A Program Evaluation Of The Multi-Tiered System Of Supports (Mtss) And Its Role In Supporting Students’ Reading And Math Performance During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sonia Nistler

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to employ a quantitative research study to measure the degree of impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on students’ academic performance and determine the extent to which the MTSS program served to counter the impact of the pandemic on students’ reading and math performance. This study analyzed pre-existing STAR Reading and STAR Math data collected from 7^th-grade students at one Midwest public middle utilizing the September (Fall) and December (Winter) scores. The data sets were compared to determine the students’ reading and math performance trends in the three years preceding the COVID-19 …

Bbt Acoustic Alternative Top Bracing Cadd Data Set-Norev-2022jun28, Bill Hemphill

STEM Guitar Project’s BBT Acoustic Kit

This electronic document file set consists of an overview presentation (PDF-formatted) file and companion video (MP4) and CADD files (DWG & DXF) for laser cutting the ETSU-developed alternate top bracing designs and marking templates for the STEM Guitar Project’s BBT (OM-sized) standard acoustic guitar kit. The three (3) alternative BBT top bracing designs in this release are
(a) a one-piece base for the standard kit's (Martin-style) bracing,
(b) 277 Ladder-style bracing, and
(c) an X-braced fan-style bracing similar to traditional European or so-called 'classical' acoustic guitars.

The CADD data set for each of the three (3) top bracing designs includes …

Overview Of The Proceedings Of The 2021 Inclusion In Science, Learning A New Direction, Conference On Disability (Island), Cary Supalo, Jasodhara Bhattacharya, Daniel Steinberg

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

The Relationships Among Locus Of Control, The Impostor Phenomenon, And Math Anxiety In Business Majors, Tiffany L. S. Tovey, Stephanie Kelly, Wiley Brown

International Journal for Business Education

The importance of quantitative literacy in business education cannot be overstated. A barrier to enhancing quantitative skills for many business majors is their math anxiety, an angst some individuals experience when working with numbers. This study explored the relationship between math anxiety, locus of control, and impostor phenomenon in business students. 220 business students (undergraduate and graduate) from a two moderately sized southeastern universities in the United States participated in an online survey that assessed these three phenomena. A linear regression was run to understand the relationships among the variables. The results indicated that more than one fifth of math …

Remote Learning - The Future Of Education: Effective Instructional Strategies Used By Parent Educators And Recommendations For Building Capacity, Raelene Ferguson Haugen

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods Delphi study was to identify the remote learning instructional strategies used by expert Southern California parent educators for implementing the anticipatory set, modeling, checking for understanding, and guided practice elements of Madeline Cheek Hunter’s Instructional Theory Into Practice (ITIP) framework. The study sought to identify how expert Southern California parent educators rated the effectiveness of the remote learning instructional strategies in the aforementioned elements of Hunter’s ITIP framework. Additionally, the purpose was to generate recommendations from expert Southern California parent educators to build capacity in the identified effective instructional strategies.

Methodology: The classical …

Fostering Teacher-Student Relationships: A Case Study Connecting Middle School Teachers, Authentic Local History, And Empathetic Competence, Richard A. Buschard Jr., Diane Clark, Lauren Cobb, Brian J. Esselman

Dissertations

TThis co-authored qualitative case study explores the challenge of teachers connecting with their students at the middle school level, especially when White teachers serve predominantly African-American students in large urban metropolitan areas like St. Louis, Missouri. While research has established the need for teachers to better understand the background experiences of their students, more research is needed to explore the value of place-based professional development in promoting more effective teacher-student relationships (TSRs). Using a psychological theory known as Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT), we sought to examine the following research questions while also applying this theory to the field of education: What …

7 Hands-On Strategies For Struggling Readers, Elise Murray, Stacey Murray

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Struggling readers are found in almost every classroom across the world. With differing learning styles and abilities, teachers are encouraged now, more than ever, to be innovative when teaching foundational reading strategies. Within this article, readers are provided with a literature review of research and educational literature that discusses how multisensory, hands-on activities promote engagement and active learning for all students. The recommended seven hands-on learning strategies that can promote learning and support for struggling readers during literacy instruction include Build the Words, Feel the Words, Whole Body Letters, Five Finger Retell, Sight Word BINGO, …

De Bono's Six Hats Thinking Strategy For All Content Areas, Jamie Mahoney, Lynn Patterson, Carol Hall

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Problem-solving and collaboration require people to compromise, negotiate, and brainstorm to understand, create, manage, judge, and be intuitive and remain positive and calm while working as a team to address problems. Teachers can teach students to collaborate and problem-solve in any content area using de Bono's Six Thinking Hats Strategy. Using de Bono's strategy, university students in this study explored learning hats and ways to apply learning hat properties to collaborate and problem solve in group activities. Researchers employed a mixed-method study enlisting both general education and special education pre-service undergraduate and in-service graduate teachers to discover personal thinking hat …

Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions And Knowledge Of Response To Intervention/Multitiered Systems Of Support, Alexandra J. Taylor, Tommy Wells, Amy E. Lein

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

There has been considerable research that establishes the need to improve teachers’ knowledge of and ability to effectively implement response to intervention (RtI)/multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), and there is a scarcity of research examining interventions addressing these concerns. In a mixed methods study, we examined the perceptions and knowledge of the RtI/MTSS frameworks of undergraduate preservice teaching candidates enrolled in a dual certification program at a small, private Catholic university in Kentucky, before and after participating in a semester-long, experiential learning project. The project involved monitoring both the reading and mathematics progress of struggling elementary or middle school-aged students …

A Case Study Of Secondary Students' Perspectives On Standards-Based Grading And The Development Of 21st Century Learner Attributes, Michelle Blackley

Dissertations

Implementation of standards-based grading (SBG) practices can be a high benefit, low-cost initiative that directly impacts student achievement and growth. This case study aimed to determine if the theoretical value of SBG outlined in research aligns to the students’ perspectives of its value on academic learning, growth and development of 21^st century skills. Secondary students were interviewed and responses were organized into three themes: development of 21st century learner attributes, strengths of SBG and areas to improve. Results revealed that SBG supports individualized learning pace, development of a growth mindset, emotional well-being, student to teacher collaboration and 21^{st …}

Teacher Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy Before And After Engaging In Hevruta Or Psychodrama-Based Online Workshops, Merav Berger

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

Teacher self-efficacy is a construct that continues to be extensively researched. With the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, the learning environment has shifted dramatically and has had an impact on Jewish educators’ sense of efficacy. This study examined the pre- and post-test scores for self-efficacy of Jewish educators who engaged in either an online psychodrama-based professional development workshop, a hevruta-based workshop, or an integrated session using both psychodrama and hevruta study. The participants were 28 Jewish educators from around the United States who were split into one of six groups. Two psychodrama-based groups and two integrated groups met online for …

Examination Of Experiential Phenomena Influencing Culinary Educators’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Danny Babin

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study aimed to explore the theory of expert teaching by comparing culinary educators at the secondary and postsecondary levels based on their varying levels of experience. Experience for culinary educators included pre-service teacher training, in-service teacher training, professional industry experience, and teaching experience. The primary goal of this descriptive phenomenological study was to examine the impact professional experience has on culinary educators’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Distinctions in PCK include collective PCK, personal PCK, and enacted PCK. PCK theory has been an integral part of educational research for over three decades; it has been studied, refined, and implemented into …

Effectiveness Of Virginia Teacher Preparation Programs, Christine Houchins

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

The perspective of first-year teachers is valuable in identifying the ways in which preparation programs are successfully educating their student teachers. This qualitative study investigates the effectiveness of university-based teacher preparation programs accredited by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Specifically, this study is attempting to gain a better understanding of how the knowledge and skills of novice teachers were efficiently developed in the areas of differentiation, multiculturalism, classroom management, and content knowledge as well as how mentorship through field experience contributes to their growth. To answer the research question, seven interviews were analyzed from in-state, first-year teachers that recently graduated from …

From The Editors..., Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Supporting Virtual Instruction In Rural Kentucky: Google Apps, Lesia Lennex

Department of Middle Grades and Secondary Education Research & Publication Archives

Fall 2020 marked the first fully virtual semester for P-12 classrooms across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Teachers were faced with challenges such as the digital divide, device access, and materials access (Prichard Committee, 2020). Toward improving the success of our teacher education candidates to teach in virtual environments, a task force was formed to investigate the use of Google Classroom, a free learning management system (LMS) which allows third-party creation, distribution, and collection of common P-12 classroom artifacts (Clark, 2020), Google Apps for Education (GAFE), and Google Level I certification. Teachers (N=427) and school administrators (N=66) in 22 counties in …

An Analysis Of Early Career Educator Experiences And The Impact Of Teacher Recruitment Initiatives, Induction Programs, And Retention Efforts In One School District, John Liddon Pope

Dissertations

The K-12 public education system faces a teacher shortage dilemma of unprecedented proportions. At the onset of the school year, out-of-field teachers, underqualified teachers, or long-term substitutes often fill instructional vacancies, causing many students to begin the school year with uncertainty. Recruiting, training, and retaining highly qualified teachers is critical to student success. The purpose of this study was to analyze early career educator experiences and the impact of teacher recruitment initiatives, induction programs, and retention efforts in one school district, explore common practices in recruitment, induction, and retention in other school districts, and develop strategies and actions to mitigate …

Traumatization Of Youth And Adolescents In The Classroom: Preparing Novice Teachers To Address The Academic And Social-Emotional Needs Of Students Affected By Trauma, Annessa J. Steele Dr.

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

While educational systems and communities have advanced in accommodating individuals with physical, cognitive and emotional challenges, teacher training is still underdeveloped in support for a growing population of youth that experiences adolescent trauma. In the United States, 26% of children will witness or experience a traumatic event before they turn four, and 60% of adults report experiencing abuse or other difficult family circumstances during childhood (National Center for Mental Health, 2012). As defined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA, 2012), trauma “results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by …

Special Education Teacher Burnout: Examining The Role Of Educator Preparation Programs In Prevention, Brittany L. Straub

Dissertations

Teacher burnout is increasingly problematic, especially for special education teachers who have a unique set of job responsibilities. Survey and interview data was used in this phenomenological study to examine how the educator preparation program (EPP) experience and self-authorship journey of early career special education teachers impact their potential to experience burnout. Data findings regarding level of self-perceived burnout, recollections of being or not being taught stress management and coping strategies in their EPPs, recollections of the self-authorship journey, and intentions for remaining in the career are shared in this dissertation. The essence of this phenomenon can be summed up …

Trauma-Informed Educational Practices In The Middle School Classroom During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Loralynne Yost

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This collective case study used a mixed methods approach to examine how Trauma-Informed Educational Practices (TIEP) manifest in the middle school classroom. This study is important due to the trauma students experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teacher participants had district training in trauma-informed practices prior to this study.

Teacher participants took an initial survey to capture their conceptualization and perceived usage of the TIEP in the classroom. Teachers then used TIEP in their classrooms for two weeks. Teachers kept a checklist of which of the TIEP they used each day and commented on the context for the use of the …

Trauma-Informed Performance Art Education, Yvonne Houy, Kymberly Mellen, Alethea Inns, Morgan Iommi

Creative Collaborations

Trauma is the emotional response to a disturbing event or series of events, and can cause symptoms such as unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, headaches, and nausea, according to the American Psychological Association (2022). Learning activities in the performing arts - such as adjusting the body through touch, or the emotional content of scenes - can retraumatize students unintentionally. In contrast, creating the conditions for emotional states that enhance learning is a science, and an art, that can support conditions for optimal performance including Flow states

Performing arts educators can proactively support students and performances by becoming trauma-informed and actively using intimacy …

Preparing Initial Teacher Education Students For Flexible Learning Programs, Jeff Thomas, Bianca Coleman, Ebba Herrlander Birgerson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In Australia, there is currently no official training pathway or qualification required for working in Flexible Learning Programs (FLPs). This causes a problem for both new teachers wishing to work in this area and for employers who have no way of knowing whether a new teacher has the appropriate skills or knowledge to teach in this alternative context. To address this problem, we designed and implemented a program during which Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students were given the opportunity to experience teaching in a FLP. Here we report on the experiences and perceptions of the preparation program from the perspectives …

Engaging First Year Students In Assessment Rubrics: Three Personal Experiences, Katherine Ashman, Kristina Turner, Dona Martin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In a direct effort to build a greater understanding of higher education teaching and learning opportunities, this study shares the journey of three university lecturers working to ensure best practice outcomes from criterion-referenced assessment [CRA]. The work was built on a belief that our respective higher education undergraduate students did not fully value the design structure or feedback outcomes inherent in CRA. Using a collaborative autoethnographic lens we pooled experiences, outcomes, challenges, assumptions, and accounts of unconscious biases from across our different tertiary education schools and subjects. Our examination enriched our understanding, our teaching, and our student outcomes. In sharing …

Processing Equity Consciousness Through Cre Action Research Pd During Times Of Unrest, Uncertainty, And The Amplification Of Crt Disinformation, Robyn Lyn

Graduate Research Posters

Equity initiatives, such as culturally responsive education (CRE), are under attack through local school board demonstrations and state legislatures across the U.S. These public attacks are becoming a barrier to equitable education. This study began before the public outcry against critical race theory and documents a timeline of events during a CRE 2-year action research professional development (PD). Though studies have examined the benefits of CRE, few investigate equity consciousness (EC), an awareness of systemic (in)equity. My study examines EC during a longitudinal CRE action research PD observing how equity consciousness presents in dialogue with veteran in-service teachers as they …

Teacher Resilience, Kristen Whipple

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The main purpose of this quantitative research study was to explore the influences that impact teacher resilience. Seven factors that potentially protect teacher resilience were chosen: competency, self-efficacy, agency, relationships, organizational culture, altruism, and sense of humor. These factors were tested against years of service categories and self-perceived resilience scores to determine if relationships exist. A two-part online survey gathered demographic information, self-perceived resilience scores, and resilience factor data from American PreK-12 teachers. To answer the three guiding research questions, the statistical tests of multiple linear regression, Pearson’s r correlation coefficient, and chi-square test of independence were utilized. The …

Cultivating An Online Network For Mentoring Preservice And In-Service Teachers, Lisa Amick, Joni Meade, Margaret J. Mohr-Schroeder

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

This report details the work of two initial teacher certification programs at a major university in Kentucky that are implementing two innovative strategies for preservice teachers to network, build community, and grow in their practice. The utilization of Slack, a free online communication platform, has proven successful in getting preservice teachers to share ideas, pose and respond to professional questions, and program information dissemination. The use of a NIC (Networked Improvement Community) is a grant funded endeavor that brought together preservice teachers, their cooperating teachers, and university faculty members to create a professional learning community where a problem of practice …

Co-Teaching Strategies: Improving Student Engagement By Increasing Opportunities To Respond, Janet E. Nutt

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Research indicates that effective co-teaching using high leverage practices can maximize outcomes across content areas and positively affect student engagement. This paper discusses practical ways to increase student engagement by increasing opportunities to respond in a co-teaching setting. Specific examples are included for a secondary mathematics co-taught classroom, but the principles can be applied in any subject or setting. A proposed model of professional development and coaching to support effective questioning techniques and increase opportunities to respond is also discussed for the purposes of teacher training and professional development.

The Great Water Design Challenge: A Collaboration With Noaa Planet Stewards, Elizabeth Martinez

Publications & Research

Session Goals

• Define design challenge
• Generate ideas for classroom design challenge
• Outline design challenge for your classroom

NOAA Planet Stewards NESTA Article

Implementing Food Science-Based Instruction In Career Technical Education Courses, Jasmine D. Hendrix

Theses and Dissertations

Students are exposed to food concepts in agriculture-based career technical education (CTE) courses which provide a gateway for students to become more aware of food science career pathways. Professional development for Mississippi (MS) CTE teachers is needed to effectively implement food science-based instruction since there is not a food science curriculum framework adopted in MS. The objective of this study was to assess a food science professional development training for MS CTE teachers that would increase their self-perceived knowledge of food science, self-perceived ability to conduct food science skills, and their self-efficacy to implement food science-based instruction. Thirty-one teachers participated …

Cultivating Catholic Classroom Communities During Remote Teaching, John L. Beltramo, Krizia Layam, Julia Lucas, John Schmitt

Journal of Catholic Education

In this COVID-era study, Catholic school teachers report the challenges that they experienced in supporting classroom communities during remote instruction, as well as the strategies that they enacted to address such challenges and make robust relationships with and among remote students. While teachers engaged in remote teaching, they were also studying in a Catholic Master of Arts in Teaching program, where they participated in weekly Freirian culture circles – structured dialogues designed to help teachers identify problems of equity and collectively devise appropriate responses. The teachers found that classroom community was hindered by a lack of in-person affordances, socioemotional stressors …

The Virtual Education Setting In Grades 9-12: How The Practices For Online Teacher And Learning Impact Student Achievement, Kimberly Acosta

Dissertations

Countless virtual school options are in operation all around the world. A growing number of teachers and students throughout the nation, continent, and world are working and learning online. With virtual learning steadily increasing, it is critical for educators to establish and implement the best online teaching and learning practices. The purpose of my study was to identify and explore the practices of effective teachers in the virtual school setting and how those practices impacted student achievement outcomes. The context of this inquiry was full-time national virtual public high school charter schools operating under the umbrella of the same national …