Educational Psychology Commons^™

High School Teacher Attitudes Toward Implementing Positive Behavior Support Systems, Lauren Mcardle

Dissertations

Positive behavior support (PBS) is a systems change effort that entails explicitly teaching expected social behaviors and rewarding students for behaving appropriately. Additionally, PBS systems involve developing a hierarchy of consequences that are matched to the severity of behavioral infractions. While there is growing research support for the effectiveness of PBS systems in elementary and middle school settings, there is very limited research about positive behavior support implementation at the high school level. Preliminary studies suggest that teacher and staff buy-in and attitudes toward implementation practices are critical to implementation success at the high school level. Additionally, the some theoretical …

Visual Learning Styles Among Digital Natives, Eric Palmer

Department of Computer Graphics Technology Degree Theses

This study explored the concept of digital nativity and its educational implications, including application of the learning styles hypothesis. The concept of digital natives, first put forth by Marc Prensky, introduced the notion that individuals raised in a technological environment have developed in such a way as to utilize information differently than the non-native generations before them. This study examined the possibility that these differences may include an increased efficiency in the utilization of narrative imagery versus textual information. The potential benefit of utilizing narrative imagery as an instructional tool is discussed. An experimental test application was developed for the …

A Phenomenological Study Of Social Science Instructors' Assessment Practices For Online Learning, Cynthia S. Dietrich

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Online learning has revolutionized higher education in the United States. In 2007, there were 3.9 million students taking at least 1 online course. Assessment in online instruction is a new experience for teachers because of the recent advent of online course delivery. Current research on online learning does not address instructor experiences with learning assessments. This gap may contribute to online instructors being inadequately prepared to teach online. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore online instructors' experiences with assessments in their undergraduate social science courses. The study was guided by constructivism as well as theories associated with …

The Use Of Asynchronous Video Communication To Improve Instructor Immediacy And Social Presence In A Blended Learning Environment, Jered Borup, Charles R. Graham, Andrea Velasquez

Faculty Publications

Instructors in a blended learning format struggle to find an effective balance between face-to-face instruction that is high in fidelity and online instruction that is high in flexibility. This chapter presents three cases where asynchronous video communication was used to help offer students instruction high in fidelity and flexibility. Although the medium for sharing asynchronous video varied between the three cases, findings indicate that video was a useful tool to improve instructor immediacy and/or social presence with a minimum amount of face-to-face instruction. The instructors in all three cases saw asynchronous video communications as an effective way to communicate with …

Theoretical Considerations For Understanding Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Tpack), Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

The technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework is increasing in use by educational technology researchers around the world who are interested in issues related to technology integration. Much that is good can be found in the TPACK framework; however considerable theoretical work needs to be done if TPACK research is to cohere and constructively strengthen the field of educational technology. This paper uses Whetten’s (1989) criteria for theory building as a lens for examining the TPACK framework. Specific weaknesses are identified, which in turn suggest areas needing theoretical development. This paper calls for researchers to increase emphasis on using research …

Skill Versus Will: An Investigation Of A Relationship Between Motivation To Read, Oral Reading Fluency, And Demographics For Third-Grade Elementary Students, Stephanie Lee Embrey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With the demands of the No Child Left Behind legislation to utilize research-based instructional practices and teach all children to read by the end of third grade, teachers find themselves going beyond teachers' editions and curriculum guides to the research on best reading practices. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental cross-sectional correlational study was to examine the strength and direction of the relationship between motivation to read, oral reading fluency, and demographics for third-grade elementary students (N=112). An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to quantitatively analyze archival data to assess the relationship between motivation to read, oral reading fluency, …

The Evolution Of The African American Mother-Daughter Relationship: A Grounded Theory Study, Toneka R. Etienne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The mother-daughter relationship holds a special place in the lives of African American women, given the rich history of women of African descent and the complexities of female relationships. However, few studies have discussed the evolution of this relationship and what it means in the lives of African American mothers and daughters. Using relational-cultural theory (RCT) and Black feminist theory, this qualitative grounded theory study described the experiences and evolution of the African American mother-daughter relationship. A sample of 10 mother-daughter dyads was interviewed together about their relationship. Research questions addressed how African American mothers and daughters define, maintain, and …

The Impact Of Personalization-Based Tailored Instructional Communications On College Student Persistence, Nichole Gibbs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The low graduation rate of degree-seeking students at public community colleges is an important crisis facing communities across the United States. College satisfaction and withdrawal cognitions in students have been identified as key factors in college persistence by researchers. However, a review of the literature revealed no study in which a college-persistence intervention based on the personalization principle theory or using tailored messages has been conducted. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a college-persistence intervention, based on the personalization principle theory and Mashburn's theory, for students at a community college. This study used between-groups experimental …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Unique Experience Of Male Elementary Teachers, Alberta N. Richardson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The percentage of male teachers is at its lowest number in 40 years. The problem is that fewer males are choosing elementary teaching as a career choice. As a result, many elementary students rarely see a male teacher during their formative education years. This issue is a concern for superintendents, college of education deans, recruiters, school administrators, and parents whose children are not being exposed to a diverse teacher workforce that includes male elementary teachers. The purpose of this study was to better define and understand the unique experiences of male elementary teachers in today's classroom. The conceptual framework for …

The Effects Of Principal Leadership Behavior On New Teachers' Overall Job Satisfaction, Sherree L. Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teacher attrition has become a concern at local, state, and national levels. As a result, a number of researchers have examined the factors that affect teacher job satisfaction and retention. However, in spite of all the efforts in research to find a solution, problems associated with teacher attrition have not significantly improved. This study was developed to examine new teachers' job satisfaction as based on their perceptions of principals' transformational and transactional leadership behaviors. Hezberg, Maunser, and Snyderman's 2-factor theory and Burns's and Bass's transformational and transactional leadership theory guided the research questions. A convenience sample of 71 new teachers …

An Examination Of The Process Of Forgiveness And The Relationship Among State Forgiveness, Self-Compassion, And Psychological Well-Being Experienced By Buddhists In The United States, Masami Matsuyuki

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

The purpose of this study was to investigate the process of forgiveness and the relationship among state forgiveness, self-compassion, and psychological well-being experienced by Buddhists in the United States. An integral feminist framework was developed for this mixed-method study.

For the quantitative component of this study, a convenience sample of 112 adults completed an online survey. Multiple regression analysis was performed to examine: (a) the impact of gender, age, and the years spent in Buddhist practice on state forgiveness and self-compassion; (b) the outcome of psychological well-being in relation to state forgiveness and self-compassion; and (c) self-compassion as a mediator …

Traditional Vs. Alternative Assessment Methodology In Iowa's Secondary Social Science Classroom, Jake Edward Hoversten

Honors Program Theses

This thesis is a product of an interest I had in classroom assessment as a future educator of Iowa. I wanted to know which types of assessments were being used in order to direct my own teaching practices. The purpose of this project is to determine the extent that alternative assessment is used compared to traditional assessment in Iowa's secondary social science classrooms. This project draws information from current educators and an array of other resources in order to determine the frequency of each method of assessment and the reasons behind any potential trends in methodology. This project reveals current …

Children‘S Protagonism At The Centro Cultural Da Criança: A Case Study, Claudia Protasio Ceccon

Dissertations

This dissertation provides a thick description and discussion of how child protagonism, participation and autonomy were implemented in an out of school center – The Children‘s Cultural Center – in a favela, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The researcher visited the center for more than two years, twice a week from February 2008 to June 2009, and once a week from June 2009 to July 2010. She conducted in-depth interviews with educators and children, recorded observation sessions in the activity rooms, and observed actualization sessions for educators and family days. This study describes the perspectives and expectations of the Center‘s …

Strictly Business: Teacher Perceptions Of Interaction In Virtual Schooling, Charles R. Graham, Abigail Hawkins, Michael K. Barbour

Faculty Publications

This study explored the nature of teacher-student interaction from the perspective of eight virtual school teachers in an asynchronous, self-paced, statewide, supplemental virtual high school. Using intensity sampling, eight teachers who varied across discipline, grade level, and course completion rates were student-initiated and instructional in nature. The main procedural interactions focused on notifications sent to inactive students. Social interactions were minimal and viewed as having little pedagogical value. Institutional barriers such as class size and an absence of effective tracking mechanisms limited the amount and types of interaction teachers engaged in. Study implications and future research are discussed.

How “Struggling” Readers Engage In Literacy Events In Middle School Science: An Analysis Of Interactions In Literacy Events, Kristin Cartwright Palmer

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

This study examined opportunities for participation and learning for "struggling" readers in a sixth grade science classroom. Literacy practices, language differences, activity structures, and the social and cultural identities and associated practices and everyday funds of knowledge of both "struggling" and nonstruggling readers in one sixth grade science classroom were documented and analyzed using a qualitative research design. Over sixteen hours of audio and video recordings as well as numerous student work samples were transcribed and analyzed. Analyses of the classroom interactions and artifacts documented in this study revealed several important affordances available in the context of this classroom related …