Education Commons^™

Tree-Based Methods: A Tool For Modeling Nonlinear Complex Relationships And Generating New Insights From Data, Ya Mo, Brian Habing, Nell Sedransk

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Our paper introduces tree-based methods, specifically classification and regression trees (CRT), to study student achievement. CRT allows data analysis to be driven by the data’s internal structure. Thus, CRT can model complex nonlinear relationships and supplement traditional hypothesis-testing approaches to provide a fuller picture of the topic being studied. Using Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten 2011 data as a case study, our research investigated predictors from students’ demographic backgrounds to ascertain their relationships to students’ academic performance and achievement gains in reading and math. In our study, CRT displays complex patterns between predictors and outcomes; more specifically, the patterns illuminated by …

Efficacy Of Audio-Visual Aided Instruction For Improving Students’ Interest And Achievement In Stem Subjects: Implications For Library Practice, William Onu, Anthony Uchechukwu Uzoigwe, Fakolade Benjamin Ayodele, Oluwatoyin Comfort Oluwatosin, Deborah Dele

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Considering that science and technology is key to comprehending and providing solution to problems plaguing humanity, STEM education is vital to a great future. With this being so, students are encouraged to develop skills and competencies needed to become educators, innovators, researchers, and leaders in different STEM domains, who can solve the most pressing problems facing humanity, now and in the future. However, there seem to be shortage of interest from students to pursue STEM careers. In a bid contribute to raising the level of interest in STEM subjects, this study, conducted in Nsukka education zone of Enugu state, sought …

The Relationship Among Learning Styles, Achievement, And Retention In Bible College Freshmen: A Correlational Study, Frances Ann Stetler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This predictive correlational study used a multiple regression to examine whether learning style and achievement, or grade point average (GPA), can predict retention for first-year, traditional Bible college freshmen. Four small Bible colleges were the sites for the research: one in Florida, two in Ohio (Northern Ohio and Southwestern Ohio), and one in Pennsylvania. The first predictor variable, learning style, was generally defined as the preferred method for a student to process and learn information. The second predictor variable, achievement, was generally defined as the end-of-semester GPA. The criterion variable, retention, was generally defined as a participant’s attendance in the …

Perceived Teaching Style And Academic Growth In An International School Setting, Jamie Elizabeth Martin

Dissertations

The presence of international schools has grown significantly around the world to accommodate a growing need for academic instruction that differs from that provided in local schools and to meet the rapid demands of globalization. As demands for international schools increase, demands for student performance are also increasing.

This quantitative correlational study seeks to determine if correlations exist between teaching style and student academic growth in mathematics within an international school setting. The study also determines if a dominant teaching style exists and if correlations between teacher grade level and teaching style can be made among international teachers who teach …

The Relationship Between Grade Point Average And Understanding Of Homework's Purpose And Management In Economically Disadvantaged High School Students, Diane Bush

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a key measure of academic achievement, grade point average (GPA), could accurately be predicted from a linear combination of understanding homework’s purpose as measured by the Homework Purpose Scale (HPS) and by the student’s approach to homework management and homework behaviors as measured by the Homework Management Scale (HMS). This quantitative study is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey design comprised of two previously established valid and reliable scales: the Homework Purpose Scale and the Homework Management Scale. The study’s design is correlational using a sample (N = 300) of pre-existing high school …

Engagement’S Mediation Of The Relationship Between Personalized Learning And Achievement, John-Patrick Grant Clark

Dissertations

The present study investigates the effect of engagement as a mediating variable on the relationship between personalized learning and achievement. Personalized learning involves instruction and learning that is individualized to the student by means of several components. These components include goal-oriented mastery learning, flexible pacing, ongoing formative assessment feedback, and the incorporation of personalized information. The literature suggests that each of these components, both individually and as a whole, have a positive correlation with achievement. Engagement may mediate this relationship given that it involves the students’ willingness to involve themselves in the learning process through the use of certain behavioral, …

How The Use Of Subjectivist Instructional Strategies In Teaching Multiple Sections Of An Eighth Grade Algebra Class In Guyana Relates To Algebra Achievement And Attitude Changes Toward Mathematics, Jennifer Hoyte

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Guyana, South America, the Ministry of Education seeks to provide universal, inclusive education that prepares its citizens to take their productive places in society and to creatively solve complex, real-world problems. However, with frequent national assessments that are used to place students in high school, college or into jobs, teachers resort to using familiar strategies such as lecture, recitation and test drilling. Despite their efforts, over 56% of students are failing the Grade 6 assessments, 43% failing 10th grade Mathematics and over 60% failing college algebra courses. Such performance has been linked to students’ lower academic self-concept and their …

An Investigation Of The Link Between Nonverbal Aptitude And Academic Achievement, John E. Althoff

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When a private school works to serve a diverse student population and provide excellence in education, academic aptitude is important to evaluate to better predict whether a student will be provided an education that is appropriately leveled.

Comparing the previous grades of a diverse applicant pool may prove problematic because of the differing scaling and grading methods utilized in differing educational systems. A nonverbal aptitude test may be utilized to fill this purpose by not only gauging a student’s aptitude, but also by minimizing bias associated with cultural or linguistic differences, as well as differences that may present themselves because …

Working On The Work Framework For Engagement: Impacting Students' Perceived Learning, Attitudes Toward School, And Achievement, Michael Forehand

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A quasi-experimental, pre-test post-test nonequivalent control group study was utilized to determine the difference in students' perceived learning, attitudes toward school, and achievement when participating in classes utilizing engagement design qualities as compared to students in classes not utilizing engagement design qualities. To inform the relationship between student engagement, perceived learning, attitudes toward school, and achievement, Csikszentmihalyi's Theory of Flow was utilized as a theoretical framework along with the implementation of Schelchty's Working on the Work (WOW) Framework with 178 third grade students in a Metro-Atlanta school system. A perceived learning questionnaire, the Elementary Form of the Battle Student Attitude …

Learning Styles, Subject Matter, And Effectiveness In Undergraduate Distance Education, Darren Wu

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Are potential relationships among students' learning styles and effectiveness in online education moderated by subject matter for undergraduate students at a private higher education institution? This causal relationship correlational study evaluated the effects of subject matter as a moderating variable between students learning styles and effectiveness of distance education (DE). Students in online English courses and online math courses at a private university located in the southeastern United States completed the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) instrument and an end of course satisfaction survey. Tests for homogeneity determined that the two comparison groups (English and math) were comparable since only …

Mathematics Achievement With Digital Game-Based Learning In High School Algebra 1 Classes, Terri Ferguson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the impact of digital game-based learning (DGBL) on mathematics achievement in a rural high school setting in North Carolina. A causal comparative research design was used in this study to collect data to determine the effectiveness of DGBL in high school Algebra 1 classes. Data were collected from the North Carolina End-of-Course (EOC) Test for high school Algebra 1. The data collection was broken down by comparison groups based on academic achievement as measured by the North Carolina EOC Test for Algebra 1. The comparison groups were student participants who received digital game-based instruction and tradition instruction …

The Effects Of A Technology-Driven Science Application On Postsecondary Chemistry Student Achievement And Self-Efficacy, Darrell Byrum

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to establish if distinction exists in both student achievement and self-efficacy through the application of technology-based instructional approach in the laboratory environment of undergraduate chemistry courses. The achievement of 52 college students in the southeastern region of the United States was measured through one posttest assessment. Following this assessment, students were examined through a self-efficacy scale to determine preexisting thoughts of working in an undergraduate chemistry laboratory environment, as well as peer interaction. Accordingly, three separate college chemistry I courses were used to generate data via a nonequivalent control group design. From the three …

Effects Of Sex, Third Grade Reading Achievement And Motivation As Predictors Of Fourth Grade Reading Achievement Of Hispanic Students: A Path Analysis, Vivian M. Del Rio

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the topic of motivation for intermediate students combining both an objective criterion measure (i.e., standardized test scores) and the self-report of students on self-concept and value of reading. The purpose of this study was to examine how third grade reading achievement correlated with the motivation of fourth grade boys and girls, and, in turn, how motivation related to fourth grade reading achievement.

The participants were fourth grade students (n=207) attending two public, elementary schools in Miami-Dade County who were of primarily Hispanic origin or descent. Data were collected using the Reading Survey portion of the …

Linguafolio Goal Setting Intervention And Academic Achievement: Increasing Student Capacity For Self-Regulated Learning, Oxana D. Clarke

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

In the last few decades there has been a shift from thinking less about teaching and more about learning. Such a paradigm shift from teacher-centered to student-centered instruction requires students to think about their own learning and to monitor their own learning development and language achievement. Researchers have identified goal setting and self-regulated learning as crucial factors that affect academic achievement. Goal setting improves student performance and enhances achievement by allocating attention, activating effort, increasing persistence and motivation which in turn leads to the development of self-regulation skills. With this belief, LinguaFolio was integrated into foreign language classrooms to support …

The Effects Of Synchronous Class Sessions On Students' Academic Achievement And Levels Of Satisfaction In An Online Introduction To Computers Course, Andrea Leshea

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quasi-experimental static-group comparison study was to test the theory of transactional distance that relates the inclusion of synchronous class sessions into an online introductory computer course to students' levels of satisfaction and academic achievement at a post-secondary technical college. This study specifically looked at the effects of adding live, synchronous class sessions into an online learning environment using collaboration software such as Blackboard Collaborate and the impact that this form of live interaction had on students' overall levels of satisfaction and academic achievement with the course. A quasi-experiment using the post-test only, static-group comparison design was …

Comparison Of The Effects Block And Traditional Schedules Have On The Number Of Students Who Are Proficient On The Biology End-Of-Course Test In Forty Public High Schools In The State Of North Carolina, Tonia Bonner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the difference between the number of overall students, African-American students, and students with disabilities on a semester 4 x 4 block schedule who were proficient on the North Carolina Biology End-of-Course Test and the number of the same group of students on a traditional 45-50 minute yearlong schedule who were proficient on the NC Biology End-of-Course Test in the state of North Carolina during the 2009-2010 school year. A causal-comparative design was used and three null hypotheses were tested using chi-square analysis. Archival data was used. The results showed that there was a significant association between the …

Recognizing Culture In Experiential Education: An Analysis And Framework For Practitioners, Valerie J. Kurka

Master's Capstone Projects

Experiential education is an intentional educational process that relies on experiential learning theory. This paper categorizes common features of experiential education and analyzes them with a cultural framework. Common features of experiential education include individual development, student-centered teaching, individual challenge and learning, challenge-by-choice, “emotional safety”, and reflection/processing activities. The features of experiential education that I have analyzed have basic cultural assumptions of high individuality, low power distance, low uncertainty avoidance, high achievement, emphasis on internal control, and possible interaction with ascriptive dispositions and masculine characteristics. These assumptions may have implications for practitioners practicing cross-culturally. In an increasingly global world and …

No Child Left Behind Act: The Impact On The Performance Levels Of Gifted Students Relative To Those Of Non-Gifted Students, Rochelle Lenea Hopson-Lamar

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this causal comparative study was to determine the impact of the implementation of NCLB on the performance levels of gifted students relative to those of non-gifted students. The study involved the 2001, 2002, 2008, and 2009 Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) results of 1,978 middle grades students from a school in rural Northwest Georgia. The analysis included comparing the Mann-Whitney statistics, two-sample independent z-test statistics, and the percentage of improvement in performance levels of the gifted and non-gifted students, as measured by the CRCT in reading, language arts, and mathematics. The findings revealed that, since the implementation …

Rigorous Curriculum And Sat, Feifei Li, Thanos Patelis, Robert Lissitz

NERA Conference Proceedings 2008

The main purposes of this study are to investigate the relation between course-taking pattern and the SAT score, and examine the invariance of this relation across subgroups. In addition, we are also going to verify the accuracy of self-reported information from the SAT Questionnaire by examining the actual high school transcripts, and build the link between SAT and the achievement by correlating SAT scores with state assessment scores. If the SAT score is a function of high school course-taking behaviors regardless of students' gender, socioeconomic status (SES) and ethnicity, every student should be provided with equal opportunity for rigorous curriculum.