Thesis (M.E.)--International Baptist College Graduate School, 2000. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [113-114]).

<p> Early numeracy skills are a critical component of daily preschool instruction, according to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM; 2002); however, there is variability in how mathematics-driven instruction is implemented in the preschool classroom (Graham, Nash, &amp; Paul, 1997; Brown, Malfese, &amp; Molfese, 2008). Research indicates that children from low income backgrounds who qualify for Head Start programs do not make comparable growth in early numeracy skill development when compared to children from higher SES levels (Puma, et. al., 2012). The objective of this dissertation was to evaluate a selected mathematics curriculum utilized by the Happy Faces Head Start1 program, after program data indicated that children&rsquo;s mathematics achievement was below established targets (Happy Faces Head Start, 2012). Results indicated that the curriculum, <i>Mathematics: A Creative Curriculum Approach, </i> which was implemented in rural Head Start classrooms did not show significant gains in math skills compared to children in the control group. </p>

<p> The existing literature indicates that the U.S. workforce is challenged in two significant ways: low college attainment rates and college graduates lacking the skills necessary to be successful in their careers (Wilkerson, 2012). Studies show that both of these factors are necessary to provide the innovation needed for companies to grow (Galagan, 2010; Morrison et al., 2011). Research indicates that faculty members have a fundamental impact on student success and persistence (Kuh, Kinzie, Buckley, Bridges &amp; Hayek, 2007; Taylor &amp; Haynes, 2008) and are also responsible for developing and reforming the curriculum. </p><p> Business education faculty are an especially important subset of higher education faculty due to the fact that business related majors have been the most popular majors for undergraduate students since 1980 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). </p><p> The research examined experiences with curriculum reform to address the skill gaps. Faculty experiences with curriculum reform efforts related to nontraditional students were also examined.</p>

<p> Over several decades, school reform efforts have been mounted in order to improve student learning and to prepare students for a global community. In 2010, governors from the fifty states met and supported the establishment of national standards, the Common Core State Standards, to prepare students for college and careers. Georgia adopted the Common Core State Standards, and as with any new curriculum adoption, professional development is usually provided. During the 2011&ndash;2012 school year, school systems across Georgia provided various professional development opportunities for teachers to learn about the Common Core State Standards. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers&rsquo; perceptions of their Common Core professional development and utilized a survey consisting of multiple choice and open-ended questions. Three hundred seventy-two educators from sixteen school districts across the state of Georgia participated in this study. Three main themes emerged: Teachers prefer working in smaller, collaborative groups in professional development; teachers were satisfied with their school and school district&rsquo;s training but did not receive consistent follow-up, modeling, or coaching afterwards; teachers utilized websites developed to support the Common Core State Standards and relied on their colleagues in order to learn more about the curriculum and to implement the standards.</p>

<p> This thesis examined graduate level students' experiences of (mainly gender) diversity in the online classroom. The philosophical framework for this study came from John Rawls' work utilizing the veil of ignorance as a strategy to create more objective determinations free from situational and circumstantial biases. Both critical pedagogy and the theory that individuals construct social and cultural meaning through communication provided the theoretical foundations for the thesis. The study analyzed experiences of the students via their contributions to the online discussion boards. The study also utilized interviews of current and former students to discuss their experiences with diversity in their online classrooms. The study came from an understanding that diversity represents a unique component of the online classroom and rests in the idea that students can all benefit from the diversity of other students' experiences. This work provides a jumping off point of analysis on how best to facilitate discussions of diversity in the online classroom. Facilitating these discussions can become a primary way to break down systemic and institutionalized inequalities that exist for minority groups. Thus, this research, while not the end point, can provide a continued impetus to discover ways to make the online classroom a place of equalized learning to maximize its purpose for all students regardless of their identity. Chief findings in the study indicate the following (not-exhaustive) items: students overwhelmingly report that they value diversity conversations; students do not seem to think that conflicting ideas represent an inherent negative; and student's see the role of the instructor in facilitating, but not inserting personal commentary into the diversity discussions.</p>

<p> This dissertation reports on a study of two widely used eleventh grade ELA textbooks for the opportunities they provide students to construct knowledge through writing. Data included every writing task in both textbooks (158 tasks) as well as the corresponding texts. Data analysis focused on (a) how cognitive demand, textual grist, and elaborated communication contribute to the rigor of a writing task, (b) how authentic the tasks are to the discipline of ELA, and (c) how writing tasks position students as intellectual authorities. This study contributes a new approach to determine the quality of ELA writing tasks and a detailed assessment of the writing tasks in the most widely used ELA textbooks. The findings from this study showed differences in the quality of ELA writing tasks types (text-based, non text-based, and creative writing), with text-based tasks ranking the highest quality for cognitively demanding work. Findings also showed that textual grist and opportunities for elaboration in addition to cognitive demand are essential factors when determining the overall rigor of text-based writing tasks (i.e., analyzing text-based ELA writing tasks for cognitive demand alone may inflate the rigor of the task). Further findings on writing task quality describe the level of disciplinary authenticity and intellectual authority contained in ELA textbook writing tasks and why these features are important in determining the quality of ELA writing tasks. The findings from this study suggest the importance of using a disciplinary-specific theory of task quality, including a three-part model of rigor, disciplinary authenticity, and intellectual authority, to assess the quality of ELA writing tasks. Additionally, this study provides suggestions for practitioners including how teachers might revise and supplement ELA textbook writing tasks in order to support student writing.</p>

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Ann K. Mullis, Florida State University, College of Human Sciences, Dept. of Family and Child Sciences. Title and description from dissertation home page (Jan. 20, 2005). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.(Organisational Behaviour))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of North Texas, August, 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.