Secondary Education Commons^™

Games: Glass And Materials Science To Engage Students, M. A. Liggett, Kateryna Swan

Physics and Astronomy Summer Fellows

Materials science is the study of the properties of matter and its applications in optics, chemistry, physics, and civil, electrical, chemical, and mechanical engineering. The broad field of materials science and the complex ideas that can be included in it are typically introduced into formal education at the college level, but recently there has been a push for younger students to also have exposure to materials science. In this project, we used the techniques demonstrated in First Physics to expose students, ages 9-15, to materials science. Our hypothesis was that by using these techniques, higher level concepts can be broken …

Influence Of A Drama Based Education Program On The Development Of Empathy In Year 10, Western Australian Students, Scott Corbett

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this study was to understand which elements of the drama processes are most conducive to increasing empathy in adolescents. Empathy can have a significant impact on situational and dispositional pro-social behaviour in adolescents. It is positively related to moral development, healthy relationships and problem-solving skills; and negatively related to bullying behaviour, aggression, and victimisation. The practice of Creative Drama, in particular the work of Dorothy Heathcote and Bruce Burton, has informed drama programs that foster empathy in participants. This process, combined with the Actor Training system of Constantin Stanislavski, and the Forum Theatre model developed by Augusto …

Male Educators Implementing Instructional Practices That Academically Engage Students, Kenneth B. Beneby

Theses and Dissertations

Male Educators Implementing Instructional Practices That Academically Engage Students. Kenneth Bernard Beneby, 2019. Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. Keywords: teacher, African American male teachers, academic engagement, secondary teaching profession, pedagogies, African American male students

This phenomenological research explored how a selected group of African American male educators understood their own experiences while implementing strategies to academically engage African American male students. The research explored the public secondary education experiences of African American male educators to better understand their occupational understandings; how having more African American educators were helpful in …

A Study Of The Collaborative Strategies Of General Education And Special Education Teachers In The Inclusion Classroom In An Urban High School, Angela Mcdougall

Theses and Dissertations

This study expands on prior research on the benefits and strategies implemented in an inclusion classroom with the general education and special education teacher in an urban high school. The collaborative strategies that both teachers implement are critical to ensure a high level of instruction delivery to the special education students and the general education students that are placed together in the inclusion classroom. The general education teacher and the special education teacher both have their respective roles in the inclusion classroom.

General education teachers, ICS (in class support) and special education teachers who instruct in self-contained classrooms were interviewed …

Crossing The Final Frontier: Exploring The Numeracy Demands Of Texts Read In English Language Arts, Ellen C. Agnello, Kevin M. Agnello

Numeracy

Incited by the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ 2009 Reading Framework and the Common Core State Standards, recent shifts in national education goals have urged English language arts teachers to make curriculum adjustments. One such adjustment is to shift their focus from fiction, which has traditionally dominated the curriculum, to nonfiction. Doing so has the potential to increase students’ exposure to informational texts which often employ numeric modes to represent quantitative data, thus necessitating numeracy knowledge. This article presents a study of 60 nonfiction texts taught in secondary ELA classrooms. Through analysis of these texts, it addresses the questions: Which …

Mathematics And Programming Exercises For Educational Robot Navigation, Ronald I. Greenberg

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This paper points students towards ideas they can use towards developing a convenient library for robot navigation, with examples based on Botball primitives, and points educators towards mathematics and programming exercises they can suggest to students, especially advanced high school students.

Whose Story Is It, Now? Re-Examining Women’S Visibility In 21st Century Secondary World History Textbooks, Erica M. Southworth, Jenna Kempen, Melonie Zielinski

Faculty Creative and Scholarly Works

In 2005 Clark, Ayton, Frechette, and Keller (2005) conducted a content analysis study on secondary world history textbooks to determine whether women’s inclusion had increased or decreased between 1960s, 1980s, and 1990s. They reported women’s severe marginalization in the texts even though the percentages of women’s inclusion had increased over the course of the decades. We conducted a replication study of the content analysis performed by Clark et al. from a feminist research lens and analyzed 2000 and 2010 editions of the same textbooks to determine if female inclusion had increased. Our findings revealed that very little to no progress …

Examining Collegiate Students’ Perceptions Of Date Rape And Sexual Assault, Jalen Rhodes

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine how collegiate males and females perceived date rape and sexual assault by looking into their views on sexual scripts, consent, and alcohol in dating situations. Participants consisted of 323 male and female undergraduate students enrolled in psychology classes at a mid-south university. All participants were directed to an online questionnaire and were randomly assigned to one of four versions of a vignette where a man and a woman are at a party together. After reading their vignette, all participants answered researcher-created questions pertaining to the behavior of the people in the vignette …

Cultural Appropriation: The Continued Phenomena Of American Indian High School Mascots, Joshua Bullock

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the phenomenon of how high school administrators view the identity of their school’s American Indian mascot and how it creates school culture, views of American Indians, and cultural appropriation. Critical race theory offered a positional framework to contextualize the phenomena as experienced by each participant. Understanding the influence of an American Indian mascot has on administration is important because it adds insight into the controversial conversation about American Indian mascots and their use nationwide. This research study added to the body of knowledge regarding American Indian mascots by specifically engaging in …

The Effects Of Geogebra On Student Achievements, Critical Thinking/Problem-Solving Skills, And Engagement/Motivation In High School Mathematics, Zachary Schaver

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This research project explores the overall effects that GeoGebra has on students' learning in mathematics. More specifically, this research demonstrates the effects GeoGebra has on student achievement scores, students' critical thinking/problem-solving skills, and students' engagement/motivation. In this research, two groups of high school geometry students from two different years were used to determine students' achievements and understanding. Students in 2018 used traditional teaching practices while students in 2019 used GeoGebra as a means of learning mathematics. The scores were taken from teacher made assessments and reported as averages from both years. In addition, observations and a survey were used to …

Comparing Nebraskan And Finnish Education Policy And Its Impacts On Mathematics Teaching, Elizabeth Tyler

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

For two decades, Finland has been in the education spotlight as they consistently receive high international exam scores while spending less money, less time teaching, and putting students through fewer hours of school. This study aims to investigate the related policy that may help explain these seemingly paradoxical findings in the education sector. More specifically, this study examines how related policy impacts math teachers in their day to day work. This research includes an extensive literature review that explores several facets of the education system in both Nebraska and Finland in order to better understand existing policies. This background is …

A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences Of High School Students Engaged In An Established 1:1 Technology Program, Kevin Michael Mathes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to seek understanding as to the impact of an established 1:1 technology program on the educational experiences of high school students. The theories guiding this study were constructivism, based on the works of Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget, and connectivism, based on the work of George Siemens. Three high schools in a mid-Atlantic state with established 1:1 technology programs were identified as sites for this study. Participants included five high school students from each school site. The sequential data collection process began with one-on-one interviews with the participants, then a focus …

Student Experience With A Teacher-Designed Discussion Protocol, Lacey O'Donnell

All NMU Master's Theses

This phenomenological research study was designed to examine student experience with a teacher-designed literature discussion protocol. The study took place in a dually enrolled high school literature classroom. The class consisted of 21 students, 13 of which were female and 8 of which were male. Throughout the course of the study, the students participated in six literature discussions using the teacher-designed protocol. After the first, third, and sixth protocol, students responded to an open-ended question gauging their experience with the protocol. All data was collected during regular class time. Analysis of student responses revealed student reflections on the intentional structure …

Diaspora’S Role In Nepal’S Development: Summary Of The Forum Held At The Nepali National Convention. Baltimore, Md, Usa. July 5-7, 2019, Ambika P. Adhikari, Diwakar Dahal, Rajendra Khatiwada

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Four major Nepalese community organizations, ANA, ANMA, BANA, and INLS jointly hosted the “Nepali National Convention 2019” in Baltimore, Maryland, USA during July 5 to 7, 2019. Eight other community-based organizations including Blood Donors of America, Society of American Nepalese Nurses, Nepalese Association of Florida, Nepal Pasa Pucha Amerikaye, America Nepal Women’s Association of Greater Washington, Nepal Education and Culture Center, America Nepal Society, and Association of Nepali Teraian in America were involved as co-hosts of the convention. Several other local organizations participated in support of the convention.

The Forum “Diaspora’s Role in Nepal’s Development” was held from 1:30-3:00 pm …

Idea Compliant Transition Program For High School Students With Mild To Moderate Disabilities, Crystal Lewis

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This is a literature review intended to investigate development of secondary school transition programs for students with mild to moderate disabilities, features of current transition programs, adopted curriculum and standards designations, and possible areas of improvement. It was expected that through reviewing compiled research there would be a clear sense of what a successful transition program should look like and what services it should provide. However, it was found that there are few successful models, and there continues to be little consensus or alignment amongst the nation on these areas. Since the 1800’s, secondary transition programs for students with mild …

The Trauma Informed School: Effects On Student Success, Emily Larson

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

There is a great need in schools today for school staff to be trauma informed. Many students are coming into the classroom after having dealt with traumatic experiences. Many people assume that the only trauma they are experiencing comes from abuse. However, that is not the case. Students are experiencing a variety of trauma in their lives such as death, neglect, community disasters and nation-wide disasters. All these factors change the way that children respond to others, their behaviors in the classroom and their academic success. Because of this trend, school staff are becoming trauma informed. Staff is trained to …

Improving Literacy Outcomes For Adolescent English Language Learners, Grace Diaz-Peterson

Graduate Teacher Education

As the population of English Language Learners in United States public schools has risen significantly in recent years, the unique academic challenges these students faced, particularly in middle and high school, became more apparent. A widening reading and vocabulary gap between English Language Learners and their native English-speaking peers posed particular barriers in secondary content area classes, where many teachers reported feeling ill-prepared to meet the specialized linguistic needs of their English Language Learner students. This paper analyzed a mix of recent, available qualitative and quantitative research on best practices to improve literacy outcomes for adolescent English Language Learners. As …

Decreasing Chronic Absenteeism Rate For Students With Disabilities: One Call Or Text At A Time, Richard Dean Branco

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to see if an added layer of communication could reduce the absenteeism rate for Students with Disabilities (SWD). Additionally, the study looked at two areas of interest with regards to communicating with parents and/or guardians (i.e., type of contact and tone of the message being conveyed). The study began by obtaining a list of juniors and sophomores who had missed 10% or more of school for the first 41 days of the 2018-19 school year. The list was then randomly assigned by grade into three groups (i.e., Control, Treatment 1, and Treatment 2). Each …

Women In History: Virginia Roth – Innovative Educator, Barbara Shousha

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

“There has to be a better way.” In 1964, Virginia Roth, then known as Sr. Pacis principal at Ryan High School in Omaha, Nebraska, set out to devise a new system of education. Her goal, as expressed in her essay, “A Model for an Alternate High School” was to, “realize those objectives we defined as essential for education.” The “we” referred to the School Sisters of St. Francis, the religious order to which she belonged at that time. Roth described the period from 1964 to 1966 as a “two year experimentation program of brainstorming, trying new methods, committee work for …

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 …

Designing Visually Interactive Learning Modules To Promote Students' Critical Thinking In Mathematics, Linda Vu, Ying Xie

Master of Science in Computer Science Theses

This Innovative Practice Full Paper presents our study of promoting critical thinking and achievement in mathematics with the use of technology via easily accessible resources. We believe that creating easy-to-use learning modules that are accessible for students everywhere is a great way to help students comprehend abstract logic process in problem solving. More specifically, we developed a series of learning modules that interactively visualize and illustrate the steps of Geometry proofs by using GeoGebra, a dynamic learning platform for mathematics [5, 10]. Survey study shows that our interactive learning modules are beneficial in promoting students’ learning interests and ability of …

Motion, Matter, Force, And Writing???: Creating Space For Writing In A Secondary Physics Classroom, Lubna Javeed

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

This qualitative case study was an in-depth exploration into how writing may facilitate disciplinary literacy in an eleventh grade physics classroom. In response to the dearth of writing instruction in high school disciplinary classrooms, this study was an in-depth exploration into how writing may facilitate the cultivation of disciplinary writing in physics. The study focused on the perspectives of three participants during a semester of implementing writing by using sentence starters in physics. Findings showed participants were resistant to the change in curriculum and learning. Modelling effective disciplinary writing to support students may help improve attitudes and identities as writers.

Using Primary Sources In Content Areas To Increase Disciplinary Literacy Instruction, Salika A. Lawrence, Elise Langan, Julie Maurer

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

This paper describes how a three-day summer workshop on using primary sources helped teachers increase the emphasis placed on disciplinary literacy when teaching social studies and history. Two specific issues in teacher education and practice are addressed. First, increasing teachers’ content knowledge of history topics can help them plan lessons that connect local and global events. Second, content area reading requires literacy practices, which are unique to disciplines. Therefore, teachers need to apply historical inquiry and disciplinary literacy methods in the curriculum.

The Role Of Self-Efficacy And Use Of Teachers’ Feedback On Students’ Mathematics Performance In Tanzanian Secondary Schools, Florence Kyaruzi

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Self-efficacy has been found to have positive relationship with important educational variables such as choice of task, persistence, motivation, and academic performance. This study investigated the role of students’ mathematics self-efficacy and use of teachers’ feedback in improving mathematics performance among secondary schools in Tanzania. The study involved 2767 Form III students sampled from 48 secondary schools in Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro regions. A questionnaire was used to measure students’ mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics performance, while focus group discussions were used to explore students’ perceptions of the use teachers’ feedback. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling and content …

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 …

A Student Research Manual: Helping Students Help Themselves Identifying And Addressing Challenges Facing Prospective Undergraduate Researchers, Landon Rohrer, Karen L. Sirum

Honors Projects

Undergraduate research does not only help equip STEM majors to be better researchers and employees but increases retention of students to graduate school in needed scientific fields. However, while resources are being produced for undergraduates like Undergraduate Research Experiences (UREs), Centers for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (CURS), and Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), undergraduate involvement and awareness about these resources, and the value of undergraduate research in general, does not seem to be improving. Therefore, it would be valuable to figure out why undergraduates aren't autonomously seeking out undergraduate research during their studies. To investigate why, a two-part survey was …

2018 Northwest Arkansas Education Report Card, Sarah Mckenzie

Education Report Card

The Northwest Arkansas Report Card highlights how students in area schools are performing. Our goal is to help parents, school personnel, community members, and policy makers understand how effectively the students in their community are being served.

Northwest Arkansas students are demonstrating greater growth in achievement and earning higher scores on the ACT Aspire than are the students in the state overall. Schools in NWA also have higher School Quality and Student Success scores, higher graduation rates, and are more likely to receive an “A” or “B” rating than are other schools across the state.

Graduate Internship Report Aged 539 - Volunteer Mah & Answer Key, Rachel E. Drisdelle

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship and project report includes validation documents required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. This is a volunteer workbook intended for high school students looking to observe at a veterinary hospital. It is written for volunteers at Mission Animal Hospital in San Luis Obispo, CA, but can be adapted for other veterinary hospitals if needed.

Graduate Internship Report Aged 539-Livingston High School, Anthony B. Drumonde

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship and project report includes documentation required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. The documents are concurrently used for the Agriculture Incentive Grant review process at Livingston High School conducted by representatives of the California Department of Education. The supporting material includes information to receive state and local funding, outline the goals and objectives of the program, along with an overview of Livingston High School, the agriculture program and the community.

Graduate Internship Report - Stone Ridge Christian High School, Victoria Lewis

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship and project report includes documentation required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. The documents are concurrently used for the Agriculture Incentive Grant review process at Stone Ridge Christian High School conducted by representatives of the California Department of Education. The supporting material includes information to receive state and local funding, outline the goals and objectives of the program, along with an overview of Stone Ridge Christian High School, the agriculture program and the community.