Secondary Education Commons^™

Perceptions Of Support And Teacher Retention In Secondary Schools, Amaris Leal

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teacher attrition is a problem plaguing districts across the nation. Miami-Dade County Public Schools is the 4^th largest school district in the nation and continues to encounter difficulty keeping teachers. This study investigates how nine secondary level teachers conceptualize support. Teachers’ years of experience range from five to thirty-five years teaching in Miami-Dade County Public schools. Early, Mid and Late Career teachers were interviewed to understand their lived experiences in the professions as it pertains to support and how they conceptualize support. This case study utilizes phenomenological methods informed by the work of Vagle (2018) and van Manen (2014, …

An Examination Of Motivation And Teacher Identity In Minority High School Students Enrolled In A Career And Technical Education Teacher Preparation Program, Elizabeth M. Aguila

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative research describes the measures of motivating factors, through a social learning lens, that empower minority high school students in a CTE program to develop a teacher identity through time in clinical teaching practice. This quasi-experimental study found interactions between student motivation, teacher identity, and student achievement through an early clinical practice intervention used in SCHOOL A ECE 1. A comparison group, SCHOOL B ECE 2, was used to measure any effect of a community of practice framework on these factors. The present study also used a non-teacher education program, SCHOOL A BIO 1 to measure if motivation and …

How Are Social Studies Teachers Using Technology In The Classroom?, Stephanie Delgado

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

So that students are equipped with the skills needed to compete a in a global economy, schools are being given resources intended to increase equity, opportunity, and to close the digital divide. Digital equitability exists when all students have access to both advanced technologies and the learning opportunities the technologies provide (Solomon, Allen, & Resta, 2003). The U.S. Department of Education notes that although students are graduating high school at high rates, performance gaps among students from low socioeconomic and various cultural backgrounds still exist. My study followed a constructivist grounded theory approach to examine how seven teachers in Miami-Dade …

An Investigation Of The Effects Of Taking Remedial Math In College On Degree Attainment And College Gpa Using Multiple Imputation And Propensity Score Matching, Meghan A. Clovis

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the U.S. is increasing, as are the numbers of students entering academically underprepared. Students in remedial mathematics represent the largest percentage of total enrollment in remedial courses, and national statistics indicate that less than half of these students pass all of the remedial math courses in which they enroll. In response to the low pass rates, numerous studies have been conducted into the use of alternative modes of instruction to increase passing rates. Despite myriad studies into course redesign, passing rates have seen no large-scale improvement. Lacking is a thorough investigation into preexisting differences …

Evaluating The Effects Of Utilizing A Mobile Device By Transitioning High School Students With Intellectual Disability To Locate Items From A Grocery List And Improve Their Independence, Vanessa Gil

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with Intellectual Disability (ID) struggle to learn daily living skills (DLS) required for independent living. One specific skill set that is challenging for individuals with ID is grocery shopping. The current study is one of two investigations that have been undertaken entirely in the community and without the use of booster session simulations in a classroom.

This study investigated the effects of using least-to-most prompting and mobile technology as a tool to assist 18 to 22-year-old adult students with ID to find six items from a grocery-shopping list. Dependent measures included the number of task steps completed correctly, selecting …

Evaluating High School Biology Modeling Instruction In South Florida: A Comparative Case Study, Feng Li

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation, with a collected papers approach, focused on evaluating the implementation of MI curriculum in high school Biology I classes in south Florida. The dissertation included the development and validation of the Biology Identity and Persistence Survey (BIPS), the connection of instructors’ teaching practices with students’ biology identities, evolution identities, and career aspirations, and the connection of instructors’ teaching practice with students’ conceptual understanding in evolution. In the first part of the dissertation study, the BIPS was validated through expert review and student cognitive interviews for its face and content validity. Confirmatory factor analysis addressed the construct validity of …

Project-Based Learning: Investigating Self-Directed Learning Readiness Skills And Content Knowledge Retention In An Urban Jamaican High School Eighth Grade Integrated Science Cohort, Carolyn A. L. Reid-Brown

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Self-directed learning (SDL) readiness skills and the command and/or retention of content knowledge have been identified as key factors for success in post-secondary settings. The Government of Jamaica (GOJ) has stated that two in three Jamaican secondary school graduates lack the requisite content knowledge and self-directed learning skills needed for advancement in the work space and in postsecondary education (Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan, 2009). This dissertation examined the efficacy of project-based learning (PBL) as a method of instruction for improving SDL readiness skills and content knowledge retention. More specifically, the phenomenon was explored within the context of a …

How The Use Of Subjectivist Instructional Strategies In Teaching Multiple Sections Of An Eighth Grade Algebra Class In Guyana Relates To Algebra Achievement And Attitude Changes Toward Mathematics, Jennifer Hoyte

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Guyana, South America, the Ministry of Education seeks to provide universal, inclusive education that prepares its citizens to take their productive places in society and to creatively solve complex, real-world problems. However, with frequent national assessments that are used to place students in high school, college or into jobs, teachers resort to using familiar strategies such as lecture, recitation and test drilling. Despite their efforts, over 56% of students are failing the Grade 6 assessments, 43% failing 10th grade Mathematics and over 60% failing college algebra courses. Such performance has been linked to students’ lower academic self-concept and their …

Examining The Relationship Between Fidelity Of Implementation Of Accommodations For Students With Specific Learning Disabilities In Mathematics And Student Achievement In High School Algebra I Inclusion Classes, Belinda Baptiste

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are educated in general education classrooms. As a result, these students are faced with more challenging instructional curricula. Although some students with SLD perform as well in mathematics as students without disabilities, most perform below state standards despite being provided instructional and testing accommodations. Policy makers have envisioned the implementation of instructional accommodations as a primary means of ensuring an appropriate education (Mcleskey, Hoppey, Williamson & Rentz, 2004; Scalon & Baker, 2012) for students with disabilities in general education classrooms (Mc Guire, Scott, & Shaw, 2006). The researcher implemented a non-experimental ex post facto …

The Interactions Of Relationships, Interest, And Self-Efficacy In Undergraduate Physics, Remy Dou

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This collected papers dissertation explores students’ academic interactions in an active learning, introductory physics settings as they relate to the development of physics self-efficacy and interest. The motivation for this work extends from the national call to increase participation of students in the pursuit of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Self-efficacy and interest are factors that play prominent roles in popular, evidence-based, career theories, including the Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) and the identity framework. Understanding how these constructs develop in light of the most pervasive characteristic of the active learning introductory physics classroom (i.e., peer-to-peer interactions) has …