Education Commons^™

Understanding College Preparedness Of First-Semester College Students, Kimberly Marie Florence

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The college preparedness of first-year, first-semester, undergraduate students was researched and analyzed in this study. The research entailed a purposeful selection of 10 first-year, first-semester, undergraduate student participants that transitioned into a four-year public university, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), from a Nevada public high school. Participants who graduated from a Nevada public high school were chosen because Nevada exhibits low-performing K-12 public education trends. Using qualitative methods (i.e., a phenomenological approach), students were interviewed using semi-structured and open-ended interview questions. The interviews were used to ascertain student participants’ perceptions of their academic lived experiences transitioning from high school …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Motivational Support In Middle School Classrooms: A Multiple Case Study, Cherie Marlene Gibson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Student motivation is central to educational outcomes such as achievement, engagement, well-being, and educational attainment. Current trends in education show that students’ overall level and quality of motivation decline throughout the years of schooling, particularly in middle school. Framed by Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the purpose of this multiple case study is to understand how teachers support the fulfillment of student’s basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness which is required for active engagement, positive school functioning, and self-determined forms of motivation. Teachers’ sense of efficacy and conceptualizations of their role in supporting their students’ motivational needs were also examined. …

Examining The Affordances Of Dual Cognitive Processing To Explain The Development Of High School Students’ Nature Of Science Views, Luke Jackson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This mixed method study was aimed at examining the influence of dual processing (Type 1 and Type 2 thinking) on the development of high school students’ nature of science (NOS) views. Type 1 thinking is intuitive, experiential, and heuristic. Type 2 thinking is rational, analytical, and explicit. Three research questions were asked: (1) Do the experiential process (Type 1) and the logical process (Type 2) influence the development of students’ NOS views? (2) If there is an influence on students’ NOS views, then what is the nature of relationship between the experiential process (Type 1) and the development of NOS …

The Nature And Extent Of Instructors’ Use Of Learning Analytics In Higher Education To Inform Teaching And Learning, Janet L. King

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The utilization of learning analytics to support teaching and learning has emerged as a newer phenomenon combining instructor-oriented action research, the mining of educational data, and the analyses of statistics and patterns. Learning analytics have documented, quantified and graphically displayed students’ interactions, engagement, and performance to gain a more complex understanding of teaching and learning. Researchers and scholars have hailed learning analytics as one of the future game-changers in higher education. This study addressed important questions. How have instructors at institutions of higher learning explored learning analytics to reflect upon their teaching practice—specifically, curriculum, pedagogy, student learning and outcomes? What …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Video Modeling Other And Peer-Implemented Pivotal Response Training To Video Modeling Other On Positive Social Interactions Of Young Children With Developmental Disabilities, Maryssa Kucskar

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Young children with developmental disabilities (DD) frequently have delays in social play skills. Students with DD may require social skills instruction in order to be successful in playing cooperatively with others. These opportunities to practice social play skills learned from specialized interventions must be available throughout the school day. Providing opportunities for positive social interactions, engagement, and play within a classroom setting allows children to make friendships, engage in higher levels of play, participate with peers in multiple social contexts, and lead to overall school success.

The purpose of this study was to answer two research questions. The first question …

Success In Online Credit Recovery: Factors Influencing Student Academic Performance, David Nourse

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Recent estimates show nearly 90% of school districts nationwide offer some form of online credit recovery. Additionally, credit recovery services have become one of the fastest growing areas of educational software. Despite the widespread adoption of these programs, there is a lack of scholarly research on the effectiveness, rigor, and suitability of online credit recovery. Given the popularity of online credit recovery and the mixed results that these programs have received, more study is imperative.

Currently there is a dearth of research surrounding the suitability of online credit recovery for students. Much of the research conducted on virtual schooling indicates …

Effects Of Explicit-Reflective Instruction On Preservice And Novice Teachers’ Epistemic And Conceptual Change Mediated By Reasoning, Danny Murphy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Teachers’ beliefs shape their daily instruction and the materials presented to students. The personal views of educators are especially relevant when socioscientific issues are involved. Preservice and novice teachers’ mastery of the nature of science (NOS) and personal beliefs in and out of the classroom influence their worldviews and classroom practices. Although research has been conducted regarding conceptual change and epistemic change, it is not understood how conceptual change and epistemic change affect instructional practice. The purpose of the mixed methods explanatory sequential study was to determine how students in a science methods classroom think and reason with explicit and …

Cultural Influences Upon Soviet-Era Programmatic Piano Music For Children, Maria Pisarenko

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Russian Revolution and the ensuing Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) spawned an era of Soviet music education that resulted in generations of gifted musicians. Soviet-era piano composers contributed to the emergence and the development of a unique style of piano training, a Soviet piano school, represented by great pianists and music educators known all over the world. Recent research on Soviet-era piano music focuses on non-programmatic piano compositions. The research conducted in this work appears to be the first to produce a comparative overview of major programmatic piano compositions for children written during the Soviet era.

In Cultural …

An Analysis Of Stress And Self-Efficacy Experienced By General And Special Educators, Joanne Lyn Ringer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Public education and teachers are under considerable scrutiny (Gibboney, 2008). With

the inception of local, state, and national demands being placed on education, teachers are faced

with many challenges (Eppley, 2015). Educational accountability measures have grown out of

the political pressures impacting educational policies (Gibboney, 2008). There is much debate

regarding whom teachers are accountable to and what they are accountable for (Ornstein, 1986;

McDermott, 2011). This scrutiny increases a teacher’s level of perceived stress.

Stress and perceptions of stress differ from person to person, making it conditional and

highly personal (Fimian, 2001; Jary, 2006). Although stress has been an …

De-Colonizing Language Needs: A Critical Ethnographic Study Of Former And Current Teachers’ Language Dispositions And How Taking A Multicultural Education Course Mediates Those Dispositions, Ravijot Singh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this critical ethnographic research was to examine how taking a Multicultural Education course mediated teachers’ language dispositions. Particularly, this study examined how language and culture have a profound connection that is largely unrecognized in the American education system, and how lack of respect for the home language of students by their teachers leads to negative attitudes towards the children and impedes students’ academic progress.

This study used a theoretical and conceptual framework that incorporate intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991) as its research paradigm to understand the interaction and overlapping roles of language and culture in society, and how neoliberal …

Comparing The Differences In Access To Professional Development For General Education And Special Education Teachers And The Subsequent Impact On Instructional Practice, Lori L. Slater

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The demands on schools, teachers, and students continue to increase as greater accountability measures are put into place at all levels. For teachers to meet these increased demands, it is important that they be provided opportunities to improve and enhance their content knowledge and pedagogy. One way to ensure the provision of these opportunities for teachers is through professional development. There is significant evidence that professional development can improve instructional practice and student outcomes (Drago-Severson, 1994; Garet et al., 2001; Guskey, 2000; Sparks & Loucks-Horsley, 1989; Wei et al., 2010; Zhang et al., 2015). However, there continues to be a …

So It’S Not Like The Movies? An Analysis Of The Links Between Popular Culture, Motivation And Expectations In First-Year College Students, Kelle Snow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The rising concern regarding the graduation rates of university students in the United States has led to research being conducted in order to establish possible relationships between environmental factors and the high attrition rates for first-generation college students pursuing a Bachelor’s degree at a four-year university. One factor to be examined is the portrayal of higher education in popular culture and the impact this has on students’ perceptions, and therefore motivation and expectations, when entering into a four-year program at a university. This study seeks to empirically identify if any such connection exists between the portrayal of higher education in …

Maintaining Nurses' Currency In Informatics, Jennifer Alaine Strawn

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Technology has changed how registered nurses (RNs) provide care at the bedside. As more technologies are utilized to improve quality of care, safety of care, maximize efficiencies, and decrease costs of care, one must question how well the information technologies (IT) are fully integrated and utilized by the front-line bedside nurse in his or her practice. Despite the pervasiveness of IT in healthcare, there is a paucity of literature on how Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) assure the ongoing education and training for nurses to maintain IT competencies in the practice environment.

From this author’s lived experience as a CNO, it …

Succession Planning For Nursing Leaders In A College Of Nursing, Cheryl Ann Tucker

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Institute of Medicine (2011) challenged nursing to ensure the nursing workforce includes a sufficient number of academic nurse leaders, nurse educators, and doctorally prepared nurses for the future healthcare needs of the people of the United States. National data reveals a fragile supply of academic nurse educators and leaders. This tenuous resource is shaped by multifaceted factors including: (1) an aging nursing workforce; (2) impending faculty retirements; (3) lack of qualified faculty; and (4) wage disparity between the academic and clinical settings. As these factors collide, it is imperative that academic nursing plan for the future by retaining, developing, …

Aquaponics: Redefining Education For Our Youth, Joshua Peal

Senior Theses

In America, we are seeing a lack of effectiveness with our K-12 schools. This costs the school districts and taxpayers money with very little return guaranteeing an ongoing investment into adulthood. Students finishing high school have very little if any applied learning and technical skills, and still need to accomplish at least four years of college or a trade school to be able to compete, even for a job not requiring a degree. Of those high school graduates, half and growing do not feel that they are prepared for college. Students also have little understanding of, or experience with, the …

Continuous Improvement In Higher Education: A Change Model Using Predictive Analytics To Achieve Organizational Goals, Mary Mclean

Education Doctoral

During an era of accountability for institutions of higher education, it is increasingly important that leadership prioritize student success outcomes. Graduation and retention rates of new students have remained stagnant for years despite investment in the billions of dollars each year to affect outcomes. Predictive analytics are tools organizations can use to identify at-risk students and target them with success interventions prior to them showing signs of academic difficulty. This study modifies the Demming Plan-Do-Study-Act model by adding predictive analytics at the planning stage to make the model proactive. Institutional research and effectiveness professionals at colleges and universities across the …

선교지 기독교 대학의 코어 커리큘럼 작성 / Establishing Core Curriculum At Christian Colleges In The Mission Fields, Jay Shim

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This paper deals with establishing Christian core-curriculum from a Reformed point of view (the paper also uses the term “college education that enables mission”) for Christian colleges and universities in the mission fields. The paper explores definition, content, and uses of core-curriculum, and relevant issues that must be deal with for the formation of it in the situation of the mission field. It also provides a plan and roadmap for the formation of three core-curriculum for PAUA member institutions. Faith and education/knowledge are two different tasks. From a Reformed view of life-system, however, they are considered to be structured and …

Engaging Children In Engineering Design Through The World Of Quadcopters, Greg J. Strimel, Scott R. Bartholomew, Eunhye Kim

Faculty Publications

The interest in engineering education for K-12 students has been rising (Carr, Bennett IV, & Strobel, 2012; Strimel, Grubbs, & Wells, 2016), and the importance of engineering education is discussed as early as the elementary school level (Hegedus, 2014). Petroski (2003) claims that children are ready to learn engineering because their play activities are similar to engineering and design activities, such as making, moving, and rearranging things. Studies have examined how elementary school students perceive engineering or engineers (Cunningham, Lachapelle, & Lindgren-Streicher 2005) and found that elementary-aged students associated engineering with repairing, installing, driving, constructing, and improving machines and devices. …

Designing The Technological World Through Biomimicry, Emily Yoshikawa, Greg J. Strimel, Scott R. Bartholomew

Faculty Publications

Scientific discoveries are a driver for advancing our technological world (ITEA/ITEEA; 2000/2002/2007). As more knowledge is acquired through scientific inquiry, people can better design and develop technological inventions and innovations (Knowles, Kelley, & Hurd, 2016). In turn, these novel technologies can aid in making new scientific discoveries, thus driving an ongoing cycle of technological advancement. However, in the process of designing and advancing our technological world, people can turn to the study of life and its phenomena to inspire and inform their designs. Nature is functional as well as beautiful. As we study the phenomena or functions of living organisms …

Connections, May 2017, University Library

Library Newsletter

No abstract provided.

2017 May, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for May of 2017.

Going With The Flow: Using Menstrual Education As A Tool For Empowering Post Pubescent Nepali Girls, Graceann L. Cadiz

Master's Theses

Global discourse and research evidence on the benefits of girl’s education show that prioritizing girl’s education is the most successful strategy of breaking the cycle of poverty, gender inequality, and overpopulation. Moreover, there is a growing interest in closing the gender gap in education, but there has been insufficient attention to the specific needs of girls experiencing menses or menarche within schooling environments. The beginning of menstruation represents a pivotal event in development of the adolescent girl but is under-recognized and deemed insignificant with a culture of silence present throughout the rest of their lives. While providing access to education …

Up From Poverty: A Narrative Non-Fiction Study Of Three Female Superintendents From Poverty, Stephanie L. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This narrative non-fiction study was designed to investigate the lived experiences of three female superintendents in the state of Texas who have lived in poverty during their youth and early life. The participating female superintendents were contacted by this researcher through email. The information used in this study was collected from participating superintendents through interviews and analyzed to find the common themes that exist between the lived experiences of each female superintendent from poverty as she progressed through the stages of development in life. The information was also analyzed to ascertain how she was able to elevate out of poverty …

Responses Of Education Preparation Program Instructors Toward Mental Health Legislation, Alison Bradford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2013, Texas State legislature passed Senate Bill 460 which implemented a law that requires the inclusion of knowledge relating to students’ mental health status in teacher preparation curriculum. This requirement is explained in Texas Education Code (TEC) §21.044(b). The purpose of this study is to examine the degree of awareness of the new requirement and the attitudes toward mental health among Education Preparation Program (EPP) instructors. In addition, faculty were asked about their implementation plans for the new requirement.

A survey was developed to address these research questions. Thirty-five public and private universities in Texas were targeted, which resulted …

An Examination Of Texas Agricultural Education Regarding Absence Of Diverse Students, John D. Denson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate reasons for, and issues regarding, the lack of diversity in the department of agriculture and the Future Farmers of America (FFA). Data for this research were collected, studied, and analyzed. Data were examined to identify explanations for the lack of interest in agriculture among diverse students, and the lack of interest among school administrators and teachers to encourage studies in agriculture among the diverse. The analysis of data verified the existence of a real need for more disquiet in the differences of attitudes among diverse students regarding agriculture and agriculture programs, such as FFA. …

University Honors Program Newsletter, Honors College, Georgia Southern University

Honors College: News & Publications (2008-2020)

• Congratulations Spring Graduates!
• Alternative Break: Cumberland Island

My News

My News (2014-2020)

• Breaking the cycle: Professor studies violence intervention in Savannah
• Double Eagle shares gift of music
• Georgia Southern professor’s film to be broadcast nationally on PBS
• Manufacturing engineering student takes pride in program
• Georgia Southern art students stand out at American Advertising Awards in Savannah
• Georgia Southern University announces Spring 2017 Commencement speakers

The Influence Of Principal Longevity And Continuity On Student Achievement, Gemar Mills

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

In the state of New Jersey, academic success at the high school level is defined by student achievement on the New Jersey High School Proficiency Assessment (NJ HSPA), which students take in the 11^th grade. New Jersey high school principals are accountable for ensuring that students who attend their schools are proficient in mathematics and language arts before they start their 12^th grade year. The No Child Left Behind Act (2001) emphasizes principal accountability, and New Jersey has likewise increased scrutiny on principals’ contributions to student performance on the NJ HSPA. Accordingly, this study examines whether these principals’ …

Creating A Multiracial Lesson Plan, Clayton Davis

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The purpose of this project is to teach students about multiracial identity issues. Multiracial populations in the U.S. continue to grow and it’s important for educators to address the needs of these students. A 5-E multiracial literature lesson plan was created for second grade that incorporates KWL and Text-to-World teaching strategies. A second grade class were read two children’s picture books, each featuring a biracial protagonist, and were asked to discuss and evaluate the content and commonalities of these stories. Students recorded what they learned in this lesson in their KWL’s. The results reveal that some students understood the problems …

English Only? Enrichment Of English Language Learner Education, Laura R. Hinton

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Due to pressures to acquire the English language, English Language Learners (ELL) have school schedules inundated with English Development and other English acquisition classes. This means most ELL students have few opportunities to take elective courses. Furthermore, ELL students at the basic proficiency level have Science and Social Studies excluded from their schedules. Additional challenges for ELL students include being segregated from their English only (EO) peers and inadequate development and training of teachers serving ELL students. Interviews were conducted with Administration, the English Language (EL) Specialist, and ELL Students at Wakefield Middle School, to better understand ELL students’ educational …