Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Teacher Instructional Strategies Impacting Rural, High-Poverty Student Academic Outcomes, Erin Kinney Burt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is an abundant amount of interest among educators surrounding what actions can be taken by the government, local representatives, school boards, administrators, and teachers to assist rural, high-poverty students flourish academically. An uninspiring truth related to this subject is many times, a student receives the education the state and local communities are able to provide based on the quality of teachers they are able to retain and the resources available. Instructional strategies teachers implement could influence the quality of education students receive and could leave a community in a constant cycle of dependency and hardship. The purpose of this …

Investigating The Most Valued Components Of The South Carolina Teaching Fellows Program By Graduates Who Have Remained In The Education Profession, Amanda Jane Darden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The vision of every elementary, middle, and high school in the United States is to deliver an excellent educational setting to each and every student who enters their school building. Educational research overwhelmingly demonstrates that a primary factor contributing to an “excellent educational setting” is having highly qualified and effective teachers (Rice, 2003). However, the teacher supply and demand issues currently facing our nation is significantly compromising the ideal of providing excellent educational settings in our schools. Teacher attrition is a problem that faces schools throughout the United States. The number of teachers leaving their positions to pursue other careers …

A Study Linking Title 1 Strategic Resource Allocation To Student Academic Success In South Carolina Public Schools, Brenton Jerrod Coe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Strategic instructional resourcing has become an important topic in public education, the most lucrative and expensive business in the United States. It is estimated which the United States spends about $612.7 billion annually on public education. This study will analyze and synthesize data from Title I schools in South Carolina, specifically in the area of resource allocation and its relationship to student academic success. Historically, public education has provided all citizens with an equal and equitable opportunity to receive an adequate education. Over time, access to strong public education can impact the lives of students with regard to social mobility. …

Covid-19'S Impact On School Principals' Self-Efficacy As Managerial Leaders, Krystle Marie Ballatore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation in practice (DiP) employs qualitative research and educational theories to examine the impact of COVID-19 on school principals' self-efficacy in one South Carolina school district. Its theoretical framework is based on Bandura's (1977, 1986, 1997) social cognitive theory. The dissertation begins by outlining the specific problem at hand, relevant general concerns, and a purpose statement. This problem serves as the foundation for the research questions: How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted principals' self-efficacy as their schools' managerial leaders? How do these principals' experiences vary in degree of impact by school level (i.e., early childhood, primary, elementary, intermediate, middle, …

Does School Choice Guarantee Reading Success? An Investigation Into The Impact Of West Charter School District On The Reading Success Of Third Graders, Shemekia Lachristy Nero

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

South Carolina's Charter School Act of 1996 was passed for the primary reason of improving education for the state. A part of this improvement would come by way of charter schools providing innovative ways of teaching and learning. In 2017 WCSD was established, in hopes of answering the call of the 1996 Charter School Act by providing innovative ways of educating students, thus improving public education in the state. Today, South Carolina's school system ranks 44th in the nation, out-performing only six other states, and there is no data proving or disproving the impact of WCSD on education. The purpose …

The Post-Pandemic Influence On Social Emotional Learning In The K-12 Music Classroom, Jodie Michelle Rowe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to understand the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the post-pandemic state of social emotional learning in music classrooms. This study addresses a vital need for an investigation into the current social emotional needs of students in music classes to then provide information on common practices for music teachers to utilize with their students to best meet these current needs in social emotional learning and communities of practice. The methodology utilized for this study was a qualitative narrative study approach, with focus groups serving as the main form of data collection. Results of …

Comparison Of Traditional To Hybrid Modality Of Instruction, Paul Michael Spadaro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented disruption in education across the United States. Prior to the pandemic, students in third grade struggled with low reading proficiency, a difficulty that predicts persistent academic struggles, school dropout, and even delinquency. Districts in South Carolina and around the United States adapted to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in various ways, and among these strategies were a traditional learning modality, where students attended school only in-person and when possible, and a hybrid learning modality, where students alternatively attended in-person and remotely. It is important to understand the potential impacts of these scheduling decisions on …

Covid-19 & Mathematics Achievement: A Casual-Comparative Study, Jay M. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Learning loss due to COVID-19 and the digital divide will have dire consequences for low-income students. This study used the Faucet Theory (Alexander et al., 2001) as a theoretical framework to determine the extent that the COVID-19 learning environment impacted the Southern Public Schools District’s African American, low-income, and high-income high school students’ proficiency level based on the Algebra I section of the 2020-2021 Louisiana Education Assessment Program (LEAP) assessment. The researcher used archival data from the LEAP, a causal-comparative research design, and a one-way ANOVA to test the hypotheses and answer the research question. The results of the one-way …

With Liberty And Justice For All? Examining The Role Of Hegemony Throughout U.S. History In Influencing Multilingual Discriminatory Practices Within Academic Policies And Legislation, Katie Olivia Wallen

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The discriminatory systems that multidialectal and multilingual users experience in the United States have historically influenced how educators and policymakers approach the construction of academic policies and curricula. These hegemonic systems shape and inform linguistic attitudes that have continually imparted prejudice against non-White language users, resulting in a gap of inclusivity for diverse student populations. Research aiming to address this gap has traditionally approached linguistic discrimination by specifically examining the use of dialects or non-English languages in the classroom rather than the underlying systems that affect both multidialectal and multilingual users similarly. Through the lens of policy and social construct …

Implementing Nonlinguistic Representations In Language Arts, Joy Ondrak

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This capstone project analyzes the use of nonlinguistic representation as both instructional and assessment strategies in a Language Arts unit. The project reports the effectiveness of nonlinguistic forms of representation that were integrated into a persuasive unit that focused on students’ comprehension of the modes of appeal, specifically in advertising. The persuasive unit included 12 lessons that were taught over a four-week period. This project analyzed the effectiveness of the implemented instructional and assessment strategies on student’s learning based on pre- and post- assessment scores. Following analysis of the pre- and post- assessment data, I discovered that nonlinguistic forms of …

Analyzing The Effectiveness Of Graphic Organizers In An English Classroom, Alexandra Espinoza

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The use of graphic organizers has risen in classrooms over the past few decades. However, it is essential to assess whether they lead to improved student learning, as some trending instructional strategies are not well-backed by quality research. The purpose of this study was to analyze if graphic organizers are indeed effective to use in a high school English class. This study took place in a secondary school setting for a weeklong unit. For this project, students completed three graphic organizers throughout the unit in order to better understand selected topics relating to the unit’s nonfiction text including inferences, characterization, …

Generating An Alternative Thesis Pathway: Critical Reflection Of Coursework And Internships, Kendele Kramer

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Since internship experiences are recognized as high impact educational practices and the honors thesis is designed to be a gateway to work beyond the typical undergraduate degree, I helped develop a pathway for BENG honors students to use critical reflection to develop an honors thesis related to internship and class experience. Then, I wrote about my own experiences to serve as an example for future BENG students who want to pursue this pathway.

My objective for this example thesis was to describe the value of my engineering and technical internships and coursework and how they have shaped my future career …

A Literature Review On Teaching Text Comprehension To Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Abigail Combs

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this review is to determine if particular instructional strategies, from a sufficient number of studies, are qualified as an evidence-based practice (EBP) for teaching text-based comprehension skills across content areas for students with intellectual disabilities (ID). This focused review will be added on to the previous review conducted by Mims et al. (in submission) where the search ended in 2018. Due to the time gap in the searched literature, the studies included within the Mims et al. study is no longer comprehensive. Therefore, this focused review of the literature will fill the gap of literature that was …

Teaching Story Problems To First-Grade Students Utilizing A Variety Of Differentiated Instructional Strategies And Assessment Methods, Shelby Decker

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This capstone project reports the differentiated instructional strategies implemented throughout a math unit in a first-grade classroom. The capstone will report the effectiveness of two instructional strategies and two assessment methods that were integrated into a math unit that focused on students’ understanding of story problems with a missing addend or subtrahend. The math unit had 13 lessons taught over four weeks between the pre- and post-assessment. Based on student data, students’ understanding and performance increased throughout this unit by using a variety of differentiated instructional strategies and assessment methods. In this capstone, I will report what the instructional strategies …

Black Fatherhood: A Critical Component For Urban African American Student Success, Cameron Steel

Honor’s College Freeman Research Journal

A multitude of studies express that father involvement has an impact on student achievement and learning outcomes for urban African American students (Palm & Fagan, 2008). Although biological fathers are extremely vital to our community, a biological connection between a parental figure and their student is not essential to these correlational outcomes. The absence of fathers in the urban African American community has had a negative impact on students' self-esteem, academic efficacy, and general livelihood. Realistically, it is not a viable solution to place fathers in homes or force them to stay and remain active participants in their child's K-12 …

Examining Teachers' Referral And Placement Decisions Of Hispanic Children For Gifted And Talented Programs, Guillermo I. Mendoza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative survey design study examined whether children’s ethnicity makes a difference in teachers’ referral and placement decisions in gifted and talented (G/T) programs. A total of 524 teachers from all over the United States who have taught or currently teach pre-kindergarten through 5th grade participated. The participants were randomly given one of six vignettes adapted from a previous similar study (Elhoweris et al., 2005). Participants answered whether the child described should be referred and placed into gifted and talented programs. All six vignettes described gifted and talented characteristics; the only differences were the children's ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Data …

Administrative Evaluations Of Teachers In Tested And Non-Tested Subjects., Natasha Lanham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The teacher evaluation process seeks to help teachers grow and thrive, and as a result, affect student achievement. Administrators evaluate teachers from different subjects, grade levels, and experience levels. This qualitative study examined the perception of feedback given through the cooperating school district’s evaluation system from both the teacher and the principal viewpoint in order to explore their perceptions of the quality and quantity of feedback given during the evaluation process. Participants were arts teachers, tested subject teachers, and their evaluating administrators from a suburban school district in Kentucky. The analysis revealed that generic evaluations do not differentiate for teachers …

A Leadership Laboratory: Exploring The Use Of Case-In-Point Pedagogy To Develop Complex Thinking In Leaders, Erica Corley Jackson

Dissertations

Leadership scholars have identified a growing gap between the complexity of 21^st century organizations and the capabilities of individuals in positions of leadership to adequately address these challenges. This gap has contributed to a so-called complexity crisis—a situation in which the demands placed on those in leadership positions increases “at a rate that significantly outstrips the rate at which” leaders are cognitively developing (Rich-Tolsma & Oliver, 2016, p. 1). One way to respond to this growing need for complex adult thinking is through metacognitive development initiatives. However, finding educational methods to promote metacognitive development has proven to be …

Teaching Reflection On Collaborative Writing In The Spanish Second And Third-Grade Dli Classroom, Lucía Martín García

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio was written and compiled by the author while completing the Utah State University Masters in Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program. The documents included are: a discussion of the author’s teaching environment and experience, a teaching philosophy statement of the approaches that inform the author’s teaching practice, a required professional development peer observation of another instructor, a main paper that investigates benefits of and strategies for collaborative writing in the L2 classroom, and a statement of personal goals for the future. In the main paper, the author offers a concise literature review and a reflection on collaborative writing strategies …

Xinachtli: Exploring The Experiences Of Young Resilient Latinas In A Rural And Under-Resourced Community, Deborah Hernandez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This interpretive phenomenology study aimed to explore the lived experiences of young Latinas in a rural and under-resourced community. The analysis of the messages received by young women in educational institutions, at home, and in science and math classes was necessary due to the underrepresentation of Latinas in STEM fields. Using an interpretive phenomenology lens, the researcher collected journals from seven participants. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with all seven participants every week for 16 weeks by the Xinachtli facilitator. The data collected from the journals were transcribed in a line-by-line analysis and affirmed using qualitative analysis. The codes were …

Facilitating Learner Engagement And Success Through Collaborative Study Guides In Online Nursing Graduate Courses, Yolany Lizzeth Lagos Ortiz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This mixed methods study sought to explore how graduate nursing students engaged with a study guide intervention to determine the relationship between the intervention and students' performance in the end-of-course assessment and their perceptions of cognitive presence and social presence in a fully online graduate evidence-based methods nursing course. This study used a quantitative-driven mixed-methods concurrent research design. The 371 students enrolled in the 28 course sections were invited to participate. 325 students were engaging with the study guide, and 192 responded to the questionnaire. In quantitative analysis, the independent variables in this study were students' responses and views to …

Faculty-Leader Relationships And Work Engagement: A Mixed-Methods Study, Sonya Davidson Kopp

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Nearly three-fourths of faculty at U.S. institutions of higher education (IHEs) are classified as non-tenure track faculty (NTTF), and more the 70% of higher education students had taken online courses following the move to emergency online instruction in 2019. Remote faculty relationships with leaders have been shown to play a vital role in faculty satisfaction and engagement with their work. This convergent parallel mixed-methods study was guided by the following research questions: Primary Research Question 1 (RQ1) - What is the relationship between faculty-leader relationship and work engagement when controlling for faculty classification (lead faculty, full-time faculty, or part-time faculty), …

Examining The Experiences Of Adult Learners In A First-Year Seminar Course At A Tennessee Community College, Michell Ivey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of adult learners in a first-year seminar course at Columbia State Community College, located in middle Tennessee, to determine if the content of the course has an impact on the learners’ adjustment to college. With the statewide initiative to reach a goal of 55% of the state’s population having a postsecondary credential, a push has been made to focus on adult learners to help the reach this goal. Understanding and addressing the adjustment needs of adult learners is necessary to aid retaining adult learners through completion. The first-year seminar course …

Doctoral Students' Experiences Of Community Of Practice In A Hybrid Cohort-Based Program: A Case Study, Celeste Avery

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Graduate enrollment in the United States is increasing. With the advent of the cohort learning model and online delivery methods, adult learners now have greater access to higher education. The cohort learning model, which is based on elements of Community of Practice, has been shown to provide learners with a sense of community while also having a positive impact on retention. In a hybrid cohort-based learning model, many institutions provide the convenience of both online and face-to-face classes. Doctoral student attrition remains high, ranging from 40-50% across all programs, with rates as high as 70% in Education programs. The purpose …

English Language Learners And Their Postsecondary Education Outcomes: Evidence From Arkansas, Rian Djita, Kate Barnes, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Nearly 10% of students enrolled in public schools in the U.S. are identified as English Language Learners (ELLs). The population of ELL students is expected to continue to rise, therefore research about ELLs is both timely and essential. An increasing body of literature addresses the experience and outcomes of ELLs in the context of both K-12 and postsecondary education. Most studies, however, focus on California, Texas, Florida, and New York (Aguilar, 2010; Callahan et al., 2023; Flores, Batalova & Fix, 2012) presenting a need for more research to make state-by-state comparisons especially from rural states that have become new destinations …

Better Budtender Training, Vincent Mcdonald Castillo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

A survey conducted by the cannabis education program in the Monterey County Health Department (MCHD) concluded that around 57% of users in the county do not feel educated enough in the subject to form their own educated opinions about cannabis use (Cannabis Education Survey 2022). The MCHD decided to address this concern by collaborating with local dispensaries to provide an educational course in video form for budtenders. This video provides factual information on consumption methods, how differently they may affect people and the recommended time to wait before operating a vehicle. Following this education, consumers of cannabis will have reliable …

Improving Workers’ Effectiveness When Working With Unhoused Individuals, Danika J. Bralek

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

When volunteering with individuals without housing, volunteers may not know what to expect or how to act when assisting this population. Without proper preparation, these volunteers may end up further marginalizing the population they are working with, putting themselves in danger, or failing to assist these human beings. When volunteers know more about how to assist these individuals in need, they can properly manage each client’s case and assist them in receiving proper aid. In order to address preparedness for volunteers working with these vulnerable populations, I have created an instructional video addressing proper rapport building, understanding needs and correct …

Longitudinal Relations Among Expectancy-Value Beliefs, Achievement, And Intentions To Leave For Health Science Students, Kyle C. Mefferd

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Utilizing expectancy-value theory (EVT), the present study observed the temporal relations among health science students’ expectations, subjective task values (STV), and costs with academic achievement and intentions to leave a health science program. The present study is among the first to examine this population of students and is one of the earliest to utilize a longitudinal design with a random-intercepts cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) for EVT data. The study’s novel contributions not only add to the EVT literature by incorporating a methodologically more advanced form of the traditional cross-lagged panel model, but also extends the reach of EVT research by …

Development And Initial Validation Of The Mindful Self-Regulated Learning Scale (M-Srls), Sarah Wolff

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Modern mindfulness is a catch-all term. Just exactly what it looks like within the context of education and how it is taught vastly varies. As such, program fidelity and integrity is questioned. Here a definition of mindful self-regulated learning is proposed and the Mindful Self-Regulated Learning Scale (m-SRLS) is developed. This includes item generation and development, systematic testing of item performance, scale dimensionality, convergent and divergent validity, measurement invariance across groups and subgroups, and scale reliability over a series of five pilot studies and five primary studies using independent samples. The resulting m-SRLS is a context specific measurement tool that …

Readiness To Lead: Novice School Leaders' Perceptions Of The Impact Arkansas Fellowship Experience On Their Preparedness To Assume School Leadership Roles, Allison Prewitt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research provides increasing evidence that school leadership correlates with school performance (Herman et al., 2016). The leadership skills of K-12 school administrators are linked with student achievement. Evidence indicates that school leaders’ roles continue to evolve as accountability measures change (Grissom et al., 2021). Historically, principal preparation programs emphasized developing management skills. According to research, this is insufficient to prepare instructional leaders for the complex social context of contemporary education (Hernandez et al., 2012; Kerston, 2010; Levine, 2005; Lynch, 2012; Miller, 2013; Zubnzycki, 2013). Unfortunately, most principal preparation programs (PPPs) have not kept pace with the expanding role of principals …