37 Matching Results

Search Results

Results: 1 - 24 next
open access

Well-Being and Academic Success in Gifted College Students: Early-College Entrants and Honors College Students

Description: As a society, we seek to have our young people, including the gifted, be healthy and happy, and go to good schools with good teachers. Framed by Sayler's theoretical model of giftedness and thriving, this study examined psychological constructs (i.e. general self-efficacy, theories of intelligence, hope, gratitude, religiosity, disposition, and resiliency) to determine their mediating effect on personal well-being and academic success in gifted college students. The 213 subjects for this study … more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Boazman, Janette Kay
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Funding and Effectiveness of Staff Development Programs in Three North Texas School Districts

Description: This dissertation study focused on three aspects of staff development in North Texas: 1) funding sources, 2) types of professional learning programs, and 3) teachers' views of the effectiveness of the funded programs. Qualitative data came from interviews with nine district administrators concerning funding sources and how those resources enhanced teacher skills. Quantitative data came from 1,277 responses from teachers regarding their background and perceptions about staff development. Data fr… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Ivey, Shannon Kay
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Transfer and Sustainability of a School-Wide Writing Program: Year 2.

Description: Writing is an important life skill that all students need in order to succeed in today's society. However, proficient writing skills develop over time, requiring years of quality instruction combined with motivation, encouragement, and lots of practice. School-wide writing is an approach that provides specific writing instruction in a consistent manner across all grade levels, allowing students to develop increasingly complex writing skills and strategies over time. Implementation of programs, … more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Dickson, Violet Myers
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Teachers’ Concerns and Uses of iPads in the Classroom with the Concerns-based Adoption Model

Description: The purpose of this study was to examine the role of high school teachers’ concerns, willingness, aptitude, and use of iPads in the classroom during the adoption of a new technology. The design of this case study included a sample of eight teachers from the English, math, science, and history departments who were surveyed, observed, and interviewed using the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM). This study is guided by three research questions: (1) What are teachers’ concerns about using iPads … more
Date: August 2015
Creator: Stewart, Gail
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Supporting Mathematics Understanding Through Funds of Knowledge

Description: Parents are often criticized for the types of roles they play in their children’s education. Rather than assuming parents do not contribute to their children’s learning, this study identified the various ways Hispanic parents support mathematics learning in the home. Using a funds of knowledge lens, the history, practices, and experiences of families that contributed to their children’s mathematics understanding was explored. The purpose of this study was to identify the unique funds of knowled… more
Date: August 2015
Creator: Williams, Julie J.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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
Partner: UNT Libraries
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.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

International Distance Learning in Special Education: A Program Evaluation of a US-Ecuador Collaboration

Description: The internationalization of distance learning in special education is at a pivotal point in expansion. Even with concerted efforts through traditional means to increase the supply of special educators, shortages persist; therefore, teacher preparation programs are turning to online education. This dissertation study was a formative program evaluation of a bilingual, two-course sequence within a web-based special education master's program offered at the University of North Texas (UNT), in Dento… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: McPherson, Rebekah
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Perceived Impacts of a Study Abroad Experience on In-Service Teachers' Practices

Description: This phenomenological multiple case study provides the details, reasoning, and discussion of the role of study abroad experience and its perceived impact(s) on three in-service teachers. Two research questions were posed: What are the perceived impacts on in-service teachers' practice of a study abroad program experience and how does the in-service teacher's perception of impact change over time within a teacher's career? Results of this study suggest that the teaching practice of in-service te… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Felts, Mark T
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Does an Online Post-baccalaureate Secondary Teacher Certification Program Produce Certified Teachers Who Remain in the Field?

Description: Given issues in education concerning teacher shortages, the omnipresence of alternative certification programs and the growth of online programs in higher education, this study investigated teacher retention for 77 secondary education teachers who completed an online teacher preparation program in Texas. Teacher retention was examined from 2003-2013 and investigated the influence of factors such personal characteristics, working conditions and school setting characteristics on teacher retention… more
Date: August 2015
Creator: Brooks, Kanini Wanjira Ward
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Physical Activity Impact on Executive Function and Academic Achievement with Elementary Students

Description: This study tested the hypothesis that daily physical activity improves the executive function and academic achievement of 9- to 11-year-old children. The quasi-experimental, pretest–posttest design included 60 eligible fourth and fifth grade students (51.7% female, 98% Hispanic; 10.26 years of age). Twenty-five students elected to participate in school day, zero-hour (1 hour before school starts) physical activity program for 8 weeks. The 35 students who did not sign up for the program served a… more
Date: August 2015
Creator: O’Brien, Caroline Clark
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Elementary Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions and Experiences of Mathematics Intervention and Response to Intervention Practices

Description: Response to intervention has become a widely implemented early intervention and pre-referral program in many schools due to the reauthorization of the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Limited studies exist that validate how teacher preparation programs are preparing the next generation of teachers to assess students, apply early academic interventions, monitor progress, and make educational decisions for students with learning difficulties as part of an RTI program. The purpose… more
Date: August 2015
Creator: Hurlbut, Amanda Renee
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Student and Family Perspectives on Gifted and Advanced Academics Participation for African American High School Students

Description: Many students and their families do not understand the impact of students’ involvement in gifted or advanced academics educational programs and their potentially positive effects and challenges. Nationally African American students are underrepresented in gifted and advanced academics courses in high schools; however, African American students and families often do not advocate for their inclusion in these educational pathways. A survey of literature supporting this study of voices of African … more
Date: August 2015
Creator: Zeske, Karen Marie
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Central Office Administrators' Perceptions of the Professional Learning Community Process

Description: This study provides a qualitative interpretation of the work done by central office administrators in a school district in Texas as they supported and built capacity for the professional learning community (PLC) process over a five year time period. Literature by PLC scholars, especially R. DuFour, R.B. DuFour, Eaker, Hord, Hipp, Huffman, and Olivier, informed development of the study. In a school district of 19,000 students and 2,000 staff members, ten central office administrators were interv… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Pruitt, Mary E.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Investigation Into the Relationships Between the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge of University Teacher Education Faculty and Their Age, Rank, and Gender

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine what relationships exist between the age, rank, and gender of university faculty in teacher education and their technological pedagogical content knowledge. The survey instrument used was the Survey of Teacher Educators’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) which is an adaptation of the Survey of Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge of Teaching and Technology developed by Schmidt. A total of 347 public Texas university teacher education facult… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Hamilton, Christina
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Exploration of Teachers' Adoption of the Bring Your Own Technology Program

Description: The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' concerns, use, and actual practices in their adoption of the bring your own technology (BYOT) initiative. Twelve secondary teachers in a private school setting participated in this study. The participants represented all content areas including reading, math, science, and electives. The private school was in its third year of implementing BYOT. This case study incorporated multiple methods to collect data to gain a better understanding of t… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Cardoza, Yanet
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Elementary Teacher Candidate Perceptions of Hip-Hop Pedagogy in the Mathematics Classroom

Description: This dissertation examines elementary teacher candidates' perceptions of hip-hop culture and utilizing hip-hop pedagogy in a mathematics classroom. This study demonstrates how elements of hip-hop may be integrated into an elementary mathematics methods course to develop pedagogical knowledge that challenges teacher candidates to explore the benefits of utilizing hip-hop as a tool in the classroom. This study contributes to the growing body of research that investigates the use of hip-hop peda… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Cason, Marti B.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Operationalizing Listening-to-Question and Questioning-to-Listen in Mathematics Teaching

Description: This study focused on the evaluative listening practices of four teachers who participated in an algebra professional development involving lesson study. This instrumental case study operationalizes the enactment of teacher listening followed by teacher questions and responses to define listening-to-question. Also, questioning-to-listen is operationalized as the enactment of purposefully posing questions to posture oneself to listen to students' mathematical thinking. Because of the tacit aspec… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Kuehnert, Eloise Aniag
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Conditions for Teaching Writing: Exploring Two Cases of Seventh Grade Expository Writing Instruction

Description: This qualitative two-case study draws from the intersection of three theoretical perspectives: sociocultural theory, transactional theory, and complex systems theory. Guided by two research questions, this qualitative study explored the conditions two seventh grade English language arts teachers set for teaching expository writing and their implications. Deductive coding based on seven a priori patterns of powerful writing instruction (empathy, inquiry, dialogue, authenticity, apprenticeship, r… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Slay, Laura Elizabeth
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Novice Generalist and Content teachers’ Perceptions of Contextual Factors Affecting Personal Teaching Efficacy

Description: New teachers begin the school year with optimism and enthusiasm, but their excitement quickly wanes as they encounter the realities of the everyday life of a teacher. When they do not experience the successes they predicted, many begin to doubt their capabilities, which results in a lowered sense of teaching efficacy. This descriptive study was designed to identify the contextual factors novice teachers perceive as influences on personal teaching efficacy and to examine the relationships betwee… more
Date: August 2011
Creator: Hooten, Dorleen Billman
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Vietnamese Students' Translanguaging in a Bilingual Context: Communications within a Student Organization at a US University

Description: Today linguistic hybridity is often conceptualized as translanguaging. The present study of translanguaging was a linguistic ethnography, which meant investigating cultural issues as well as linguistic practices. The focus was on bilingual speakers of Vietnamese and English, two "named" languages that differ considerably in morphology, syntax, and orthography. This study, conducted over four and a half months, was situated in the Vietnamese Student Organization of a U.S. university, and it incl… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Nguyen, Dung Thi
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Are Things Falling Apart Again? A Dialectical Analysis of Language Education Policy in Nigeria

Description: Today's globalized world presents challenges for formulating language education policies in multilingual countries, and postcolonial Nigeria presents a dramatic illustration because of ongoing colonial influences as well as neocolonial factors. This study focused on dialectical relations over time among languages in Nigeria's National Policy on Education (NPE), published in 1977, 1981, 1998, 2004, 2013, and 2014. The title of the study harks to Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, which d… more
Date: August 2019
Creator: Olaniyi, Adepeju Folasade
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Foundations of the Spanish Language Self-Efficacy of Bilingual Education Pre-Service Teachers

Description: The study of self-efficacy in pre-service bilingual education teachers is not a thoroughly researched topic. This dissertation provides qualitative research about the inception of Spanish language self-efficacy of pre-service bilingual education teachers from a large university in Texas. By juxtaposing the experiences of two students with high levels of Spanish self-efficacy with two students who have low levels of Spanish self-efficacy, data gives insight to what influenced varying perceptio… more
Date: August 2019
Creator: Szwed, Amanda Rose
Partner: UNT Libraries
Back to Top of Screen