Search Results

open access

The Relationship Between Piagetian Developmental Levels and the Persuasive Writing Ability of Third, Fourth, and Fifth Graders

Description: Research questions addressed whether (1) the instruction was effective, (2) performance on persuasive tasks differed by grade level following instruction, (3) performance on persuasive tasks differed by Piagetian developmental level following instruction, and (4) whether performance differed between monolingual and bilingual subjects. Students wrote four persuasive compositions for assessment, two before instruction was administered and two after instruction. Knudson's holistic scoring rubric w… more
Date: December 1997
Creator: Poulsen, Belinda Gae
open access

Evolving Curricular Models in Culinary Arts: An Instrumental Case Study of a Technical Field

Description: The purpose of this research study was to examine how chefs and other individuals in the food industry understood the field of culinary arts. This study used an instrumental case study with purposeful sampling of multiple cases. Through a series of open-ended interviews using snowball-sampling strategy that concluded with 45 participants sharing their experiences in culinary education and employment, several themes emerged across all of the interviews: (1) Disempowerment of those who have been… more
Date: December 2016
Creator: Cossio, Allison
open access

Academic Progress Scores to Predict Performance on a State Assessment

Description: This quantitative study examined seventh-grade reading scores to determine the extent to which certain demographic variables (race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status) explain and MAP reading scores predict reading scores on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) in a selected northeast Texas public school. Standardized assessments only compare the relative performance of an individual student to other groups of students using scaled scores, which can vary from year to… more
Date: December 2016
Creator: Curry, David Mitchell
open access

District Leadership Supporting PLC Implementation in a Rapid Growth District

Description: A growing body of work has emerged regarding the responsibilities required of district leaders in establishing plans that initiate and create conditions for sustainability of continuous improvement achieved through a systemic reform structure such as professional learning communities. However, limited research exists in respect to sustaining cultures of continuous improvement in rapid growth districts. Rapid growth districts can be described as school systems, which construct and open multipl… more
Date: December 2016
Creator: Tinsley, Laurie Huffman
open access

Instructional Coaching in a Small District: A Mixed Methods Study of Teachers' Concerns

Description: This study utilized a convergent parallel mixed methods design to study teachers' concerns during implementation of instructional coaching for math in a rural PK-12 district in north Texas over a three-year time period. Five campuses were included in the study: one high school (grades 9-12), one middle school (grades 6-8), and three elementary campuses (pre-kindergarten through grade 5). In a school district of 3,400 students and 241 teachers, fifty-two math teachers were surveyed and interview… more
Date: December 2016
Creator: Mayfield, Melissa J.
open access

Teacher Perceptions of Pay-for-Performance: An Investigation of Four Middle School Pay-for-Performance Programs in a Large Urban School District

Description: In this study, I explored the different perceptions of teachers in a large urban school district in Texas towards a pay-for-performance program used on their respective campuses between 2011-2016. In total, 97 teachers from four different middle school campuses participated in this study. A descriptive analyst was conducted on teacher responses to an online survey to answer the research questions examined in this study: 1) What are teachers' perceptions of the pay-for-performance program's impa… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Whitaker, Norbert L., Sr.
open access

Multimodal Design for Secondary English Language Arts: A Portraiture Study

Description: Employing the research approach known as portraiture, this study investigated the varying ways in which three secondary English language arts teachers at a visual and performing arts high school conceptualized and designed multimodal literacy learning. Also studied were the ways in which their students responded to these designs; and in keeping with portraiture, attention went to the changes in the researcher's own understandings. This multi-case study and cross-case analysis built on prior mul… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Price, Cecelia Joyce
open access

Effects of Bring Your Own Device Initiatives Related to Instructional Planning and the Classroom Environment in Two Texas High Schools

Description: This study was an examination of 20 North Texas high school teachers' perceptions about the effects of bring your own device (BYOD) initiatives on instructional planning and classroom environment. The BYOD initiative at two high school campuses was studied through a qualitative approach, i.e. a collective case study. Data were collected through interviews, classroom observations, and reviews of participants' lesson planning documents. The findings indicated teachers had to plan for inequitable … more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Miller, Shawn J.
open access

Becoming Successful in Education: Beating the Odds, Despite a Background Entrenched in Poverty

Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of three relationships on academic achievement in mathematics in students of poverty. The three factors that were examined included: teacher-student relationships, parent-student relationships and peer- student relationships. The driving question for the research was as follows: Do external factors such as teacher-student relationships, parent-student relationships and peer-student relationships lead to academic success for students of pov… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Thompson, Pauline Andrea
open access

An Analysis of Litigation against Kansas Educators and School Districts under the Kansas Tort Claims Act

Description: This dissertation examines the significance of the Kansas Tort Claims Act of 1979 on state of Kansas court decisions in litigation against Kansas school districts and their employees. Through providing a historical perspective of the adoption and abolishment of the doctrine of sovereign immunity in the United States, which subsequently led to the enactment of the Federal Tort Claims Act, and ultimately led to the Kansas Tort Claims Act, the researcher analyzes pertinent case law and scholarly … more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Perry, Shaun P.
open access

School District Actions that Support the Development of Professional Learning Communities in High Schools

Description: A gap exists in education research in the area of district support for campus-based professional learning communities (PLCs). The current study was an examination of practitioner perceptions of district structures and practices that support the development and sustainability of PLCs in public high schools. I examined the perceptions of 341 teachers, campus administrators, and district administrators in a suburban North Texas public school district with three comprehensive high schools. Using… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Axelson, Gregory Carl
open access

The Relationship between the Advanced Placement Calculus AB Exam and Student Achievement in College Level Math 1710-Calculus I

Description: The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the relationship between the Advanced Placement Calculus AB exam and student achievement in college level Math 1710-Calculus I. The review of literature shows that this possible relationship is based on Alexander Astin's longitudinal input-environment-outcome (I-E-O) model. The I-E-O model was used to analyze the relationship between the input and outcome of the two variables. In addition, this quantitative study determined the relationship be… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Bethley, Troy Y.
open access

The Effect of a Change Facilitator on Project-Based Learning Curriculum Design

Description: This study sought to understand concerns and levels of use of a group of teachers in the process of developing a project-based learning (PBL) program, and the effect of a change facilitator on these processes. The research was guided by the following research questions: One, what are the concerns of teachers regarding the planning of a PBL curriculum? Two, what are the levels of use of teachers in the process of planning the PBL curriculum? Three, how does a change facilitator affect the proces… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Fry, Jana
open access

Artistic Decision Making and Implications for Engaging Theatrically Gifted and Talented Students in Non-Arts Classes

Description: This cognitive ethnographic study explored the mental processes that professional actors used when making artistic choices while engaged in creative practices to begin a conversation about how the theatrically gifted and talented population is viewed, researched, and educated in non-arts subjects. Professional actors at two sites were observed, videotaped, and interviewed over several rehearsals during play production. The major thematic findings indicated that artistic decision making result… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Willerson, Amy
open access

Adequacy and Equity: How the Texas Supreme Court's Perceptions Have Changed Over the Past 50 Years

Description: The purpose of this study identifies state court cases involving public school finance specifically related to adequacy and equity in funding. Results address how state court cases have challenged the constitutionality of school finance in the United States, including Texas, over the last 50 years. The study further shows how the decisions from previous cases have influenced the Supreme Court of Texas decision in the Texas Taxpayer & Student Fairness litigation.
Date: May 2017
Creator: Ford, Daniel William
open access

Multimodal Literacy Portfolios: Expressive and Receptive Opportunities for Children Labeled "At-Risk"

Description: Current literacy assessments are focused on a single mode of meaning-making (reading and writing, whether oral or written) and assume that literacy and language are "fixed systems"-- comprised of discrete skills that can be taught and measured in isolation. This validation and privileging of a single mode of assessment has resulted in children labeled "At-risk" falling significantly behind those without this label. This study investigates what a teacher can learn from a diverse range of asses… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Young, Whitney
open access

Validation of an Observation and Evaluation Instrument for the Supervision of Middle and Secondary Pre-Service Teachers

Description: The purpose of the study was to determine the validity and reliability of a revised observation and evaluation instrument of middle and secondary pre-service clinical teaching to be used as part of the clinical supervision cycle and for formative purposes. The North Texas Appraisal of Classroom Teaching (NTACT) serves as a performance assessment tool utilized by a south-central university-based educator preparation program for the evaluation and supervision of pre-service teachers during their … more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Bush, Brandon (Brandon Lee)
open access

Social and Emotional Learning and Preservice Teacher Education: Assessing Preservice Teachers' Knowledge, Beliefs, and Attitudes

Description: In response to the main federal K-12 law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the teacher education program standards, teacher education programs have tried to address social and emotional learning (SEL) content in their curricula. Adding information on SEL alone may not be enough to overcome the shortenings of many existing early childhood programs. The current study attempted to address these shortenings through the inclusion of specialized SEL strategies and sample activities in additi… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Dolzhenko, Inna Nickole
open access

Transfer of Learning in a K-8 STEM Academy Project Based Learning (PBL) Environment

Description: The multiple case study investigated levels and types of transfer observed in a K-8 STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) academy in a project-based learning (PBL) environment. The academy was constructed two years prior to the study and conducive to PBL instruction. The students and teachers were in the second year of using PBL in the subject of science at the time of the study. The grade levels observed were second, fourth, and sixth grade and each grade level had three PBL units exam… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Fuller, Mary A.
open access

The Effect of Instructional Expenditures on College Readiness

Description: With limited state and local funds as well as a growing student population, how elected decision makers allocate money to impact college readiness needs to be explored. The purpose of this research study was to explore the impact of instructional expenditures on educational outcomes. This multivariate multiple regression study specifically explored the impact of instructional expenditure ratios and per pupil instructional expenditures of every public school district in Texas on student performa… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Blair, Cody
open access

The Relationship between Teacher Attrition and Student Achievement in Reading among Middle School Students

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine whether a significant relationship existed between teacher attrition and student success in middle school reading by conducting a quantitative analysis. Additionally, the inclusion of school demographic characteristics were included in the model to consider previous findings referencing the challenges schools face in attracting and retaining teachers in low performing urban schools with high populations of economically disadvantaged and minority studen… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Perkins, Gwendolyn Moseley
open access

A Case Study of Mathematics Teachers' Use of Short-Cycle Formative Assessment Strategies

Description: A single case study was used to examine two middle grades mathematics teachers' use of short-cycle formative assessment strategies. Data was collected using multiple sources to provide a description of this single case. Participant change in knowledge of short-cycle formative assessment strategies was collected and analyzed through participant pre- and post-interviews and targeted instructional support was provided through professional development sessions designed to meet diverse needs of part… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Davis, Adreana A
open access

What are the Experiences of African American Female Principals in High-Poverty Urban Schools?

Description: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of African American female principals serving in high-poverty urban schools. This study was warranted due to the growing number of African American female principal leaders in urban schools over the last 20 years. School leaders in urban school districts are expected to increase academic achievement, support district initiatives, and foster the development of urban communities. The study results will serve as a source of information to ed… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Carson, Dayanna Vontresea
open access

Professional Learning Communities: A Comparative Case Study of Shared Personal Practice

Description: Effective instructional practice has a significant impact on student learning. Shared personal practice within a professional learning team (PLT) is one of the key elements in consistently improved instructional practice. However, this PLT characteristic is often the least evident and the hardest to absorb into PLT culture. This study examined the relational characteristics, facilitating factors, or barriers to shared personal practice within a PLT. Two PLTs in core subject areas across two… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Curtis, Anna E
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