Other Education Commons^™

A Fuzzy Logic Approach To Teacher Performance Measured By Principal Evaluations, Ashley Johnson Moran

Theses and Dissertations

While principals and current methods used to evaluate teacher performance have been found to accurately identify the teachers with students who have the largest and smallest achievement gains in their schools, they are less able to distinguish among teachers in between these extremes. A majority of states have implemented new reform in teacher evaluation strategies in order to diagnose and improve teacher performance, but unfortunately, have not incorporated a method capable of accurately representing qualitative factors and the relationships between them. The main objective of this study was to examine to what degree a fuzzy logic expert system could elicit …

Effects Of Explicit Reading Comprehension Strategy Instruction For English Learners With Specific Learning Disabilities, Sara Lynn Jozwik

Theses and Dissertations

In this intervention study, I engaged principles of culturally responsive research to examine the effectiveness of explicit reading comprehension strategy instruction for English Learners (ELs) with specific learning disabilities (SLD). This study replicated and extended previous research (Jitendra, Hoppes, & Xin, 2000) by modifying instruction found to be effective for native English speakers (i.e., explicit reading comprehension strategy instruction with a self-monitoring procedure). Modifications included: (a) integrating culturally relevant text, (b) providing native language support, and (c) melding strategies from the fields of teaching English as a second language and special education. Through a co-teaching model, I provided instruction to …

Mentoring: Experiences Of Physical Education Teachers With In-Content And Out-Of-Content Mentors, Molly Bosché Sharer

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigates teachers' experiences with mentoring programs. An interpretive paradigm was used. Four hour-long interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed to examine mentoring experiences. Participants included one in-content mentoring pair (an early career physical education (PE) teacher and a veteran PE teacher) and one out-of-content pair (an early career PE teacher and a veteran kindergarten teacher). Guiding the research were the questions: What are the experiences of physical educators with mentors inside their content area? What are the experiences of physical educators with mentors outside their content area?

Findings showed that mentoring is an important support to provide …

Integrating Experiential Learning Into Animal Science Curriculum Through A Hands-On Beef Cattle Management And Marketing Contest, Corinne J. Harrison

Theses and Dissertations

According to the Illinois Agricultural Education, nearly 61% of students beginning their undergraduate studies in Agriculture at a 2-year college in Illinois come from non-farm backgrounds. Yet, knowledge of and experience in livestock operations is still a requirement for many careers in the animal science industry. In response to this predicament, the Department of Agriculture at Illinois State University has implemented a course that provides students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience with beef cattle management and marketing. The course was designed to enhance learning by requiring students to develop and execute a management and marketing plan for a pen …

Assessing The Perceptions Of Faculty Advisors And Green Industry Professionals On The Value Of Student Participation In A Professional Development Competitive Event, Katelynn Diane Clement

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) Student Career Days (SCD) professional development experience has on conceptual learning, job opportunities and placement, and job retention in the green industry. Student participants, PLANET judging team faculty advisors, and green industry professionals who attended the career fair were surveyed on their perceptions of PLANET Student Career Days and its related events. A block style survey was sent out to the participant groups. Depending on the participant's affiliation with PLANET Student Career Days, participants were asked a different set of questions in the survey. Each survey …

Place-Based Scholarship Program Design, Context, And Intergenerational Mobility: A Case Study Of The Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship Program, Arielle F. Niemeyer

Theses and Dissertations

Earning a college degree correlates with achieving financial security. Thus, improving an individual’s access to college is a key tactic used to mitigate poverty and foster intergenerational mobility. Despite the recognized value of higher education, earning a degree remains unattainable for many because of financial constraints. However, research definitively demonstrates that financial aid overcomes that obstacle. It also reveals that some program designs are more effective than others. The Kalamazoo Promise is a place-based scholarship program that offers four-year, full-tuition scholarships to residents who graduate from a Kalamazoo public high school. It is characterized by first-dollar and universal eligibility features, …

Factors Influencing The Major Satisfaction And Leadership Aspirations Of Men And Women In Traditional And Nontraditional Fields, Jennifer Yeoward

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reports the results of an online survey study that examined the associations of role model influences, support/guidance, and socioeconomic status (SES) with college students' major satisfaction and leadership aspirations. Of the 558 students who responded to the survey invitation, data from 494 students who had provided responses on the main variables were included in the major analyses. Contrary to hypotheses, SES and the nontraditionality of students' majors were not significantly related to leadership aspirations or major satisfaction. The results did support the hypotheses that support/guidance and inspiration/modeling would be associated with students' leadership aspirations and major satisfaction, but …

Learning To Practice Leadership For Social Justice: An Autoethnography, David S. Martin

Theses and Dissertations

Some students in schools are served well, whereas others are not. Students traditionally marginalized in schools are students of color, students whose native language is not English, students who receive free and reduced-price lunches, and students with an individualized education program. On nearly all measures in all schools, there exists a persistent achievement gap. The role of leadership in schools can be an important piece in addressing the achievement gap. Traditional leadership has focused on managerial skills such as efficiency, charisma, heroism, decisiveness, and confidence. Another form of leadership exists that can serve to lessen or eliminate the achievement gap: …

Qualitative Examination Of Graduate Counselor Education Students Perceptions Of Self-Awareness Pertaining To Future Efficacy In The Counseling Environment, Tara Victoria Huechtker Darby

Theses and Dissertations

Research in this study indicates that high levels of self-awareness as well as a clearly defined self-identity are related to increased levels of care and ethical decision making among counselors. An enhanced social-cognitive development of the counselor education graduate student is associated with an increased ability for them (in the future) to process legal and ethical dilemmas such as the right to die legislation and how it could affect them professionally. This study includes implications for counselors and the training and supervision of counselor education graduate students who may be affected by the right to die legislation and the way …

Illinois Secondary Agriculture Teachers' Perception Of Critical Development Of Undergraduate Experiences, Alicia Jo Gullidge

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to provide the leadership of Illinois Agricultural Education with an understanding of what practicing teachers feel were the most important experiences in their pre-service teacher education program that ensured they were prepared for the classroom. This information can be used to streamline the teacher education programs and eliminate experiences that are perceived to be less relevant to preparing teachers. It is believed that this will assist with ongoing efforts dealing with recruitment and retention.

The area's that will be addressed in this survey will be demographics and pre-service events that future agriculture teachers are …

Perceptions Of Educational Administration Pre-Service Training By Former Illinois Superintendents Currently Serving As University Professors, Douglas Raymond Kaufman

Theses and Dissertations

PERCEPTIONS OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION PRE-SERVICE TRAINING BY FORMER ILLINOIS SUPERINTENDENTS

CURRENTLY SERVING AS UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS

Douglas R. Kaufman

179 pages December 2009

The 1983 publication of A Nation at Riskwas the start of the latest chapter in the long history and development of the public school superintendent. A Nation at Riskbrought new pressure and awareness on university programs that train school administrators coupled with suggestions on how to improve their effectiveness. This study describes many of these suggested reforms and investigates their effectiveness and rate of implementation.

This qualitative study describes the experiences and perceptions of pre-service learning …

The Effects Of Attentional Focus Cues And Feedback On Motor Skill Learning In Children, Melanie Elizabeth Perreault

Theses and Dissertations

Considerable research over the past decade has produced overwhelming evidence to support the motor learning advantage associated with an external focus of attention. Despite this robust finding, very few studies have investigated attentional focus effects with children. This is surprising given that considerable information processing differences exist between children and adults that have the potential to influence motor performance and learning. Therefore, two studies were conducted to determine the effect of attentional focus cues and feedback on motor learning in children. In the first study, 42 children ages 9 to 11 were recruited from an afterschool program and randomly assigned …

A Case Study Seeking Indicators Of Coherence In A Pete Program, Robert John Doan

Theses and Dissertations

A Case Study Seeking Indicators of Coherence in a PETE Program

The purpose of this study was to examine the coherence of one facet of a single PETE program. Of particular interest was the role of one unique content course within the curriculum. Teacher educators have been challenged to respond to a variety of forces and to design more effective programs of teacher preparation. There are at least two challenges for teacher educators to respond to these challenges to their effectiveness. One challenge is that there is little empirical research focused on teacher educators themselves (Grundy & Hatton, 1995; John, …

Evaluating The Influence Of Past Gaming Experience On Learner Preferences And Motivation To Learn In A Military Training Environment, Steven D. Yelverton

Theses and Dissertations

Millennial generation recruits are entering the Air Force and with them come their new attitudes and expectations. As a result, the leadership of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) expressed a need for information on how to effectively train this new generation of recruits in their 2008 whitepaper. The purpose of this thesis was to begin to address this requirement by investigating the influence video gaming has on the learning preferences of trainees undergoing initial skills training at the 82nd Training Wing, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. A survey was administered and data was collected from 866 trainees. The …

The Effect Of Abbott Parity Funding On Instrumental Music Programs In The State Of New Jersey, William Carl Mcdevitt

Theses and Dissertations

The funding of poor urban schools in the State of New Jersey was increased in 1997 by the New Jersey Supreme Court Abbott v. Burke decision. The purpose of this study is to determine if this parity funding has had an effect on instrumental music education in the State. Data was collected from a sample consisting of all 55 Abbott schools and a stratified sample of 60 non-Abbott schools representing all District Factor Groups. Additional data was collected from State and Region educational organizations. A low return rate of 21% (Abbott n = 5, non-Abbott n = 19) limited the …

Industrial Technology Education Teachers Perceptions Of National Standards For Technological Literacy In The State Of Arizona, Allan R. Mcrae

Theses and Dissertations

Today, it is becoming increasingly clear that there is a growing interest, concern, and need for technological literacy. To this end, the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) through the Technology for All Americans Project, has developed and promulgated the Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology. This effort is part of the ongoing initiative to develop technology standards on a national level, and to focus on what every student in grades K-12 should know and be able to do in order to achieve technological literacy (ITEA, 2000). The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived …

The First Statewide Study Circles On Education In America: Participant Perceptions Of Study Circles In Two Arkansas Communities, Jo Sykes Chesser

Theses and Dissertations

Parents and other community citizens were empowered in educational change in two Arkansas communities through a process of participative decision making. The study circle, begun at Chautauqua in 1874, proved to be a new communication process for school-to-community relationships. Arkansas Friends for Better Schools, one of two state sponsors of the 1998 'Calling the Roll: Study Circles for Better Schools,' cooperated with Study Circles Resource Center and Southwest Educational Development Laboratory to implement the Study Circles program on education in five Arkansas communities in the fall of 1998. Superintendents and School Boards endorsed the program; community coordinators organized study circle …

A Descriptive Case Study Of An Alternative Education Program For Credit-Deficient Youth: The Graduate Academy, Virginia M. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to analyze and evaluate the development and implementation of an experimental, school-within-a-school alternative environment, the Graduate Academy, after the first year of implementation. The study addressed those factors which set the Graduate Academy apart from the traditional school setting including the intake process, recruitment of teachers, selection of curriculum, staff development, incentives, ecological factors, parent involvement, and school-business partnerships. The subjects of the study were high school students who shared credit deficiency as their common risk factor. The methodology used was the descriptive narrative case study chosen because of the complexity of the alternative …

Henry Lewis Benning: Fire-Eating Confederate General 1837-1865, Michael D. Chuites

Theses and Dissertations

In the thirty-year period preceding the American Civil War, some southern politicians advocated disunion. Prominent among these was a young lawyer from Columbus, Georgia, Henry Lewis Benning. Ambitious and keen on rising within planter society, Benning married well and used his position to further his political aims. Early in his career, Benning would be identified with the fire-eaters who preached disunion as a means of solving the South's problems. As a delegate to the several secession conventions, Henry Benning lent his organizational skills to promoting secession. When the American Civil War commenced, Benning was among the early volunteers, rising from …

The Pine Mountain Valley Rural Community Project 1934-1946, Nick Marino

Theses and Dissertations

During the Great Depression New Deal planners attributed much of the nation's unemployment problem to automation in the workplace. It was believed that structural economic changes had dislocated millions of city workers permanently. To get these people off relief, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration established about 100 rural industrial communities across America. By providing the opportunity to develop rural communities based upon modern farming and agriculturally-related industries, dislocated workers would be brought back to the land as productive citizens. One of the most unique of these rural industrial communities was established in Pine Mountain Valley, Georgia. Being near President Roosevelt's …

An Overview Of Registered Family Day Care In Muscogee County, Georgia, Rhoda Boggs

Theses and Dissertations

This research surveyed the characteristics and components of family day care in a southeastern urban area. The subjects consisted of all family day care providers who resided within the county being studied and who were registered with the state's Department of Human Resources. The questionnaire developed by the researcher consists of 20 questions which address the caregivers' personal traits, educational qualifications, and business organization. The responses were compiled, and descriptive statistics were computed in order to provide the composite characteristics and overall range of available family day care in the county. Results show that there are significant differences in the …

A Chronicle Of Professional Baseball In Columbus, Georgia: 1885-1987, William W. Ridenour

Theses and Dissertations

The history of professional baseball in Columbus, Georgia, is a long and varied one. Columbus has been in professional baseball longer than most cities in the United States and its history is filled with both success and failure. National events such as wars and depressions have affected baseball in Columbus as have changes within the community itself. Attendance at professional baseball games in Columbus has varied from excellent to poor and the success of the local franchise has varied with attendance. Probably the major factor affecting professional baseball in recent years has been the increased use of television to broadcast …

Dissent From Bourbon On-Party Rule: The 1878 Georgia Fourth District Congressional Election, Ellen H. Reames

Theses and Dissertations

The 1878 Georgia Fourth District Congressional Election demonstrated the persistence of the Bourbon Democrat movement. The campaign and election exemplified the techniques used by Bourbons to gain and maintain their influence. In this paper, three methods were focal points: the one-party system, the Democratic Party nominating conventions and the influence of an active press. Significant local issues included in this election were the importance of the rural voters, and the influence of the Democratic Party on Fourth District matters.

Important characters included the incumbent, Henry Harris, and the challenger, Henry Persons. Two leading Columbusites, William H. Young and John King, …

Columbus' Combative Editor: Julian Larose Harris Versus The Klan In Georgia, 1921-1929, Michael L. Regnier

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the apparent ease and gaiety of life in America in the 1920's. there were seamier sides to society. One aspect of the seamy side was race relations. However, Columbus, Georgia, can lay claim to a bright spot in the darkness, the presence of Julian LaRose Harris as owner/editor of The Columbus Enquirer-Sun. Harris became the first, and for a while the only, newspaper man to openly criticize the Ku Klux Klan for Its program of terror and secrecy. Not only did other Georgia dallies follow his lead, but the local chapter of the Klan disbanded for a time in …