This study examined 10 nontraditional women at a small two-year institution. The study illuminated the challenges that these women faced as they matriculated and explored personal, professional, academic, institutional, financial resource, peer relationship, and professor relationship factors that they perceive could and has affected their attrition rates. The findings emerged from a host of dominant themes that were generalized at the inception of the study. The participants mostly provided a clear understanding of their perceptions relative to the themes. Therefore, the participants' responses provide an understanding of the relationships that the themes do or do not have to the participants' contribution to the studied institution's attrition rates. 1 The implications drew upon the research to bring forth a cause and effect understanding of the findings that if heeded could assist in decreasing the attrition rates for African-American female students. The recommendations were brought forth in an effort to provide a guiding post for future practices, policies, and research relative to understanding and adhering to the needs of nontraditional African-American female students.

This study examines the relationship between the use of formative assessment in the middle school classroom and select causal factors. For the purpose of this study, the definition of formative assessments is that proposed by Heritage, Kim, Vendliski, and Herman as, “A systematic process to continuously gather evidence and provide feedback about learning while instruction is under way” (2009, p. 1). Factors affecting the use of formative assessments explored in this study include leadership behaviors, professional development, the influence of instructional coaches, and aspects of teacher demographics. Through a mixed-method design, utilizing both a quantitative and qualitative approach, data were collected and analyzed. The quantitative data showed no any significant relationship between formative assessment and the independent variables of leadership behavior, professional development, and the influence of instructional coaches. The data showed that in the area of teacher demographics, there did exist a significant relationship between the grade level taught and the use of formative assessments, suggesting that teachers in the highest grade level (grade 8) had the highest frequency of use. Data collected through the qualitative research revealed that the school in which more frequent professional development training was provided by the school’s instructional coach in the area of formative assessment strategies, the frequency of their use was more prevalent. The findings suggest that the influence of the instructional coach is a factor in teachers’ use of formative assessment. Results from this study add to the body of evidence relating to use of formative assessment. As a result of the findings, the position of instructional coach and how they impact student achievement is recommended for further study.

Understanding the influences on e-learning effectiveness in workplaces is a necessary, but contentious task. The transfer of knowledge about e-learning from higher education to workplace situations has resulted in discursive tensions between expectations and practice. Measurement of the aspects of e-learning effectiveness is often discussed in the literature in terms of discrete economic, pedagogical and technological criteria. Few studies have investigated e-learning use in terms of the complexity of factors in a workplace environment and there is a scarcity of relevant substantive models of e-learning effectiveness factors in workplace contexts. This study aimed to improve understanding of the factors influencing e-learning effectiveness, particularly in large, dispersed workplaces and to develop a model based on the understanding of these factors. This study represents the first external research into the Australian Army’s e-learning projects. The Army was selected as a large, dispersed workplace organisation with ten years experience in designing and using multimedia rich CD-ROM learning materials. The Army had undertaken trialing and evaluation of its e-learning courses prior to providing substantial infrastructure for implementation in training centres. These evaluations indicated e-learning effectiveness in terms of training efficiencies and learning outcomes that at least matched traditional face-to-face classroom instruction. That is, that e-learning fitted with the training requirements. The study was aimed at the understanding of how the Army’s workplace environment was influencing the effectiveness of e-learning courses from multiple perspectives.Using an inductive Grounded Theory approach provided an established analytical method for developing a substantive model. While the field-based research was limited to a single organisation, it included multiple sites across Australia and a cross-section of e-learning activities and respondents throughout the organisational hierarchy. The main data source was 101 open-ended interviews conducted with respondents at Army bases or by phone. Where interviewing was not possible due to Army operational concerns, questionnaires were used (129 responses). Other data sources included Army documents and the researcher’s observations and participation in e-learning classes.While the Army’s internal evaluation processes had justified the adoption of e-learning courses, it was evident in the study that the interaction of factors within the Army’s culture was influencing perceptions and experiences of e-learning effectiveness. An Integrated E-learning Culture Model (IECM) based on the analysis of stakeholder perspectives in the Army is presented. The IECM is based on the four factors that emerged as influencing e-learning effectiveness, which were organisational priorities, the learning environment, the instructor’s role and learners’ needs. The main concern for respondents was to manage tensions associated with these four factors by integrating e-learning into the organisational culture. That is, e-learning effectiveness was discussed in terms of a process of alignment of the e-learning culture with the organisational culture.Comparison of the IECM with some empirical studies of e-learning use in other large, dispersed workplaces indicates its relevance outside the Army context. An E-learning Comparative Alignment Framework (ECAF) for using the IECM in other research was developed in this study. Further comparison of the ECAF with alignment theories from related research disciplines suggests areas for further theoretical research. This thesis proposes that by adopting the perspective that e-learning environments are not value-free, it is possible to identify and align the competing priorities and discourses that influence how e-learning effectiveness is constructed and experienced in an organisation.

Understanding the influences on e-learning effectiveness in workplaces is a necessary, but contentious task. The transfer of knowledge about e-learning from higher education to workplace situations has resulted in discursive tensions between expectations and practice. Measurement of the aspects of e-learning effectiveness is often discussed in the literature in terms of discrete economic, pedagogical and technological criteria. Few studies have investigated e-learning use in terms of the complexity of factors in a workplace environment and there is a scarcity of relevant substantive models of e-learning effectiveness factors in workplace contexts. This study aimed to improve understanding of the factors influencing e-learning effectiveness, particularly in large, dispersed workplaces and to develop a model based on the understanding of these factors. This study represents the first external research into the Australian Army’s e-learning projects. The Army was selected as a large, dispersed workplace organisation with ten years experience in designing and using multimedia rich CD-ROM learning materials. The Army had undertaken trialing and evaluation of its e-learning courses prior to providing substantial infrastructure for implementation in training centres. These evaluations indicated e-learning effectiveness in terms of training efficiencies and learning outcomes that at least matched traditional face-to-face classroom instruction. That is, that e-learning fitted with the training requirements. The study was aimed at the understanding of how the Army’s workplace environment was influencing the effectiveness of e-learning courses from multiple perspectives.Using an inductive Grounded Theory approach provided an established analytical method for developing a substantive model. While the field-based research was limited to a single organisation, it included multiple sites across Australia and a cross-section of e-learning activities and respondents throughout the organisational hierarchy. The main data source was 101 open-ended interviews conducted with respondents at Army bases or by phone. Where interviewing was not possible due to Army operational concerns, questionnaires were used (129 responses). Other data sources included Army documents and the researcher’s observations and participation in e-learning classes.While the Army’s internal evaluation processes had justified the adoption of e-learning courses, it was evident in the study that the interaction of factors within the Army’s culture was influencing perceptions and experiences of e-learning effectiveness. An Integrated E-learning Culture Model (IECM) based on the analysis of stakeholder perspectives in the Army is presented. The IECM is based on the four factors that emerged as influencing e-learning effectiveness, which were organisational priorities, the learning environment, the instructor’s role and learners’ needs. The main concern for respondents was to manage tensions associated with these four factors by integrating e-learning into the organisational culture. That is, e-learning effectiveness was discussed in terms of a process of alignment of the e-learning culture with the organisational culture.Comparison of the IECM with some empirical studies of e-learning use in other large, dispersed workplaces indicates its relevance outside the Army context. An E-learning Comparative Alignment Framework (ECAF) for using the IECM in other research was developed in this study. Further comparison of the ECAF with alignment theories from related research disciplines suggests areas for further theoretical research. This thesis proposes that by adopting the perspective that e-learning environments are not value-free, it is possible to identify and align the competing priorities and discourses that influence how e-learning effectiveness is constructed and experienced in an organisation.

The purpose of this thesis is to ascertain to what extent authors of beginning brass and wood-wind methods agree and disagree

No description available.

Graduating high school is a critical juncture for students to achieve. High School dropouts are more likely to have fewer job opportunities than high school graduates, increasing risk for poor health and incarceration. The target district used the academic learning class (ALC) as an intervention to support high school seniors classified as at risk due to failure on the High School Assessment Plan (HSAP). The purpose of this study was to determine the association between at-risk students who participated in the ALC and on-time graduation. Guided by action theory, an ex post facto design using secondary data, was employed to determine if there was an association between the variables of participation in the ALC intervention and graduation. The sample included a secondary data set of 174 records of high school students who met the criteria of failing one or both parts of the HSAP and who received the intervention of the ALC class. Data from a sample of 166 records were analyzed through SPSS. Results of the chi-square test did not indicate statistical significance, Ï?2(1, N = 166) = 1.27, p = 0.26, suggesting that there was not sufficient evidence to conclude existing of an association between participation in the ALC and graduation. Further research is recommended with more than 1 intervention to ascertain the association between specific high school interventions and graduation. Determining the association between an intervention and graduation will lead to social change as improving graduation rates helps bridge the economic gap between high school graduates and dropouts.

This thesis addresses these problems. (1) A clear understanding of the conceptual approach is prerequisite for teaching children to think creatively. (2) The conceptual approach has been misunderstood because educators have not distinguished clearly between the terms "creative" and "creatively." (3) The conceptual approach has been misapplied because educators have lost sight of the essence of the philosophies at the heart of the method. (4) The core of truth necessary for understanding teaching for concepts can be understood by tracing philosophical thought and application of the approach from the Renaissance to 20th Century America. (5) Inconsistencies in interpretations and applications of teaching for concepts have made it difficult for contemporary teachers to identify a single model to follow.

This case study intended to collect and analyze responses from stakeholders of the UCF Modeling and Simulation graduate program regarding the ways in which interdisciplinary (IDS) science PhD students could be prepared for diverse career paths. A mixed methodology study was executed and quantitative survey (N=96) and qualitative interview (N=10) data were collected to address three research questions. Overall, stakeholders for this case study were found to represent the three main career paths of academia, government, and industry. Survey data were utilized to gauge the level of importance that survey participants perceived for various survey scales and items. The scales that were rated with the highest means were Ethics, Teamwork, and Career Management (M=3.67, SD=.41) and Interdisciplinary Skills (M=3.67, SD=.36), while the lowest mean was reported for the Professional Science Skills scale (M=3.19, SD=.54). Interview data revealed limitations of the historically accepted apprenticeship model to include an emphasis on academia-only career preparation and a lack of standardization regarding highly individualized advisor-student relationships. And finally, survey and interview participants reported that alternative pedagogical methods to prepare IDS science PhD students for diverse career paths should include internships in each career sector, while also presenting the barriers to implementing internships regarding faculty commitments and time available to advise and help students procure such relationships. Study recommendations point to preparing IDS science PhD graduates for diverse career paths by emphasizing math, technical, communication, and interdisciplinary skills using experiential learning opportunities such as internships and an IDS project-based curriculum.

No description available.