Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

A Grounded Theory Study Exploring The Technology Decisions Mothers Make For Their Preschool Age Children In The Home Environment, Carolyn Wicks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this systematic grounded theory study was to explore the technology decision process mothers use when making technology decisions for their preschool age (3-5 years) children in the home environment. I used snowball and maximum variation sampling procedures to purposefully select 18 mothers of preschool age children living in urban, suburban, and rural areas located in and around a college town in central Virginia. Data gathered from questionnaires, participant interviews, and focus groups were analyzed and findings revealed mothers’ technology decisions are a multi-dimensional process whereby they situationally reflect to form technology preferences which promote intentionality and individuality …

Phenomenology Of Transformation Through Participation In A General Education Development Program, Sherrie Mitchell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to describe how young adults experience transformation through participation in a federally funded General Education Development (GED®) program located within a small urban area in the southeastern region of Georgia. Specifically, transformative learning theory and its overarching themes was applied to the perspective of the individuals who shared the experience of transformation. The queries of the study were to determine: (a) how the participants understood transformation, (b) how the participants described their experience of transformation in a federally funded GED program, (c) what transformation(s) were described and perceived from the GED program, …

A Collective Case Study Of Expectant Father Fears, Robert Grand

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative, collective case study explored how men perceive fears of childbirth and level of preparedness to become fathers. An additional purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of expectant and new fathers with regard to how the Boot Camp for New Dads (BCND) program helped them to alleviate pregnancy fears and develop preparedness to become a parent. Data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews and focus groups conducted after the participants completed a three-hour boot camp for the BCND program. Additionally, participants completed the Kessler-6, a short questionnaire designed to glean their perspectives of fears after the childbirth. …

School Psychologists’ Training And Knowledge Of Tourette Syndrome, Leticia Cornejo

Educational Studies Dissertations

A web-based survey was conducted that included 97 practicing school psychologists in California. The results from the survey indicated that the majority (88%) of respondents were knowledgeable about Tourette Syndrome. Many respondents (28%) had never worked with a student with Tourette’s, 20% had at least one case, and 52% indicated that they had worked with more than two cases in their careers as school psychologists. The majority of respondents indicated that their school psychology program did not adequately train them to assess or counsel students with Tourette’s. The majority of participants also did not feel confident to work with students …

A Study Of The Impact Of Mental Contrasting And Implementation Intentions On Academic Performance, Suzanne Velasquez-Sheehy

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the national high school graduation rate is 81% and only 59% of college enrolled students in 2006 obtained a college degree within ten years of entering 9th grade (U. S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, 2014). Studies conclude that high school grades predicted academic performance no matter what type of high school the students attended and that students who had good grades went on to graduate from college as a result of self-efficacy, motivation, and academic goals (Bowen, Chingos, & McPherson, 2011). Limited research suggests that using mental contrasting and implementation …

Researching Mbti Personality Types: Project Management Master’S Degree Students, Thomas G. Henkel, James W. Marion Jr, Debra T. Bourdeau

Publications

The purpose of this research study was twofold: 1) to explore if a university’s Master of Science in Project Management students’ MBTI® personalities differ significantly; 2) to gain a better understanding if the MBTI® personality traits of university students enrolled in a project management degree differ significantly from those MBTI® personalities of the general population. The goodness of fit test was used in order to test the hypotheses that the 177 graduate project management students (observed data) have the same MBTI® distribution as in the general population (expected data). Overall, the present study showed that the student population has 27.18% …

Individual Differences In Digital Badging: Do Learner Characteristics Matter?, Joey R. Fanfarelli, Thomas Rudy Mcdaniel

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Badge use has rapidly expanded in recent years and has benefited a variety of applications. However, a large portion of the research has applied a binary useful or not useful approach to badging. Few studies examine the characteristics of the user and the impact of those characteristics on the effectiveness of the badging system. This study takes preliminary steps toward that cause, examining the effectiveness of a badging system across two web-based university courses in relation to the individual differences of the learners. Individual differences are examined through the lens of Long-Dziuban reactive behavior types and traits. Results revealed differences …

Exploring Graduate Student Parent Experiences: How To Better Support And Reduce Attrition In An Underserved Population, Christine R. Leaman

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Changes in the global economy, employer expectations, and cultural norms are causing a shift in the demographics of post-baccalaureate students. Out of necessity to support oneself in an increasingly demanding job market, female graduate student enrollment has been on the rise for a number of years. This, in combination with a general increase in the number of individuals enrolling in graduate degree programs while trying to balance the responsibility of raising children presents a growing problem for institutions of higher education. Graduate student parents are a population that requires additional and varying support services than those of the traditional graduate …

The Impact Of Math Anxiety In The Primary Grades, Amanda R. Anderson-Mix

Mathematics Graduate Theses

Math anxiety is an increasingly common occurrence among individuals when working with mathematical concepts. While researching math anxiety the author came across common gender stereotypes implying: women do not perform as well as men in the field of mathematics, women experience a much higher level of math anxiety than men, and most women do not appreciate performing mathematical tasks. Although the concept of math anxiety is an interesting topic to the author, it's important to look deeper than simply the question, “What is math anxiety?” Seeing these stereotypical assumptions that women have higher math anxiety levels, it made this author …

Effects Of Criteria-Referenced Formative Assessment On Achievement In Music, Christopher Valle

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of criteria-referenced formative assessment on music achievement. Archival data from 1,173 students who participated in the first two years of the Arts Achieve project were used to examine the overall and school level effects of criteria-referenced formative assessment on music achievement, as well as its effect on content knowledge, listening, and performance achievement tasks. The relationships between sources of feedback from formative assessment – self, peer, teacher – and music achievement were also investigated. Unbiased causal treatment effects were derived after employing propensity score analysis to minimize selection bias and …

The Impact Of Criteria-Referenced Formative Assessment On Fifth Grade Students' Theater Arts And English Language Arts Achievement, Fei Chen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of criteria-referenced formative assessment (CRFA) on elementary students' achievement in theater arts and the transfer effect of the treatment on English language arts (ELA) achievement. The role of gender and task type in moderating the treatment-achievement relationship was also explored. The analytical sample included 520 fifth-grade students from thirteen classes who participated in the Arts Achieve project. Selection bias in treatment assignment was adjusted with propensity score analysis (Rosenbaum & Rubin, 1983) for the purposes of obtaining asymptotically unbiased estimates of treatment effects.

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 …

A Movement Tool Kit For The Divergent And Convergent Cps Guidelines: Instruction Cards And Activity Floor Mats, Adela Vangelisti

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

A Movement Tool Kit for the Divergent and Convergent CPS Guidelines:

Instruction Cards and Activity Floor Mats

Movement is as natural to humans as breathing is, and, yet, passivity starts early in schools. We are taught to sit still and in silence for long periods of time. By the time we reach adulthood and enter the workforce, we have almost forgotten our sense of embodiment. This lack of movement is counter-productive, not only to learning but to the development of creativity as well. For this project, I designed a tool to recapture the joy and playfulness of movement. Furthermore, the …

Relationships Between Wellness-Related Behaviors And Academic Performance, Helene M. Alfano

Dissertations

This study investigated possible relationships between specific wellness-related behaviors and academic achievement by using self-reported data from the 2009 Michigan Youth Risk Behavior Survey (MYRBS). Participants were students from 50 public high schools in Michigan in grades 9 through 12 (N = 3,411). Survey responses were analyzed with an ordinal logistic regression procedure using SPSS software. Beyond the control model, the block of variables on (a) diet explained 9.3% of the variance in the outcome measure, an additional amount of variance that was statistically significant and practically important. Each of the remaining blocks, including (b) physical activity, (c) self-perception of …

Comprehending Male And Female Levels Of Engagement In Subsets Of The National Survey Of Student Engagement: Explicating The Dynamics Of Gender Role Conflict As A Mediating Factor For Males, Jacob Glen Arndt

Dissertations

Male enrollment and graduate rates in higher education have paled in comparison to female achievement since the early 1980’s, and explanations as to the reasons behind why males are falling behind have not been fruitful in addressing these issues. One area that has received very little attention in the literature is the role that gender role conflict may play in male student performance.

The purpose of this research is to explore male and female engagement levels, while attempting to understand if levels of male gender role conflict are a mediating factor of engagement for men. This study utilized the three …

The Sciences Of Learning, Instruction, And Assessment As Underpinnings Of The Morningside Model Of Generative Instruction, Elizabeth M. Street, Kent Johnson

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

This paper focuses on a subset of the practices that have created the powerful learning technology developed and disseminated by Morningside Academy in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. We briefly describe this technology, known as the Morningside Model of Generative Instruction, and tell how it builds on the selectionist approach of B. F. Skinner and the pragmatic approach of John Dewey. We also describe the critical role Precision Teaching plays at Morningside Academy and its dependence on findings from the science of learning and the science of instruction, including placement of learners, task analysis, content analysis, instructional protocols, and principles of instructional …

Learning Style Relationship To Motivation And Success In The Flipped Vs Non-Flipped Classroom, Shannon Seaver

Mathematics Graduate Theses

This research paper will provide a brief overview of what a “flipped classroom” is and the variations of it. It will address whether a flipped classroom is a possible way of addressing students of all learning styles and if all learning styles are motivated in a flipped classroom. The VARK learning style inventory will be given to all students in four College Algebra Prep classes. Two classes will be the flipped “inverted” style of classroom and the other two will be the traditional (control) style of classroom. All students in both formats will also be given a periodic survey to …

The Relationship Between Body Mass Index, Fitness, Self-Efficacy And Their Prediction On Criterion Referenced Competency Test Scores For Eighth Grade Students, Julie Hale

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study sought to determine the relationship between body mass index (BMI), physical fitness, self-efficacy, and their possible prediction on scores from the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) for eighth grade students in north Georgia. The participants were 183 eighth grade students in three north Georgia middle schools enrolled in physical education during the fall of 2013. Scores from the students' BMI, FitnessGram®, General Self-Efficacy Test (GSES), and results from the Georgia CRCT were compiled and analyzed to give a better understanding of their predictive relationship. Students complete CRCT tests every school year between third and eighth grade, and …

Toward A More Perfect Definition Of Learning: Using Biomarkers To Predict And Assess Learning Performance, Samuel J. Hunt

Dissertations

This study seeks to establish groundwork for a new definition of learning based on neurogenesis capable of guiding future educational policy and practice. The purpose of the research was to: (1) produce separate increases in neurogenesis and intelligence, (2) measure the changes in neurogenesis using protein biomarkers, and (3) correlate increases in levels of the protein biomarkers with increases in intelligence. The study employed a randomized pretest-posttest, control/comparison group research design. Thirty-eight fourth- and fifth-grade students with diverse academic needs were divided into three experimental groups: chess, exercise, and combined; with an additional control group. Pre-post measures included intelligence (RSPM) …

Teacher Trust Levels And How They Differ Between School Settings And Impact Teacher Involvement In Student Achievement Activities, Gretchen Kaeding Bergan

Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has brought accountability to the world of education. The Act’s purpose was to bring a standards-based educational reform process nationally by establishing measurable goals and high academic standards for students and teachers. The mandate to the states from the federal government specified that each state set up incremental assessments of all children, and schools have responded with significant efforts to improve student outcomes. One factor, teacher-to-teacher trust levels, has been shown through research (Bryk & Schneider, 1996) to improve professional working environments and student learning.

This was a comparison study of teacher-to-teacher …

Learning, Problem Solving, And Mindtools: Essays In Honor Of David H. Jonassen, Donna Russell Ph.D.

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

No abstract provided.

Can't Get No (Dis)Satisfaction: The Statecraft Simulation's Effect On Student Decision Making, Chad Raymond

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

Simulations are often employed as content-teaching tools in political science, but their effect on students reasoning skills is rarely assessed. This paper explores what effect the Statecraft simulation might have on undergraduate students perceptions of their decision making. As noted by the psychologist Daniel Kahneman (2012: 203), decisions are often evaluated on the basis of whether their outcomes are good or bad, not whether a sound reasoning process was used to reach them. A survey was administered at multiple points in an international relations course to gauge students satisfaction with the decision-making processes and outcomes in their respective teams during …

The Relationship Of Spiritual Intelligence To Achievement Of Secondary Students, Merial Smartt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this non-experimental, correlational quantitative research study was to examine the relationship between student achievement and spiritual intelligence while controlling for age and gender in two public and two private schools in a southeastern city. The variable of interest and criterion variable of achievement was measured by the American College Test (ACT). The variable of spiritual intelligence was measured using a 24 question self-report assessment entitled The Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory (SISRI-24) by D. King (2008). The SISRI-24 included four subscales, critical existential thinking (CET), personal meaning production (PMP), transcendental awareness (TA), and conscious state expansion (CSE) that …

A Student Assessment In Value Of Cooperative Education Curriculum Integrated Through Character Development: The Greenwood School, Rebecca Clarke

Capstone Collection

Cooperative education programming as a model of teaching to varied learning styles, is based on a small scale school working to teach children to their specific learning styles centered around their brain function strengths and limitations. The Greenwood School is a boarding school located in Putney, VT specializing in teaching boys with academic, social, and behavioral differences. The school caters to about fifty boys from ages ten to eighteen. Within all of the programs operating on this campus, one of the newest is the internship program, which offers off-campus, community based work learning opportunities with adult mentors and small business …

The Impact And Effectiveness Of Student-Centered Classroom Structure, Amie P. Westberg

Mathematics Graduate Theses

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of student-centered learning as an alternative classroom structure. It is important that we continually reflect on our teaching methods and explore alternatives that can help give our students the best chance to succeed. While the literature is mixed with regard to which classroom style is best, there are many sources showing the benefits of student-centered instruction over a strictly teacher- centered classroom. Sources also showed that teachers do not need to choose exclusively one style of teaching, and that a blended classroom using a variety of teaching styles can be …

An Evaluation Of A Central Virginia Alternative School : Do Students Benefit From Their Experience?, Anthony H. Francis

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if students benefited from attending a Central Virginia alternative school, defined as a remedial alternative school which scaffolds students both socially and academically so they may return to their base school. Twelve students took part in the study that examined the academic indicators of grade point average, attendance, and number of disciplinary infractions as well as students’ perceptions of their experiences. The difference in trust levels was minimal, but students had accurate perceptions of how their grades, attendance, and discipline had changed while attending the alternative school. The study revealed three areas …

Learning In Action: Implementing A Facilitated Learning Programme For Tourism Micro-Firms, Dr. Felicity Kelliher, Dr. Leana Reinl

Irish Business Journal

This paper presents findings from research associated with a tourism micro-firm facilitated learning programme, carried out over a four-year period. Considering traditional educational interventions have had limited impact on micro-firm activities; the researchers propose an alternative approach to meeting the learning needs of micro-firms which encompass local and self-developed knowledge and the successful completion of learning cycles. Using a behavioural lens, the researchers’ consider the experiential learning impact of facilitated learning programmes on observed micro-firm owner-managers. Adopting an action learning (AL) approach, the researchers explore the design, development, implementation and impact of this programme and contemplate the observed micro-firms’ focus …

Identification Of Specific Learning Disabilities: Georgia School Psychologists' Perceptions, Marie T. Underwood

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

An on-line survey was conducted to investigate the assessment practices and perceptions of 366 practicing school psychologist in the state of Georgia concerning various operational components, and the use of RTI when determining SLD eligibility. Results were analyzed using ordinal logistic regression to determine if psychologists’ perceptions could be predicted based on various explanatory variables. Results revealed that a little over half of the respondents preferred assessment of cognitive processing deficits evidenced through patterns of strengths and weaknesses for establishing SLD classification; while well over two-thirds continue to also value analysis of cognitive ability (IQ) scores. Psychologists’ assessment practices were …

Enhancing The Academic And Social Learning Of Irish Undergraduates Through Emotional And Social Skills Development., Aiden Carthy, Celesta Mccann, Sinead Mcgilloway, Colm Mcguinness

Articles

This paper considers the potential merits of emotional competency coaching for undergraduate students. We outline the findings from our previous work which showed, for example, that a sample of First Year undergraduate students failed to engage with coaching primarily because it was not a mandatory aspect of the curricula. An analysis of the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) - which details the specific learning outcomes that must be achieved by all Irish academic syllabi found that this framework makes scant reference to the development of social and emotional skills. Therefore, a revised working model of the NFQ is proposed, which …

Development And Validation Of Pre-Service Teachers' Personal Epistemologies Of Teaching Scale (Pt-Pets), Ji Hyun Yu

Open Access Dissertations

The Internet has changed not only how we conceptualize knowledge, but also how we learn in classroom. Knowledge is not any longer transmitted from experts to non-experts, but is constructed through communication, collaboration, and integration among a network of people. In this context, teachers are expected to facilitate student-centered learning by helping students to construct knowledge through higher-order thinking rather than reproduce a series of facts. Although a growing body of research suggests that teachers' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and the process of knowing, that is personal epistemology, are related to their teaching and their students' learning, little …