Education Commons^™

Examining Three Approaches To Supporting English Learners By Leveraging Technology, Jillian Conry

Teaching and Learning Theses and Dissertations

This three-article dissertation examines three distinct approaches to supporting English learners (ELs) by leveraging technology. Framed by the third generation of cultural-historical activity theory (Engeström, 1987; 2001), this research illuminates ways different stakeholder groups within varying activity systems support ELs, by examining technology as 1) an instructional tool in the classroom, 2) a mechanism for family engagement, and 3) a means for preparing teachers to serve ELs. Types of technologies implemented in these studies include various online multimodal tools (e.g., VoiceThread, Zaption), learning management systems (e.g., EdModo, Canvas), social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter), and mixed-reality simulation (MRS; e.g., Mursion). …

No Habla Español: Are Monolingual Teachers Getting The Support They Need?, Natalie Correa

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

For this Capstone Project, the researchers investigated how monolingual teachers view the support and resources they received to teach English Language Learners (ELL) and what they thought could be done to improve their teaching effectiveness. An evidence based argument is offered that monolingual teachers were not being provided with effective support and resources. More specifically, three themes emerged from an analysis of the data obtained from interviews of monolingual teachers and administrators. Based on the emergent themes, an action was undertaken to help monolingual teachers better address the needs of ELLs. This is an important issue for monolingual teachers because …

Investigating The Use And Effectiveness Of The Istation Advanced Reading Program With Fourth-Grade At-Risk Struggling Readers, Andres Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of computer-based-instruction (CBI) and multimedia when used as an intervention with upper elementary students experiencing reading difficulties on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) Reading Assessments. The researcher employed a quantitative, causal-comparative research design for this study. A Texas supplemental reading program, the Istation Advanced Reading Program, was used as a Response to Intervention (RTI) for those at-risk students of failing their Reading STAAR Test in the fourth grade and to sustain an effective reading program district-wide.

Archived data was collected from three South Texas Title I …

The Teaching Of Writing: Methods, Resources, Plans, And Analysis, Katelyn Knochenmus

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

As a culminating project for an MA in English on the individualized track, this portfolio is woven together with the theme of composition instruction. Beginning with a wide scope, the first selection is a reflective overview of writing instruction methods. The second piece in the portfolio, an annotated bibliography, offers many resources for teachers and tutors to better reach reluctant writers in particular. A unit plan for creating dynamic sentence variety through the use of grammar as a tool is the third selection. Lastly, the portfolio concludes with a narrower analysis related to one particular aspect of teaching writing: the …

Philosophy And Actions For Authentic, Meaningful, And Lifelong Learning, Anthony Klever

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio explores several major areas of education related to English teaching. A major research essay, “Incomplete Instructions: Building the Future of Technical Writing in Ohio Education”, explores the current situation and prospective future of technical writing in the state of Ohio’s education system. Also, a reflective essay, “Reflective Narrative: My Journey as a Student and My Map for Teaching”, explores the many elements of teaching philosophy with particular attention to English teaching. Another research essay, “Meaningful Revision: Revise for a Day, Teach Revision for a Lifetime”, explores the function of revision and offers suggestions for increasing the meaningfulness …

Are You Listening? How Listening Skills Help Students Become Informed And Engaged Citizens In A Culturally Diverse World, Nicole Schwaben

Honors Projects

The ability to listen is vital for good communication to exist and flourish. Without properly developed listening skills, one may unintentionally create roadblocks when communicating with others. Good communication will allow for the spread of differing ideas and perspectives. The social studies classroom is a place in which students have the opportunity to develop skills to become good citizens. These skills include the ability to make reasoned and informed decisions and interact with a culturally diverse and interdependent world. In order to achieve these skills, students must engage in discussion with their peers. While there is a focus on the …

Developing Leaders In Schools: Unique Servant Leadership Youth Development Curriculum, Aarti B. Patel

M.A. in Leadership Studies: Capstone Project Papers

Nelson Mandela proclaimed, “The youth of today is the future of tomorrow.” It is the responsibility of the current leadership in place to educate the youth in order to prepare them to be successful leaders for the future. All individuals possess leadership capabilities. Most of the time these leadership characteristics that reside within a person remain dormant due to the fact that it was never cultivated as a child. It is imperative to awaken the leadership potential in our youth today in order to prepare them for their future that lays ahead. This paper explores the effectiveness of teaching leadership …

See And Be Seen: Young Adult Refugee Literature In The High School Curriculum, Patrice Splan

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are more than 25 million refugees in the world today, over half of whom are under the age of 18. As these young people adapt to new schools and communities, it is essential that all students have opportunities to see themselves represented in literature and to develop understandings of the experiences of others. This project provides an analysis of young adult refugee literature with a unit plan for application of texts in a ninth-grade Virginia English classroom, stressing the importance of education as a tool for awareness, reflection, and empathy.

Casa Youth Resource Guide, Jessica Ramos

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

C.A.S.A, Court Appointed Special Advocates, of Monterey County is a local nonprofit whose mission is “to train and support community volunteers who advocate for abused or neglected children placed in foster care, upholding the children's rights while pursuing a safe and permanent home” (CASA of Monterey County, n.d.). Foster youth in Monterey County do not have enough online resources that provide information on education, employment, and housing. Through this project, CASA added resources to their website to help foster youth succeed, and overtime the success of how useful the resources were for foster youth and CASA team members will be …

The Effects Of Student Learning When Subtitles Are Added To Videos, George T. Taylor

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This project investigated whether adding subtitles to educational videos increases learning among middle school students. A convenience sample (N=387) of Technology and Engineering middle school students were separated into two groups during the third term of both the 2018 and 2019 school years, where one group of students viewed videos with subtitles and the other group viewed the identical videos without subtitles. After viewing the videos, students immediately took a multiple-choice test. The test scores were used to analyze the variance between the two different groups. The results reveal that students who viewed videos with subtitles had slightly …

Arkansas' Coding For All - Is It Really Reaching All Students?, Kaitlin Mckenzie

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Arkansas Computer Science Initiative required every high school to offer at least one computer science course by the 2015-16 academic year. Schools that did not have a qualified teacher were given access to online courses. It is important to point out that students do not need a computer science course to graduate, but credit in a computer science course could replace a 3rd science credit requirement or a 4th math credit requirement (ADE / ARCareerED Computer Science Fact Sheet). Some initial success has already been demonstrated. In 2014- 15 there were sixty computer science classes offered in all of …

Teachers' Attitudes And Perceptions On Bring Your Own Device Programs In The Secondary Classroom, Michelle Marie Cavazos

Theses and Dissertations

Cavazos, Michelle M., Teachers' Attitudes and Perceptions on Bring Your Own Device Programs in the Secondary Classroom. Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), March 2019, 105 pp., 3 tables, 4 figures. The purpose of this research is to investigate teacher attitudes and perceptions of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) on learning in the secondary classroom. The study was completed as a qualitative narrative inquiry. The study took place in a high school that has had BYOD policies in place since the beginning of the establishment of the campus. The manuscript brings forward the themes and reflections that represent teacher attitudes and perceptions …

Teachers Of Emergent Bilinguals: Professional Growth In The Age Of Compliance, Kelly Cox

Theses and Dissertations

There are differing views of what constitutes teacher learning in the field of education. The case studies presented herein provide a glimpse into the professional learning lives of two elementary school teachers of emergent bilingual students in order to gain a greater understanding of how professional learning links to instructional practices. Set in a suburban public school setting in the southwest, the study incorporated the use of narrative inquiry with data consisting of interviews, observations, reflections logs, and artifacts. Data were analyzed through the lenses of the adult learning theory of andragogy and critical constructivism. The findings of this study …

A Case Study Of Hispanic Stem Teacher Preparation, Pamela L. Groves

Theses and Dissertations

There is a shortage of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teachers in the US (Aragon, 2016; National Science Board, 2003). Hispanics are underrepresented in STEM teaching (Aragon, 2016; Texas Education Agency, 2017; US Census Bureau, 2016b; US Department of Education, n.d.). In order to improve the state of STEM teaching in the US we must tap into this underrepresented group. This exploratory case study examined the experiences of Hispanic students pursing STEM teacher preparation and how the UTeachRGV program impacts student persistence and retention.

UTeachRGV is a STEM teacher preparation program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley …

The Role Of Technology In Bilingual Education: Developing A Culture Of Excellence, Belinda Gomez

Theses and Dissertations

According to the PEW Research Center (2014), Texas' Hispanic population comprises 39% of its overall population, twice the U. S. Hispanic population. Texas Education Agency (TEA) predicts a 14% increase in the next seven years, with a surge of about 40% in its English Language Learners (ELLs) population. Already, it reports Texas experienced a 20% student enrollment growth in the last ten years within the predominately Mexican-Americans in South Texas border. With a perpetual ELL student population increase, bilingual education programs need to consider emerging best practices. This qualitative case study explored the role of technology in bilingual education, focusing …

Digital Literacies To Develop Biliteracy: A Case Study Of Latino Students Exploring Multimodal Writing In English And Spanish, Laura Berenice Ramos Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

Schools in the United States are witnessing a rich ethnic and linguistic diversity in their student corpus. Languages spoken by these children vary from state to state; however, Spanish is the second language most spoken after English (Office of English Language Acquisition, 2015). As a nation, there is a tremendous potential for these students to become biliterate or academically proficient in Spanish and English. Furthermore, with the advent of the 21st century, the educational setting is experiencing an increased interest in the integration of technology in education and students are prompted to become digitally literate.

The aim of this exploratory …

Climate Change Education And Environmental Education: Perceptions And Knowledge Among Environmental Educators In The Southeastern United States, Lauren C. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is a global environmental problem and issue. Mitigation and adaptation have been suggested for use in dealing with the impacts, both current and in the future. Climate change education as a mitigation and adaptation effort is one that could have great impact. This quantitative survey study examined the climate change and climate change education perception and knowledge of Southeastern Environmental Education Association members. This study segmented participants into one of six unique climate change groups: Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Doubtful, Dismissive, and Disengaged based on the Six Americas Survey developed by Maibach, Lesierowitz, Roser-Renouf, and Mertz. CC knowledge was …

Music And Its Application In The Classroom, Christian Mcknight

Honors Projects

The purpose of this action research project is to determine if background music can be used to improve student test scores using the Mozart Effect. The participants were twenty-eight juniors and seniors from two Algebra II classes at Sylvania Southview High School. Each student in the study was given a control quiz, taken with no background music, followed by the experimental quiz, taken with classical music, specifically Mozart’s “Sonata for Two Pianos in D, K. 448”, playing in the background. The mean average of the students’ first quiz was 2.7% higher than the mean average of the second quiz taken …

Perspectives On Malaga Island: From Scorn To Shame To Sympathy, Darcie Drew

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Malaga Island off the Maine coast was a home to a small interracial fishing community from 1860 to 1912, at which point the State of Maine evicted the residents. Several islanders were subsequently at Pineland School; the rest were left to rebuild their lives elsewhere. Local and national perspectives of the state’s action and those of the islanders themselves have changed substantially from the time of settlement to today. I researched these perspectives in order to create a week-long unit for a 7th grade Social Studies class here in Portland. My investigation included various primary sources: photographs of the original …

Memories Of The Teacher: A Reflection Of Enduring Ideals, Katherine Cooke

CGU Theses & Dissertations

In order to educate my students in my first year of teaching, I embarked upon a research project that would allow me to get to know their strengths and needs in addition to identifying my own possible biases and pre-conceived educational ideas. My research spreads from my own life to the lives of three focus students from various populations: one English learner, one student who receives special education services, and one student who has had significant life experiences that might contribute to his academic work. I interviewed all three students and their families to develop an action plan to help …

Saudi Arabian Students In Postgraduate Dental Programs: Investigating Factors Associated With Burnout, Asiri Amal

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Burnout related to emotional and physical study or work demands affects an individual’s performance and well being. This study focused on Saudi Arabian dental residents studying in the United States and the United Kingdom who are faced with many challenges in pursuit of a higher education degree. A survey including demographic and MBI questions was distributed to assess this population’s level of burnout. The Maslach Burnout inventory (MBI) was has been widely used in the literature to assess three components of burnout: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DEP), and (diminished) personal accomplishment (PA). Potential predictors of burnout level, tested for statistical …

Preschool Teachers In Shanghai, China: Pre-Service Piano Skill Development, Perception Of Adequacy, And Current Instructional Usage, Chenyan Dai

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the influence of preschool teachers’ perceptions of the adequacy of their undergraduate piano skills training on the frequency of their use of piano skills with their students in Shanghai, China. In addition, the study explores the possible influence of these adequacy perceptions regarding their piano skills training on their usage of various piano skills in the classroom. The researcher-designed questionnaire covered twelve specific functional piano skills including improvisation, playing piano repertoire, accompaniment, sight reading, solo singing with self-accompaniment, composition, score reading, techniques, chord progressions, harmonization, transposition and modulation. They also reported on their perceived use and training …

The Effects Of The Flipped Classroom Model On Students' Learning In A College English Class In Shanghai, China, Xiaoying Wei

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

For many decades, college English teaching in China has been teacher-centered, mainly focusing on the enhancement of students’ four basic English language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, with little attention paid to the cultivation of students’ higher order thinking skills (Tang, 2016; Wang, Xu, & Zhou, 2016). The teacher-centered teaching approach has led to the problem that after having learned English for many years, students cannot speak English fluently (Dai, 2001). There has been a call for promoting the student-centered teaching model in China (NACFLT, 2000). One relatively new approach to support student-centered active learning is flipped instruction …

An Examination Of The Relationship Among The Intentions, Features, Affordances, And Outcomes Of Saturday Academy For Math Professional Development For Mathematics Teachers, Brian Buckhalter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using a design framework to connect the features of SA4M to the affordances reported, participants of SA4M deepened their content knowledge on both conceptual and skill specific levels, and expressed intentions to incorporate many of the tasks from SA4M into their practices. There are implications for those tasked with creating and evaluating professional development for teachers.

Teaching Science Through Active Learning: Sports, Alexis Ropchock

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Students have a variety of different learning styles and cognitive abilities, so when teaching abstract concepts in areas like physical science it is often hard to engage and develop all of the students in a class. This project focuses on middle school students and more specifically how they learn physical science. The case study and research included examines the effectiveness of teaching science through sports as a best teaching practice. The study involves a group of 8th grade learners engaging in a physics lesson using gymnastics to explain forces and motion, the results from their assessments, and the impact the …

Transformative Technology For English Language Learners, Lashonda K. Gardenhire

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Across the United States, communities are becoming more linguistically and culturally diverse. Throughout previous times of change, schools have been the bedrock of transforming society and it’s workers. However, if education in the United States is ever going to level the playing field between the affluent and the poor, white students and minority students, native-born and foreign-born, it will not be enough for English Language Learners to simply learn to read and write in English. Educators must reflect on how to adapt their teaching practices for a plethora of student needs. Subsequently, the focus of this paper will specifically be …

Epistemic Trust In Online Higher Education : A Mixed Method Phenomenological Research Study, Lisa F. Rapple

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The purpose of this study was to explore the online instructor’s role in building epistemic trusting relationships with adult learners in their online classrooms. A mixed-method phenomenology research (MMPR) approach was used to discover if certain instructor actions influenced an epistemic trust relationship to develop between the instructor and the adult learner. This study examined the instructor’s classroom management actions, communication immediacy actions, and regulatory actions, as well as the level of epistemic trust in 48 fully online courses, focusing on 4 exemplar cases for cross-case analysis. It was determined that the instructor’s classroom management actions and communication immediacy actions …

The Challenges For A Closed-To-The-Public Animal Sanctuary: Prioritizing Animal Welfare While Engaging In Educational Community Outreach, Lisa Tweed

All Master's Theses

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is a small primate sanctuary in Cle Elum, Washington, and is presently home to seven chimpanzees who were retired from biomedical research. I used this sanctuary as a case study to find out how a closed-to-the-public sanctuary can engage in educational outreach without compromising the welfare of the residents. I employed a combination of semi-structured interviews of sanctuary personnel, ethnographic participant-observation as a volunteer caregiver, and an online survey offered to the local community to help me understand the goals and limitations of sanctuaries. I also designed and conducted two educational programs for local area schools as …

Using Stories To Teach, Julianna Cajka

Honors Projects

By nature, human beings are drawn to stories. Even from a young age, a good story can capture our attention, engage our emotions, and build a sense of community. The contextualizing function of stories is an essential tool for making sense of information and events, and we tend to remember stories better than information communicated in other ways. These are all reasons why stories can and should have a place in classroom teaching. My project contains a portfolio of lesson plans written to be used in middle or high school language arts classrooms. These lesson plans (and other instructional materials) …