Education Commons^™

How International Graduate Students Whose First Language Is Not English Describe The Impact Of Speaking With An Accent In Their Learning, Guadalupe Bañuls

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Every year thousands of international students come to the United States to study. Many who pursue advanced degrees are adults whose first language is not English, and they most likely speak English with an accent. Since social interactions are fundamental for learning, speaking English with an accent can be a barrier in communicating with others and impact their learning. This study had two foci: How speaking with an accent impacts the learning of international graduate students whose first language is not English and the impact of speaking English with an accent in their professional and academic environments. The study was …

Teaching English Rhythm: The Importance Of Rhythm And Strategies To Effectively Incorporate Rhythm Practice Within Content Lessons, Angela L. Reinard Haasch

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was how can professional development (PD) materials be developed to educate adult education (AE) English as a second language (ESL) teachers about English rhythm and to provide effective strategies to incorporate rhythm throughout content lessons? The motivating factor for this capstone was an observation of teachers’ insecurities regarding pronunciation pedagogy of suprasegmental features, specifically rhythm, a lack of focus on rhythm in ESL classrooms, and a need for PD surrounding teaching pronunciation. The research defines English rhythm, the way it differs from the rhythm of other languages, and its affect on intelligibility. Furthermore, …

The Living Classroom: A Professional Learning Session, Albert P. Buckley Jr.

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

The American public school classroom has begun moving from the traditional furniture of education (hard plastic chairs attached to desks) to flexible mobile furniture as part of a holistic approach to creating a learning environment that enhances learning for its students. This project describes the process derived in the development and delivery of an asynchronous professional learning session aimed at helping teachers acclimate and engage new or adapted physical and psychological attributes to the learning environments in their care. The program is backed with research demonstrating why the progressive classroom improves the learning experience for both students and teachers. The …

What Makes A Veteran-Friendly College Or University Campus?, Donald W-R Allen

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The United States Armed Services has produced some of the finest men and women soldiers in history. After their service, some pursue institutions of higher learning to meet the needs of their continued excellence. Some colleges and universities have failed to meet the slightest requirements of the veteran student: understanding, compassion, respect and college credits for military training and experiential learning. The chapters inside this capstone confirms that veterans must be accepted as a very important part of the campus population. When veteran’s complete college and graduate, they have strategically and successfully completed another important undertaking. To look at a …

An Analysis Of The Connection Between Workforce Development And Higher Education Within State Policy And The Sharing Of Best Practices, Arthur C. Evans Iii

South Florida Education Research Conference

Workforce development policy is a major cornerstone for many governments. The success can be linked to educational programs that support the training of the workforce. Sharing of best practices among higher education institutions supporting workforce development can help newer institutions and support regional workforce development goals.

Exploring Career Development Curricula And Experience Of Secondary Transition Students With Intellectual Disabilities: Interviews With Students And Teachers, Anthony Oliver Dosen

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was: what kind of job-searching and vocational development skills are being taught to secondary transition students with intellectual disabilities in major American transition programs? The purpose was to determine possible reasons why the employment gap for students with intellectual disabilities remains high following graduation from secondary programs. This qualitative study synthesized past and current research in the fields of job development, customized employment, disability services, and transition education along with detailed, semistructured interviews with current transition students with intellectual disabilities and transition teachers. The author identifies three main themes that emerged from the …

The Intersection Of Collaboration, Critical Thinking And Technology: Implications For Adult Esl Learners Using An Inquiry Approach, Mary Elizabeth Zamacona

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the types and critical thinking skills used by adult ESL students as they learned technology skills through an inquiry approach. The results are based on the types of critical thinking skills that were utilized by adult students working collaboratively on an Excel computer project. Critical thinking was measured by coding audio recordings using the Transitions Integration Framework’s critical thinking skills category. Data were quantified by frequency of occurrence for each sub skill of critical thinking. Results show the most prominent critical thinking skills used by students in this study are problem-solving …

How Can Obstacles To Adult English Language Learners With Low Levels Of English Proficiency Participating In Distance Learning Be Reduced?, Anne Elizabeth Fern Ryan

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was: How can obstacles to adult ELLs with low levels of English language proficiency participating in distance learning be reduced? Focus groups were conducted with Vietnamese and Somali students to examine their experiences with distance learning. Students spoke of issues of access, difficulty of navigation, and literacy level of online learning content as major frustrations. Translation of computer instruction and increased opportunities to receive computer instruction were among the suggestions students offered for improving distance learning. The student suggestions would be costly for ABE programs to fully implement. Possible avenues for future study …

Increased Connection To Nature And Development Of Ecological Identity In The Illinois Master Naturalist Program, Laura Sjoquist

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine the ways in which the Illinois Master Naturalist program affected adult learners’ connection to local natural areas and the development of an ecological identity. Participants in the Illinois Master Naturalist Program were interviewed to determine their experience in the program. During the interview they were asked to describe their connections to nature and their ecological identity prior to and after participation in the program. While more research is needed, it was concluded from the data that the Master Naturalist program did enable adult learners to develop a greater connection to …

Can A Speaker Of Syllable-Timed L1 (Spanish) Recognize The Stress-Timed Pattern Of The English Language?, Masooma Naqvi

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This is an action-based case study focusing on the ability of a Spanish speaking adult female learner (Lucy) to recognize her incorrect sentence stress in English and recognize what the target stress pattern should be. Following a pre and post-test procedure to collect data over the course of four consecutive once-a-week sessions the participant of the study is interviewed and recorded on the first and the last session while the sessions in between are interventional. The results of the study revealed that adult learners of English are able to recognize and be aware of the English sentence stress pattern but …

An Analysis Of English Language Learning Needs For Latino Adults Associated With A Church Outreach Program, Ellen Elizabeth Keesling

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the English language learning needs of Latino adults in a rural suburb of a large metropolitan area in the Midwest United States. Participants in the research are primarily of Mexican heritage, ranging in age from 20 to 62. The target population for this study is Latino adults associated with a local church outreach program who are not currently attending ESL classes. Barriers to attending existing ESL classes are identified and hypothetical scenarios for community-based, family-oriented programs are investigated. Data were collected primarily from personal interviews with seven Latino adults who act as …

Factors Influencing The Persistence Of Ged Students, David Foster Wilson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this study was, What factors influence the persistence of GED students? The motivation for this project was the author’s involvement as a teacher in an Adult Education Program. Eighteen students were briefly surveyed and 3 students were interviewed at length to find out more about positive and negative factors that influenced their academic path. The results, particularly from the interviews, provided the key findings that students benefit from a strong team of support, a positive, determined attitude and mindset, and the motivation of working toward a better future.

Training Through Serious Games: The Relationship Between Travel Agent Engagement, Knowledge Of Cruise Products And Cruise Sales, Lizette Cruzie Pabon

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research is limited on the role game-based training has on the engagement of learners. The following study was conducted to further advance research on engagement and game-based training in businesses by studying the engagement of travel agents in the game.

Engagement is the manner in which a learner's cognitive and motor skills are motivated when participating in a game. Engaged learners will often push through challenging tasks and will concentrate on improving their skills due to their excitement about playing. The present study examined the engagement of travel agents as they played a serious game. The serious game, Adventures Game, …

Laws Pertaining To Harbormasters, Stephen Bedard

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

The Massachusetts Harbormaster Training Council (HTC) was looking to create training programs specifically for Massachusetts harbormasters. The HTC received a grant to create the training programs and began working with the Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) to coordinate the project. The UHI reached out to the Instructional Design program at UMASS Boston for assistance. The Instructional Design program contacted students looking to complete their Capstone projects to see if they were interested in creating training programs for the HTC as part of their Capstone project. Three students were selected to create the training programs as part of their Capstone and one …

The Perceived Impact Of A Short-Term Monolingual Karen Language Learning Experience On The Teaching Practices Of Low-Literacy Adult English Language Instructors, Loretta Dakin

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

A limited amount of research on low-educated low-literate adult English language learners exists. An even smaller body of literature addresses innovation and teacher change of the instructors of this demographic. Adult refugees need basic language competency to participate with dignity in a new culture. This study explores the impact of increasing teacher empathy for the monolingual language learning environment that most first-wave refugees encounter upon arrival in the United States and identifies the instructional innovations and modifications that result. Nine participants, all low-level adult ELL instructors from a number of community-based adult language schools, took part in a Karen language …

Instructors' Perceptions Of Connectivist Characteristics In Adult Undergraduate Courses, John Bannister

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The enrollment of college students in the United States who are classified as adult learners will continue to grow, bringing new challenges to degree programs. Multiple studies have provided insight into how best to teach these learners. However, to maximize learning, institutions must now consider strategies that merge adult learning principles with the integration of technology and students' personal and professional networks. Connectivism, based largely on the work of Siemens, and andragogy, based on Knowles, provided the conceptual framework that guided this basic qualitative interpretive study that examined how instructors experience and interpret the characteristics of connectivism (autonomy, openness, diversity, …

The Unemployed Adult In The Liminal Space Of A Job-Training Program: Transformations Of Learner Identities, Anthony Craig Adkisson

ETD Archive

This research addresses the impact job-readiness programs have on the identity of unemployed adults. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the transformational learning that happened for a group of seven unemployed adults seeking employment. The research considered: 1) what meaning do unemployed adults make out of their experience going through job-training programs; 2) what are the liminal aspects of job-training programs; 3) how do aspects of the job-training programs influence the development of their identity; 4) what are the ways the programs shapes their views toward learning; and 5) in what ways was this experience transformative? …

Conscientization & Third Space: A Case Study Of A Tunisian Activist, Habiba Boumlik, Joni Schwartz

Publications and Research

This article examines the role of a female cyber and social activist, Amira Yahyaoui, in the aftermaths of the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia through the lens of adult education. In this case study, the theoretical frameworks of conscientization and third space are utilized to describe Yahyaoui’s development of the watchdog political organization, al-bawsala, for the purpose of transformative learning and knowledge transmission in regard to political practices toward democracy in Tunisia. The focus will be on platforms used by this non-governmental organization (NGO), Al-Bawsala, to educate and raise political consciousness; these participatory platforms are: marsad (parliamentary observatory), debates or town …