Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

National Survey On Leadership Capacity And Scaling-Up Of Pbis Implementation, Julie L. Lowery

Dissertations

This study examined State Education Agency (SEA) efforts to scale up Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) implementation across K-12 public schools within the United States of America. The researcher used archival data to determine percentages of school within each state currently implementing PBIS and a survey method to determine each state’s status regarding standards of PBIS implementation and variables of leadership capacity. The survey instrument was the State PBIS Implementation and Leadership Survey (SPILS). The participants were SEAs from each state and the District of Columbia, as represented by PBIS Coordinators or other designated PBIS professionals. The purpose of …

Currere As A Method For Critical Reflection In The Profession Of Academic Librarianship, Richard A. Stoddart

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Academic librarianship has an intimate association with narratives and stories from their traditional role in curating, caring for, and making collections accessible. Librarians also experience the intricacies and challenges of narrative inquiry through the qualitative research they undertake, oral histories they gather, reflective teaching practices they facilitate, and oral-traditions they interact with. Despite these intersections with reflection and narratives, academic librarianship, and library sciences as a whole, have not fully incorporated their own narratives within their practices. Academic librarianship has the ability but not the spaces to critically reflect in a holistic manner. Shadiow (2013) encourages us all to “recall, …

The Importance Of Highly Effective School Library Media Programs On School Learning Environments, Alexandra M. Juch

EDL Sixth Year Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics of a previously identified successful school library program (SLMP) in a Connecticut public school. The primary goals of this research are to answer these questions by conducting a single case study to examine the nature of this previously identified SLMP so that promising practices identified from this study can be applied to other SLMPs in Connecticut public schools. The data collection methods embodied both qualitative and quantitative instruments that included surveys, interviews and documents. Qualitative data analysis included preparation, familiarization, coding and general meaning that was entered into a table …

Determining The Academic Achievement Of English Language Learners (Ells) By Using Additional Measures Of Growth, Adriana Maria Marin

Dissertations

Accountability measures employed in the country to determine the academic achievement of all the student population rely solely on the results obtained on the standardized tests. Such measures have often placed English language learners’ (ELLs) at risk of academic failure despite the fact that research on second language acquisition (SLA) has stated the complexity involved in the learning/acquisition process of a target language. Scholars have also discussed the influence accountability measures and the issues with the validity of the tests implemented to assess ELLs may have on such results. Therefore, in an effort to obtain a more comprehensive idea of …

Technical Communication As Teaching: A Grounded Theory Study Of Cognitive Empathy And Audience Engagement Among Computer Science Majors In A Technical Communication Classroom, Robert Michael Rowan

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a grounded theory study of empathy, ethical awareness, and audience engagement activities in students in a technical writing service course. The course was designed around an empathy-oriented approach to teaching technical writing and writing research. The students are primarily computer science majors, and the teaching methods include a genre and writing research approach as well as the use of an extended metaphor of technical communication as a form of teaching. Findings indicate that students respond to the metaphor by drawing upon positive and empathetically-informed models of teachers and teaching to guide how they would work with and …

Effects Of The Omrit Project On Student And Alumni Participants From Macalester College, Nancy Bostrom

Capstone Collection

As participation in short-term study abroad programs increases, practitioners seek to understand the effects of these programs not just in terms of increasing participation in study abroad, but also with an emphasis on understanding the effects of these programs on student learning. Some research indicates that program design, rather than length, determines a successful experience abroad; however, the literature also reveals concern that there is not enough data to understand the impact of short-term programs on student learning and that much of the available research is too focused on immediate rather than longer lasting effects.

This paper reports on a …

Exploration Of The Relationships Between And Among Role Strain, Faculty Stress, And Organizational Support For Clinical Nurse Faculty Faced With A Decision To Assign A Failing Grade, Jeannie Couper

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Despite a stressful process, Clinical Nurse Faculty (CNF) are ultimately responsible for assigning a grade indicating that a student successfully met clinical course outcomes and standards of safe practice required to progress (Amicucci, 2012). The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to explore the relationships between perceived role strain (PRS), perceived faculty stress (PFS), and perceived organizational support (POS) for CNF who faced the decision to assign a failing grade to a student in a clinical practicum. A national sample of 390 predominantly full-time, female, experienced CNF teaching in undergraduate and graduate nursing programs completed the online survey consisting …

The Gendered Image : An Art And Literature Based Curriculum For High School Audiences, Emily Erwin-Mcguire

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This curriculum uses images, artwork, literature and media to facilitate conversations to build knowledge and understanding about feminism and self-identity. It is designed to be used by educators of high school students in school, museum or after school settings.

We The People: A Simulation For Young Voters, Jessee Hankins

Honors Projects

This project discusses the evolution of my project from its inception through its completion. As a pre-service teacher in student teaching, my experiences directly influenced the development of this project. The project is one that discusses the use of simulations in a social studies classroom, and includes a lesson plan of the lesson that I used within my student teaching experience. The lesson plan also comes with materials that teachers may take advantage of the lesson plan, using it in their classroom to teach their students about the compromises that were created at the Constitutional Convention.

The Relationship Between Demands And Resources And Teacher Burnout: A Fifteen-Year Meta-Analysis, Tammy Marie Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

This meta-analysis explored the phenomenon of teacher burnout— the biggest contributor to teacher attrition (Owens, 2013; Unterbrink, 2014; Yu, 2015). The focus of this study was to use meta-analytical procedures to explore the relationship between burnout dimensions (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of personal accomplishment) and specific demand and resource correlates. Demand correlates included work overload, role conflict, role ambiguity, and student misbehavior. Resource correlates included peer support, supervisory support, and decision-making. This meta-analytical research method encompassed fifteen years of published and unpublished studies from January 2000 through January 2015. A total of 116 studies met the following inclusion …

From Paper To Podium: Exploring The Gap Between University Training And Professional Experience In Orchestral Conductors, Rachel L. Waddell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In African polyrhythmic drum circles there is a proverb that exemplifies the necessity of common vision and community in group musical performance: “I am because we are.” This simple ideal is ostensibly mirrored in the western institution of the symphonic orchestra, an ensemble of many that nevertheless must arrive at one, shared interpretation of a piece of music. The structure of the orchestra is a complicated hierarchy with section players at its base, followed by principals, the concertmaster, and finally the conductor. Although conductors are the public face of leadership in orchestras, if they alienate the musicians they will have …

Youth Empowerment As Demonstrated By The Jóvenes En Acción Program, Kirstin French

Capstone Collection

This paper uses a review of relevant literature on empowerment and youth empowerment theories and models to develop a comprehensive understanding of key elements that are found in youth empowerment programs. Through the literature review, there are five themes identified which can be used to analyze youth programs for the presence of empowerment. The five themes considered are: a power sharing adult-youth relationship, an individual and community level orientation, a safe and supportive environment, peer collaboration, and reflection. A World Learning youth program, Jóvenes en Acción (Youth in Action, or JenA) is used as a case study to understand the …

Move, Interact, And Connect Personally Barter Theatre’S Project Real Gets Implicit In Order To Learn, Megan E. Atkinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Body movement, hands-on activity, embodiment, social interaction, emotions, and self-reflection allow teaching artists of Barter’s Theatre’s Project REAL to conduct a lesson with an implicit learning experience as the focus. Barter Theatre’s Project REAL exists as a theatre for education program that collaborates with regular classroom teachers on delivering the curriculum through specific theatre exercises in order to connect the material personally to the students’ lives. Theatre tools provide a human experience that enhances learning for the student by use of kinesthetic movement, social learning, emotions and interpersonal skills. To understand the effects of Barter Theatre’s Project REAL, the director …

Defining Primary And Academic Discourse Through Instructional Methods In A Single Junior High Classroom, Ashley Nicole Gerhardson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I examine the use of academic discourse in the school setting and discuss the relation of the primary discourse to academic discourse. I focus on the verbal exchanges between a teacher and her students as these students acquire the academic discourse of the English classroom. The study focuses on the ideas of primary discourse and secondary or academic discourse as presented by Gee (1996) and focuses on his idea of Social languages.

Using a microethnographic study, I develop the idea of how the teacher related to her students and how a single educator felt about the purpose …

A Comparative Analysis: Indigenous Students And Education Models In Canada And The United States, Alison M. Perkins

Global Honors Theses

Equity in education for minority students is an issue that has been ignored for quite some time. This is important to note because education is an important aspect to human development. This thesis focuses on education models in Canada and the United States, and how those models affect indigenous students specifically. Indigenous peoples are a historically marginalized group that have faced inequity in their educational experiences. This paper explores the historical context of education for indigenous peoples in both nations in order to understand their current educational issues. I used the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples …

The Association Between Preschool Type And Children's Concentration Abilities, Jessica Jarvis

Honors Projects

The author of the study compared concentration abilities in 4-5 year-olds attending Montessori and traditional preschools in Bowling Green, Ohio. Number of errors and processing times on the Marburg concentration test were used to measure children's concentration abilities. No significant differences in concentration abilities were found for preschoolers attending Montessori and traditional schools.

Waking Dormant Researchers: Student Co-Research As Writing Research Methodology And Pedagogy, Angela Renee Sheets

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the ways that students took up writing researcher skills, knowledges, and identities through a teacher-student co-research investigation of writing in an online writing research course. The following questions guided this study:

* How did literate activity occur in an online Composition as Critical Inquiry Course?

* What writing research skills, knowledges, and identities did the students take up and demonstrate as they participated in a co-research project?

The study also examined the efficacy of co-research as a methodology and pedagogy.

Chapter 1 reviews literature from the relevant English studies fields. Central topics include the rationale for writing …

Watch And Learn: A Documentary Exploring The Effects Of Video-Based Pedagogy, Chris Matthew Noel

Theses and Dissertations

This 20 minute film explores the use of hybrid lesson plans, those consisting of traditional in-class teaching and interactive video outside of the classroom. Using six voluntary Graduate Teaching Assistants as participants, the documentary follows the participants as they give their ideologies on teaching, perform either a traditional lesson plan or the hybrid lesson plan, and participate in a focus group to give their opinion on the perceived benefits or drawbacks of having hybrid lesson plans in the classroom.

Cyberbullying Prevention: Intervention Effects On Student Involvement, Sarah Nash Bumpas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Repeated studies show that cyberbullying is pervasive amongst adolescents. Cyberbullying can lead to self-harm, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Educators are called to intervene in educating students about cyberbullying through research and federal legislation. However, there is little research examining whether this education is taking place or having an effect.

This study investigates the relationship between the incidences of cyberbullying victimization and offending over time and the direct cyberbullying instruction and activities facilitated by classroom teachers. The study took place amongst sixth graders in Jefferson County Public Schools, a large urban school district located in northern Kentucky. Students in one school …

Survival Analysis: Timelines To English Language Proficiency At The Secondary School Level, Elisha W. Beardsley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

The ELL population in the United States continues to increase. Research suggests that the English language proficiency growth rates for numerous ELL students are strongly correlated with their English language proficiency levels (Cook & Zhao, 2011; Conger, 2008). The results of Conger’s 2008 study suggested that just over fifty percent of students gained English language proficiency after three years. According to the same study, the students that did not typically gain English language proficiency were students who entered public schools older and with a lower English language proficiency level. The current study examines the likelihood of high school ELLs in …

Raising The Standard: An Assessment Of Peer Collaboration As An Enhancer Of Speech Evaluation Fidelity, Terrell Kody Frey

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the state of speech evaluation training in the basic communication course at Illinois State University. Specifically, a new type of pedagogy known as the "peer workshop" is integrated into the course as a potential supplement to the speech evaluation training procedures. Quantitative and qualitative methods reveal how the course has become engrained into the academic expectations of the student body and identify written peer feedback as a necessary focus of future training in the classroom. Specific theoretical and pedagogical implications, as well as limitations and future directions, are discussed in detail.

Keep Your Head Up: Building Life Skills In Youth For Social Reintegration And Success, Olga Lizbeth Ochoa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

There are multiple factors that contribute to a juvenile's future incarceration when facing difficult environmental circumstances: adjudication (it is like an adult criminal conviction, but generally does not subject the youth to the same direct consequences), community characteristics, the age a young person is discharged, criminal history, and gender. This research is important because it applies social science research in community-based settings to address a social concern, moves beyond theoretical research while contributing to a new orientation of an applied project, and provides a model of university-community partnerships for finding innovative strategies to address issues of social concern for local …

Children And Disaster Education: An Analysis Of Disaster Risk Reduction Within The School Curricula Of Oregon, Texas, And The Philippines, Ashley Merchant

MA IDS Thesis Projects

For the past few decades, there has been a significant increase in the intensity and frequency of disasters. This has created a growing interest in the issue of disaster risk reduction among the global population. Past research has shown that proper planning and the use of protective measures can reduce the effects of a disastrous event. Preparedness is not only the responsibility of a nation’s government or relief agencies, but also of every member of the community, including the vulnerable population of children. The United Nations has called for disaster risk reduction education to be implemented in schools around the …

Scribblescholar Was Here: Confessional Notes Of A Vandal Academic, Clay Shields

Theses and Dissertations--English

As a (former) vandal-punk in the academy, I often fear succumbing to Ivory Tower Stockholm syndrome. The identities I perform, vandal-punk and scholar, ideologically clash to the point that they often feel irreconcilable. By codemeshing the high-low discourses associated with these adopted cultures, I attempt to disrupt any hierarchal privileging of either, instead searching for a way to live with and harness both.

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 …

Breathe To Understand, Maxine Swisa

MA TESOL Collection

BREATHE is an acronym for Breathe, Reflect, Empathize, Accept, Thank, Hearten, Engage. The addition of Understand allows for a holistic approach to living a healthy and balanced life both inside and outside the classroom. This paper took form as a result of my personal, spiritual journey, as well as my teaching practice. I noticed that the majority of my students enjoyed experiential activities that included time and space for self-reflection, relaxation and meditation. I began looking for books, seminars, and workshops that explored these areas. Deepak Chopra, Jonathan Kabat-Zinn, Dan Siegel, Eckhart Tolle, et al. offer insights into the benefits …

Comparing Basic Computer Literacy Self-Assessment Test And Actual Skills Test In Hospital Employees, Jolly Peter Isaac

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A new hospital in United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to adopt health information technology (HIT) and become fully digitalized once operational. The hospital has identified a need to assess basic computer literacy of new employees prior to offering them training on various HIT applications. Lack of research in identifying an accurate assessment method for basic computer literacy among health care professionals led to this explanatory correlational research study, which compared self-assessment scores and a simulated actual computer skills test to find an appropriate tool for assessing computer literacy. The theoretical framework of the study was based on constructivist learning theory …

School Gardens: Cultivating A Child’S Nutritional Habits, Environmental Knowledge, And Sustainability Practices, Jeffrey Meltzer

Honors Theses

School gardens have existed since the late nineteenth century and today are becoming increasingly popular in many parts of the world, including where I studied in Maine and Australia (AUS). Multiple organizations support school gardens in Maine, including the Maine School Garden Network, which has over 125 registered school gardens. In AUS, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation primarily supports the school garden movement and has over 800 registered school gardens. While many researchers have studied school gardens, few have compared two countries, focused on environmental sustainability, or investigated Maine in particular. This thesis combines information from literature reviews, and …

Determinants Of Intention To Use New Technology: An Investigation Of Students In Higher Education, Yolanda Dupree

CCE Theses and Dissertations

The federal government continues to monitor the cost of paper texts as an essential component of postsecondary education expenses. The Higher Education Act (HEA), which was initially passed in 1965, was created to buttress the educational resources of colleges and universities. Along with addressing the benefits of financial aid in postsecondary and higher education, the act referenced the projected financial burdens of paper texts. The last 2008 reauthorization suggested that colleges and universities develop plans to reduce the costs of college. Congress is currently working to reauthorize the legislation. Based on this information, the problem identified in this study explored …

An Examination Of The Differential Impact Of University/College Research Emphasis On Levels Of Counselors' Resilience, Erica Ann Handon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Counselor resilience is the ability to transform adversity into growth opportunities that become part of the professional's identity and the core values of a counselor. However, researchers have yet to identify why some counselors exhibit higher levels of resilience while others exhibit less. Counselor resilience can be learned and nurtured at any point of an individual's development. The purpose of this study was to examine how differences within the foundational edification of a research-embedded curriculum impact a counselor's level of resilience. Participants included practicing counselors who received their counseling degrees from a 2014 U.S News and World Report (USNWR) Nationally …