Educational Methods Commons^™

A Global Perspective Of Transformational Leadership And Organizational Development, Emetrude Lewis, Deborah Boston, Saundra Peterson

Journal of Research Initiatives

Grounded in transformational leadership theory (Northouse 2010) this paper presents an analytical perspective of global transformational leadership and its role based upon ideological issues in cultural relevance, ethics and social responsibility. Interests in global transformational leadership is increasing due to interdependence of cultural, global, economic, and political issues that require the collaboration and networking efforts of leaders. The researchers examine these issues and ideologies using a metacognitive lens for the purpose of furthering the research on global transformational leadership in leadership development and organizational leadership programs of study in higher education.

Beyond Black And White: Infusing Restorative Practices Into Student Discipline, Louis L. Fletcher Phd, Peter Hilts

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

As a reaction to school violence, zero-tolerance became the rule in many school districts. The latter practice silenced student voices and institutionalized the overrepresentation of minority students in discipline situations. An over-reliance on punishment has not significantly changed behavior; therefore, it is time to explore proactively using restorative practices to allow students to value the reasons behind rules instead of simply complying to avoid punishment.

Teachers' Experiences With Integrating Play-Based Learning Into Standards-Driven Curriculum: A Phenomenological Study, Mary Nugent

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe kindergarten teachers’ experiences with integrating play-based learning into standards-based academic curriculum in a school district in South Carolina. Play–based learning experiences were defined as instances which allow children to engage in active, social learning experiences in classrooms. This study explored the question of how kindergarten teachers describe their experiences with integrating play-based learning experiences in their classrooms, the value of play in their classrooms, their role as the adult during play experiences, and the difficulties that they face in making instructional decisions. The theories guiding this study were Froebel’s early childhood …

Student Perceptions Of Type Ii Alternative School Experiences: A Phenomenological Investigation Of Motivational Factors That Influence Persistence Toward Graduation, Michael Barrett

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate how high school students described their experiences attending a Type II alternative school (geared toward students with behavioral problems and poor student attendance) in Central Georgia and the factors that motivated them to persist to graduation. The overarching research question was: How do high school graduates describe their experiences attending an alternative school in Central Georgia that motivated them to persist toward graduation? Schein’s organizational culture model, Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs served as the conceptual framework. Participants included eight students who had previously attended …

A Comparison Of Work Ethic Among High School Athletes And Non Athletes, Edward Moore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Organizations have become increasingly interested in hiring employees who are committed to the inherent value of work. The purpose of this causal comparative study was to compare the work ethic of high school athletes to non-athletes in a high school setting in South Carolina and analyzed the role of gender within that dynamic. A total of 345 responses were analyzed, with 139 reporting no participation in athletics, 87 reporting participation in sub-varsity athletics only, and 119 reporting participation in varsity athletics. The Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile (MWEP) was developed as a method of measuring work ethic and was composed of …

Comparing The Self-Efficacy Of Dual Enrollment Students Taking Classes At The High School, At The College, And Online, Tyler Wallace

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative causal comparative study investigated how the modality of course content delivery impacts the self-efficacy of dual enrollment students. The problem was that it is unclear how the benefits of dual enrollment impact different student groups based on the location of the course. The purpose was to verify existing research linking higher college self-efficacy with participation in dual enrollment programs and to provide an initial understanding of how the benefit of higher levels of self-efficacy regarding college performance is distributed between students who take their dual enrollment courses in various modalities. Using the College Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (CASES), data …

A Causal Comparative Study Of Teacher And Administrator Perceptions Of School Climate Within Elementary Schools In A School District, Clyde Alston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A school’s climate either positively or negatively affects teaching and learning within the school. School administrators have the responsibility to ensure the school climate supports both. This responsibility can only be met when school leaders have an accurate understanding of climate in the schools they serve. This causal-comparative study examines administrators’ and teachers’ perceptions of school climate among the academic, social, affective, and physical domains of school climate, as measured by the revised School Level Environment Questionnaire (r-SLEQ). Data were examined using an independent samples t-test to determine whether statistically significant differences in school climate perceptions exist between administrators and …

Writing Focused Professional Development For Content-Area Teachers: The Effects Of Writing Instruction On Content-Area Student Achievement, Amanda Edwards Whatley

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of writing on the content areas when coupled with ongoing professional development and support for content-area teachers. Research shows that writing is an essential skill for success in and beyond the school setting. Research further indicates that writing plays an important role in student learning through its development of cognitive processes; however, in general, writing as a mode of learning is not a focus of either pre or in-service teacher training. As such, writing beyond note-taking and fill-in-the-blank activities is not necessarily a strategy utilized in content-area teacher classrooms. This …

Applying Encoding And Retrieval Techniques To Chinese Rhyme Reading In Advanced Placement Chinese Instruction, Nan Wang

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

Learning Chinese as a foreign language is increasingly prevalent in public school districts in the U.S. As ACTFL (2011) reported, an increasing number of enrollments of Advanced Placement Chinese courses indicate a growing demand for Chinese language courses in U.S. public school districts (ACTFL, 2011; ACTFL, 2017). AP foreign language exams indicate that students from the mainstream culture in the U.S. do not perform as well as racial minority test takers (Brown & Thompson, 2016). Therefore, implementing appropriate teaching strategies in a student-centered foreign language environment is a desperate need. This is a pragmatic instructional design proposal, which emphasizes the …

Workbooks For Instruction In Diagram Comprehension: High School Biology Part I, Jennifer G. Cromley, Tony Perez, Bradley W. Bergey

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Four methods were developed for teaching high school students how to better understand the diagrams in their biology textbooks. The 4 workbooks instantiate these methods: Conventions of Diagrams, Self-Explanation in Diagrams, Student-Completed Diagrams-Visual, and Student-Completed Diagrams-Verbal.

The Girl Factor: How Single-Sex Learning Environments Affect African American Girls' Discipline Referral Rate, Devonne Lampkin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The mission of the single-sex education is to provide learning environments that will bring out the best in each student and will provide opportunities for success that may not be available in co-educational settings. Several explanations have been suggested for differences between single-sex and coeducational settings in educational processes and in student outcomes. Schools that implement single-sex schools do so with the hope of decreasing the social pressures and distractions that will lead to a decrease in office discipline referrals which unenviably lead to suspensions. The purpose of this ex-post facto casual comparative study examines the impact single-sex schools have …

Predictors Of Attitudes Of Private School Teachers Toward Inclusion Of Students With Special Needs In New Mexico, Debbra O'Hara

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion of students with special needs affect communication with students, curricular decisions, selection and implementation of teaching strategies, and professional development needs. Most research in the United States has focused on the attitudes of public school teachers who must follow federal special education law and regulations, though international research on inclusion has included studies of both public and private school teachers’ attitudes. Private school teachers experience differing conditions (legal, economic, organizational, philosophical, etc.) and may hold differing attitudes toward inclusion from those of their public school peers. Determining these attitudes will help private school personnel to address …

The Role Of The Short-Term Mission Trip Process In The Development Of Cultural Intelligence In University Students: A Collective Case Study, Ashley Haygood

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to determine how, if at all, Cultural Intelligence (CQ) develops in undergraduate students through a three-stage mission trip process for students at a large Christian university in the southeast participating in three separate short-term mission trips (Africa, Asia, and Europe). This study found that across the entire short-term mission (STM) trip process, religious faith was a consistent theme impacting CQ development. Three spring break short-term mission trip teams were used as three separate cases, from which several participants, or embedded units, provided their individual experiences within the case. Data collection methods occurred …

The Effects Of An Intervention Program (Voyager) Through Response To Intervention Framework On 4th Grade Reading Achievement, Lisa Harris

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The ability to read fluently has been confirmed as an indicator of good comprehension and thus academic success. Studies have shown that most students in the U.S. are reading below their grade levels. The U.S. has demanded continuously that the education system increase the outcomes of education for all children. In order to improve children’s reading educational needs, effective screening, assessments, and intervention tools need to be implemented properly in U.S. school curriculum. The purpose of this nonequivalent control group study is to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention program in improving the oral reading fluency rates of fourth graders …

Recovery From Design, Cassandra J. Ellison

Theses and Dissertations

Through research, inquiry, and an evaluation of Recovery By Design, a ‘design therapy’ program that serves people with mental illness, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities, it is my assertion that the practice of design has therapeutic potential and can aid in the process of recovery. To the novice, the practices of conception, shaping form, and praxis have empowering benefit especially when guided by Conditional and Transformation Design methods together with an emphasis on materiality and vernacular form.

An Examination Into The Instruction Of The Alphabet During Preschool Years, Amanda Titus

Masters Theses

Instruction of the letters of the alphabet is a controversial topic among early childhood educators. Not only is it debated whether letter instruction is developmentally appropriate but there is then the discussion concerning how the letters are best taught once a program deems it is developmentally appropriate. In this study, 87 children were assessed at two separate times during the school year to determine a method of instruction that proved most effective. The study took place over three consecutive school years. The first year, 27 students were exposed to alphabetic instruction through a combination of music and mnemonic device assisted …

Educational Learning Environments, Meaghan Rooney 3287247

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The question of classroom learning environment and how it affects learning has been widely studied. The type of environment in which students learn sparks passionate debate in today’s society, since a significant amount of a child’s time is spent in a school. . Research confirms that attending school and obtaining an education will teach children to be successful citizens, but what about the environment in which they go to school? If school is what makes the next generation ready to positively contribute to society, then steps must be taken so that each child has an opportunity to thrive. Students in …

Shifting Gears In The Classroom—Movement Towardpersonalized Learning And Competency-Based Education, Danielle J. Camacho, Jill M. Legare

Publications

The 21st century workforce must be able to address dynamic situations, think critically, and solve problems by accessing and analyzing information (Wagner, 2011). In response to employer requirements for skilled students, administrators at 4-year colleges have designed nontraditional approaches to learning which included CBE and PL-based learning (Williams, Moser, Youngblood, & Singer, 2015). Colleges and universities continue to make adjustments in the curriculum to satisfy employer expectations. New graduates are expected to demonstrate mastery of general education competencies such as reading, writing, and critical thinking as well as industry-specific competencies and skills (Williams, Matt, & O’Reilly, 2014). CBE programs allow …

Innovative Techniques For Inspiring Efl Students' Enthusiasm And Participating In English Classroom Activities, Yinghung Natalie Chiang

Master's Projects and Capstones

Since 1990, the government of Taiwan has sought to position the country as an international economic and trading center. As a result, English became a compulsory subject for Taiwanese students in 2005 (Lu, 2011). The Taiwan Ministry of Education (MOE) is promoting communicative language teaching (CLT) and encouraging learners to develop and increased desire to improve their language skills. However, many Taiwanese English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers still focus on memorization and the grammar translation method (Chung & Huang, 2009). The author discovered two major issues related to English language teaching in Taiwan. The first issue was many Taiwanese …

The Living Classroom: A Professional Learning Session, Albert P. Buckley Jr.

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

The American public school classroom has begun moving from the traditional furniture of education (hard plastic chairs attached to desks) to flexible mobile furniture as part of a holistic approach to creating a learning environment that enhances learning for its students. This project describes the process derived in the development and delivery of an asynchronous professional learning session aimed at helping teachers acclimate and engage new or adapted physical and psychological attributes to the learning environments in their care. The program is backed with research demonstrating why the progressive classroom improves the learning experience for both students and teachers. The …

Beliefs On Behavior: The Influence Of Constructed Beliefs Of Discipline On School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports (Pbis) Fidelity Of Implementation, Elizabeth Baynes Johnson

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation explores the association between teacher perceptions of behavior and teacher implementation of PBIS. Adding to previous research on various links between teacher demographics and behavior approaches, this research aims to provide an analysis of any such association to enlighten teacher knowledge and inform potential behavior change.

The quasi-experimental quantitative approach utilized in this study identifies any statistically significant correlations between approach to behavior and implementation fidelity. Quantitative data compiled via surveys and data collection analyzed by behavior approach are explained as well as analyzed in terms of predictability based on the independent variable of teacher behavior approach as …

Gameful Design In The Development Of Asynchronous Online Discussion Activities: A Case Study, William Michael Trest

Dissertations

This study investigates Gameful Design as a method to improve the development and implementation of Asynchronous Online Discussions in online learning environments. A qualitative methodology, an instrumental case study design, was used to examine the effectiveness of this design method by exploring the experiences of the participants and the meaning they gave to those experiences. Data was collected through observation, discussion transcript analysis, and pre/post-course interviews. Validity was strengthened by triangulation of these sources.

The findings showed that gameful design was an effective method to encourage the development of a connected and engaged learning community within an online class and …

A Mother's Spiritual Journey With Her Disabled Son: An Autoethnography, Margaret C. Higgins Edd

Dissertations

Abstract

This autoethnographic research delves into a mother’s experiences with her disabled son over thirty-five years. Beginning with a thick description of the crib accident that resulted in physical and cognitive disabilities that profoundly change the course of both mother and son’s life, this research chronicles the search for meaning, community, and healing as they negotiate the realms of medicine, education, career, family, and spirituality. Models of disability that seek to explain various ways in which society often views disability are examined, but none resonate with the researcher’s intimate experiences nor satisfies her deepest needs for insight and healing. Making …

The Effects Of Implementing Close Reading In A Third, Fourth, And Fifth Grade Public School Setting To Improve Student Achievement, Cory Valentine

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this ex-post facto, causal-comparative study is to determine the effects of close reading on student achievement. Close reading is a strategy developed through literary criticism and the influences of I. A. Richards and the New Critics. This study analyzes close reading to determine the most efficient practice to help students develop critical reading, thinking, and written communication skills. The researcher examined 2013 to 2015 New York State English Language Arts Exam data from 10 school districts located in the Broome-Tioga BOCES Region. For the study, 6,040 student exams in Grades 3, 4, and 5 were analyzed. Using …

Physical Education, Art, And Music Teachers' Lived Experiences With Students Who Have Adhd Or Adhd Symptoms, Kellie Henry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to discover the lived experiences of teaching students with ADHD for art, music, and physical education teachers at elementary schools. The theories guiding this study are Zentall’s (1975) Optimal Stimulation Theory and Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior as they explain how teachers’ attitudes and use of stimulation in the classroom affects the central phenomenon. This transcendental phenomenological study was based on actual descriptions of elementary special area teachers’ lived experiences with students who have ADHD. The design included a review of the literature, epoche, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and synthesis of …

Blended Learning: Perspectives From First Time High School Instructors, Tammy Parlier

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to understand the transitional experiences of first time instructors, teaching a blended learning course at three separate high school sites. Blended learning is defined as inquiry that combines both face-to-face and online modalities (Halverson, Graham, Spring, & Drysdale, 2012). This unique merger between both traditional face-to-face instruction and innovative online learning creates transition and change experiences for instructors as they adapt their practice to satisfy the requirements of the blended learning environment (Guskey, 1986). Data collected through individual interviews, reflective journals, observations, and a culminating focus group interview examined these experiences in …

Differences In Students' Satisfaction Of The Economics And Personal Finance Virtual High School Course Between Students Attending Economically Disadvantaged And Non-Economically Disadvantaged Schools In Virginia, Lhe Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Virtual learning is a mandated high school graduation requirement for students entering high school during the 2013 school year in the state of Virginia. The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to analyze the differences of perceived overall satisfaction of high school students enrolled in a virtual course in different socioeconomic status schools, as measured by the e-Learning Student Satisfaction (ELS) instrument. The study participants were high school students enrolled in an Economics and Personal Finance virtual/online high school course in Virginia, n = 249. The study utilized a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to determine if there …

Perceptions Of The Role Physical Activity Plays In Early Childhood Education, Martha Swirzinski

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to describe the perceptions early childhood educators who intentionally implement physical activity into their class day in Eastern Virginia have with regards to using physical activity with preschoolers ages three to five. The theory guiding this study was the social constructivist theory by Lev Vygotsky (1978) which maintains that each individual has a different perspective about any given experience based on their prior experiences and all experiences build upon themselves to create knowledge. The constructivist theory suggests learners must interact with their environments to gain new knowledge (Ogunnaike, 2015). The basic …

The Effect Of Group Counseling Intervention On The Performance Of Rural Students On The Georgia High School Graduation Tests, Donna Caudel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

With an increase in high-stakes testing, educators continue to search for the best methodologies for assisting students in maximizing academic achievement and successful completion of graduation requirements including mandatory tests for high school graduation. At the time of this study, students graduating from Georgia high schools were required to pass five academic subject area tests in order to receive a high school diploma. Psychometric theory, social cognitive theory, and cognitive behavioral theory provided the theoretical framework for this study. Students from a rural high school in Georgia comprised the sample. This quantitative study employed a posttest-only control group design with …

An Examination Of Motivational Levels Of Non-Traditional Undergraduate Business And Education Majors, Kristopher Bradshaw

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research dissertation was developed for the purpose of advancing the literature in the realm of student motivation. Previous research in the field has placed little emphasis on the adult, non-traditional student population. Adult, non-traditional students represents an important part of the higher education climate in the United States and the unique motivators of this population needs further examination in order to more closely align academic programs and services with motives and goals. The research questions seek to answer if a significant difference exists between the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational levels of business majors compared to education majors in the …