Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Teachers' Expectations And Reading Achievement Of African American Middle School Students, Gloria Denise King Lewis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A local and national concern in education is the persistent achievement gap between African American and Caucasian middle school students. Despite numerous reforms, the gap continues to show African American middle school students performing lower in reading. The purpose of this mixed methods study, framed in the theoretical perspective of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, was to examine teachers' expectations and the relationship between those expectations and the educational outcomes of African American middle school children. Data were collected to identify pedagogical practices, examine teacher expectations, and determine the relationship between those expectations and student Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) scores. Nineteen …

Beginning Teachers' Perceptions Of A Teacher Mentoring Program, Irish Phaletta Mccollum

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The decline in teacher retention is a growing problem in the 21st century. Beginning teacher turnover rates have grown by 50% over the past decade, with the national rate increasing to over 20%. Beginning teachers entering the profession are leaving within their first 3 years, with half leaving the profession in the first 5 years. To meet their growing needs, districts and states spend billions of dollars to recruit, hire, and try to retain new teachers. The purpose of this case study was to examine beginning teachers' perceptions of their teacher mentoring program located in an urban school district. Bandura's …

Teachers' Perspectives About Infusing Music Into Language Arts Instruction, Demetria Lucille Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Reading and writing curricula in more than 50% of America's schools have not been successful in assisting students to meet mandated academic performances for a number of reasons, including lack of student motivation and self-esteem. Research studies indicated that music can influence student motivation and academic performance in subjects such as language arts and that a music-infused curriculum could generate the positive difference between academic failure and academic success. For this qualitative case study with a constructivist paradigm, the purpose was to observe, document, and analyze music-infused lessons used by 4 teachers from prekindergarten to 5th grade with the goal …

Preoperative Education Needs In Ear, Nose, & Throat Clinic: A Patient Perspective, Jonathan Edmun Ramos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A medical center specializing in ear, nose, and throat (ENT) services noted an increase in the number of postoperative ENT complications compared to the national average. The purpose of this mixed-methods project study was to examine ENT patients' preoperative patient education (PPE) needs regarding postoperative care. Grounded in Knowles's model of learning, core adult learning principles were applied as guidelines in facilitating patients' PPE learning. Data were collected from 58 ENT patients who were selected using a convenience sampling method and who responded to a PPE survey using a 5-point Likert scale and open-ended questions. Quantitative data were analyzed using …

Ap And Ib Instructional Practices For Students Who Demonstrate Advanced Proficiency In Spanish, Carol Mable Andersen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Linguistically gifted and talented students often do not receive appropriate instruction in the classroom. Little research has been conducted about how teachers of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses provide instruction to students who demonstrate advanced proficiency in a second language. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how teachers of these courses provided instruction for students who demonstrate advanced proficiency in Spanish. The conceptual framework was based on Krashen's second language acquisition theory and Gardner's multiple intelligences theory. Participants included 2 teachers from 2 high schools in 1 county in a western state. Data were collected …

Teacher Assessments Of Positive Behavior Support In School, Terrie Davis Phillips

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students are often removed from classrooms due to behavioral concerns, which has led to an increase in student drop-out rates. Positive behavior support (PBS), a proactive approach to student discipline, was implemented at a local school in order to address the influx of students being sent to the office. Constructivism was the framework for this mixed method study on teachers' assessments of the current behavior support approach in their school and teachers' perceptions of school-wide PBS training and implementation. Data from the Effective Behavior Support (EBS) Survey were used in a descriptive statistical analysis of 162 teachers' assessments of behavior …

The Effectiveness Of Computer-Aided Instruction On Math Fact Fluency, Joseph Scott Bochniak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sixth grade students at a Mid-Atlantic, urban, PreK-8 public school have shown weak mathematical performance. In accordance with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, the local district has implemented numerous policy changes to improve performance, but no substantial improvements in test scores have been seen so far. This project study focused on the development of automaticity and fluency of math facts to address this problem. The theoretical framework of the study was based on Haring and Eaton's instructional competency hierarchy framework, which claims that students who master basic mathematics skills are better able to progress to more …

Instructional Models For English Language Learners As Contributors To Elementary Teachers' Effectiveness, Arleen Elizabeth Folorunsho

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Faculty at a public school in Georgia have been unable to explain how and why English language learner (ELL) students improved their performance on English and writing standardized tests. Leadership at this school desired an evidence-based ELL teaching model, which required exploration of this improved performance. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological, and heuristic project study was to understand the roots of this ELL achievement. Guided by teacher effectiveness theory, which suggests that examining the role of teachers is a valid way of understanding student achievement, this theory provided a specific construct of effectiveness consisting of distinct behaviors and characteristics. …

Differentiated Instruction In A Standards-Based Middle School Science Classroom, Marsha Ranata Hogan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Middle schools in Georgia and all over the United States face unique obstacles for enhancing the academic accomplishment of an increasingly diverse group of learners. Under pressure to implement innovative research-based teaching practices to overcome these challenges, many schools and teachers adopt differentiated instruction (DI), a teaching approach designed to accommodate different learning styles and levels of ability. This study was grounded in Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences and Lev Vygotsky's zone of proximal development (ZPD) theory. The research questions investigated in this study were designed (1) to explore the perceptions of science teachers regarding how they apply DI and …

Impact Of An Online Student Bridge Program For First-Year Nontraditional Students, Lisa Rene Adkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low retention rates for first-year students plague many higher education institutions, and are even lower among online institutions of higher education. At Athena Colleges (a pseudonym), the attrition rate can be as high as 50% in students' first academic year. To address this concern, Athena Colleges has implemented an online bridge program that addresses students' academic needs and persistence. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the bridge program in reducing the first-time student attrition rate and academic performance in their first term. Most of Athena Colleges students are nontraditional students and due to this, the …

Reducing The Dropout Rate Through A Ninth Grade Academy, Eric Venson Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Oftentimes, educators are not equipped to identify students who are at risk of dropping out in their first year of high school. High school students at a local school setting were having a difficult time transitioning into the ninth grade and maintaining passing grades. The purpose of this study was to investigate reasons why students leave high school before completion and whether the current interventions in the ninth grade academy are effective in decreasing the dropout rate at a local high school in northeast Louisiana. The research question addressed interventions that could help students remain in school, decrease the dropout …

Stakeholders' Roles In Prioritizing Technical Vocational Education And Training In Postconflict Liberia, Edward S. Forh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Postconflict governments and counterparts have collaborated to provide skills training to communities as a critical postconflict development strategy. In these undertakings, the role of community members remains largely undefined. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to understand the perceptions held by rural community members regarding the role they played in influencing government's policy priority for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) as a local human development strategy in postconflict Liberia. The conceptual framework was based on human capital theory and concepts of motivation and achievement. Fourteen participants were purposefully selected for the study. Data were collected …

Motivations For Volunteering In A Faith-Based Mentoring Program, Trudy Weatherspoon Willis-Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Adolescent males are being suspended or expelled at high rates. Faith-based organizations have developed programs to address these problems by using adult male volunteers to mentor high-risk youth; however, recruiting sufficient mentors is a problem because organizers lack an understanding of the factors that motivate men to volunteer. If this problem can be alleviated, then faith-based organizations will be better able to recruit volunteers to serve students. Guided by the functionalist theory, the purpose of this study was to determine what demographic characteristics and motivating factors discriminated between volunteers and non-volunteers. A causal comparative design was employed and the …

Individualized Consideration: Poverty Countermeasure, Lawrence Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite more than $1 trillion spent annually on poverty remediation, impoverishment in the United States persists unabated. With a U.S. poverty rate greater than 10% for more than 4 decades, economics are neither poverty's cause nor cure. As such, non-economic poverty remedies require exploration and expansion. Linking greater leadership and poverty theories, this non-experimental, cross sectional, quantitative, survey-based research effort correlated individualized consideration's (IC) practice with collegiate athlete graduation rates in order to identify and isolate possible leadership based social poverty remediation measures. Leveraging a two-stage random sample, this research effort correlated student athlete Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire (form 5X) responses …

A Case Study Of Teachers’ And Administrators’ Experiences Integrating Project-Based Learning, Gastrid Harrigan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Implementation of project-based learning (PBL) has contributed to increases in students’ retention of concepts, engagement, and academic success. The problem for this study is that teachers’ and administrators’ experiences and perceptions have not been sought regarding the integration of PBL in the classroom at the school district. The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to gain a deeper insight into the experiences of teachers and administrators implementing PBL. Centered on the theory of constructivism, the research questions focused on 10 teachers’ and 5 administrators’ experiences integrating PBL. Face-to-face interviews with participants and 10 classroom observations were conducted. Inductive …

Mentor Preparation: A Qualitative Study Of Stem Master Teacher Professional Development, Heather Lynn Click-Cuellar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has required districts to staff all classrooms with highly qualified teachers. Yet, retaining certified teachers in the profession has been a national concern, especially among new teachers who leave at alarming rates within their first three years. This comes at a heavy cost to districts financially and in trying to maintain highly qualified status, but also to the continuity and effective education of students. Mentoring has been identified by many researchers as a plausible solution to reducing attrition rates for beginning teachers.

In this Dissertation, I conducted qualitative research to explore and …

Evolución Y Desarrollo Conceptual Del Texto De Especialidad Desde El Análisis Del Discurso Hasta Las Lenguas Con Propósitos Específicos, David Sánchez-Jiménez

Publications and Research

Writing evolves in society and so do kinds of text in a discourse community in specific ways. The disciplines involved in the analysis of these written texts follow these changes and explain these adjustments. This article reviews the idea of texts when discourse analysis began. Its objective is to look at how this concept has evolved within each discourse community through the several changes that have occurred in the society during the last few decades.

Review: Digital Humanities Pedagogy: Practices, Principles, And Politics, Stephen Brier

Publications and Research

Review of Digital Humanities Pedagogy: Practices, Principles, and Politics, edited by Brett D. Hirsch, multiple authored collection of articles on the theory as well as the practices and principles of the digital humanities and how DH can and has begun to reshape pedagogy in college teaching and learning.

Professorial Reflection And Practical Pedagogical Suggestions For Increasing Guided Reflection For Students In A Service-Learning Class, Kevin D. Lo

Organization, Leadership, and Communication

Service-learning is an experiential pedagogy that encourages students to understand academic content through performing direct service at a community organization. While research supports the benefits of service-learning pedagogy for students, there are fewer articles to guidance to faculty on how to teach service-learning, especially to faculty who have no prior experience. As guided reflection is a central component to service-learning pedagogy, this article shares both professorial reflection on the author’s learning trajectory as well as reflections ideas from the author’s service-learning class geared towards incorporating a more reflection oriented methodology for students. Even in a class that is not service-learning …

Exploring Dance Teachers' Perceptions: Video As A Teaching Tool, Daralyn Scurlock

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The process in which dance instructors evaluate dance students' technical skills has been dependent on spontaneity; it is time sensitive and almost synchronous. However, video introduces an asynchronous evaluating component. Video recording can be utilized in the dance profession not only to improve a dancer's overall performance, but as an injury prevention tool. Therefore video permits deeper reflection.

This is a preliminary study designed to open the door for future studies in the dance field. In order to gain the in depth knowledge required for this thesis, an instrumental case-study design was utilized based primarily on the analyses of broad, …

Digital Biliteracy: Digital Technologies As Homes For Arab Immigrant Children's Biliteracy Development, Laila Al-Salmi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The revolution of digital technologies and children's increasing access to them is

impacting the literacy development of children around the world. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between digital technologies and immigrant children's biliteracy development. The purpose of this study was to understand the digital literacy practices of Arab pre-kindergarten children and how these shape biliteracy development in Arabic and English. Tomake sense of the emergent biliteracy of these young participants, the study proposed Digital Biliteracy, a theoretical framework that draws on elements of New Literacy Studies, MultimodalLiteracies, Digital Literacies and Situated Learning Theory.

The study employed a qualitative …

The Effects Of A Technology-Driven Science Application On Postsecondary Chemistry Student Achievement And Self-Efficacy, Darrell Byrum

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to establish if distinction exists in both student achievement and self-efficacy through the application of technology-based instructional approach in the laboratory environment of undergraduate chemistry courses. The achievement of 52 college students in the southeastern region of the United States was measured through one posttest assessment. Following this assessment, students were examined through a self-efficacy scale to determine preexisting thoughts of working in an undergraduate chemistry laboratory environment, as well as peer interaction. Accordingly, three separate college chemistry I courses were used to generate data via a nonequivalent control group design. From the three …

Development Of An Instrument To Measure Student Attitudes Toward Science Fairs, Claudia Huddleston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Science fairs are woven into the very fabric of science instruction in the United States and in other countries. Even though thousands of students participate in science fairs every year, no instrument to measure student attitudes toward partaking in this hands-on learning experience has been fully developed and available for school administrators and teachers to assess the perceived value that current students attribute to participation in science fairs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to continue the development and refinement of an instrument that measured student attitudes towards science fairs based on an unpublished instrument created by Michael (2005). …

Effect Of Ebooks On Reading Level, Reading Behaviors, And Attitude Of Second Grade Students, Annette Vanaken

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study investigated the effect of ebooks as a tool for providing small group reading interventions and independent reading practice to second grade readers in the classroom. A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest, non-equivalent control group design was used to compare whether instructional reading environments (ebooks only, traditional books only, or both ebooks and traditional books) affect reading level and attitudes towards reading, while a posttest only non-equivalent control group design was used to measure reading behaviors of second grade students. A convenience sample of 88 English-speaking students at a rural, public elementary school in Southern Michigan participated. Reading level was measured by …

Affective Domain Applications In Standards-Based Education, Wayne Rumbaugh

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research examined the attitudes of teachers toward the affective domain in high versus low levels of standards-based instruction. Teachers from a school district in the suburbs of the greater Seattle, Washington, metropolitan area completed a self-report instrument to determine the level of standards-based instruction they use in the classroom. Confirmation of the level of standards-based instruction was ascertained through expert evaluation of classroom learning activities and a student report assessment. Data from these three sources were triangulated and participating teachers were ranked from high to low standards-based instruction level. Teachers in the lowest and highest levels of standards-based instruction …

Effects Of Information Delivery Type On Reading Comprehension And Reading Enjoyment Level In Male Seventh-Grade Disinterested Readers, Douglas Damon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In this quantitative study, reading comprehension scores and reading enjoyment level of forty-two seventh-grade males (N = 42) from a Mid-Atlantic private school were examined to determine the effect of information delivery type. In this true-experimental posttest only control group design, forty-two participants self-identified as disinterested readers. The control group (n = 22) received a traditionally printed excerpt from a novel, while the treatment Group (n = 20) received the same excerpt enhanced with embedded digital links through QR (Quick Response) codes. Upon completion of the reading, participants took a reading comprehension test, and completed a reading enjoyment questionnaire. Data …

The Perceptions Of Caucasian Female Elementary Teachers And The Overrepresentation Of African-American Males In Special Education, Thomas Seaberry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is a disproportionate amount of African-American males in special education programs. Several factors have been offered by researchers as to why this phenomenon continues to be a problem throughout the county. The purpose of this study was to understand how Caucasian female teachers' perceptions of African-American male students might influence their overrepresentation in special education. This qualitative study employed an ethnographic case study method, and relied primarily on a pilot study and teacher interviews to obtain data related to this phenomenon. Using this research design, the researcher established six themes related to the research phenomenon: (1) cultural discontinuity between …

Solution-Oriented Teacher Understanding Of School Accountability And How It Influences Perceived Self-Efficacy: A Case Study, Yolonda Bankston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how accountability requirements influenced teacher understanding self-efficacy at one high school located in Southern Mississippi. Research questions focused on teacher understanding of how accountability requirements influenced their self-efficacy, the strategies that teachers reported they used to develop solutions to improve self-efficacy, and how teachers reported that administrative support, student discipline, and workload influence their self-efficacy as well. The researcher used field notes, interviews, and an online focus group to collect data from a purposive sample of 10 teachers. Survey results indicated teachers possessed high levels of self-efficacy. Six themes emerged …

An Evaluation Of The Penn Resiliency Program For Disruptive Preadolescents In An Elementary School Setting, Mildred Howard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Penn Resiliency Program in decreasing disruptive behavior, modifying negative automatic thoughts and improving academic achievement. Forty-eight students from two Title I schools in Georgia participated in this study. The Behavior Assessment Scale for Children, Second Edition, Progress Monitor, The Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale and report card grades were used to evaluate program effectiveness. Research results suggest the program effectively reduced negative automatic thoughts and improved academic performance.

Doorways And Walls: Peer Coaching As A Means To Change Instructional Practice, Chad Garber

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Joyce and Showers (1980) described the impact that a peer coaching relationship can have on teachers as they work to transfer learning that occurs during professional learning opportunities to the classroom. Theory, demonstration, practice, and feedback are critical elements of professional development, yet, according to some research, only when the support of a peer coaching practice is provided, will significant numbers of teachers (as many as 90%) implement new strategies into the classroom. The purpose of this study was to determine if the presence of a peer coaching relationship impacts the instructional practice of high school English teachers. This qualitative …