<p> Practitioners have agreed that service-learning programs or curricula guide students into developing a more robust connection to the community in which they live as well as amongst other members of that community (Eyler, Giles, Stenson, &amp; Gray, 2001). However, what isn&rsquo;t known extensively is <i>how</i> these outcomes have been generated (Kiely, 2005a). Based upon Milne&rsquo;s (2000) <i>reflective artmaking</i>, this arts-based ethnographic study introduces the terminology <i>reflective artmaking service-learning</i>, demonstrating how the coupled learning processes of reflective artmaking and service-learning respond to the call for research. The Capacities for Imaginative Learning (Holzer, 2009) facilitated my ethnographic analysis, providing specificity towards deconstructing the underlying mechanisms of processing and filtering. Conducted in Texas among Christian homeschool students, this study inquires, how does reflective artmaking coupled with service-learning help to make the underlying concept of &ldquo;community&rdquo; visible? This ethnographic study focuses on the educative (Dewey, 1938) value of an arts-infused program with Christian homeschooled youth (ages 11-17) in Texas. Significant findings include the ways in which experiential learning based on a constructivist epistemology and a focus on the self was a suitable, but yet limiting, theoretical framework. Suggestions include ways to use reflective artmaking coupled with service-learning to enhance the authenticity and applicability of projects and thus to enhance student interest and ownership. This study provides a broad set practitioners in educational programs and public, private, and home schools with practical, innovative, substantive, and customizable methods of incorporating arts-based reflection on civic engagement within their teaching practices.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to develop an effective instrument to measure student readiness in online learning with reliable predictors of online learning success factors such as learning outcomes and learner satisfaction. The validity and reliability of the Student Online Learning Readiness (SOLR) instrument were tested using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis. Twenty items from three competencies, i.e. social competencies, communication competencies, and technical competencies, were designated for the initial instrument based on the Student Online Learning Readiness (SOLR) Model as a new conceptual model. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed that four factor-structures of the instrument of student readiness in online learning explained 66.69% of the variance in the pattern of relationships among the items. All four factors had high reliabilities (all at or above Cronbach's alpha> .823). Twenty items remained in the final questionnaire after deleting one item which cross-loaded on multiple factors (social competencies with classmates: five items, social competencies with instructor: five items, communication competencies: four items, and technical competencies: six items). The four-factor structure of the Student Online Learning Readiness (SOLR) has been confirmed through this study. Educators can use the Student Online Learning Readiness (SOLR) instrument in order to discover a better understanding of the level of freshmen college students' online learning readiness by measuring their social, communication, and technical competencies. In addition, this study was looking at two factors of social integration in Tinto's SIM and has introduced the Student Online Learning Readiness (SOLR) conceptual model with the purpose to extend Tinto's social integration to online learning environment. </p>

<p>The Personalized Integrated Educational System (PIES) design theory is a design recommendation regarding the function and features of Learning Managements Systems (LMS) that can support the information-age learner-centered paradigm of education. The purpose of this study was to improve the proposed functions and features of the PIES design theory such that it is compatible with the technological needs of the information-age, learner-centered paradigm of education. Four schools or educational systems that embodied all or some of the characteristics of the learner-centered, information-age paradigm were selected through a purposeful, theoretical sampling process. They were selected based on how useful they would be in extending and improving the design recommendations for PIES and the extent to which the naturalistic cases had transitioned into the learner-centered, information-age paradigm of education. Research participants within these schools were chosen through a non-probability sampling method. Twenty teachers agreed to participate and were interviewed and observed. Data collected in the form of interview transcripts and observation notes were analyzed to reveal functions and features that could be added and removed from the PIES design theory. Data were analyzed to also reveal factors that encouraged/discouraged technology use, implementation, and policy. </p>

<p> In this dissertation, I describe a study examining institutional policy documents for statements related to the implementation of openness. The purposes of this study were to explore the current state of policies related to the implementation of openness in higher education, and to provide guiding recommendations to higher education institutions looking to address the issue of implementation of openness in their own policies. Policy plays a critical role in the implementation of innovations such as openness. The policy environment is complex and potentially confusing. Technology enables the proliferation of openness, and higher education institutions are now facing a number of challenges associated with the implementation of openness. Not much is known about the stance of higher education or the state of its response to openness. As a result, there was not much guidance available for institutions looking to address the implementation of openness in their institutions. </p><p> This dissertation involved a descriptive study that follows summative content analysis methodology. The research design was a qualitative dominant sequential mixed methods model, meaning that I focused primarily on the qualitative elements of the study and provided limited descriptive quantitative analysis derived from the qualitative data. </p><p> Five major areas of openness affecting higher education institutions were drawn from the literature. These are Open Access Research, Open Content, Open Teaching and Learning, Open Source Software, and Other, less pronounced, areas of openness. I searched the Faculty Handbooks, Strategic Plans, and Technology Plans of a stratified random sample of research-intensive higher education institutions for keywords related to the major areas of openness. I then evaluated the resulting statements based on the directness with which they address openness and on their policy role as enabler, barrier, or neutral toward the implementation of openness. </p><p> I provided 45 idealized policy statements as well as the best-found policy statements from the study. These statements were intended to be used as recommendations for guiding institutions in crafting their own policy statements to address openness through policy. The idealized statements were intended to fit in the three policy documents (Faculty Handbook, Strategic Plan, Technology Plan), serve each policy role (enabler, barrier, and neutral), and address area of openness (Open Access, Open Content, Open Source Software, Open Teaching and Learning, and Other Areas of Openness). Five major findings emerged from the study. These include the realization that openness is really a human-centered approach, and the discovery that openness is not commonly addressed in higher education policies. Additionally, I found that there was wide variance in how institutions actually address openness, that Open Access is addressed more than other areas in policy, and that content analysis is an effective method for obtaining information related to higher education policies. I provided my reflections and conclusions on the study in Chapter Five.</p>

<p> Time can be examined from several viewpoints in the early childhood classroom: wasted wait time; instruction which is undifferentiated or not on the child's cognitive level, missing the child's target learning needs; the source and control of the classroom schedule; children's perceptions of time; and the current trend to maintain a rigid time schedule because of accountability demands. This study investigated Head Start preschool programs in a large midwestern urban area using an analysis of teacher beliefs and the classroom schedule. The instruments used to measure predictor variables were the Teacher Beliefs Scale (TBS) and Evaluation of the Early Childhood Classroom Schedule (EECCS); and the outcome variables were measured by observation with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System &ndash; PreK (CLASS) and the Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System (InCLASS). Thirty four teachers and 89 children participated. Correlation and hierarchical multiple regression were computed to assess the strength of the relationships between the predictor and criterion variables. Research question 1 asked how teacher's learner-centered use of time in the early childhood classroom, (EECCS), was related to Head Start classroom interactions and child engagement, (CLASS and inCLASS). Results indicated that EECCS was not a statistically significant predictor of CLASS scores or inCLASS scores. Research question 2 asked how teacher beliefs, (TBS), were related to Head Start classroom teacher-child interactions (CLASS), and Head Start classroom teacher-child, peer-peer, and child-material interactions, (inCLASS). No statistically significant results were found. Research question 3 asked how the early childhood classroom schedule moderated the relationship between developmentally appropriate teacher beliefs and Head Start Classroom interactions. No statistically significant results were found. Supplementary analyses were performed with activity settings and yielded several significant findings. Statistically significant changes were found for all instruments from fall to spring. Teacher beliefs and the classroom schedule were statistically significantly correlated. This study will also add to the body of literature a connection between teacher child interactions (CLASS) and child engagement with teachers, peers and tasks (inCLASS).</p>

<p> Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) commonly show deficits in social and communication skills, as well as in interpreting metaphorical meaning of language. These deficits often make reading comprehension more difficult for students with ASD. Past research has primarily focused on decoding rather than on comprehension skill interventions; only recently has there been an upswing in research to support reading comprehension skill deficits. The purpose of this study was to examine instructional strategies that are used for students with ASD, specifically students who exhibit Hyperlexia&mdash;a significant discrepancy in reading identified by high decoding skills and low comprehension abilities. Using the Special Educational Elementary Longitudinal Study database (SEELS), this study was able to analyze information on over 1,000 students with ASD. The study found that students with ASD are included in the language arts general education classroom 39.5% of the time, have goals that are working toward reading on grade level, and use instructional strategies such as peer tutoring, questioning strategies, classroom discussions and participation in presentations and projects on a regular basis. Looking further at this population, the study examined the relationship between reading comprehension and decoding skills according to their inclusion on the Simple View of Reading framework. Sixty-four students were identified as having Hyperlexia in the first wave of data collection gathered during the 2000-2001 school year, referred to as wave one. There were 92 students in wave three, gathered 3 years later during the 2003-2004 school year that were identified as having Hyperlexia. Through regression models and ANOVAs, the study concluded that three of the four instructional strategies (peer tutoring, presenting to the class, and questioning strategies) were not significant predictors of academic growth for students with ASD and with Hyperlexia. Only one instructional strategy (participation in class discussions) was found to have a significant impact on reading growth. This study does bring to light that there are large numbers of students with ASD who would benefit from more research on ways to teach reading comprehension.</p>

<p>Public education practitioners are currently experiencing difficult and trying times in Illinois. Schools are asked to meet high standards established by political forces and to accomplish these tasks with less money. Schools located in affluent school districts are capable of meeting these standards while schools from poorer districts are falling behind. This study was conceived to find out why Blair High School, which has more than 50% of its student body living in poverty, is capable of meeting high standards. </p><p> The results of this study yielded four main themes: 1) Students attributed their success to teachers that cared about them. 2) Students were motivated by a desire to have a better future than their parents. 3) Focusing on student learning rather than state test scores contribute to the success of the school. 4) The school environment contributes to student success. </p><p> The implications for schools located in high poverty school districts are clear. Students living in poverty need caring relationships with their teachers as well as positive human interaction. In addition, students living in poverty may be the most motivated students in the building by their desire to have a better future and not live in poverty any more. Therefore, schools should provide people, places and programs that deliver an education that helps them succeed. This can be accomplished by implementing strategies found in Invitational Theory. Also, schools would be wise to implement tutoring and mentoring programs in order to provide strong foundational skills for students living in poverty, as this develops confidence in the student and confidence leads to success. </p>

<p> This qualitative multi-case study explored the perceptions and beliefs of teachers of students in Grade 9 and 10, at a high school in south-central New Jersey, who taught traditional classroom courses that incorporated technology, regarding their lived experiences delivering homebound instruction for the same curriculum. Technology used in the classroom was compared to the use or lack of use of technology in the homebound setting. Similarities and differences were identified in instructional design, as well as teacher perceptions of efficiency and effectiveness for the student. The study revealed a disparity between the classroom instruction using technology and the homebound instructional setting. Five specific insights for leadership emerged from this study. The insights include (a) providing technology for the homebound instructor; (b) increase parental involvement in homebound instruction; (c) increase the amount of time for homebound instruction; (d) educate instructors in instructional technologies; and (e) to provide the homebound student with time management and organizational skills. These insights are helpful for recommending steps organizational leaders can take to increase the effectiveness of homebound instruction.</p>

<p> Workplace training design has evolved from a task-based systems framework managed by the designer, to a collaborative process of problem-solving that includes stakeholders across the enterprise. Collaborative design models address persistent problems, such as cost efficiency, requirements that change late in development, and aggressive timetables, but perceptions of training effectiveness continue to be pessimistic. Given the substantial role of employees in making training effective, by transferring what they learn to their day-to-day responsibilities, this study proposed an emergent design model in which designers collaborate with employees as partners in solving training design problems. Previous efforts to include employees in training design have faltered, because of time and resource requirements which limit participation or greatly expand timelines. This study investigated the potential of broad employee participation, through the widely-used medium of organizational surveys, in which employees are invited to suggest ways to improve their work environment. The study applied a three-phase, mixed methods approach, to investigate whether survey text responses contain viable input into training design, and to explore the nature of that input in terms of major themes about workplace training, and detailed input reflecting employees' experience of online training. Nearly 90,000 text responses were accepted into the study, from industries that include pharmaceuticals, retail, manufacturing, telecommunications and financial services. Analysis exposed the inherent conflict between the designer's focus on training delivery, and the employees' focus on transferring what they learn to their jobs; and a widespread organizational conflict between leadership compensation tied to short-term financial metrics, and long-term strategies that drive infrastructure programs such as workplace training. Responses across all industry sectors in the study reported limited management support for training, which is nonetheless essential to employees' job performance. Responses described online training that makes only minimal use of the basic functions of computer technology. The study validates earlier research questioning workplace training effectiveness, with evidence suggesting that training programs are constrained by organizational challenges that cannot be solved by designers alone. The study suggests that organizations can involve their employees in addressing the conflicts that limit training effectiveness, through design partnership using survey responses.</p>

<p> This qualitative multi-case study examined the instructional design and development processes utilized by instructional designers and designers by assignment in higher education that created mobile learning for iTunes U delivery. Current research into the instructional design practices for mobile learning delivery leaves a gap in the literature. This study aimed to identify the instructional design and development processes specific to mobile learning delivery within iTunes U. Ten participants from higher education were purposively selected for participation in the study. Each of the 10 participants met the selection criteria; participants designed or served on a design team that created an iTunes U course for a higher education audience. Five of the participants were instructional designers and the other five were instructional designers by assignment. Data was collected from three sources including the participants' iTunes U courses, sample model designs or processes, and in-depth participant interviews. The study identifies instructional strategies, instructional design processes, advantages, and constraints of instructional design and development for mobile learning through iTunes U delivery. Included in the findings is a design and development model for instructional design of mobile learning through iTunes U.</p>