The purpose of this study was to illuminate the barriers to persistence underprepared students at the community college experience after the initial successful completion of one semester. A qualitative interview study, grounded in phenomenology, was implemented. Participants were identified through a process of purposeful selection, which included the following criteria: (a) beginning the development reading sequence at the most basic level (DEV 65) and passing that course; (b) immediately enrolling in a subsequent semester at the institution; and (c) exiting the institution before acquiring any credit-bearing English coursework. The examination of institutional archival data resulted in 42 potential participants. Participants were recruited via telephone and mail, and of the 42 attempted telephone and 39 mailed contacts, five individuals volunteered to participate in the study. Each participant was interviewed individually, with sessions varying in length between 51 and 119 minutes. Immediately after each interview was complete, the audio recording was listened to in its entirety and transcribed verbatim. The resulting transcripts were analyzed through a modified version of Devinish's (2002) applied method for phenomenological explication of interview transcripts. This involved a multi-layered process of recursive analysis beginning with line-by-line open coding, extracting 333 natural meaning units (NMU). In a second stage of analysis, the NMU were further sorted, analyzed, and grouped to arrive at 46 central themes. The third stage of analysis involved collating and grouping central themes into related fields employing a concept map to form at 13 interpretive themes. The final stage of analysis included a further examination of the 13 interpretive themes, where each was rank ordered by importance (frequency x intensity = priority) and then synthesized with data from lesser themes, which resulted in the following six explicative themes: (a) significant environmental stressors; (b) a sense of self-sufficiency and independency; (c) reading problems; (d) a belief in the power of perseverance; (e) instructor characteristics; and (f) financial aid restrictions. These six explicative themes captured the essence of what it meant for the participants to be an underprepared student at the college and identified the perceived barriers to persistence.

Data were examined in this study from student records in a large North Texas urban school district who were taught with two different mathematics curricula to determine whether or not they had different effects on student achievement. One of the mathematics curricula, Everyday Mathematics, was developed upon national mathematic standards, written by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The other mathematics curriculum was district-approved, using a textbook from a large publisher, with a more traditional approach. The students selected for the experimental group came from six schools that had implemented the Everyday Mathematics curriculum for the 1998-99 school year. An experimental group was formed from these students. Twelve schools with similar socioeconomic ratios, ethnic makeup and 1998 Iowa Test of Basic Skills mathematic score profiles were selected. A control group was formed from this population of students that was similar to the experimental group with the exception of having been taught using the district-approved mathematics curriculum. These two groups were very similar in socioeconomic, ethnic, gender, and grade level makeup. Most importantly, the experimental group and control group were almost identical (there was no statistically significant difference) in their 1998 Iowa Test of Basic Skills mathematics scores, a gauge used to demonstrate that prior mathematics ability was equal going into the 1998-99 school year. In the statistical analysis, almost all comparisons showed that the experimental group taught with the Everyday Mathematics curriculum had higher scores on the 1999 Texas Assessment of Academic Skills mathematics test. When compared to children with similar mathematics ability at the beginning of the 1998-99 school year, the students in this study who were taught using Everyday Mathematics showed greater achievement gains than students in classes that used the district-approved curriculum.

The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of an ethnic Spanish translation of portions of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Level 7, Form 5, with second-grade Mexican-American children to measure growth in the fundamental skills of listening, vocabulary, word analysis, reading, and mathematics.

Thesis (M.S.)--Central Connecticut State University, 1999. / Thesis advisor: Philip Halloran. " ... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science [in Mathematics]. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 29-32).

In a Midwest school district, school personnel and students are concerned that the Extra School Time (EST) program student enrollment is declining. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore teacher, administrator, and adult age student perceptions to gain a deeper understanding of the problem leading to declining enrollment in the EST program. Using Lewin's holistic model of systemic leadership and evaluation of programs, teachers', students' and administrators' perceptions of factors, processes for support, curriculum needs, and actions to improve implementation of the EST program were explored. Using a qualitative case study, data were collected via semi-structured interviews and a survey of 9 purposefully sampled participants. Sampling criteria included being a current or former adult age student who attended the EST program, current EST teacher, and EST administrators. Data from semi-structured interviews and surveys were triangulated and analyzed using inductive and comparative coding, and a constant comparative analysis method. Emerging themes were coded using axial coding. Six themes emerged: lack of child care, transportation, work conflict with class attendance, convenience of times classes were offered, and offering courses that were relevant to the student. A 24-hour faculty professional development program was developed to educate EST faculty and staff on the issues influencing declining EST enrollment and develop strategies and actions to improve implementation of the EST program by addressing student and teacher needs. Positive social change from this study may include increased graduation rates, meaningful employment for EST participants, college entrance, and employment growth for the local community.

No description available.

Durant ces dernières années, les problèmes liés à l'amélioration de la qualité des systèmes éducatifs mondiaux préoccupent bon nombre de partenaires impliqués directement ou indirectement dans le domaine de l'enseignement. Le Rwanda, après le génocide de 1994, n'a pas échappé à une série de difficultés de retisser l'univers pédagogique. C'est dans ce contexte que nous avons voulu examiner la situation-problème d'apprentissage du français langue étrangère aux étudiants anglophones de l'Ecole Pratique des Langues Modernes (EPLM) qui fonctionne au sein de l'Université Nationale du Rwanda (UNR). Le thème abordé est intitulé : « Evaluation critériée et approche par intégration des compétences de base scripturales en français langue étrangère ». 72 sujets ont été tirés au hasard d'une population de référence estimée à 129 étudiants anglophones. La taille de l'échantillon représente 55.8% de l'univers de référence. Cet échantillon a été distribué aléatoirement dans un plan expérimental constitué de deux groupes expérimental (GE) et contrôle (GC). La condition expérimentale était basée sur la pratique de l'approche par intégration des compétences de base scripturales en français langue étrangère et la condition contrôle sur celle de la pédagogie traditionnelle. Notre hypothèse supposait la supériorité du niveau de maîtrise des performances scripturales du groupe expérimental à celui du groupe contrôle. La validation des résultats empiriques a été assurée par une série de procédures d'analyse statistique. Nous avons vérifié successivement le degré de fiabilité entre les scores des deux correcteurs indépendants au moyen de l'analyse statistique (1) du coefficient d'accords interjuges K de Cohen (1960), (2) du coefficient de corrélation r et (3) du coefficient de détermination R2 de Pearson. Toutes ces vérifications ont attesté le degré de fiabilité très significatif entre les scores des deux groupes indépendants. Le degré de fiabilité des résultats interjuges nous a permis d'appliquer le test d'hypothèse de Student pour échantillons indépendants sur les moyennes des deux groupes au prétest et au post-test. En définitive, nos résultats confirment l'effet supérieur de la pédagogie de l'intégration des compétences de base (Roegiers et De Ketele, 2000 ; Roegiers, 2005 ; De Ketele et Gérard, 2005 ; Tardif, 2006) à celui de la pédagogie plus transmissive des connaissances. Le groupe expérimental qui a été initié à l'approche par intégration des compétences de base du savoir-résumer en FLE a enregistré un taux de réussite de 66.7% contre un taux de réussite de 36.1% observé chez des sujets du groupe contrôle ayant suivi des activités d'apprentissage centrées sur la pédagogie de transmission des connaissances rédactionnelles. Bien plus, la méthode d'apprentissage intégrative des savoirs appris a enregistré un gain moyen d'apprentissage de 4.38 points sur 20 points qui s'avère légèrement supérieur au gain moyen d'apprentissage reconnu à l'échelle internationale selon la pratique pédagogique conçue en termes d'approche par compétences de base (Aden et Roegiers, 2003). / The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of the approach through the skills to those resulting from the traditional pedagogy in a learning situation of French as a foreign language (FLE). After the experimental processing and the statistical analysis of the results emerging from the experimental group and the control group, it appears that the approach through the basic skills produces more significant effects (66.7%) than those emerging from the transmission of knowledges pedagogy (36.1%) in writing production of the text summarizing.

The student population of the Southern California community college used for this study was just over 10,000 students in 2011. While retention rates for all community college students are a matter of concern, retention rates for Basic Skills students are particularly alarming. The college used for this study reports that 97% of their students assessed into developmental education courses. Currently, California community colleges are working towards implementing several types of intervention strategies with the objective of positively influencing Basic Skill student persistence. Summer bridge programs are one of these strategies. Students completing summer bridge programs are showing signs of immediate academic improvement. However, there is a gap in knowledge regarding the continuing retention rates for students participating in the programs and the motivational factors that influenced the students to participate in, and complete, the programs to begin with. This study focused on student retention and motivational factors through the lens of Self-Determination Theory. While external motivation factors are sometimes viewed as a means to an end and not necessarily conducive to long-range success, Self-Determination Theory supports the concept that extrinsic motivation factors can merge into intrinsic motivation and can therefore be productive. Researchers have suggested summer bridge programs should be evaluated over a longer period of time and should incorporate additional measures rather than relying solely on pre-test/post-test data. With this in mind, this study examined one summer bridge program over a four-year period and focused on student survey data and interview data, which asked students to self-report their motivational influences for attending one of four summer bridge programs. Using the lens of Self-Determination Theory, the researcher analyzed the data looking for intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors. One of the significant outcomes of the study is that the researcher was able to identify motivational factors relating specifically to one summer bridge program. Some eternal factors reported included retaking the assessment test, receiving school supplies, and meeting the requirements of specific scholarships. Intrinsic motivational factors focused on building relationships and improved academic competence. Finally, continued research regarding intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors can also expand to the larger community college student body since motivation in higher education is a multilayered concept.

Baigiamajame magistro darbe analizuojami ugdymo paradigmų realizavimo pradinėse klasėse ypatumai. Lietuvos švietimo sistema šiandien išgyvena kaitos procesą: nuo mokymo paradigmos pereinama prie mokymosi paradigmos, kurios svarbiausias uždavinys - atsigręžti į žmogų kaip absoliučią vertybę, sudaryti sąlygas atsiskleisti jo individualybei, pažadinti siekimą per saviugdą tapti asmenybe. Darbo problema - vaiką ir į žinias orientuotų ugdymo paradigmų realizavimo aspektai pradinėse klasėse. Darbo objektas – ugdymo paradigmų realizavimas pradinėse klasėse. Darbo tikslas – išanalizuoti ugdymo paradigmų realizavimo pradinėse klasėse ypatumus. Darbo metodai: mokslinės literatūros analizė, anketinė apklausa. Mokslinės literatūros ir atlikto mokymo ir mokymosi paradigmų raiškos pradinėse klasėse tyrimas atskleidė, kad Vilniaus miesto ir rajono mokytojai ugdymo procese dar kartais remiasi mokymo paradigma, tačiau iš esmės jau dirba vadovaudamiesi mokymosi paradigma. Siekdami ugdyti bendruosius mokinių gebėjimus, mokytojai taiko ir tradicinius poveikio mokiniui metodus (aiškina, iliustruoja, vadovauja diskusijai), tačiau daugiau naudoja aktyvaus mokymo metodų ir būdų (darbas grupėse, darbas porose, projektai, bandymai, ekskursijos ir kt.). Siekdami ugdyti bendruosius mokinių gebėjimus, mokytojai taiko aktyvaus mokymo metodus ir būdus, naudoja priemones ir veiklas, skatinančias eksperimentuoti, tyrinėti ir spręsti iškylančias problemas. Ugdymo procesui naudojami ir už mokyklos sienų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Final masterwork analyzes the features of realization of educational paradigms in primary classes. Lithuanian education system today is going through the process of change: from teaching paradigm shift to learning paradigm, which main task is to turn to someone as an absolute value, to allow one’s individuality to unfold, awaken the desire to become a personality. The object – the realization of aspects of education paradigm oriented to the child and the knowledge in primary of classes. The aim – to analyze the realization of features of educational paradigms in primary classes. The methods: analysis of scientific literature, a questionnaire survey. The research of scientific literature and teaching and learning paradigms resolution in primary classes revealed that primary school teachers refer on learning paradigm. To develop students' general skills, teachers use active teaching methods and techniques, use tools and activities that encourage experimentation, research and solving problems. Educational process uses training (learning) resources, which are outside the school. Students are more active participants in their learning than passive recipients of information. Assessment for learning in which students evaluate their own friends and evaluates learning outcomes is applied. The most common problems faced by teachers, realizing learning paradigm, there are instructional materials, lack of ICT, lack of... [to full text]

Thesis (M.A.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-125). Also available via the Internet.