Education Commons^™

Expanding The Horizons Of Educational Pair Programming: A Methodological Review Of Pair Programming In Computer Science Education Research, Keith B. Rimington

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Educators and researchers continue to explore the benefits, real or imagined, of implementing pair programming as part of the computer science pedagogy. Current reviews of computer science educational research practices do not focus on educational pair programming. This thesis presents a review of the research methods used in recent educational pair programming research. The primary purpose of this review is to inform the ongoing dialogue about and to provide evidence-based recommendations for improving educational pair programming research.

Replicating the design of a previous computer science education methodological review, this study inspected a sample of 108 articles from a population of …

Kindergarten Teachers' Developmentally Appropriate Beliefs And Practices And Their Perceptions Of Children's Kindergarten Readiness: Comparing The Beginning And The End Of The School Year, Rachelle Ernest Wright

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined 180 matched pretest/posttest surveys of kindergarten teachers' perceptions of the transition children experienced upon kindergarten entry. Investigations of changes in the percentages of children perceived as not being ready for kindergarten and percentages of children who were rated as having had a very successful, moderately successful, or difficult transition from the pretest to the posttest were conducted. Additionally, changes in teachers' developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices from the beginning of the school year (pretest) to the end of the school year (posttest) were explored. Further analyses were conducted to find differences and associations between teacher and classroom …

The Effects Of A Self-Evaluation Package On The Presentation, Praise, And Error Correction Skills Of Special Education Teachers, Patsy Ann Milligan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous research has shown that various forms of self-evaluation improve teachers' instructional skills. Common among all studies reviewed is the importance of explicit pedagogy linked to improved student outcomes and clear instruction on how to self-assess. Both of these appear critical to sustained change in teachers' behaviors. In this study new teachers were provided initial didactic instruction to improve their presentation skills, praise rate, and error corrections. In addition, the effects of self-evaluation of targeted skills were assessed with one teacher. All three teachers mastered the targeted skills. Two teachers mastered the skills immediately following didactic instruction and practice in …

The Effects Of Pedagogical Agents On Mathematics Anxiety And Mathematics Learning, Quan Wei

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the mathematics anxiety treatment messages in a computer-based environment on ninth-grade students' mathematics anxiety and mathematics learning. The study also examined whether the impact of the treatment messages would be differentiated by learner's gender and by learner's prior mathematics anxiety levels (High vs. Medium vs. Low). Participants were 161 ninth-grade students, who took a required introductory algebra class in a public high school neighboring Utah State University. The learning environment was integrated with a pedagogical agent (animated human-like character) as a tutor. This study employed a pretest and posttest …

Unraveling Conflicting Interpretations: A Reexamination Of The 1916 Report On Social Studies, C. Gregg Jorgensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examines the 1916 Report on Social Studies in order to determine how it has been interpreted and regarded over time. The underlying question involved is "Which interpretation, or interpretations, most embodies the intent, goals, and purpose of the 1916 Committee"? Key members of the 1916 committee have been identified for extended research and analysis. One additional individual frequently quoted throughout the Report, John Dewey, has been included in this research on the 1916 committee. The design, format, and content of the 1916 Report on Social Studies was closely examined. This study dissected the three individual reports by time, …

Parents As Partners In Kindergarten And Second Grade Literacy Instruction: A Qualitative Inquiry Into Student-Authored Traveling Books, Dorothy C. Little

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to study a sociocognitive “student/parent/peer authoring community” called Traveling Books (TBks) in kindergarten and second grade in a public elementary school setting. TBks are teacher-made vehicles for involving parents in peer-based literacy environments. The study was based on Epstein's theory that increasing overlap of students' spheres of influence, home, school, and community, creates a greater likelihood that children will learn what the parents want them to learn. The aim was to locate essential elements that triggered learning processes to occur and to discover research-based fundamentals still missing from TBks.

This qualitative inquiry incorporated the …

The Effect Of Explicit Timing On Math Performance Using Interspersal Assignments With Students With Mild/Moderate Disabilities, Fangjuan Hou

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Explicit timing and interspersal assignments have been validated as effective methods to facilitate students' math practice. However, no researchers have explored the combinative effect of these two methods. In Study 1, we extended the literature by comparing the effect of explicit timing with interspersal assignments, and interspersal assignments without timing. Generally, participants' rate of digits correct on easy and hard addition problems was higher during the explicit timing condition than during the untimed condition. However, the participants' rate of digits correct decreased after initial implementation of the explicit timing condition.

Motivation plays a crucial role in maintaining performance levels and …

Static Versus Dynamic Stretching Effect On Agility Performance, Patrick Troumbley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to compare effects of static and dynamic stretching on explosive agility movements, and to examine the effect of the interaction of dynamic and static stretching prior to explosive agility movements. Fourteen men and 10 women performed the different warm-up protocols, including no warm-up (NWU), static stretching (SS), dynamic stretching (DS), and dynamic stretching with static stretching (DS+SS). The T-Drill was used to assess agility. The results indicated no difference between the NWU and SS conditions (effect size = 0.40, p = 0.06), as well as no significant difference between the NWU and DS+SS conditions …

Student Self-Assessment And Student Ratings Of Teacher Rapport In Secondary Student Course Ratings, John Wilford Roe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study involved administering two rating forms (student self-rating on commitment and student rating of teacher rapport) to approximately 1,400 secondary students taught by 12 different teachers at two different high school Latter-day Saint (LDS) released time seminaries along the Wasatch Front in Utah. Seminaries and Institutes of Religion (S&I) function within the Church Educational System (CES) of the LDS Church, providing religious education for secondary students between the ages of 14-18. The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between student, teacher, and course characteristics on student ratings of teacher rapport and to explore a possible relationship between …

Factors Affecting Reading Outcomes Across Time In Bureau Of Indian Education Reading First Schools, Heather J. Chapman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Regardless of age, background, or socioeconomic status, children must learn to read in order to be successful in school and in their future careers. Reading is an essential skill necessary to be successful in all other academic content areas. Despite the importance of this skill, American Indian children consistently score below the national average on tests of reading ability and reading comprehension. During recent years, many schools in the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) system requested funding through the Reading First initiative. Schools used the funding and support provided by the BIE Reading First grant to attempt system-wide change at …

The Impact Of The Physical Environment On The Social Integration Of Individuals With Disabilities In Community, Keith M. Christensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Social integration in community is especially important for individuals with disabilities well-being. Although individuals with disabilities reside within the community's physical environment, they are often marginalized in the social environment. This may be the result of individuals with disabilities residing in physical environments that negatively affect opportunities for integration in the social environment. However, there has been little investigation to understand the impact of the physical environment on the social integration of individuals with disabilities in community.

The purpose of this investigation was to (a) examine the current body of evidence concerning the impact of a community's physical environment on …

Examination Of Behavioral Momentum With Staff As Contextual Variables In Applied Settings With Children With Autism, Mark P. Groskreutz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Behavioral momentum theory proposes that the persistence of behavior when exposed to disruptors provides an appropriate measure of the strength of behavior. Basic research has consistently demonstrated that behaviors that occurred in a context with higher overall rates of reinforcement (rich contexts) were more persistent than other behaviors that have occurred in a context with relatively lower rates of reinforcement (lean contexts). More surprisingly, behavioral momentum theory goes on to assert that this greater persistence in richer contexts is found even when rate of responding is lower in the rich context, and when the greater richness is due to noncontingent …