Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Impact Of Parental Involvement On The Academic Performance Of African American Elementary School Students: A Multiple Regression Analysis, Olayinka Oluwole Falayi

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative, predictive correlational study investigated the influence of parental involvement on the academic performance of African American students in elementary school. This study is important in determining why African American academic scores and performance are low when compared to their White counterparts. The findings of this study will also be helpful to educational stakeholders, teachers, and the enrichment of existing literature; this is because the study provides more insight into how parental involvement in student learning can influence students' academic achievement. Participants for this study were sampled from elementary school parents/students via convenience sampling. The grade levels utilized include …

Public Health Instructors' Attitudes Regarding Online Instructional Course Design: A Collective Case Study, Meaghan A. Gargin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to describe instructors’ attitudes regarding Keller’s personalized system of instruction (PSI) for a sample of online master’s-level public health instructors at an institution of higher education. The central research question was how do public health instructors describe their attitudes regarding personalized system of instruction and online graduate education? The institution selected for this investigation was “University A.” The theory guiding this study was Keller’s personalized system of instruction (PSI), as it features five elements for student-centered course design in higher education learning. The elements include: (a) self-pacing, (b) unit mastery, (c) lectures …

The Impact Of Instructor Immediacy And Social Presence On Online Students' Academic Success: A Hermeneutical Phenomenology Study, Colette B. Lazenka

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of instructor social presence and immediacy on student success for asynchronous online students at universities that offer asynchronous learning in Southern California. The theory guiding this study was Short’s theory of social presence, as it explains the real and present interaction that affects the saliency and interpersonal relationships of the participants. The methodology for this qualitative study followed a hermeneutical phenomenological design of 10 asynchronous online students enrolled in universities in Southern California. Data were collected using individual interviews, letter writing, and a focus group. The data analysis …

The Impact Of Student Achievement Based Upon The Differences Between Teacher Perception Of Blended Learning And Their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Jason Dewayne Pizzino

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational research study was to understand if student benchmark scores in a blended learning environment were predicted by teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). This study used a correlational methodology to examine if in a blended learning environment, teachers’ perceptions of the TPACK score predict their students’ scores on the second nine-weeks benchmark test in a middle school mathematics. Bivariate linear regression was used for data analysis to determine the predictive relationship between teachers' TPACK-21CL survey score and their students' second nine weeks benchmark score using the latest SPSS software. The data was collected from …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Former Foster Students Learning Through Online Educational Environments, Tiffany Sue Beckwith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of former foster students in online educational environments. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs acted as the theory guiding this study, as it was essential when investigating how unmet needs for foster children affected their motivation to learn and feelings of belongingness with their school. This study was designed to answer the following central research question: What are the experiences of former foster students who have taken part in online education? Using a transcendental phenomenological approach, I collected the lived experiences of the participants to uncover emerging themes during online …

Creating A Culture Of Learning: Intrinsic Motivation And Its Practical Value In The Wake Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Paige Hennen

Senior Honors Theses

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, students of all ages were required to rapidly transition to the demands of virtual learning, resulting in general amotivation. These changes have led to poor academic performance, due to the decreased efficiency of learning processes as these students learn to cope with the instability caused by the pandemic as well as school-related changes. Intrinsic motivation, especially when cultivated within the learning process, plays an important role in student academic success and acts as an influence on holistic success in adulthood. Thus, educators must cater to the needs of this generation's students by implementing …

A Phenomenological Study Of Secondary Teachers’ Experiences With A Mandated Transition To And From Synchronous Online Instruction, Susan P. Lyman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand secondary teachers’ experiences with an unexpected transition between in-person teaching and virtual modalities for secondary educators in New York public schools. The theory that guided this study was Schlossberg’s transition theory which provided a lens through which to understand the shared experiences of making an unplanned transition from face-to-face teaching to online platforms. The study was qualitative and followed a phenomenological research design. The setting for this study was multiple public school districts in Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, New York. The sample was 10 secondary public school teachers …

The Impact Of Student-Teacher Interactions On Academic Achievement: A Phenomenological Study Examining The Perceptions Of First-Year University Student-Athletes With Online Education, Shinelle Wallace

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the impact of student-faculty interaction and its perceived effects on academic achievement in online education for student-athletes attending a Division I university in Missouri. At this stage in the research, quality of student-faculty interaction in online education is defined as online interaction between teachers and students that leads to better self-directedness, motivation, engagement, student satisfaction, and academic achievement. The theory guiding this study was self-determination theory as it helps to identify and understand the student-athlete’s inherent drive towards action and doing tasks towards growth and proficiency in online education. The …

The Relationship Between Technology Readiness And Online Professional Development, Scott Farrell Ringkamp

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study is to determine if there is a relationship between technology readiness and grades, the number of attempts taken, or the time it took to complete an online professional development. Because of the pandemic, much educator professional development has shifted online. When this occurred, many teachers were unprepared to make this shift. To study the relationship, the researcher surveyed 73 staff members of an LEA in central Pennsylvania using the Technology Readiness Index 2.0 instrument. Then, the researcher computed a correlation coefficient between each participant’s Technology Readiness Index score and their grades, number of …

Facilitating Conditions That Increase Faculty Perceived Usefulness Of Learning Management Systems: A Multiple-Case Study, Darnell S. Kemp

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this research study designed as a multiple-case study was to discover the facilitating conditions that led faculty at the higher education level to create activities using student-centered learning tools in the learning management systems (LMSs). The theories guiding this study were Davis’ technology acceptance model and two versions of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. Both theories looked at how perceived ease of use (PEU) and perceived usefulness (PU) determine a user’s use of a technology. The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology added facilitating conditions as a primary determiner of technology …

Barriers To Online Education, Ashley Moffett

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Theoretical Proposal

Recommendations For Improving The Practice Of Instructing An Online Pre-Health Course At A Private University, Kimberly Smith

Liberty University Research Week

Doctoral

Applied

Teachers' Experiences With Interactions In Online Classes: A Case Study, Adam M. Bozarth

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to describe the experiences of teachers interacting with students in an online learning environment at Township School District. The theory guiding this study is Moore’s transactional distance theory as it examines how meaningful interactions can minimize the transactional distance in distance learning or remote learning environments. Data from teacher interviews, focus groups, and teacher generated writing samples were used to provide an understanding of how teachers support and promote interactions in online learning environments. Participants were teachers with at least one-year experience teaching remotely or online. All participants were from the same …

A Contemporary Model Of An Outreach Training Manual For The New Light Church, Antonio Orlando Beckford

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The life of a Christian church goes through cycles. New Light Church has experienced a few of them. The thesis project reveals the growth cycles and declines in membership of NL. The researcher believes that the church’s steady membership growth dropped because of the abstaining of regular and deliberate practice of New Testament church growth methods. Church growth is grounded in the work of God. The church engaged in hearing and obeying God will see his fruit manifested through in their local assembly. The researcher created a manual for evangelism as a training template for the Christian church to follow. …

A Phenomenological Study: The Lived Experience Of Self-Described Math-Anxious Students Attending College Online, Toni Nicole Sawhill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to describe the lived experience of mathematics anxiety for self-described math-anxious students who completed an undergraduate mathematics course online at a university in the Pacific Northwest part of the United States. The theory guiding this study is community of inquiry (COI) introduced by early pragmatist philosophers C. S. Peirce and John Dewey and further developed by D. Randy Garrison, Terry Anderson, and Walter Archer as mathematics anxiety is a learned behavior based on students’ experiences. This research study answers the central research question: What are the lived experiences of mathematics anxiety for …

Online Doctoral Persistence: A Case Study Exploring The Use Of Technology For Connectedness, Folarinwa Ojuola

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of online doctoral students and online professors' utilization of technology for doctoral persistence. This study focused on how online professors and students use technology to enhance a sense of community and connectedness at a southeastern university. Technology plays a crucial role in the online doctoral candidates' persistence, so this study explored the technological strategies implemented to promote a sense of community and connectedness among online doctoral students. Vincent Tinto's 1975 student integration model (SIM), which explains the interactions of several aspects and processes that influence a student's …

The Effects Of Embedded Orientation On Online Developmental Mathematics Students' Performance In Community College: A Causal-Comparative Study, William Randal Swenson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Students in developmental mathematics courses exhibit poor pass rates. This problem is exaggerated for traditionally aged online community college learners, who frequently demonstrate few self-regulatory skills. Self-regulated learners are intrinsically motivated, plan for success, monitor their progress, and reflect on their learning. These learners are significantly more likely to pass and eventually graduate. Self-regulatory skills can be taught through direct instruction and reflection over a protracted learning experience. This form of instruction was attempted using an embedded orientation in online developmental mathematics courses at a community college. Embedded orientations provide consistent training, opportunities for socialization, and increased instructor-to-learner interaction within …

The Relationship Of Peer-Mentoring And Online Undergraduate And Graduate College Student Retention, Stephen W. Pray

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study investigated the strength of the relationship between peer-mentoring and retention rates of online undergraduate and graduate college students. Extant literature has reported consistently lower retention rates within the online college student community when compared to the retention rates of on-campus students. One possible means for countering low retention rates is providing a mentoring program to online students, which has had a positive effect on the retention rates of on-campus students, as reported by various studies. This quantitative correlational study examined the association between peer-mentoring and retention rates of online undergraduate and graduate students. The study utilized a sample …

Disconnected, James H. Reeves Ii

Masters Theses

Even with complications, remote learning can be successful with the development of user friendly designed solutions. While there are educational tools and platforms available that electronically support remote learning, many students and teachers do not have deep technological knowledge and many lack internet access outside of school. Without access to the internet, many of them experience interruptions in their education. This underscores the needs of both the educator, and the students during sudden and unexpected periods of school closure. The research objectives of this project focus on current learning tools, their design, and their accessibility during remote learning. The level …

Cryptocurrency And Financial Risks, Avin Mohitesh Sharma

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Since its inception, the cryptocurrency's exceptional growth has put financial institutions at high risk of exposure to money laundering. In financial institutions, specifically banks, Anti-Money Laundering and Bank Secrecy Act (AML/BSA) risk specialists, bank managers, and compliance officers get challenged in identifying cryptocurrency-related transactions and customers who conceal illegal funds. Interviews conducted with the AML/BSA risk specialists, bank managers, and compliance officers were analyzed to understand how banks combat the cryptocurrency-related money laundering in the USA banking system. Interview with the Director of Financial Investigations & Education at CipherTrace as an expert in blockchain forensics was evaluated to recognize bank …

The Perceived Effect Of Promoting A Sense Of Community In Online Doctoral Courses Through Intentional Course Design, Lucas Austin Farmer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe the sense of community experienced in online courses for Doctor of Ministry students at Liberty University. At this stage in the research, sense of community will be generally defined using Rovai’s (2002a) definition. Rovai (2002a) defines classroom community using four dimensions: “spirit, trust, interaction, and commonality of expectation and goals, in this case, learning” (p. 4). Essentially, members of a classroom community, according to Rovai (2002a), experience each of these four dimensions. A number of authors argue that a sense of community can be promoted in online classrooms (Rovai & Baker, …

The Integration Of Spiritual Formation Through Distance Education For Christian Higher Education Students, Derwin Earl Lewis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Many factors contribute to the recent increase of digital education in higher learning institutions, including the expanded use of mobile devices, social media, and other online populations. CNBC reports that over two billion users ascribe to Facebook monthly (Balakrishnan, 2017). Over four hundred million Instagram users and over three hundred million active Twitter accounts are being used daily (Clement, 2019). Celebrating technology’s imprint on society presents another opportunity for social sciences to applaud human achievement at the risk of discounting God’s sovereignty. The digital era has created an opportunity for Christian education to expand its reachability through churches and Bible-based …

A Phenomenological Study Of Traditional Public High School Graduates' Experiences While Taking Their First Online Course In College, David B. Warner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the shared lived experiences of traditional high school graduates while taking an online course for the first time. Many colleges and universities provide online courses as part of their regular instructional program. Some colleges and universities require students to take an online course early in their post-secondary education. However, there are a limited number of k-12 public-school districts in the United States that provide opportunities for high school students to take online courses as part of the regular curriculum. This phenomenological study was designed to investigate the perceptions of traditional high …

Comparison Study Between Math Test Scores For Brick And Mortar And Online Classrooms, Marisa May

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

With the emergence of online education, opportunities have risen for students who seek alternatives to attending a traditional school. However, the rise of virtual education has highlighted the challenges educators and students face in this environment such as academic integrity and quality control. In both learning environments, students often struggle to grasp mathematical concepts despite resources that are intended to aid learners in understanding abstract concepts. With an emphasis on state testing, educators are faced with the challenge to improve both math learning and performance on math standardized tests given at the state level. This study aimed to answer whether …

The Difference In Satisfaction Among Academic Advising Formats For Online College Students, Caleb Samuel Gordon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Online education is growing so quickly that colleges are finding it difficult to provide enough online programs to meet student demands, and they are still finding their way in terms of the best academic advising format. To better understand the best way to support online students, the researcher studied student satisfaction within centralized advising offices with general academic advisors, department academic advisors, and individually assigned academic advisors. The researcher utilized developmental academic advising because it provided an excellent theoretical framework for academic advising’s purpose and its best practices. The instrument Advising Scale was used to measure student satisfaction. Advising Scale …

Limited Educational Opportunities And Financial Help For Military Spouses Stationed Overseas, Adriana Torres De Pérez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this applied study was to solve the problem of limited educational opportunities and financial help for military spouses stationed overseas and design measures to address the issue. This multimethod study used a qualitative approach to understand better the problems spouses encounter in overseas posts while taking into consideration their personal experiences. A group of six spouses was interviewed individually to understand their needs, goals, and opinions. Also, data from two quantitative methods were collected and analyzed. A survey that addresses the importance of post-secondary education was available to one group of 30 spouses. Archival data were used …

Does The Interactive Push-Presentation System Nearpod Effect Student Engagement In High School Anatomy?, Jan Anderson Hirtz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The ability of the United States to succeed and compete successfully in the 21st Century will be directly related to the effectiveness of America’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. In 2012 the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology set a goal to add one million STEM college graduates over a 10-year period. Motivation in STEM secondary classrooms is a critical contributor to students entering college in declaring and persisting in a STEM related major. The purpose of this study is to add research findings to the literature regarding means of using technology to increase K12 …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experience Of Online Instructors Of Theological Reflection At Christian Institutions Accredited By The Association Of Theological Schools, Judy Arline Jowers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experience of teaching theological reflection in the online environment for instructors at Christian institutions accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. The central theories guiding this study were reflective practice and transformative learning theory as they explore the relationship between experience and reflection. Since relatively few inquiries have been published on the ways in which seminary professors assist future religious leaders in the use of reflective practice, the central research question for this study was: How do instructors at Christian institutions accredited by the Association of Theological Schools …

Undergraduate Education Students' Experiences In Online Cooperative Learning Activities: An Embedded Single-Case Study, Jennifer Lynette Ervin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this intrinsic case study, which followed a single-case, embedded research design, was to understand undergraduate education students’ experiences in online cooperative learning environments. Garrison, Anderson, and Archer’s community of inquiry model, rooted in Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of learning and Tinto’s student integration theory, were used to guide this study and describe the significance of fostering strong social, cognitive, and teaching presence within online learning environments. To further understand online educational environments the following central research question was posed: How do undergraduate education students describe their experiences with cooperative learning activities within an online education course in terms …

Predicting Student Success Using Digital Textbook Analytics In Online Courses, Dustin Lee Williams

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In the digital era, students are generating and institutions are collecting more data than ever before. With the constant change in technology, new data points are being created. Digital textbooks are becoming more popular, and textbook publishers are shifting more of their efforts to creating digital content. This shift creates new data points that have the potential to show how students are engaging with course material. The purpose of this correlational study is to determine if digital textbook usage data, pages read, number of days, reading sessions, highlights, bookmarks, notes, searches, downloads and prints can predict student success. This study …