Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Bridging The Gap Between Academia And Industry: A Program Evaluation On University-Industry Collaboration, Lan Reneé Amboy-Biller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A significant amount of money is spent on professionalizing the workforce. At the same time, there is limited research on the effectiveness of academic-to-industry corporate partnerships as an innovative solution for meeting workforce development objectives. This exploratory study evaluates an existing University of South Florida industry partnership to identify characteristics of a sustainable university-to-industry model. The program has operated over the last nine years, providing degree completion programs for industry employees. This program evaluation includes an analysis of stakeholders, advisors, mentors, and participants’ perceptions. The evaluation findings identified key factors of consideration required when establishing and operating a University-Industry partnership. …

Community Scholars: A Diversity Pipeline Program To Promote Equity, Diversity, And Inclusion For People With Disabilities, Laura M. Rodríguez López

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation in practice documents the program evaluation of the Community Scholars (CS) program at the Florida Center for Inclusive Communities (FCIC), a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) at the University of South Florida (USF). CS is part of a diversity pipeline program that recruits youth with disabilities to engage in paid on-the-job training (OJT) with FCIC. Scholars are community members (youth with disabilities) that are enrolled as FCIC trainees and receive mentoring, development of basic administrative competencies, individualized career coaching, college counseling, and disability policy and self-advocacy training. Through the OJT experience, scholars gain skills that …

Psychometric Characteristics Of Academic Language Discourse Analysis Tools, Courtney (Cici) Brianna Claar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Academic language plays a key role in students’ educational success, yet its development in primary grades is poorly understood and often neglected (Snow & Uccelli, 2008). Academic language skills may enhance overall academic performance if targeted early and intensively. However, current methods of assessment are not sufficient to understanding the construct well enough to develop evidence-based intervention strategies. This investigation examined the psychometric properties of two discourse analysis tools designed to directly measure students’ comprehension and production of academic language. Academic language samples (n = 7,887) from a previous cohort-design study (n = 1,040; Kindergarten through third grade participants) were …

Support For Teacher Candidates And The Edtpa, Dia Gary, Dylan Thomas, Joseph Miller

Journal of Global Education and Research

Equipping new teachers in today’s society is a noble and challenging task. Of late, many additional licensing standards for teachers create additional responsibilities for universities that provide pedagogy, knowledge, and content for teacher candidates. Identification of best practices that support teacher candidates on the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) is of interest to many teacher education programs. The purpose of this research was to analyze whether incorporating a mock edTPA had beneficial results on the passage of the edTPA. This study spanned fourteen ten-week quarters and included 688 teacher candidates who were preparing to become certificated teachers at a university …

Using The Cipp Evaluation Model To Examine A Bachelor Of Science In Health Systems Management Program, Somer Goad Burke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this formative evaluation was to explore the effectiveness of a Bachelor of Science in Health Systems Management (BS HSMT) program in supporting student success through gathering information that led to recommendations for program improvement. The evaluation setting was a public university in the southeastern United States that began enrolling students in the BS HSMT in the fall semester 2017. The BS HSMT was developed to meet the local workforce need for professionals trained in health management and to offer a non-clinical bachelor’s degree for students not competitive or not admitted to their first-choice selective major (described in …

Potential Roles Of Speech-Language Pathologists In Advancing Early Intervention And Prevention Within A Multi-Tiered System Of Supports (Mtss) Framework, Meaghan A. Mckenna

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) is a framework that promotes school improvement through tiered deployment of research-based academic and behavioral practices. MTSS employs a systems approach whereby data-based problem solving integrates effective assessment and instruction designed to meet the academic, behavioral, and social emotional needs of all students. Many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are interested in better understanding their role within MTSS and others have a desire to lead efforts at their school site or the district level, but are unsure of where to begin. This dissertation includes three papers that explore potential roles and responsibilities of SLPs within a multi-tiered …

Predictive Validity Of Standards-Based And Curriculum-Embedded Assessments For Predicting Readiness At Kindergarten Entry, Elizabeth Ashton Decamilla

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As with traditional K-12 educational settings, early childhood assessments have been a primary source of information determining whether early educational experiences have promoted children’s readiness to start school in kindergarten. The level of use of Kindergarten Entry Assessments (KEAs) has become more wide-spread to establish levels of school readiness at kindergarten entry.

This quantitative, correlational study of children in schools that have blended Head Start/Voluntary Prekindergarten funded programs examined the predictive relationships between the independent variables (i.e., VPK Assessments and Teaching Strategies GOLD) and the dependent variable of kindergarten readiness, as measured by the Work Sampling System™ (WSS). Additionally, the …

Reaching Below Level Ell’S Reading Comprehension, Olivia T. Braunworth, Yvonne Franco Ph.D.

Journal of Practitioner Research

The number of English Language Learners (ELLs) in mainstream classrooms is increasing every year. Developing reading comprehension skills in lower level ELL students can be a challenging but important task for educators. It is crucial for classroom teachers to identify students’ proficiency levels, and then differentiate instruction to meet the reading needs for each of these students. As an elementary classroom teacher, this teacher inquiry study investigates four strategies including: visuals/realia, graphic organizers, language objectives, and building background as a means to support reading comprehension skills among three participants in a third grade classroom. The study investigates the research question, …

Investigating Students’ Basic Needs And Motivation In College Chemistry Courses With The Lens Of Self-Determination Theory, Yujuan Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

More graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathmetics (STEM) fields are needed to keep our nation’s preeminance in the global fields of technology and science. However, fewer than 40% of students who intend to major in STEM fields when entering college complete a STEM degree. Therefore, it is important to explore factors to improve student persistence in STEM fields at the college level as well as to understand the interrelationship between student motivation, academic achievement, and persistence. Motivation is strongly associated with student achievement and persistence; meanwhile, academic achievement can also affect persistence. Self-determination theory (SDT) represents a framework of …

Perceptual Learning Style Modalities: Comparing Latino, Black, And Caucasian Adults, Nicolle Chantelle Hardy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the individual learning modalities of Latino, Black, and Caucasian males and females with at least some college education utilizing the Multi-modal Paired Associates Learning Test IV (MMPALT IV). Using the MMPALT IV, 20 participants from each of the three race/ethnicities above the age of 40 were measured in each of the seven perceptual modalities: Visual, Print, Aural, Interactive, Haptic, Kinesthetic, and Olfactory. The MMPALT IV is a performance-based test, which measures a person’s capacity to acquire information through each of the seven learning channels.

ANOVA tests (2 x 3) with a …

Exploring Teacher Assessment Literacy Through The Process Of Training Teachers To Write Assessment Items, Heather Peltier Wright

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the process and impact of assessment training content and delivery mode on the quality of assessment items developed by the teachers in a two-year assessment development project. Teacher characteristics were examined as potential moderating factors. Four types of delivery mode were employed in the project: synchronous online, asynchronous online, in-person workshop, and blended (a combination of online and in-person training). The quality of assessment items developed by participating teachers was measured via: 1) item acceptance rate, 2) number of item reviews (as an indicator of how many times accepted items were rejected …

Examinees' Perceptions Of The Physical Aspects Of The Testing Environment During The National Physical Therapy Examination, Ellen Kroog Donald

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the increasing number of individuals taking computer-based tests, little is known about how examinees perceive computer-based testing environments and the extent to which these testing environments are perceived to affect test performance. The purpose of the present study was to assess the testing environment as perceived by individuals taking the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE), a high-stakes licensure examination. Perceptions of the testing environments were assessed using an examinee self-report questionnaire. The questionnaire included items that measured individuals’ preference and perception of specific characteristics of the environment, along with demographic information and one open-ended item. Questionnaires were distributed by …

Translation, Adaptation And Invariance Testing Of The Teaching Perspectives Inventory: Comparing Faculty Of Malaysia And The United States, Jecky Misieng

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As a result of growing attention in cross-cultural research, existing measurement instruments developed in one language are being translated and adapted for use in other languages and cultural contexts. The benefits of having the same instrument across cultures can only be realized if the process of translation and adaptation of the measurement instruments produces measurement operations that function similarly across national and cultural boundaries. Producing invariant measurement instruments that assess educational and psychological constructs provide a way of testing the cross-cultural generality of theories that include these constructs.

The major purposes of the study were to translate and adapt the …

Perceptions Of Workplace Mentoring Behaviors For Lifelong Career Development, Lynne A. Key

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study's purpose was to investigate the importance of mentoring functions and behaviors for lifelong career development as perceived by protégés. The population included individuals in middle to late adulthood (age 40 years and older) who reported they had been a protégé in at least one mentoring association perceived as beneficial to their lifelong career development; and were either employed or had been employed as a middle manager, senior manager, C-level executive, business owner, or member of a profession. The sample was obtained using a chain-sample method; 67 Ambassadors completed an online survey and each invited 10 contacts to complete …

The Relationship Between Statistics Self-Efficacy, Statistics Anxiety, And Performance In An Introductory Graduate Statistics Course, William Ray Schneider

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between statistics self-efficacy, statistics anxiety, and performance in introductory graduate statistics courses. The study design compared two statistics self-efficacy measures developed by Finney and Schraw (2003), a statistics anxiety measure developed by Cruise and Wilkins (1980), and a course performance measure. To view self-efficacy from two perspectives, the Current Statistics Self-Efficacy (CSSE) assessed student confidence in their ability to complete specific statistics tasks in the present, whereas Self-Efficacy to Learn Statistics (SELS) assessed student confidence in their ability to learn statistics in the future. The performance measure was the combined …

Parent Involvement In Children's Schooling: An Investigation Of Measurement Equivalence Across Ethnic Groups, Heather Marie Scott

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Epstein et al.'s Theory of Overlapping Spheres of Influence focuses on the interaction and communication, or partnerships, among families, schools, and the community to bring the three closer together. The theory works in conjunction with Epstein's typology of parental involvement, which focuses on six types of involvement that are instrumental to a child's development and his/her school and educational success. These serve as the framework for the study and support the construct of parent's involvement in children's schooling.

The purpose of the current study was to conduct further validation analyses of an inventory designed to measure the construct of parent …

Harnessing Innovative Technologies In Higher Education: Access, Equity, Policy & Instruction, Kathleen P. King, Joan K. Griggs

Leadership, Counseling, Adult, Career and Higher Education Faculty Publications

This publication is an attempt to capture the evolution of distributed higher education over the last decade by tracing the applications of new technologies funded by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). As FIPSE surveyed the current state of distance/distributed education, there existed an opportunity to help post econdary education make the transition to this new generation of distance education made possible by the explosive growth of the Internet and other new technologies. These technologies created the potential for students to access learning that was interactive, customized, and self-paced; to more easily merge lifelong learning with the …