Education Commons^™

Bill 13 (The Accepting Schools Act): Ontario Legislation Mandating Support For Lgbt Students In Publicly-Funded Schools, Renato M. Liboro Jr.

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Twenty-six key stakeholders from schools in Waterloo Region, Ontario, participated in semi-structured, open-ended interviews for this dissertation. They included students, teachers, school board representatives in administrator and superintendent roles, trustees, and community service providers. This study explored the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth in publicly-funded schools, the effect of those experiences on their mental health and well-being, and the success of strategies, programs, and policies implemented by schools to address LGBT youth issues. It also examined the perspectives of participants on Bill 13, Ontario’s Accepting Schools Act, particularly strengths and weaknesses of the bill in terms …

School-Based Supports For Trans Youth In Ontario, Charlie E. C. Davis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Trans youth are some of the most marginalized youths in schools. In 2012, the Ontario Government passed two legislations, one of which was the Accepting Schools Act, strengthening supports for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) students in schools. The other was Toby’s Act, an amendment to the Ontario Human Rights Code including protection from discrimination on the grounds of gender identity and gender expression. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how these two acts have created a political context supporting trans youth in schools. A comprehensive mixed-methods approach was used to examine provincial trends of trans-specific …

Infrared Radiography: Modeling X-Ray Imaging Without Harmful Radiation, Otto Zietz, Elliot E. Mylott, Ralf Widenhorn

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Planar x-ray imaging is a ubiquitous diagnostic tool and is routinely performed to diagnose conditions as varied as bone fractures and pneumonia. The underlying principle is that the varying attenuation coefficients of air, water, tissue, bone, or metal implants within the body result in non-uniform transmission of x-ray radiation. Through the detection of transmitted radiation, the spatial organization and composition of materials in the body can be ascertained. In this paper, we describe an original apparatus that teaches these concepts by utilizing near infrared radiation and an up-converting phosphorescent screen to safely probe the contents of an opaque enclosure.

Investing In Yourself: One University’S Leadership Models, Olivia Rivas, Irma S. Jones

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Looking at higher education institutions today, one constant that is readily noticed is change. Change is indeed inevitable in all organizations; however, we can temper that change to include growing our own successor in order for our leadership components to continue and provide continuity in the workplace. Smooth management transitions are infrequent and when a leader leaves or retires, no matter if a vice-president, supervisor, manager, chairperson, director, often, there is no one prepared to replace them. Succession planning and/or leadership development models have been accomplished at one university will be discussed in this paper.

Students' Perceptions Of Life Skill Development In Project-Based Learning Schools, Kimberly Ann Meyer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This research aimed to examine students’ perceptions of their life skills while attending project-based learning (PBL) schools. The study focused on three questions including: 1) What are students’ perceptions of their development of life skills in project-based learning schools? 2) In what ways, if any, do students perceive an increase in their life skill development over a one-year period of time? 3) What relationship, if any, is there between grade level and students’ perceptions of their life skills? The subjects were 275 6-12 students from 2 project-based learning charter schools in Minnesota. One school was located in a rural location; …

First-Year Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Preparedness To Integrate 21st Century Skills Into The Technology-Rich Classroom, Tracie Omohundro

Theses and Dissertations

School districts continue to integrate emerging technologies and expectations for 21^st century teaching and learning. This movement began with release of Goals 2000 (1994) and has continued through National Education Technology Plan (2010) that noted the “challenge for our education system is to leverage technology to create relevant learning experiences that mirror students’ daily lives and the reality of their futures.” In order to meet that challenge, schools must enlist teachers who are prepared to teach 21^st century skills in the technology-rich classroom. Teacher education programs also need to align their preparation models to prepare teachers for that …

Classroom Management Strategies As A Cornerstone Of Elementary Teachers' Self-Efficacy, Niamh Kathleen Conner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the local school district under study, there has been a lack of professional development (PD) in classroom management, and challenging student behaviors in the classroom are increasing, eroding teachers' self-efficacy. The purpose of this correlational study, guided by a constructivist theoretical framework, was to examine the relationship between teachers' self-efficacy in the classroom when addressing challenging student behaviors and the amount of PD that the teachers have had in classroom management. The convenience sample comprised 99 teachers from 8 elementary schools; this total was based upon a response rate of 45%. The instrument, the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale …

School Counselors' Perceived Multicultural Competence, Adherence To The Asca National Model, And Students' Performance, Jessica Helene Conroy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Multicultural competence (MCC), despite its integral part in school counseling and the school setting, is not applied within the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) national model (NM). Rather, the ASCA NM is a guideline that is expected of school counselors with limited opportunity for deviation. Without incorporating multicultural practices in the school setting, student performance may suffer. Student performance affects everyone who is learning, working, or has a child who is or will be at the middle school level. The purpose of this study was to identify if perceived MCC, as measured by the MCCTS-R, and/or adherence to the ASCA …

Middle School Teachers' Perceptions Of Incorporating Alternative Assessments To Accommodate Students, Terra Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A suburban middle school located in the southeastern United States included differentiated instruction and technology in all aspects of the curriculum. Teachers at this school received professional development on differentiated strategies; however, many teachers did not apply the strategies to assessments and continued to use traditional assessments despite the poor performance of their students on class evaluations. This qualitative case study, rooted in constructivist theories, examined middle school teachers' perceptions and use of alternative assessments. All 6th Language Arts teachers were selectively invited to participate in my study because they teach a core 6th grade subject, four teachers responded and …

The Phenomenon Of Novice Teacher Resiliency In At-Risk Elementary Schools, D'Ann Coale Calams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an urban school district in North Texas, there was a problem retaining highly qualified novice teachers. This phenomenological study examined the experiences of novice teachers to understand why some teachers demonstrated the resiliency to succeed as professional educators and to suggest potential solutions to improve novice teacher retention. Guided by Henderson and Milstein's theory of resilience, 8 novice teachers with 2-5 years of teaching experience participated in semi structured interviews. Research questions elicited the experiences that empowered novice teacher resiliency, the perceived role of administrators and colleagues to cultivate and build capacity, and recommendations to promote resiliency. Data analyses …

Effects Of Single-Gender And Coeducational Learning Environments On Middle School Mathematics Achievement, Tasha Graves Henderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As a result of the increased number of schools failing to meet adequate yearly progress (AYP), school districts are searching for innovative ways to raise student achievement and meet the rigorous performance standards set by state governments. Using the theoretical framework provided by brain research and the theory of multiple intelligences, the purpose of this quantitative study was to compare 2 middle school classroom structures for differences in mathematics achievement among students. The study examined whether a significant difference existed in mathematics achievement scores on the state-mandated mathematics test for 2 groups (single gender classes versus coeducational classes) in 6 …

Racism Vs. Social Capital: A Case Study Of Two Majority Black Communities, Bruce W. Strouble

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Several researchers have identified social capital as a means to improve the social sustainability of communities. While there have been many studies investigating the benefits of social capital in homogeneous White communities, few have examined it in Black homogeneous communities. Also, there has been limited research on the influence of racism on social capital in African American communities. In this dissertation a comparative case study was used within a critical race theory framework. The purpose was to explore the role of racial oppression in shaping social capital in majority African American communities. Data were collected from 2 majority Black communities …

Exploring The Meaning Of School Bullying Among Parents Of Victimized Children, Mildred Peyton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Bullying in American schools has increased to what some have considered an epidemic and is a major problem among youth. Bullied youth experience poorer mental health and lower school performance, in comparison to those who are not bullied, and the growth of bullying has raised concerns from parents, schools, policy makers, and human-services professionals interested in prevention and intervention of bullying behaviors. The purpose of this study was to explore how parents whose children experienced school bullying perceived school administrators, teachers, antibullying school policies or programs, and their family's dynamics, to better understand the parents' internal experiences. The theoretical framework …

Addressing Gaps In Student Reading: Read 180 Program Evaluation, Shonda Patrice Pittman-Windham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students are reaching middle school 2 or more years behind in reading ability. As a result, they are unable to meet state testing standards. In 2007, the READ 180 program was implemented at an urban middle school in Virginia to address the reading gaps of these middle school students. The purpose of this sequential mixed-method program evaluation was to analyze the reading success of 30 READ 180 students and the perceptions of 4 teachers who taught the READ 180 curriculum. The theoretical framework that served as a basis for this study was Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, which holds that …

Elementary School Teachers' Perceptions Of The Process Of Integrating Technology, Diana June Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Administrators in a rural K-5 school district provided leadership, technical assistance, and technology resources to increase teachers' use of technology to improve student achievement. Despite these efforts, teachers incorporated technology on a limited basis and some teachers reported they were unprepared to integrate technology. The purpose of this qualitative bounded case study was to examine teaching practices and teachers' perceptions of technology integration in their daily lessons. The conceptual framework for this study included technology integration and constructivism, a theory based on observation and scientific study about how people learn. A purposeful sample of 10 K-5 teachers who integrated technology …

Listening To First-Year Community College Students, Mary Elizabeth Drake

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

First-year community college students are often from underrepresented groups who are unaccustomed to voicing their needs or to being recognized for having more and varied needs than other groups. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain an understanding of the factors that may engender or prevent success through listening to what first-year community college students have to say. Research questions addressed what students identified as challenges and successes during their first year and how first person accounts can contribute to the information college personnel need to understand.

Human development theories and models of student persistence informed this study. …

Understanding Doctoral Success Factors In Online Education Programs, Carissa Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The doctoral student completion rate in the United States is approximately 57% across all disciplines. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate doctoral students' perceptions of program completion across multiple online doctoral programs at a single university. The quantitative component examined differences in 4 doctoral program completion-related factors between students in 2 capstone completion stages and 6 academic programs. The qualitative component included an analysis of student perceptions of program completion. Attribution theory was used as a framework to understand the ways that personal attributions influence the success of the participants. The Doctoral Completion and Persistence Scale (DCPS) …

A Program Evaluation Of A Remediation Program For Underprepared College Students, Jane Neuenschwander

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This participant-oriented program evaluation study was prompted by the problem that a cohort remediation program for underprepared freshmen at a small, private university in Appalachia was implemented for 1 year and dropped without any review of the program's impact on retention. The purpose of this project study was to conduct a summative program evaluation that recorded perceptions from the cohort program's participants and to compare their retention rates with underprepared students' retention rates from the subsequent year's individualized remediation. The study was guided by Tinto's retention theory, which posits that academic and social integration is critical to retention. A Chi-square …

Customizing Course Redesign And Flipped Classroom Models To Improve Learning Environment, Taeil Yi, Jerzy Mogilski

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

This article is about a successful adoption of course redesign model of mathematics courses at the Department of Mathematics in the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB), a Hispanic serve university in the south Texas. Around 2007 National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) recommended six models for using of information technology to redesign courses in mathematics: the supplemental model, the replacement model, the emporium model, the fully online model, the buffet model, and the linked workshop model. Because of the local educational environment and resources none of the six models could be implemented exactly like it was described by NCAT. …

Reflections On The Termination Of Two Universities And The Creation Of A New University, Martha May Tevis

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

In 2012 the University of Texas System Regents voted to approve a request to merge two of its campuses, The University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA) in Edinburg, Texas, and The University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) in Brownsville, Texas, 1 campuses located approximately 65 miles apart in South Texas. In September 2015 a new university will be created as an Emerging Research One university featuring a new medical school. In this paper I relate the history leading up to the consolidation of the two universities and explore the impact of the merger process.

A visit to the web foretells both …

Digital Badges In Higher Education: A Three-Phase Study On The Implementation Of Digital Badges In An Online Undergraduate Program, Maria Elena Corbeil, Joseph Rene Corbeil, Ignacio E. Rodríguez

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Digital badges originated in the gaming world as incentives built into video games to acknowledge gamers’ achievements. They have only recently been identified by course designers and instructors in formal and corporate education as a way to support competency-based learning and acknowledge achievement of specialized knowledge and skills. The faculty of an undergraduate Educational Technology specialization are implementing badges in 6 fully online courses through a three-phase study. Students who excel in specific skills through their coursework would become eligible to earn digital badges in the specific EdTech areas. The purpose of the proposed study is to determine if digital …

Coordinating Gesture, Word, And Diagram: Explanations For Experts And Novices, Seokmin Kang, Barbara Tversky, John B. Black

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Successful explanations are a symphony of gesture, language, and props. Here, we show how they are orchestrated in an experiment in which students explained complex systems to imagined novices and experts. Visual-spatial communication—diagram and gesture—was key; it represents thought more directly than language. The real or virtual diagrams created from gestures served as the stage for explanations, enriched by language and enlivened by deictic gestures to convey structure and iconic gestures to enact the behavior and functionality of the systems. Explanations to novices packed in more information than explanations to experts, emphasizing the information about action that is difficult for …

Hispanic Doctoral Students Challenges: Qualitative Results, Bobbette M. Morgan, Luis F. Alcocer

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Fifty doctoral students and graduates of a doctoral program in education on the Mexico border responded to five open ended questions which are part of the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate (CID). According to the CID developers, Walker, Golde, Jones, Bueschel and Hutchings, ―the purpose… is to examine the relationship between student experiences in a doctoral program and the outcomes of doctoral education. The responses address the full range of responsibilities which may be expected of a holder of the doctorate, including research, teaching, and the application of knowledge and skills in the discipline to practical problems in the world …

Assessment Of Phonological And Orthographic Differences In Adults With Reading Disabilities, Christina P. Hyers Mrs.

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

There is debate surrounding how to effectively identify and distinguish reading disabilities from other deficits in college populations. Although several theories have proposed a positive relationship between nonword decoding weaknesses and higher intelligence levels, currently there is no conclusive evidence supporting these claims. The primary purpose of the current study was to determine if individuals of diverging levels of verbal intellectual functioning display profile differences with regard to accuracy for spelling and single word reading of regular words and nonwords. Identifying the specific deficits displayed in populations with reading disabilities assists in formulating interventions targeted at areas of weakness and …

Dr. Eugene Grigsby's Connections To Art, African American Life In The South, And Social Justice Education: Implications For Art Education Curriculum, Reggie A. Stephens Mr.

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

DR. EUGENE GRIGSBY’S CONNECTIONS TO ART, AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE IN THE SOUTH, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR ART EDUCATION CURRICULUM by REGINALD STEPHENS (Under the Direction of Dr. Sabrina Ross) ABSTRACT Building on concepts of double consciousness (Dubois, 1903/1994), the negative effects of a lack of visibility in curricula (Woodson, 2010), critical race theory, and the notion that artists’ lived experiences of oppression encourage actions and art that challenge injustice (Bey, 2011), this study sought to demonstrate that the lives and works of Black artists from the South in the early 20th Century are pedagogical. Inspired by the critical …

Scaffolding To Improve Writing Skills In A Computer Science Literacy Course, Wu He, Harris Wu, Li Xu, Kurt Maly

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Writing has been recognized as an important skill in the technology field. This paper reports a study that uses a scaffolding approach to improve student writing skills in a computer science literacy course. While the quantitative results do not show a significant impact of scaffolding in individual paper assignment on the subsequent group wiki assignment, the student feedback in end-of-semester evaluations strongly indicated that scaffolding indeed helped improve their writing.

Making Sense Of Video Analytics: Lessons Learned From Clickstream Interactions, Attitudes, And Learning Outcome In A Video-Assisted Course, Michail N. Giannakos, Konstantinos Chorianopoulos, Nikos Chrisochoides

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Online video lectures have been considered an instructional media for various pedagogic approaches, such as the flipped classroom and open online courses. In comparison to other instructional media, online video affords the opportunity for recording student clickstream patterns within a video lecture. Video analytics within lecture videos may provide insights into student learning performance and inform the improvement of video-assisted teaching tactics. Nevertheless, video analytics are not accessible to learning stakeholders, such as researchers and educators, mainly because online video platforms do not broadly share the interactions of the users with their systems. For this purpose, we have designed an …

An Evaluation Of Math Assessment Policy Process In A Southwestern School District, Alicia O'Brien

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An Evaluation of Math Assessment Policy Process in a Southwestern School District

by

Alicia Taber O'Brien

EdS, Walden University, 2011

MA, Western Governors University, 2004

BS, New Mexico State University, 1994

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Education

Teacher Leadership

Walden University

September 2015

This project study addressed the lack of evaluation of a math assessment policy in a rural elementary school district in the southwestern United States. This district implemented a math assessment policy in the spring of 2005, yet no evaluation had been conducted to determine whether the policy …

Addressing Barriers To Cultural Sensibility Learning: Lessons From Social Cognition Theory, Andrea A. Curcio

Faculty Publications By Year

Understanding subconscious biases, their pervasiveness, and their impact on perceptions, interactions, and analyses, helps prepare lawyers to represent people from cultural and racial backgrounds different from their own, and to address both individual and institutional injustice. Two law student surveys suggest many students believe lawyers are less susceptible than clients to having, or acting upon, stereotypes or biases. The survey results also indicate that many students suffer from bias blind spot – i.e. they believe that while others cannot recognize when they are acting based upon stereotypical beliefs and biases, the students know when they are doing so. The survey …

Our Collaborative Team, Roberta Callaway, Laverne Chestnut, Jeffery Waters

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

This module is designed to help you recharge your knowledge about PLCs and refine your understanding of how a PLC team can function more effectively. As teachers collaborate in PLC meetings, a culture of commitment, willingness to change, and accountability emerges as instructional leaders develop common assessments, study data, and create opportunities for higher levels of student achievement. An effectively functioning team can lay the groundwork for tackling challenges and embracing the rewards of student learning success.

Visit professional learning module.