Education Commons^™

Centering The Voices Of South Carolina's Early Care And Education Teachers: A Multi-Case Study Examining How They Select And Are Informed By Professional Development, Lenna Young

All Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to the existing literature focused on quality early care and education (ECE). Specifically, this study examines two main research questions: (1) How do teachers in South Carolina licensed, privately-funded ECE programs select professional development opportunities and (2) How does participating in professional development inform their practices? These questions are particularly significant in light of the minimal requirements for teachers to enter the ECE field in South Carolina. Due to the low entry requirements for ECE teachers, professional development can play a key role in transforming minimally qualified individuals into teachers who care …

Online Reading Comprehension Among Seventh Grade Students With High Incidence Disabilities In Inclusive Settings: A Mixed Methods Study, Katherine Robbins

All Dissertations

Because research exploring how students with disabilities read and comprehend on the Internet is scarce, a mixed methods study was implemented to determine if Internet Reciprocal Teaching (IRT) is an effective intervention for improving online reading comprehension among seventh grade students with high-incidence disabilities in inclusive settings. Differences between students with disabilities and their non-disabled peers were also explored.
The intervention included a twenty week (40 lessons) instructional program delivered in three phases in seventh grade English/Language Arts classes from three middle schools in eastern region of the United States. Pre and post intervention data was collected on the Online …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2010, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge.

The senior design competition helps to focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects …

Why Would They Try? Motivation And Motivating In Low-Stakes Information Skills Testing, Jeanne M. Brown, Carrie A. Gaxiola

Library Faculty Research

In 2008 the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) University Libraries piloted the Educational Testing Service’s standardised test of information, communication, and technology (ICT) skills (iSkills) in spring and autumn 2008. In the course of administering the test we explored motivational strategies, a critical component in low-stakes, low-personal-consequences testing. Motivational strategies included providing feedback on test performance, highlighting the value of the test for the individual student, and appealing to the student’s willingness to improve the overall performance of the institution. We addressed ways to motivate students in order to enhance their level of participation in and performance …

Hispanic Males And Declining Enrollment In Higher Education, Julie A. Hecimovich

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Hispanic males, 18 to 35-years, have declining enrollment in institutions of higher learning, falling behind their female counterparts and males in most large ethnic groups in the United States. Why are so many young, Hispanic males not enrolling in higher education? To learn why, surveys were given to Hispanic males, parents, and grandparents to ascertain their educational opinions of and needs for higher education. As viewed through the Hispanic culture and lenses of symbolic interactionism, the third-person effect, and the two-step flow of communication theories; findings were 1). marketing efforts to attract young, Hispanic males to higher education must address …

The Spinnaker [Vol. 33 No. 48], University Of North Florida

Spinnaker

Student newspaper for the UNF community.

Griggs Ownership Transferred To Andrews, Keri Suarez

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

Research To Practice: Vocational Rehabilitation Services Received By Youth With Autism: Are They Associated With An Employment Outcome?, Jaime Lugas, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Frank A. Smith

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

While youth with autism represent a small percentage of all vocational rehabilitation (VR) closures, the number who closed out of VR more than tripled between 2003 and 2008 (see Institute for Community Inclusion Data Note 26). As increasing numbers of youth with autism are accessing VR services, it is important to understand how they are using these services and the relationship of these services to outcomes and costs.

Factors Contributing To Student Athlete Selection Of Nebraska Wesleyan University, Benjamin M. Santo

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain insight into which factors of recruitment were important to a student-athletes decision regarding their choice of college. It is vital for recruiters to recognize factors that potential student-athletes consider important in the recruiting process, because a successful recruiter is one who can build a strong relationship with the student-athlete. The researcher selected Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) football student-athletes to conduct the study for the research.

Seniors, juniors, and sophomores were selected to participate in the study. Participants completed a 12 question survey instrument that was designed to assess important recruiting …

The Impact Of Whole-Faculty Study Groups On Student Achievement And Teacher Practices In Grades K–3 Of A Nebraska School District: A Mixed Method Case Study, Cynthia Wendell

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of Whole Faculty Study Groups on student achievement and teacher practices in grades K-3 of a Nebraska school district. Whole-Faculty Study Groups (WFSG) are a type of professional learning community (PLC).

Using a mixed method approach, both K-3 student scores on Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) and responses from surveys and interviews of K-3 teachers, principals, and district administrators were analyzed. Using the McNemar test of dependent proportions, DIBELS scores from kindergarten and first grade were compared with established benchmarks from the fall (or winter) to spring …

Faculty Creativity In Distance Learning: A Phenomenological Study To Understand How The Online Learning Environment Impacts Faculty Creativity, Annaleah Demetra Morrow

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

What is the experience of expressing creativity for creative faculty teaching in the online environment? The literature regarding online learning covers topics relating to faculty and student satisfaction with distance learning, and faculty frustrations with the increased time required of online classes versus on-ground classes. Although the impact to creativity could be inferred in some cases, there is a void in studies focused specifically on understanding the experience of creative faculty expressing their creativity in the online environment. This study is intended to gain a deeper understanding of how teaching in the online environment affects the expression of faculty creativity …

Using An Audience Response System (Ars) A.K.A. “Clicker” To Do Attention Research, Roger A. Kendrick

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

This study makes an effort to examine whether a student’s attention or engagement is increased by possession of an Audience Response System (ARS, or clicker). This experiment tested a difference in performance. This study makes an effort to examine whether a student’s attention or engagement is increased by possession of an Audience Response System (ARS, or clicker). This experiment tested a difference in performance between students who possessed an ARS and those who did not. The experiment was conducted at a small state college in the Midwest where small class size is typical. Approximately half the students in each tested …

Motivation For Vocabulary Learning Of College Students, Qizhen Deng

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

The purpose of this study is to construct and validate an instrument to measure motivation for vocabulary learning, opening the door to more studies on motivation for vocabulary learning in reading and listening. In the new 34-item questionnaire: Motivation for Vocabulary Learning Questionnaire (MVLQ), eleven subscales were examined within two motivational constructs, namely, self-efficacy and attitude. Participants in this study were 121traditional undergraduate students from a Midwestern research university. Students responded to two self-report questionnaires: the Motivation for Vocabulary Learning Questionnaire (MVLQ), and the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) (Wigfield & Guthrie,1997). The results suggested that MVLQ had good reliability …

Effects Of Toyota Family Literacy Program On Reading Achievement Of Kindergarten, First, Second, And Third Grade Students By Gender And Grade Level, Regina Renae Stewman

College of Education Dissertations

For the last 15 years, federal legislation has required that public schools involve parents in their child‘s education. Yet, there has been no solid definition for parent involvement (also known as family literacy) and limited research on family literacy. This mixed study examined the influence of Toyota Family Literacy, which focuses on Hispanic immigrant families, on the literacy achievement of students in kindergarten through third grade, as well as parental efficacy in helping their child succeed in school, in three Northwest Arkansas Schools. The study examined student literacy achievement by gender and grade level using the Developmental Reading Assessment 2 …

Effects Of After-School Programs On Math And Literacy For Fourth And Sixth Grade Students, June Elliott

College of Education Dissertations

The general purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if participating in after-school programs affected students’ math and literacy achievement in four elementary schools and two middle schools located in a school district in central Arkansas. The study investigated this phenomenon as it related to gender at two different grade levels. The independent variables were participation in after-school programs (participated versus no participation) and gender (male versus female). The dependent variables were math and literacy achievement measured by the state’s Augmented Benchmark Examinations. A review of the literature identified the various aspects after-school programs including the need for such …

Backyard Composting In Utah, Kitt Farrell-Poe, Rich Koenig

All Current Publications

This publication explains the benefits of composting and how to successfully start a compost in your own backyard.

Drinking Water Fact Sheet: Lead, Nancy Mesner, Barbara Daniels

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides information about lead in water. It includes sections about what lead is, where it comes from, health concerns from lead exposure, drinking water standards for lead, how to know if it is in a water supply, what can be done to reduce lead in drinking water.

Drinking Water Fact Sheet: Drinking Water Treatment Systems, Nancy Mesner, Barbara Daniels

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides information about drinking water treatment systems. This fact sheet discusses different types of water treatment systems available to homeowners. It includes a table with water contaminants or problems, possible causes of the problem, and solutions.

Drinking Water Fact Sheet: Arsenic, Nancy Mesner, Barbara Daniels

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides information about arsenic in drinking water. It includes sections about what arsenic is, where it comes from, health concerns from exposure, drinking water standards, how to know if there is arsenic in a water supply and how to reduce arsenic in drinking water.

Drinking Water Fact Sheet: Nitrate, Nancy Mesner, Barbara Daniels

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides information about nitrates, including sections about what nitrates are, where they come from, health concerns from exposure, drinking water standard for nitrates, how to know if there is nitrate in a water supply, and what can be done to reduce nitrate in drinking water.

Drinking Water Fact Sheet: Coliform Bacteria, Nancy Mesner, Barbara Daniels

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides information about coliform bacteria. Including sections about what coliform bacteria is, how it enters drinking water, health concerns from exposure, drinking water standards, and how to treat drinking water that contains coliforms.

Managing Sodic Soils In Utah, D.W. James

All Current Publications

This publication discusses how to manage soil with excess sodium while it's becoming more prevalent in Utah.

Diagnostic Testing For Nitrogen Soil Fertility, D.W. James

All Current Publications

This publication defines the different types of diagnostic testing for nitrogen soil fertility.

Urea: Low Cost Fertilizer, D.W. James

All Current Publications

This fact sheet briefly describes urea transformations and suggests how urea-N may be conserved with proper management in the field.

Calibrating And Operating Manure Spreaders, Process Improvement For Animal Feeding Operations, John Harrison, Rich Koenig, Kerry Goodrich

All Current Publications

This guide outlines simplified methods to calibrate manure spreaders based on determining the load and area covered by the load.

4-H Try Coordinator's Manual, Donna Carter, Katrina Pearce

All Current Publications

This manual is for the TRY volunteer program's coordinator.

4-H Try Member's Manual, Donna Carter, Karina Pearce

All Current Publications

This manual is for TRY members.

Teachers’ Knowledge About The Nature Of Mathematics: A Survey Of Secondary School Teachers In Karachi, Pakistan, Munira Amirali, Anjum Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This study presents the findings from a study which explored patterns in teachers’ knowledge about the nature of mathematics. A survey questionnaire was developed and distributed to 200 secondary school mathematics teachers teaching in public and private schools in Karachi, Pakistan. Exploratory factor analysis was performed which showed patterns in teachers’ view about the nature of mathematics. The analysis illustrates that teachers hold contradicting views about the nature of mathematics i.e. mathematics, both as discovered as well as invented body of knowledge. Moreover, teachers irrespective of their professional qualification, considered mathematical knowledge as ‘truth’, where mathematical rules can never be …

Developing An Online Horseless Horse Learning Lesson: An Action Research Study, Jessica M. Bauman

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In today’s society it is becoming ever so important to find creative and influential outlets to keep young people occupied in positive ways. High quality youth programs are shown to make a positive difference in the lives of many young people; therefore, it is important to continue the use of established youth programs as well as develop new programs. Equine science programs have proven to be a popular and beneficial outlet for many youth due to the ability to learn a variety of life skills, improve character, and increase positive youth development in those youth who participate.

Traditional equine programs …

A Case Study Of The Mathematical Learning Of Two Teachers Acquiring Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching, David R. Hartman

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study offers an analysis of the learning of practicing teachers as they acquire a deeper knowledge of mathematics. While some professional developers have shifted part of their focus to helping practicing teachers acquire a deeper knowledge of mathematics (e.g., Stein & Silver, 1996), the results from studies often describe what translates from the professional development experience into classroom practice and measureable gains in student achievement (e.g., Desimone et al., 2002). Studies showing improvements in pedagogy and student learning are important. However, studying what teachers are learning and how they learn is important in developing understanding of the content and …