility And Immediacy, Miguel Ramlatchan

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Online learning and the use of multimedia is a quickly growing element of higher education. This experimental research study examines five common audio and video presentation designs to inform evidence-based practices that can be applied by instructional designers as they develop content for online learners. Specifically, this experiment compares instructor-only, slides-only, dual-windows, video-switching, and superimposed-slides multimedia designs in terms of learning effectiveness, perceived instructor credibility, instructor immediacy, and cognitive load created by each design. This study included a diverse sample of adult learners who were randomly assigned to treatment groups. A total of 171 participants completed the study and responded …