Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Covid-19, Technology, And The Math Classroom: Changes, Obstacles, And Victories Integrating Digitally, Lauren Fifield Bellamy

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Secondary math teachers faced new experiences and struggles this past virtual school year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Nine secondary math teachers from a school division in southeastern Virginia participated in this qualitative single case study. Data collection included individual semi-structured interviews and technology integration artifacts. Through a three round coding process, ten themes emerged to answer the following three research questions: 1) In terms of curriculum, teaching methods, and assessments, how did teachers describe their pedagogical change in virtual learning? 2) How do teachers perceive student performance has changed within the virtual learning space? 3) From teachers’ perspectives, …

Does A Schoolwide Silent Reading Initiative Make A Difference In The Reading Habits Of High School Freshmen: A Mixed Methods Study, Stephanie Trzeciakiewicz

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation describes a study that investigated the degree to which a Schoolwide Silent Reading Initiative (SSRI) impacted high-school students’ motivation, attitudes toward, and amount of time spent reading for pleasure both in and outside of school. Multiple methods were used to collect and analyze data, however the data collection window was drastically shortened and unexpectantly closed due to Covid-19. Close analysis of the limited student data available revealed that some adolescents find reading self-selected material enjoyable and spend some of their free time doing so, while most teens report they don’t find reading to be a pleasurable activity and …

The Effects Of Metacognitive Training On Algebra Students’ Calibration Accuracy, Achievement, And Mathematical Literacy, Deana J. Ford

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation describes an empirical study that investigated how metacognitive training influenced lower achieving Algebra students’ calibration accuracy, achievement, and development of mathematics literacy. Multiple methods were used to collect and analyze the data. Close analysis of students’ work and classroom observations revealed that students that were exposed to the metacognitive training had significantly higher prediction accuracy and made gains in their understanding of the mathematics word problems than did students who did not receive the metacognitive training. Overall, however, both the intervention and comparison groups improved in their academic performance and became more mathematically literate and accurate in their …

A Study Of The "Pride" Program: A Residential, Summer-School Program For At-Risk Middle-School Students In An Urban Community, Maria Teresa Amillategui Grimm

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This research examined the Pride Program (1991 and 1992)--a residential, summer-school program for at-risk middle-school students. It was conducted with subjects from two large, urban middle schools for the purpose of determining if, after five school years, differences existed among three selected groups (treatment, control and comparison) of at-risk students in the areas of academic achievement, attendance and conduct. Treatment-group self-esteem was examined over a three-year period. Furthermore, this study provided a qualitative program evaluation of the Pride Program for the first two years of its existence.

The results are as follows: The qualitative evaluation indicated that all participants were …

A Case Study Of The Perceptions Of Character Education In A Large Urban Community, Suzanne G. Houff

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This case study seeks to provide insight into the community perception of character education in a large urban area that does not currently implement an explicit program in moral values. The community is established through adolescents in middle school, parents of the adolescents, school counselors and community members. Informants are selected in an attempt to ensure a diverse cross section of the middle school communities.

Perceptions of character education are established through the process of interviews and a card sort involving a total N of 72 stakeholders. Each respondent is asked to provide definitions, synonyms and/or examples of a given …

The Effects Of An Urban Middle School Dropout Prevention Program On The Academic Achievement, Attendance, Attitudes, And Conflict Resolution Skills Of At-Risk Student, Patricia Hawkins Fisher

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an urban middle school dropout prevention program on the academic achievement, attendance, attitudes toward self and school, and conflict resolution skills of potential dropout candidates. The study compared the differences in grade point averages and Iowa Test of Basic Skills scores, percentages of absences, self concept and motivation towards school scores, and the percentage of suspensions of subjects in three middle schools in Portsmouth, Virginia. A review of literature revealed that traditional dropout prevention efforts have addressed the dropout dilemma with varying degrees of success. More recent dropout initiatives …