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Georgia Southern Magazine, Georgia Southern University

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The Design Process And User Focused Digital Spaces, Elaine M. Keating

Masters

This thesis presents a qualitative inquiry into how the graphic design process is being reconfigured within the new digital media landscape. The literature review looks at the historical relationship between graphic design and technology from the invention of the printing press to the personal computer and reviews how this relationship is again affected by the emergence of the computer as a medium for communication. The products of digital design are no longer static and fixed but are dynamic and progressive. The digital media landscape is transforming not just the nature of design products but also the actual graphic design process. …

Increasing Parental In-Home Schoolwork Assistance For Elementary School Children, Pedro Suarez Jr.

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide parents with more knowledge and better resources in order to assist their children with schoolwork at home. At an elementary school, a lack of parental cooperation and support was impeding their children's achievement and behavior. Students who had low academic achievement usually had parents who were uneducated, non-English speakers, or who were too busy to attend school-related workshops. There were also difficulties in getting teachers acculturated to a parental involvement program.

The writer developed workshops and strategies aimed at helping parents educate their children as well as themselves. The workshops were also designed …

A Technology-Assisted Constructivist Instructional Model: Improving The Math Achievement Of Seventh-Grade, At-Risk Students, Emma L. Blankenship

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

During the fall semester of 2002, 30% of the students at Henderson Middle School (HMS) in Jackson, Georgia were identified as being at risk of school failure. This identification was made based on the fact that these 270 students had failed 2 or more subjects. Also, 82% of these students had failed math. HMS leaders and educators, despite years of HMS being reported as a low-performing school on the Georgia Public Report Card, had failed to give adequate attention to the development of instructional strategies that promoted academic success for at-risk students.

In April 2003, 20 6th-grade students were selected …

Using Title I Funds To Provide Supplemental Services To Improve Reading Achievement, Maybelline Pinkston-Truesdell

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

In 2000-01 and 2001-02, schools with populations of poor, Black, and Hispanic 4th-grade students indicated different levels of reading achievement as demonstrated by a 4% rank difference on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test in 2000-01 and an 11%-point difference in 2001-02 between the highest point and lowest demographically similar Title I schools. Miami Park Elementary is a Miami-Dade County Public School receiving Title I funds due to their large population of Black and Hispanic students eligible to receive free and reduced-price lunch. Fifty-eight percent of 4th-grade students at Miami Park Elementary School did not meet state standards in reading as …

Increasing Preschool Children’S Mathematical Skills Through Teacher Development, Susan Eliason

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to increase preschool children’s development of mathematical skills to build a foundation for future mathematics learning and success. Prior to implementation, observations in the setting demonstrated preschool children participation in a minimum of one or two mathematical activities daily. Eight of 16 preschool children scored below age level in mathematical skills of counting, patterning, sorting, comparing, measuring, and seriating on the Preschool Skills Assessment. Sixteen preschool children used mathematical processing skills of connection, representation, communication, reasoning, and problem solving 14 times during a 1-hour observation when participating in small group activities during free play as …

Book-Length Scholarly Essays As A Hybrid Genre In Science, Susheela Abraham Varghese, Sunita Anne Abraham

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Drawing on existing work on popularizations, this investigation of book-length scholarly essays by practicing scientists across three disciplines reveals a hybrid genre that is neither popularization nor research report. The study utilizes both textual analysis and personal commentary from the writer-researchers to achieve a three-way comparison between the popularization, research article, and the book-length scholarly essay that clarifies how these essays contribute to the authors’ academic agendas. Writing for both a general audience and a jury of their peers, these academics employ an argumentative generic structure. Such argumentation develops a rhetoric of rational inquiry, where understanding how answers to perplexing …

Enhancement Of English Language Learner Literacy In An Urban High School, Cassandra L. Barker-Carr

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was a study that used a curriculum unit that was developed by Thombs (1998). It was a study to investigate the use of e-mail and preservice teachers as tools to enhance the literacy skills of high school students enrolled in the English as a second language (ESL) classes. A curriculum unit was used to encourage mentor feedback facilitated by e-mail communication. The ESL students wrote on topics that were assigned by their teacher, submitted the writings to their mentor via e-mail, and then received feedback from the mentor in the same manner. Originally, this curriculum unit was …

Implementation Of Professional Development Activities Related To The Integration Of Computer Technology, Robert Judson Bolles

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This program was designed to have teachers utilize computer technology as an instrument to develop the computer skills necessary to use computers in the classroom as an educational instructional tool. The goal was to assess the current professional development program and have a program designed to implement and train educators to use updated computer software and hardware. This program would have teachers utilizing computer technology as an instrument to assist in the delivery of specific curriculum.

Measurement and assessment instruments were instituted to assess the effectiveness of these activities and what impact, if any, this professional development program had on …

The Development Of An Instructional Leadership Training Seminar For Elementary Assistant Principals, Lisa R. Buffaloe

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of this project was to supply first or second year elementary assistant principals with a school-based training seminar that would strengthen their instructional leadership skills and provide a network of professional support to beginning administrators. The product was a human resource development activity. The goal of the seminar, while providing leadership theory and practical strategies, was to advance the understanding of the connection between effective leadership and improved student learning.

A nonexperimental, descriptive research design that incorporated survey methodology to collect the data needed to identify common areas of concern and to develop the curriculum for a seminar …

Postsecondary Students’ Perceptions Of The Value Of Learning Communities In Distance Education, Lorraine Miller-Nara

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation examined and compared the perceptions of participants regarding learning communities in distance education. Specifically, it sought to determine how the development and implementation of distance education programs affected perceptions of the learning community among students in 3 different cultural groups: Micronesia, Russia, and the United States. The study sought to develop a deeper understanding of the elements and processes involved in creating virtual learning communities in distance education. It also sought to consider an even more basic question, namely, how relevant and important are learning communities to distance education?

This research study was survey based. Between May …

Development Of A Competency-Based Communication Curriculum With Plans For Evaluation And Implementation, Julie Morgan

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem was the curriculum in the Communication Program at Eastern University was not strategically integrated with core communication competencies and no program-wide assessments were available to determine if students in the Communication Program learned established core competencies. The purpose of this applied dissertation was to develop integrative learning objectives for each of the four concentrations and establish a process for evaluation of learning with plans for implementation.

There were four research questions for this project. First, in order to establish an integrated curriculum around the nine core competencies, What courses in each concentration should focus on which competency? Second, …

Un Programa Para Mejorar Los Servicios De Los Directores De Las Escuelas De Humanidades Y Negocios De La Universidad Católica Tecnológica Del Cibao, Hilda Pichardo

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Esta disertación aplicada se realizó para mejorar la efectividad de los servicios de los directores. El problema planteado fue la baja calidad de los servicios de los directores de humanidades y negocios, manifestada en la insatisfacción de los agentes del proceso académico: estudiantes, profesores, directores departamentales, empleadores y egresados.

Para alcanzar el mejoramiento de los servicios de los directores se diseñó un programa de capacitación que se desarrolló en tres fases: (a) un diagnóstico situacional, detectando causas y consecuencias del problema; (b) un proceso de promoción y conducción del cambio para transformar la educación desde su gestión, y (c) un …

Evaluation Of The Influence Of Prior Health Care Experience On Physician Assistant Student Academic Performance, Salvatore Barese

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Considerable variability exists in the use of prior health care experience (HCE) as an admission criterion by physician assistant (PA) educational programs. The problem was to justify the current amount and type of HCE required by the New York Institute of Technology PA Program.

The purpose of this project was to determine how PA programs use and define prior HCE and to determine whether the type and/or amount of HCE influence academic performance.

Research questions include how PA programs utilize and define HCE; whether the type and/or amount of HCE predicts academic performance in PA programs, performance on summative and …

A Program To Train Veteran Teachers As Mentors For Beginning Teachers, Sherritta Campbell

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem addressed in this applied dissertation was that the Orange County Induction Program did not provide districtwide training, nor was there a method to select and pair mentors with teachers. The purpose of this applied dissertation was to enhance the Orange County Induction Program by developing a training component that would prepare veteran teachers to be mentors for beginning teachers. This component contains criteria not only for training mentors, but also for selecting and pairing mentors with beginning teachers based upon their areas of need in the field of education. The development research methodology was used for this applied …

Improving African American Males’ Academic And Social Success Through Implementation Of An Alternative Classroom Setting, Kenneth E. Daniels Jr

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

In school year 2001, African American males at Swainsboro Elementary School in Swainsboro, Georgia, comprised 51% of total discipline referrals. Numbers were even higher in 2002 and 2003, those being 58% and 70%, respectively. Studies suggested that African American males are the most at-risk group in modern society because of lack of role models, lack of cultural identity, and lack of appropriate social skill development that would reduce social conflicts.

The intervention model contained in this applied dissertation addressed the areas of conflict resolution and social skills development, cultural awareness, and mentoring. Participating students were placed in an alternative setting …

Preparing Preservice Teachers To Understand, Adapt, And Apply The Reggio Emilia Philosophy, Nkechy Marie Ezeh

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to gain better understanding for the integration of the Reggio Emilia philosophy into the Early Childhood Education Endorsement program at a teacher preparation institution.

The methodology that was used included class discussion, observation, deconstruction of the Reggio Emilia principles, reflective practice, collaboration meetings, interviews, and field trips. The findings confirmed the findings in reviewed literature that the image and role of the preservice teachers should be that of an active apprentice not as an object of instruction.

Generalization of the findings to other teacher preparation programs must be done with caution because of the limitations …

Assistive Technology: Increasing Access To The Curriculum For Students With Disabilities, Brian T. Fay

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Students with motoric and cognitive disabilities are unable to use traditional technology tools to complete the assignments on a daily basis. Lack of formal training in the field of assistive technology (AT) places elementary school special education teachers at a disadvantage for facilitating curriculum via technology. This applied dissertation proposed to increase students with disabilities' utilization of AT as a means of integrating components of the curriculum and to increase the full scope of educational opportunities, which then decreases the educational inequalities between regular education and special education students.

The writer used an inclusive model of AT integration during implementation …

Replication Of The Advancement Via Individual Determination (Avid) Program At Dent Middle School, Juanita K. Henry

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to replicate critical components of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program with selected at-risk students at Dent Middle School in Columbia, SC. Students were identified by risk factors of poor academic achievement, poor attendance, and lack of parental involvement. The program was designed to restructure teaching methodologies to improve students' success in college preparatory curricula.

Strategies included the following: (a) targeting students identified as average (between 2.0 and 3.25 grade point average with some exceptions) with academic potential; (b) enrolling students in a rigorous course of study with an emphasis on writing, inquiry, and …

Development Of A Curriculum Evaluation Tool For The Crown College Online Program With Plans For Implementation, William J. Hyndman

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

At Crown College Online (CCO), courses have been evaluated for the past four years with student satisfaction surveys only. This provided very limited assessment of how the courses were meeting the institutions learning outcomes. This project developed the following products: (a) three rubrics for evaluating online courses, (b) an evaluative tool in the form of a guide, and (c) an implementation plan with timeline.

There were five research questions addressed in this study: (a) criteria for evaluating online courses, (b) criteria for evaluating course objectives, (c) criteria for evaluating teaching method online, (d) format and design of an online evaluation …

The Impact Of An Induction Program Within An Exceptional Educational Center To Assist Beginning Teachers, Donna A. Just

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation addressed the crisis of retaining beginning teachers at a public high school for exceptional students. The purpose of the project was to develop a program to support beginning teachers in their 1st year of teaching. A mentoring program within the school was developed based upon research and survey feedback. The program included (a) peer support, (b) administrative support, (c) positive role modeling, (d) professional development workshops, and (e) assistance in transitioning into a new career and setting.

To explore the critical needs of the beginning teachers at the school site, a survey was sent to all novice …

Using Professional Development To Reduce Rates Of Student Referral For Special Education Evaluation, Howard Lerner

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to reduce the rate of student referral for special education evaluation at a suburban elementary school in New Jersey. The rate of referral for special education evaluation at this elementary school was excessively high compared to all other elementary schools in the district. All the elementary schools in the district used a regular education intervention procedure, but the identified school required professional development in the use of the procedure.

This author provided professional development to all regular education teachers on (a) the usefulness of the regular education intervention committee (REIC), (b) strategies to use with …

Efficacy Of Administrator Support In Influencing Teacher Retention, Barbara Mcphail Armstrong

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation examined the teacher retention rate in Thomasville City Schools and its correlation to administrators influence. The school system had exceeded the state’s teacher turnover average over the 7 years that immediately preceded this applied dissertation. The turnover rate for Thomasville was the highest of all of the 3 school systems in Davidson County. In order that the school system could proactively respond to increased retention efforts, this study correlated the influence administrators had on this issue. Administrator support or nonsupport had been shown to have a direct effect in influencing teachers’ decisions regarding retention.

Through the use …

A Study Of The Correlation Between Self-Reported Fear/Anxiety And Mathematics Grades At The University Of Phoenix, Las Vegas Campus, Mohammed Miah

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The goal of this research is to persuade math instructors that there may be an inherent flaw in how math is taught in traditional settings, and there is a need to revise the delivery of math in the adult learning environment. This new approach should emphasize equally the content and the need for alleviating the fear and anxiety adult students experience in a math class. However, before such an application can be put in place, it is imperative that the presence of fear/anxiety factor in math class and its influence in overall performance of a student be established by empirical …

Improving High School Mathematics Instruction: Using Constructivist Pedagogy, Kimberly L. Neal

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to enable 11th and 12th grade students to perform at the state-mandated levels of proficiency in basic skills in mathematics on the state exit exam. Students who were repeating the test did not meet standards on the mathematics subtest after multiple attempts, did not meet the predetermined passing score on an in class achievement test in mathematics, and obtained classroom grades, in mathematics, below the 75% mark. In addition, based on teacher observation, high school students did not demonstrate sufficient motivation to master grade-level basic skills concepts in mathematics.

The writer developed a program using …

The Prairie Peace Project: A Program Designed To Reduce Violence And Aggression In Middle School Students, Tony Poole

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to address the problem of violent and aggressive behavior among students in a large, urban/suburban middle school. Despite reductions in all other types of behavioral offenses at the school over a 2-year span, behaviors characterized as violent and aggressive increased, resulting in increased out-of-school suspensions.

The intervention, called the Prairie Peace Project, was a multifaceted approach to reduce student aggression and violence. The first component of the intervention was the implementation of a school-wide antiviolence campaign. Through the use of posters, video announcements, and awareness activities, students were presented with resources to enable them to …

The Development Of A Community Of Practice For The Academic Senate At Contra Costa College With Plans For Evaluation, Saul P. Jones

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Currently the Academic Senate at Contra Costa College does not have a recognized formal mechanism to preserve its knowledge capital, or cultivate the growth of prospective and current Academic Senate members. The purpose of the project was to develop a community of practice for the Academic Senate at Contra Costa College along with plans for its evaluation. The community of practice was designed to support faculty in sharing and evolving their governance practices and would allow faculty to virtually visit and consult one another through the use of a link in the Academic Senate’s World Wide Web page. The community …

A Program To Reduce Incidents Of Violence On A High School Campus, Marvin J. Howard

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

There had been a continuing problem with violence on the campus of Bradwell Institute (BI). Efforts had been made to reduce the number of incidents, and, although improvements were realized, the situation was still not acceptable. Parent and community involvement were key components of the implementation. Peer court and conflict resolution programs were continued and enhanced, and a Watch D.O.G.S. (T. Moore, 1998) program was initiated.

There were 3 terminal objectives: (a) The number of incidents of BI students fighting on campus will decrease by at least 20% as measured by a comparison of reported incidents of fighting prior to …