There has been an increasing growth in the use of technology resources in traditional classroom styled higher education courses. This growth has received with both optimism and criticism. One of the issues critics have posed is that the use of technology resources does little, if anything, to improve student learning. As a result, this research examined if the use of technology contributes to student learning outcomes and student engagement activities, above and beyond student demographic variables. Specifically, this study investigated if the use of computer mediated conferencing (CMC) tools (i.e., email and electronic discussion boards) and computer aided instructional (CAI) resources (i.e., use of the computer and the Internet) contribute to student learning. Included in the sample were 2000 college students, which were randomly drawn from the 2003 College Student Experience Questionnaire database. The survey included 53 Likert scale items with reliability ranges from .78 to .88 on each of the composite scales. For the data analysis, eight multiple regressions were conducted on student learning outcomes and student learning engagement. Student learning outcomes included four composite scales, measuring students' personal and social development, general education gains, intellectual development, science and technology gains, and vocational preparation. The student engagement scale was comprised of three composite scales, which included faculty interactions, social, political and scientific discussions, and diversity and social interactions. The findings revealed that the use of technology resources does contribute to student learning, above and beyond student's background variables. The model inclusive of technology variables explained 4% to 7% of the gains in student learning, while student background variables contributed .03% to 2% of the gains. The findings suggest incorporating the use of technology can aid students in the learning process, though the effect size was fairly modest in most cases. The use of computer mediated conferencing and computer assisted learning tools should be used in combination with traditional classroom instructions to have the best effects. / Ph. D.

Learning in school requires active engagement. Student engagement is an important aspect for all students, whether urban, suburban, or rural, and regardless of socioeconomic background. Students enter Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs for a multitude of reasons and CTE programs offer unique support for student success by increasing student engagement. This study will focus on CTE teachers' perceptions of the influence that CTE programs and industry credentialing have on student engagement. Utilizing information on student engagement will help educators develop strategies to promote student motivation and student engagement, thus leading to student academic success. This study is a quantitative, descriptive statistical study in which the researcher examined studies that focused on student engagement and student engagement predictors. The research identified six qualities of student engagement: positive conduct and absence of disruptive conduct, school attendance, academic progress, social membership, high expectations in students' ability to achieve, and emotional support. The researcher developed a survey to examine teachers' perceptions of CTE influence on student engagement by including the six qualities of student engagement as guidelines for questionnaire development. Results of the survey indicate that CTE teachers identify all six domains of student engagement as represented within their course structure. Responses of all groups were similar, while their levels of industry involvement different. Additional results of all teacher responses are provided in the paper. / Ed. D.

This study identified the relationships of student engagement with senior student satisfaction and perceived employability skills from STEM fields in the U.S. A comparison of the relationships of student engagement, student satisfaction, and perceived employability skills was made across senior Asian international students and their American peers in STEM programs. The National Study of Student Engagement (NSSE) data (2011) was used in this study. Structural equation modeling analyses and invariance tests were employed to estimate different models of student engagement, student satisfaction, and perceived employability skills across different samples. The results found that both sense of support and relationships with others of emotional engagement were found the most important constructs to predict college student satisfaction and perceived employability skills. The cognitive engagement had a significant positive effect on student perceived employability skills across all college students, Asian international students, and American students in STEM education. Moreover, this study identified the mediator role of student perceived employability skills on the relationship between student engagement and student satisfaction for all three samples. Additionally, Asian international students differed from American students regarding academic involvement, participating in extracurricular activities, and sense of support in STEM education. Last but not least, this study supported that the three-dimension student engagement model developed by Fredricks et al. (2004) could apply to U.S. college students. Practical and theoretical implications were discussed and limitations acknowledged. / Doctor of Philosophy / It is widely accepted that attracting STEM talents to the U.S. is a key element to maintain the United States' economic supremacy and competitive advantage in a global economy. Asian international students play a significant role to maintain a steady supply of STEM talent pipelines in the U.S. job market. The purpose of this study is to understand the relationships of student engagement with senior student satisfaction and perceived employability skills from STEM fields in the U.S. This study This study was also to identify the relationships of student engagement, student satisfaction, and perceived employability skills across senior Asian international students and their American peers in STEM programs. The results found that both sense of support and relationships with others of emotional engagement were the most important factors to predict college student satisfaction and perceived employability skills. Cognitive engagement had a significant positive influence on student perceived employability skills across all college students, Asian international students, and American students in STEM education. Moreover, this study identified the mediator role of student perceived employability skills on the relationship between student engagement and student satisfaction. Additionally, Asian international students differed from American students regarding academic involvement, participating in extracurricular activities, and sense of support in STEM education. Last but not least, this study supported that the three-dimension student engagement model could apply to U.S. college students. Practical and theoretical implications were discussed and limitations acknowledged.

This dissertation investigates the links between lesson characteristics, student engagement, self-determination, and environmental literacy outcomes at a residential environmental education (EE) program. I developed a novel methodology using observations of 81 lessons at the study site to isolate the characteristics hypothesized to influence student engagement, self-determination, and outcomes of environmental literacy. Student surveys provided self-reported data on student engagement, selfdetermination, and environmental literacy. Mixed-methods analyses allowed me to explore these links within the 81 lessons observed in this case study. The results are organized into five chapters: an introduction chapter; three manuscripts planned for stand-alone publication (Chapters 2 - 4); and a conclusion chapter. Chapter 2 reports on the links between student engagement, self-determination, and environmental literacy. Chapter 3 provides insights on the links between the lesson characteristics (e.g., educator characteristics, teaching approaches, and schoolteacher/chaperone behaviors) and environmental literacy outcomes. Chapter 4 investigates the degree to which measures of student engagement, observed or self-reported, are associated with environmental literacy outcomes. Chapter 5 summarizes the findings from this study and presents additional analyses intended to fully synthesize the links between lesson characteristics, student engagement, self-determination, and environmental literacy. This study provides a novel methodology and survey items that may be of use to both practitioners and researchers. This research offers useful information about why and how EE works in this case and some of the specific characteristics and practices that engender positive environmental literacy outcomes. / Ph. D.

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is regarded as an effective approach to teaching foreign languages because it focuses on students' engagement and communicative competence. In the realm of educational psychology, researchers have identified many teaching strategies that can have positive effects on students' motivation and engagement. Jones (2009, 2015) synthesized these strategies and created the MUSIC® Model of Motivation. MUSIC is an acronym for the strategies related to eMpowerment, Usefulness, Success, Interest and Caring. The MUSIC model can be used to help instructors to redesign their instruction to motivate and engage their students in learning activities. The purpose of this research was to examine the effectiveness of incorporating the MUSIC model strategies into CLT classes at a university in China. I used a self-report survey comprised of seven subscales (representing five motivation-related variables and two engagement variables) to collect data on students' course perceptions and their engagement in a college English class. The participants were first year college students at a university in central China (n = 259). Independent samples t-tests, regression, and correlation were used to answer the following two research questions: 1. Is there a difference in students' motivation and achievement in traditional lecture classes versus CLT classes that incorporate MUSIC model strategies? 2. To what extent do students' MUSIC model perceptions relate to their engagement and achievement? The results indicated that there was a significant difference between the traditional lecture class and the CLT classes incorporating MUSIC model strategies. Students in CLT classes perceived more control in the class, found the course to be more useful, were more interested, and perceived more caring from their teacher. As a result, students in CLT classes put forth more effort and achieved higher scores on a standardized English test. In addition, the results revealed that students' MUSIC model perceptions predicted their engagement both in CLT classes and the traditional classes. However, the results showed that the MUSIC model components did not significantly predict student achievement. These findings suggest that the MUSIC model and the MUSIC Inventory are ideal tools for Chinese college English teachers to use when they design instruction. / Ph. D.

Thesis advisor: G. Michael "Mike" Barnett / Student engagement is a central concept for educational practitioners, researchers, and evaluators, both as its own outcome and as connected with motivation, achievement, attainment, careers, and civic participation. In science and engineering education, young adolescence is a period when many students become disaffected or disengaged, especially when youths’ racial and ethnic, cultural and linguistic, and gender identities are not sustained through educational designs and implementations. Since a reemergence in the 1980’s, scholarship has approached student engagement in either individualistic or collectivist ways, with more hybrid and holistic models only recently emerging. In particular, more work is needed to explore whether social engagement is its own distinct dimension, or whether it intersects with dimensions like affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement. This three-paper dissertation takes a philosophical lens of dialectical pluralism to interrelate multiple worldviews when examining student engagement, during an in-school-time invention project and an out-of-school-time invention camp. Adopting the methodology of a cultural psychology approach to design-based research, the study first considers the project and camp separately, then culminates in a cross-case comparison of the two. All papers are situated in “Mills City Public Schools”, a semi-urban district in the Northeast US. The first paper considers the second iteration of an insulating-device project with grade seven students. The second paper explores the second annual “Winter Vacation Camp” with grades six-eight campers inventing electronic doors. The third paper compares those two interventions, in a manner targeted towards educational practitioners. In sum, the paper-set provides qualitative, quantitative, and integrated evidence that a six-dimensional model is conceptually warranted and practically useful, through examples at the individual, small-group, and classroom/camp levels. Further, it provides educational design considerations for both in- and out-of-school time learning environments. The new model and design considerations support planning and analysis for more equitable engagement of youth, especially those with identities historically minoritized in science and engineering education. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

According to Tinto (2000a), institutions have fewer retention and persistence problems when their students are not only academically prepared, but are also engaged on campus as well as satisfied with the resources and support provided by the college. A student that has a positive first semester experience is more likely to achieve academic success and re-enroll the following term. The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in experiences, perceptions, expectations, and engagement levels of entering male versus female students and returning male versus returning female students at the gender-segregated Community College of Qatar during the first three to six weeks at the college. The study also attempted to determine if any student support services such as advising, tutoring, counseling, new student orientation program, and participation in student activities were useful and had any influence in promoting student engagement. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. For entering male and female students survey responses were classified using questions from five Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) benchmarks: (1) Engaged Learning (2) Early Connections (3) Clear Academic Plan and Pathway (4) Academic and Social Support Network and (5) Effective Track to College Readiness. While questions from four Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) benchmarks: (1) Active and Collaborative Learning (2) Student Effort (3) Support for Learners (4) Student-Faculty Interaction were used for returning male and female students. One-Sample t-tests were run to determine if significant differences in engagement levels existed between the four independent groups for each of the benchmark categories. Cohen’s d calculations were used to measure the effect size and the standardized differences between the means of the variables. For the purpose of this study, Cohen’s d effect size of 0.35 or higher was used as the criteria for interpreting statistically significance. The results of this study revealed entering and returning female students reported statistically higher engagement levels than entering and returning male students in most of the variables indicating that they are more likely to utilize student support services at higher frequencies and have a more positive first semester experience than their counterparts. / text

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Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Socorro G. Herrera / This quasi-experimental study was designed to measure the effects of a research-based intervention on fourth and fifth grade culturally and linguistically diverse students' vocabulary development. Through the extensive review of literature on vocabulary instruction and second language acquisition, a substantive theoretical framework titled the IBA Framework was developed. The IBA Framework incorporates characteristics of effective vocabulary instruction by accessing students' background knowledge, connecting unknown vocabulary words to known knowledge, ensuring opportunities for meaningful use of the vocabulary words, providing multiple exposures, and focusing on higher-level word knowledge. The IBA Framework also addresses second language acquisition by incorporating the linguistic, academic, cognitive, and sociocultural processes of the prism model. The IBA Intervention, derived from the IBA Framework, examined the affect of targeted vocabulary strategies on the overall vocabulary development of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) students. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies were utilized for data collection and analysis. Quantitatively, the affect of the IBA Intervention was measured by the Measurement of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment and the Ecobehavioral System for the Contextual Recording of Interactional Bilingual Environments (ESCRIBE). MAP assessment scores were used to measure the overall literacy achievement of CLD students. Analysis of the data indicated that the treatment group made greater gains than the control group. ESCRIBE was used to measure students' overall engagement. The affect of the IBA Intervention was measured by combining the results of three student variables: language initiating/responding behaviors, oral responses, and activity-related responses. The overall engagement scores indicated that CLD students who received the IBA Intervention had higher levels of engagement than the control group. Qualitatively, the affect of the IBA Intervention on students' vocabulary retention was investigated using student documents, participant observation, and informal interviews. The emic perspective that emerged from the data suggested that students in the intervention group demonstrated their vocabulary retention by building vocabulary knowledge, clarifying vocabulary knowledge, extending vocabulary knowledge, and using vocabulary knowledge across settings. Exemplars from each of these categories were provided as evidence of the CLD students' attainment of a deeper level of permanent vocabulary knowledge.