Educational Methods Commons^™

Intrinsic Motivation In The Responsive Classroom, Dana Ruggiero

Theses and Graduate Projects

The Responsive Classroom model is considered a positive way to promote intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation in this study was measured through classroom management, teacher/student relationships, and academic choice. The participants of the study were teachers who had been trained in the Responsive Classroom method. Through direct observation and surveys the results of the study proved to be that motivation is a variable dependent on multiple factors including number of years teaching as well as personal philosophy.

A Questionnaire For Incoming High School Ell Students To Better Assist Them In Entering The American Educational System, Narine Balayan

All Graduate Projects

This project is designed to help teachers get a better understanding of the incoming ELL students' backgrounds to better assist these students in the education process and make the transition from their native educational system to the American educational system smoother. Teachers must be aware of ELL students' family situations, lives outside the school, diverse background knowledge and how these things affect reading and writing comprehension, and be able to choose the most appropriate assessment and instruction.

Learning Strategies Of First-Year Business Students, Bettina Greimel-Fuhrmann

International Journal for Business Education

The empirical study presented in this paper identifies potential strengths and weaknesses of first‐year students´ learning strategies at the beginning of their studies. It concentrates on the students´ self‐assessment of their self‐motivation, time management, and concentration, coping with stress and fear of failure, elaboration of information, ability to focus on important information, cooperative learning, self‐control of learning progress, and dealing with exams. The results reveal that during their school days, numerous students have not (or just very rarely) applied learning strategies that may be considered indispensable for successfully studying at a university, like taking notes in class or summarizing the …

A Shared Challenge: Improving Literacy, Numeracy And Science Learning In Queensland Primary Schools, Geoff N. Masters

Assessment and Reporting

Following the release of Queensland results in the 2008 National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) late in 2008, the Premier, Anna Bligh, requested an independent review of literacy, numeracy and science standards in Queensland primary schools. The review was asked to examine available data on the performances of Queensland students and, drawing on international research evidence, to provide advice in the areas of curriculum, assessment and teacher quality. In particular, the review was asked to identify existing effective practices, to propose ways in which these could be …

Book Review: A Practical Guide To Problem-Based Learning Online, Jennifer C. Richardson

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

No abstract provided.

When Is Pbl More Effective? A Meta-Synthesis Of Meta-Analyses Comparing Pbl To Conventional Classrooms, Johannes Strobel, Angela Van Barneveld

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Problem-based learning (PBL) has been utilized for over 40 years in a variety of different disciplines. Although extensively researched, there is heated debate about the effectiveness of PBL. Several meta-analyses were conducted that provided a synthesis of the effects of PBL in comparison to traditional forms of instruction. This study used a qualitative meta-synthesis approach to compare and contrast the assumptions and findings of the meta-analytical research on the effectiveness of PBL. Findings indicated that PBL was superior when it comes to long-term retention, skill development and satisfaction of students and teachers, while traditional approaches were more effective for short-term …

Spring 2009 Itv Survey, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Assessment Center Reports

Distance Education & eLearning ITV Survey reports produced by the SWOSU Assessment Center

How Do You Get Student Buy-In To A "Wonderful (To You)" Teaching Innovation?, Wendy L. Keeney-Kennicutt, Adalet Baris Gunersel, Nancy J. Simpson

SoTL Commons Conference

One difficulty in adopting new classroom tools is persuading students to accept an educational technique out of their comfort zone. Our study investigated student perceptions when Calibrated Peer Review (CPR)™, a web-based program that uses writing for learning and assessing, was introduced into a general chemistry college classroom, and the strategies that helped convert initial intense opposition into acceptance and engagement. We will share the mistakes made, the reasons for students' like or dislike of CPR, the 4 year path taken to understand the issues and modify its implementation for a more positive classroom experience, and why the instructor persisted …

Professional Learning Communities: Perfect Pamphlet, Kathleen (Kc) Heywood

All Graduate Projects

The intent of this study is to demonstrate how teacher collaboration can improve student learning. Research supports the relationship between teacher collaboration and academic success for students (DuFour & DuFour, 2004). Studies also show that a correlation between high achieving students is a direct result of teachers collaborating and having common goals for learning improvement (DuFour & Eaker, 1998). Therefore, collaboration among intermediate school teachers was studied (DuFour & DuFour, 2004). As a result of extensive research regarding teacher collaboration and student success at the intermediate school level, the Perfect Pamphlet was developed. All learning targets in the Perfect Pamphlet …

Mouthy Students And The Teacher's Apple: Questions Of Orality And Race In The Urban Public School, Alyssa D. Niccolini

Occasional Paper Series

This paper will seek to investigate our oral fixation - standardizing language, controlling consumption, and regulating "appropriate" oral expression - especially in the context of an inner-city, low income, and minority populated school.

Powerpoint Games In A Secondary Laptop Environment, Michael K. Barbour, Jim Kinsella, Lloyd P. Rieber

Education Faculty Publications

There is no denying the success and popularity of WebQuests among teachers. For those interested in technology integration, this is a significant step in the right direction. Yet, WebQuests are instructivist examples of technology integration – they are web-enhanced forms of direct instruction. We consider constructing homemade PowerPoint games as a constructionist alternative to WebQuests. PowerPoint is nearly ubiquitous software and teachers already use existing games in their classrooms. The authors contend that a better use of class time for learning is to turn over the act of game design to the children themselves. In this project, students in social …

Introduction: Classroom Life In The Age Of Accountability, Gail M. Boldt, Paula M. Salvio, Peter Taubman

Occasional Paper Series

"For this Occasional Paper, we invited teachers to respond to the ways in which proliferation of standards and testing combined with their own loss of professional control is altering the landscape of American education....Our goal is to raise questions about whether and how educators are balancing the demands of high stakes testing, scripted curricula, and a focus on performance outcomes with the emotional complexity of classroom life."--The editors

In Defense Of Playfulness, Peter J. Nelsen

Occasional Paper Series

Nelsen argues that the loss of play has unwittingly provoked a loss of critical thinking and civic engagement.

Squeezed, Stretched, And Stuck: Teachers Defending Play-Based Learning In No-Nonsense Times, Karen Wohlwend

Occasional Paper Series

Describes how playful and inquiry-based engagements in kindergarten and first grade classrooms eventually gave way to the demands of district-mandated teacher evaluation plans that called for targeted reading strategies, seatwork, and instruction using basal reading materials. Wohlend describes the resulting impingement on children's emotional lives and the professional authority of teachers in these midwestern classrooms.

Knowing What Works For Arkansas, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

The Office for Education Policy aims to serve as a resource to aid lawmakers and educators in education related decisions. The OEP recently became partners with the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), a research unit of the U.S. Department of Education, which reviews K-12 curricula and interventions. The goal of this article is to highlight the resources offered through the WWC, and draw attention to some of the WWC services and products that may be useful to educators in Arkansas.

Research And Practice In K-12 Online Learning: A Review Of Open Access Literature, Cathy S. Cavanaugh, Michael K. Barbour, Tom Clark

Education Faculty Publications

The literature related to online learning programs for K-12 students dates to the mid-1990s and builds upon a century of research and practice from K-12 distance education. While K-12 online learning programs have evolved and grown over the past decade, the amount of published research on virtual schooling practice and policy is limited. The current literature includes practitioner reports and experimental and quasi-experimental studies, both published and unpublished. This paper reviews open access literature in K-12 online learning and reports on a structured content analysis of the documents. Themes in the literature include steady growth and a focus on the …

Enumclaw School District Summer Reading Program, Lea Kai Tiger

All Graduate Projects

The aim of this project is to improve the elementary summer school program currently offered by the Enumclaw School District by developing a reading program to be used by the summer school instructors. Instruction outside of the school day, characteristics of successful extracurricular programs, why reading needs to be the focus of the summer school program, and what to teach and how to teach reading were researched. Taking the information found after studying the aforementioned topics, a program to be used for the Enumclaw School District summer school was developed. The program consists of lessons, games, and strategies that can …

Differentiated Instruction In The Work Sample: A Study Of Preservice Teacher Practice, Amy Lynn Dee

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Successfully implementing the practice of inclusion by differentiating instruction is dependent upon both the skills and attitudes of general education teachers. New general education teachers who are entering the field are particularly vulnerable to the demands and stress of the profession, and exemplary preservice teacher education programs must prepare pre service teachers to meet the needs of all students by giving them the skills to make appropriate lesson adaptations, accommodations and modifications. This study investigates the manifestation of differentiation for special education students in work sample lesson plans written by preservice teachers working toward an elementary school credential. The research …

Efficacy Of A Secondary School Mentoring Program: Connecting Academic Achievement With Mentoring, Kimberly Olson

Theses and Graduate Projects

This study was created to determine if students at the middle school level would exhibit an increase in quarter grades in the areas of reading and mathematics throughout the year if they received mentoring from school personnel. In addition to student grades, attendance and behavior referrals throughout the year were also examined. This study involved fifty-two students in the study group and sixty-six students in the control group, all of whom attended the same public middle school in southeast Minnesota. Data were collected by school office personnel and was analyzed using the t-tests (to compare average means for analyzing academic …

The Effect Of A Summer Reading Program On Student Reading Achievement, Danielle Triplett

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the relationship between reading during the summer and reading achievement. The participants consisted of second through fifth grade students in a rural, western North Carolina elementary school. Continued focus on increasing reading abilities and closing the achievement gap prompted the interest for this research.

Data were gathered through the use of qualitative and quantitative measures such as state and county assessments, surveys, and program reports.

Analysis of the data indicated the role that reading during the summer had on reading achievement.

A Case Study Of Student Engagement In Collaborative Group Learning In A Blended Community Based (Service) Learning Module, John G. Mcgarrigle

Research Theses

Abstract: A participatory action research case study employed mixed methods to examine student collaboration and engagement in a Community Based (Service) learning module. A quasi experimental testing of Coates (2007) typology of student engagement found low agreement between students and lecturers in assigning the terms, passive, intense, independent or collaborative to student postings to discussion fora. Evidence from this case study found greater student collaboration in discussion fora when linked to practical course activity. Qualitative analysis of discussion threads using conversation analysis provided evidence for collaboration in deeper knowledge construction when supported by lecturers’ contributions. Discourse analysis examined interviews with …

Teacher Retention: Program Evaluation Of A Beginning Teacher And Mentor Program, Janet B. Anthony

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation evaluated a beginning teacher induction and mentor program currently used in a rural, county school system in western North Carolina and its effectiveness in the retention of teachers. The system has 29 schools, around 16,690 students, and employs approximately 1200 certified staff members. Using the CIPP Evaluation Model with a formative approach, information was gathered about the conditions that necessitated the program, procedures and practices used by the system to provide support and assistance to beginning teachers, whether or not established processes were being followed, and the impact of the program on beginning teacher retention. Individual and focus …

Social Capital: Relationship Between Social Capital And Teacher Job Satisfaction Within A Learning Organization, Timothy Lee Chazon

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to study the relationship between Social Capital and teacher Job Satisfaction for 11 selected North Carolina Middle Schools. This study uses the learning organizational theory and social capital theory as theoretical constructs for studying the complex relationships between school as a Learning Organization (LO), Social Capital (SC), and teacher Job Satisfaction (JS). SC encompasses the interactive-interpersonal relationships and the values that are placed on those relationships whose collaborative efforts provide collective leverage to obtain an agreed-upon task. SC, according to Subramaniam and Youndt (2005), is intrinsically tied to Human Capital (HC), which is the individual knowledge, …

Professional Learning Communities: A Case Study Of The Implementation Of Plcs At An Elementary School Based On Huffman And Hipp's Five Dimensions And Critical Attributes, Shannon Long

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to examine the change in perceptions of instructional staff in regards to five dimensions as it proceeded in establishing a professional learning community. The researcher utilized focused interview sessions, group interview questionnaires, and Huffman and Hipp's Professional Learning Survey to determine how the staff perceived the implementation of professional learning communities. The findings of this study will help the school of study determine the next steps of their journey of implementing professional learning communities.

Fueling Small Explosions Of Conversation: A Reading Curriculum For Fourth Grade, Rebecca Blake Eisenberg

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The purpose of this fourth-grade reading curriculum is to teach students to become active readers who can articulate and communicate their thoughts about reading. By communicating about text, readers construct meaning and develop a rich understanding and appreciation of their reading. The curriculum uses the reading workshop framework (Atwell, 1998; Calkins, 2001; Rief, 1992) and the literature circle structure (Daniels, 2002). Process- and content-based mini-lessons provide explicit instruction for literature circle discussions. Comprehension strategy mini-lessons are provided to complement the literature circle instruction and provide support for students as needed.

The Impact Of Teacher Self-Efficacy In Writing On Instruction And Evaluation Of Writing In A School District In Western North Carolina, Deanna Berrier

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to examine the writing strategies and scoring practices of fourth-grade teachers on the North Carolina Fourth Grade Writing Assessment and local, county-wide writing assessments by collecting data from 13 elementary schools located in rural, western North Carolina.

Both qualitative and quantitative means of data collection were implemented. Inter-rater reliability was used to determine reliability of the fourth-grade teachers' scoring using the North Carolina Fourth Grade Writing Assessment Rubric. Qualitative data was collected through the use of two surveys administered to the fourth-grade teachers in the county. Interviews and a focus group were also used to determine …

A Case Study Of A High School Transition Program Into The Ninth Grade, Jamie Douglas Durant

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to examine and evaluate the effectiveness of a Ninth-Grade Transition Program at a Rural High School in Central North Carolina. The ninth grade is a pivotal year that determines which students will prevail and which students will fail to finish high school (Hertzog, 2003). It is essential that schools put in place components that ease the transition into high school and provide ongoing support.

Investigation measuring instruments used by the researcher included a two-part student survey and focus groups involving students in the ninth grade and those teachers who teach in the ninth grade. The data …

A Case Study Of The Impact Of A High School Advisory Program On Student Behaviors And Relationships, Matthew W. Stover

Education Dissertations and Projects

This case study dissertation was conducted to determine the perceptions of teachers and students about the school's advisory program. From 2003 to 2008, the high school had 279 student dropouts out of an average student population of 950. As a result of the student dropouts, the school adopted an advisory program. The studied school created the advisory program to change student behaviors and build student and staff relationships.

The research questions that guided the study were: (1) What was the impact of Check and Connect on student and staff relationships; (2) What was the impact of Check and Connect on …

Using Semantic Ambiguity Instruction To Improve Third Graders' Metalinguistic Awareness And Reading Comprehension: An Experimental Study, Marcy Zipke, Linnea C. Ehri, Helen Smith Cairns

Education Faculty Publications

An experiment examined whether metalinguistic awareness involving the detection of semantic ambiguity can be taught and whether this instruction improves students' reading comprehension. Lower socioeconomic status third graders (M age = 8 years, 7 months) from a variety of cultural backgrounds (N = 46) were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Those receiving metalinguistic ambiguity instruction learned to analyze multiple meanings of words and sentences in isolation, in riddles, and in text taken from the Amelia Bedelia series (Parish, 1979, 988). The control group received a book-reading and discussion treatment to provide special attention and to rule out Hawthorne …

The Positive Role Of Negative Emotions: Fear, Anxiety, Conflict And Resistance As Productive Experiences In Academic Study And In The Emergence Of Learner Autonomy, Jaya Kannan, John Laurence Miller

CTL Publications

Although affect is widely recognized as a powerful force in determining students’ academic success, researchers and practitioners have paid little attention to emotional barriers that often impede college success or how instructors may respond constructively when such barriers arise. The purpose of this paper is to initiate discussion of this important problem by offering a model of how an initially resistant, fearful, and/or anxious student can use emotionally unpleasant experiences to transform himself or herself into a more autonomous and successful learner. We offer prima facie support for this model by presenting the results of two cases of first year …