Secondary Education Commons^™

Student Distractibility With School-Issued Computers, Emily Mae Conaway

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this exploratory investigation were to (a) determine if students are able to identify when and how often they become off task while using computers, (b) if middle school aged students are mature enough to self-regulate their technology use, and (c) which strategies teachers could incorporate to limit students' technology distractions.

The researcher broke this study into three phases to study reward strategies designed to keep students on task while using their devices. The first step was to gather baseline data from students and teachers using two surveys. After the educator surveys were evaluated, teachers in the social …

Common Factors That Benefit And Hinder The Co-Teaching Partnership In The High School Setting, Kaitlyn Nicole Muller

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this narrative study was to explore the lived experiences of both general and special education teachers in co-teaching relationships at Red Bank Regional High School in order to discover common patterns that benefit and hinder co-teaching partnerships across general and special education teaching roles, departments, and grade levels. Four pairs of co-teachers, eight total teachers, agreed to participate in this study. The co-teaching pairs were selected from four different departments, English Language Arts, History, Science, and Mathematics. Descriptive research, such as having the participants complete a survey, produce graphic elicitation tasks, and participate in an interview were …

Curriculum Change: A Study On Teacher Perceptions Of Curriculum Change On Content Standards, Tiffany Kessler-Hopek

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, curriculum has encountered frequent changes throughout years. The main initiative of educational change has three main components, and they are to increase the quality and rigor of the curriculum, have a common curriculum, and prepare students for secondary education. The standards in the state of Georgia have changed from Georgia Performance Standards and Common Core State Standards to the more recent Georgia Standards of Excellence. By the school year 2018-2019, the Georgia Standards of Excellence should be fully adopted. An explanatory sequential mixed methods study was conducted to examine the perceptions of teachers on curriculum change …

Disciplinary Literacy Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Dlpck) Today: An Exploration Of Disciplinary Literacy Pedagogical Content Knowledge Of Middle And High School Science, Social Studies, And English Language Arts, Linda M. Saraceno

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this exploratory qualitative study were to a) gain an understanding of middle and high school science, social studies, and English language arts teachers' disciplinary literacy pedagogical content knowledge b) explore teachers' dispositions towards disciplinary literacy and c) to determine whether teachers dispositions influenced disciplinary literacy instruction in the classroom. Using a pre - and post-survey, semi-structured interviews, professional development workshops, teacher reflections, and classroom observation field notes, this study discovered teachers' disciplinary literacy pedagogical content knowledge was a combination of generic literacy and disciplinary literacy skills knowledge. Teachers dispositions towards disciplinary literacy were found to be favorable …

Understanding Alternative Education Student Self-Efficacy Related To Experiential And Organizational Factors, Megan Maczonis Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The need for a high school diploma or equivalent is a social justice concern as the consequences of not earning a diploma or equivalent degree are lower income, higher crime rates, and poorer health (McClatchy, 2013; NCES, 2015; NCES, 2017; Freudenberg & Ruglis, 2007; Thrane, 2006). The median earnings of young adults with a high school diploma and young adults with a bachelor's degree were 22 and 100 percent higher respectively than those of young adults without a high school diploma. Additionally, lower levels of educational attainment are related to higher rates of arrests and incarceration (Eby, 2013). Lower levels …

Improving Student Achievement Through The Implementation Of A Classroom Performance System, Stacy Maria Artis

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to implement and examine the impact of a classroom performance system (CPS) on student achievement for Grade 9 mathematics students. Seventy-five students in 4 Coordinate Algebra classes were observed during the regular school day for 9 weeks. The treatment group received CPS-based instruction, and the control group received traditional mathematics instruction without the use of a CPS. The teacher was the same for all classes.

Data from benchmark assessments as well as quarterly grade reports were compared for both groups. The findings of this study showed mixed results in relation to the impact of CPS-based …

A Mathematics Workshop For Parents: Exploring Content Knowledge And Perceptions Of Parental Involvement, Kristina C. Anthony

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored a mathematics workshop for parents and the impact on a parent’s mathematical content knowledge in rational numbers, perceptions of current instructional practices, and parental beliefs in supporting their children in learning mathematics. A 6-week parent workshop on rational numbers was offered in a rural middle school. Data sources included interviews and workshop audio transcriptions. This study concluded that a mathematics workshop supports parents in developing a conceptual understanding of rational numbers and rational number operations. Furthermore, parents recognized the importance of discourse, representation, and justification for building conceptual understanding in mathematics. Parents, who participated in the …

Democratic Education And An Urban Teacher Residency: A Case Study, Bryan P. Arnold

Theses and Dissertations

Over the course of American schooling scholars note that democratic education and citizenship have not been abandoned, but perhaps marginalized or pushed aside, as test scores and achievement have become the most desired outcomes. Democratic education must move out of the margins and into high priority. The current political climate of increased division and divisiveness could not illustrate this need any more. Another well-documented challenge within the American educational system, particularly in high need areas is the need for highly qualified teachers. Urban Teacher Residency (UTR) programs have offered a possible solution to this growing problem in recruiting, training, and …

Mathematics Identity Construction In Successful African Americans: Reflections On Mathematics Experiences During Adolescence, Teri N. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

This project used narrative inquiry to examine adolescent experiences that contributed to the development of positive mathematics identities in successful African Americans. Ten African Americans, who had worked in a STEM-related occupation for at least two years, were asked to reflect on in- and out-of-school experiences with mathematics during their middle and high school years. Data collection included individual interviews and one focus group discussion. A combination of internal and external factors emerged as contributors to participants’ adolescent mathematics identities. Internal factors included early career interest, finding enjoyment in the challenges associated with learning mathematics, or facing setbacks they were …

Developmental Dynamics Of Students' Perceptions Of Classroom Practices, Their Identity, And Academic Engagement, Krystal R. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

As the student body in the United States continues to become more diverse, it is critically important to understand the factors that influence African American and Latinx students’ engagement, including what they bring to the classroom, and their perceptions of what is occurring in the classroom. During early adolescence, youth are making meaning and internalizing the proximal influences their classrooms have on their sense of self and subsequent academic outcomes. Among school variables, teaching quality accounts for some amount of variation in student achievement.

This dissertation project explored whether there were gender differences among 205 middle school students’ perceptions of …

Teaching The Common Core State Standards (Ccss) Using Interdisciplinary Units: A Qualitative Case Study Of How Secondary Core Curriculum Teachers Implement The Ccss Using Interdisciplinary Units (Ius), Ella Jones Burch

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how teachers understood and practiced using IUs to teach the core disciplines of the CCSS. The strategy of inquiry was a single case study in an urban high school where teachers of English, science, social studies, and math courses discussed IUs, and some teachers were observed using IUs. Data from public documents, teacher and student participant interviews, teacher classroom observations, a teacher survey, and field notes were analyzed and produced themes around the implementation of IUs.

The findings of this study indicate that teachers perceive how to conceptualize an IU, …

A Mixed Method Descriptive Study Of High School Graduates' Dual Enrollment Experiences And The Influence On College Readiness, Sherry W. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the perceptions of graduates regarding the benefits of participating in Dual Enrollment and how their participation influenced their college readiness. Dual enrollment programs have become prominent nationwide. Several studies show positive outcomes including increased high school completion, improved postsecondary persistence, and higher college degree completion. This study will evaluate dual enrollment participants at one high school located in central Georgia. Data is analyzed and presented based on relevance to the effectiveness of the dual enrollment program. The study was important because the success of Dual Enrollment could provide a possible remedy …

Effects Of Quizlet On Vocabulary Mastery, Suzanne C. Baptist

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to answer three research questions: Do 11th grade students in an inclusion class (students with and without disabilities) that use Quizlet to master vocabulary words outperform students taught with a more traditional approach on vocabulary quizzes? Do the results differ for students with disabilities compared to typically developing students? And, Do students enjoy and benefit from completing the Quizlet treatment for mastering vocabulary? In a two group, counterbalanced design, students in each group received a different treatment. Group 1 used index cards and group 2 used Quizlet as a treatment for learning and mastering vocabulary; the groups …

Research Based Co-Teaching Practices And Their Realization In The New Jersey High School Classroom, Thomas K. Donovan

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study reviews co-teaching practices suggested to high school educators by their professional literature. Through a systematic analysis of published studies on the topic, a comprehensive list of suggested co-teaching practices from the past ten years was created. The study then explored the realization of these practices in the high school co-teaching classroom through surveys of 61 high school co-teachers in New Jersey. Both phases of this study assisted with the identification of opportunities for improving co-teaching practices, professional development on co-teaching, and instructional pedagogy.

Educators' Perspectives On School Family Involvement Within The Context Of A Pat Structure: A Qualitative Case Study, Marisol Perez

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine, through a social capital and funds of knowledge lens, how educators view and promote involvement within the context of a school's Parent and Teacher Organization (PAT). The study was conducted in one large suburban high school and consisted of twenty (N = 20) participants who were responsible for promoting involvement. Data was collected in the form of archival documents, participant interviews, and field notes from observations which produced clear patterns around the topic of family involvement. The findings of this study indicated that participants made distinctions between elementary/middle school involvement …

Active Parental Involvement And College And Career Readiness: A Qualitative Study, Tarah Pearson Santaniello

Theses and Dissertations

The development of emotional competencies occurs across many environments in a child's life. Research suggests that adequate development of a child's emotional intelligence leads to confident decision making and has a positive impact on student academic success (CASEL, 2013a, 2013b; Goleman, 2005; Landau & Meirovich, 2011 Larocque, Kleiman, & Darling, 2011). An active partnership between educators and parents/guardians promotes a continuum of positive supports for students developing healthy social-emotional learning behaviors transferable in college and careers.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the partnerships between parents/guardians and school districts when promoting college/career readiness concerning social/emotional competencies …

How Do Students Structure Their Silent Reading When Situated In Inquiry Based Pedagogy?, Michelle Cohen

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to document the engagement levels and classroom discussions students have after reading their independent reading novel. The specific aim was to see how students respond using their independent reading books when class discussions are centered around an essential question. Classroom reading behaviors, student-led classroom discussions, interviews, and exit tickets were analyzed. The students were engaged as active readers when reading their chosen silent reading book to find the answer to an essential question. After, the students engaged in meaningful conversations using their silent reading books as guides before some students offered personal responses while …

Close Reading Strategies Applied By English Language Learners When Reading Challenging Content Area Texts, Laura Barry

Theses and Dissertations

The study introduced high school English Language Learners to close reading strategies to use when reading difficult content area texts, with a particular focus on discussion, prior knowledge, vocabulary, and self-generating questions. The students participated in multiple measures to see if they developed metacognitive awareness in employing the strategies. Findings revealed that the students adapted quickly to using the strategies with teacher support, and that they began to internalize them. Implications for teacher research are discussed.

Picture Books In High School: How Picture Books Impact Student Understanding Of Revolutionary Literature Curriculum, Larae Drinkhouse

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to document student engagement and understanding of American literature when picture books supplement 11th grade curriculum. The specific aim is to see what happens when 11th graders use picture books to make sense of Revolutionary era literature and persuasive rhetoric found in texts such as Common Sense by Thomas Paine, Speech to the Virginia Convention by Patrick Henry, and The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson. Student questionnaires, interviews, artifacts, and observations were analyzed. The focus group of students demonstrated changes in the overall value of picture book usage in the 11th grade classroom. …

A Case Study Of Teachers’ Experiences Integrating Visual Literacy To Improve Middle School Struggling Readers’ Comprehension, Dianne Tetreault

Theses and Dissertations

Because the meaning of literacy is changing, teachers lack understanding of how to teach older students the skills they need to read and be proficient in an ever-changing digital world. Moreover, only 34% of U.S. 8th graders read at the proficient level, according to the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the process of how middle school teachers in a large urban district in Florida understand and integrate visual literacy for teaching comprehension in their lesson plans and class instruction after completing professional development and subsequent curricular support on …

The Role Of Professional Development On Secondary Special Educators Self-Efficacy Regarding The Use Of Evidence-Based Transition Practices, Lauren P. Bruno

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how transition specific professional development influenced secondary special educators’ knowledge and perceived self-efficacy regarding the use of evidence-based transition practices. Past research has suggested that secondary special educators enter the profession with limited knowledge and skills to provide effective evidence-based transition practices to students with disabilities. Based on Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, and Desimone’s framework for effective professional development, this study identified how different variables related to professional development can influence teacher self-efficacy in terms of delivering evidence-based transition practices. Specifically, a correlational research design was used to investigate teacher self-efficacy to …

Secondary Student Information Literacy Self-Efficacy Vs. Performance, Jen Spisak

Theses and Dissertations

The amount of information in the world has grown exponentially in the last generation. Students often believe that growing up as digital natives means they have advanced information literacy skills. However, school librarians are not seeing evidence of this in their schools. The purpose of this study was to determine if secondary students overestimate their information literacy (IL) abilities, if relationships exist between IL self-efficacy and performance, and if grade level or self-efficacy level changes those relationships. To accomplish this, data were collected from two middle schools and three high schools from a total of 397 students in grades 6, …

A Study Of The Effects Of Thinking Maps On The Achievement Of Students In Middle Grades Science, Lynn B. Hughes Akin

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the usage of Thinking Maps® influenced the achievement scores of middle grades students in science on the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) over a period of two years. Science test scores for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years were analyzed by grade level and usage in SPSS and SAS, and after transformations were completed, non-parametric ANOVAs were conducted based on non-normal distributions. Science teachers were surveyed regarding their perceptions and usage of Thinking Maps®. The scores and surveys were then analyzed for simultaneous effects.

The results of the study for the …

Instructional Technology: An Alternative Solution To Promoting Achievement In Remote Rural High Schools, Eva Mitchner Jenkins

Theses and Dissertations

The inauguration of federal government policies assuring that all students attending public schools in the United States have equal access to a highly qualified education, sparked national attention on improving the performance of rural schools and districts. Consequently, one in ten students is educated in remote school districts, and a large number of remote rural districts serve students that are minorities and poor. In many instances, the talents and abilities of the students served in rural schools and districts are less likely developed or noticed when compared to urban and suburban school districts. For administrators of remote rural high schools, …

Unemployment, Does It Really Hurt?, Claudia Vargas

Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes the consequences of changes in the unemployment rate in Colombia on the level of education attained for adolescents. Increases in the unemployment rate are associated with an increase in the average number of years of education. No significant effect was found for men of the same age.

To What Extent Does A Relationship Exist Between Nonsupport And Support Students When They Are Grouped Homogeneously And Heterogeneously In The Student's Mathematics Course At Lee County High School, Karen Lynn Hancock

Theses and Dissertations

Societal concerns and revolving federal initiatives linked State assessment scores to accountability measures which determined school success. In Southwest Georgia, one rural high school manipulated student schedules and provided an additional support course for individuals demonstrating documented mathematical deficiencies. The researcher examined the impact of three different grouping practices on the student’s 2014-15 Georgia Milestone Analytic Geometry End-of-Course assessment. This State assessment served as the dependent variable and the student grouping practice served as the independent variable for this quasi-experimental design study. Student schedules were examined and the three groups investigated during this study included 1) a group of students …

The Impact Of Teacher-Student Relationships And Classroom Engagement On Student Growth Percentiles Of 7th And 8th Grade Students In One Rural School In Southwest Georgia, Dave Dennie

Theses and Dissertations

A number of states throughout the United States, including Georgia, are implementing a relatively new metric, student growth percentiles, as part of teacher and leader evaluations. Student growth plays a tremendous role in evaluations, accounting for up to 50% of a teacher or leader evaluations, yet there is little to no peer reviewed research on classroom factors that influence student growth percentiles. This quantitative study examined the extent that teacher-student relationships influenced basic psychological needs, engagement, and student growth using the Self-systems Process Model as a framework using structural equation modeling. Based on prior research, it was hypothesized that context …

Perceptions Of Co-Teaching In The Middle School English Language Arts Classroom, Joseph M. Downey

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the perceptions of the co-teaching model in the middle school English Language Arts classroom. Data was kept over a three-week period and tracked through individual interviews with teachers in the English Language Arts department. Each interview included the same number of questions with the same prompts. These questions led teachers to discuss their experiences implementing co-teaching, working with a co-teacher and the time and effort that went into the process. As a result of the data collected, I was able to analyze the findings into specific themes including the roles and …

Wise Choices? The Economics Discourse Of A High School Economics And Personal Finance Course, Tamara L. Sober

Theses and Dissertations

Today’s high school students will face a host of economic problems such as the demise of the social safety net, mounting college student debt, and costly health care plans, as stated in the rationale for financial literacy provided by the Council for Economic Education’s National Standards for Financial Literacy. These problems are compounded by growing income and wealth inequality and the widespread influence of neoliberal ideology. Although one of the major goals of economics education is to teach students to make reasoned economic choices in their public and private lives and provide the skills to solve personal and social …

A Case Study Of Collaboration Between General Education Teachers And Special Education Teachers In A Southern Rural High School, Oassie Jean Daniels

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was framed around issues associated with the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom as these issues related to teacher collaboration. Specifically, the problem on which this study focused was that according to the principal at the research site, the general education teachers and special education teacher needed to collaborate more successfully in order to be more helpful to the students. The purpose of this case study was twofold. First, the researcher wished to determine how and to what extent collaboration practices occurred between general education teachers and special education teachers in a southern …