Engineering dynamics is a fundamental sophomore-level course that is required for nearly all engineering students. As one of the most challenging courses for undergraduates, many students perform poorly or even fail because the dynamics course requires students to have not only solid mathematical skills but also a good understanding of fundamental concepts and principles in the field. A valid model for predicting student academic performance in engineering dynamics is helpful in designing and implementing pedagogical and instructional interventions to enhance teaching and learning in this critical course. The goal of this study was to develop a validated set of mathematical models to predict student academic performance in engineering dynamics. Data were collected from a total of 323 students enrolled in ENGR 2030 Engineering Dynamics at Utah State University for a period of four semesters. Six combinations of predictor variables that represent students’ prior achievement, prior domain knowledge, and learning progression were employed in modeling efforts. The predictor variables include X1 (cumulative GPA), X2~ X5 (three prerequisite courses), X6~ X8 (scores of three dynamics mid-term exams). Four mathematical modeling techniques, including multiple linear regression (MLR), multilayer perceptron (MLP) network, radial basis function (RBF) network, and support vector machine (SVM), were employed to develop 24 predictive models. The average prediction accuracy and the percentage of accurate predictions were employed as two criteria to evaluate and compare the prediction accuracy of the 24 models. The results from this study show that no matter which modeling techniques are used, those using X1 ~X6, X1 ~X7, and X1 ~X8 as predictor variables are always ranked as the top three best-performing models. However, the models using X1 ~X6 as predictor variables are the most useful because they not only yield accurate prediction accuracy, but also leave sufficient time for the instructor to implement educational interventions. The results from this study also show that RBF network models and support vector machine models have better generalizability than MLR models and MLP network models. The implications of the research findings, the limitation of this research, and the future work are discussed at the end of this dissertation.

This study investigated the relationship between school building conditions and student academic achievement in Pennsylvania's high schools. Research questions analyzed by step-wise multiple regression were: (a) Is there a relationship between overall school building conditions and student academic achievement in Pennsylvania's high schools when socio-economic status (SES) is held constant?; (b) Is there a relationship between the cosmetic conditions of school facilities and student academic achievement in Pennsylvania's high schools when socio-economic status (SES) is held constant?; and (c) Is there a relationship between the structural conditions of school facilities and student academic achievement in Pennsylvania's high schools when socio-economic status (SES) is held constant? Two hundred and five randomly selected high schools in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania were identified as the population for this study. Selected high school principals or principal designees were sent an on-line version of a modified Commonwealth Assessment of Physical Environment (CAPE) survey to ascertain information regarding the building conditions of their respective high schools. Student academic achievement data was measured by a three year scale score average of students' performance on the writing, reading and mathematics sections of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) exams. Socio-economic status (SES) was identified as the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced lunch. This factor was used as a covariant to control academic achievement variance related to SES. A step-wise regression analysis identified that a relationship exists between high school building conditions and student academic achievement in Pennsylvania's high schools. As the building conditions in the participant high schools surveyed improved, a corresponding increase in the academic achievement of its students was noted. It did not appear to matter if the improvement in a school buildings condition was cosmetic or structural; any improvement in a school buildings condition was associated with an increase in student academic achievement. This would seem to indicate that a relationship exists between student academic achievement and school building conditions in Pennsylvania high schools. / Ed. D.

This study concerns the relationship between student evaluation of instruction and student achievement in the field of management at the community college level. Purposes of the study were to determine the subjective student evaluation of instructor performance in introductory classes of management, student achievement in the class upon completion of the course, and the relationship between the student evaluation of instructor performance and student achievement in knowledge of the course. The population studied was all 10 sections of the Principles of Management course taught by 8 instructors at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas during the fall semester of 1988. A pretest-posttest design was used to determine student achievement scores. The College Board provided sufficient copies of two versions of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests for Introduction to Management for the pretest and posttest. A special statistical technique using multiple regression was used to calculate an achievement score for each student that was adjusted for entry level knowledge. Student evaluations of instructor performance were paired with the achievement scores and grades students received from the instructor. Additional confidential demographic data was obtained about the students and the instructors. Major findings of the study concluded there is no significant relationship between the student achievement scores and student evaluation of instructor performance. There was a wide variance in correlation of student grades and student achievement scores when individual sections or individual instructors were examined. The overall correlation of grades and achievement scores was statistically significant and was the highest of any of the factors studied. The study recommends using more objective measures of student achievement in evaluating faculty performance.

in English The diploma Thesis "Trends and Significance of the Migration of Foreign Students mainly from non-EU Countries in the Czech Republic and Europe." discusses the phenomenon of migration for study purposes from non-EU countries (mainly Russia, Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina) in the Czech Republic. The percentage of immigrants coming to study in Czech Republic has been growing and it constitutes an important tool for a positive development of the international cooperation. The aim of this work is to describe and analyze, based on the questionnaire method and specialized texts, the reasons for the choice of this type of migration, underling the administrative, economic and social issues that might be involved. Furthermore the objective is to evaluate the participation of qualified foreigners in the Czech labor market as well as to determine, presenting specific cases collected by a qualitative method, the human, cultural and social added value that they might gain by being awarded with an European diploma. Finally, in order to study the phenomenon from an anthropological perspective, the study attempts a comparative analysis of the academic mobility as a mean of temporary circular migration, enabling an optmized prediction of the current trends and tendencies while considering the issues of...

This study analyzed all published research articles examining the relationship between professional community efforts (plc) (used here as a broader category than, but inclusive of, Professional Learning Communities or PLCs) and student academic achievement (SAA) that reported primary research findings published before January 1, 2015. This study specifically identified primary, quantitative studies of SAA that in context are plc, but which may or may not be labeled as such, that were published before January 1, 2015. Analyses examined how many studies of plc and SAA were of a descriptive, correlational, causal comparative, quasi-experimental,or experimental design type, evaluated the internal validity of their findings, and assessed the generalizability of each study based on normative expectations of implementation and study design type. Each of the 57 studies meeting the inclusion criteria were evaluated using a Design and Quality of Implementation Matrix. Findings indicated that none of 57 primary research efforts examining plc and SAA exhibited acceptable levels of generalizability. For articles demonstrating high design and implementation scores, threats to external validity are presented and discussed. Recommendations are provided for improving the generalizability of research in plc.

Enrollment in online courses has outpaced overall university enrollment for the past several years. The growth of online courses does not appear to be slowing. The purpose of this study was to examine the origins of online education at Tarleton State University, to compare course completion and student academic performance between online and traditional courses, and to develop a predictive model for students’ successful completion of online courses. Archival data from the Tarleton student records system was collected using the Structured Query Language. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze student characteristics. Chi-square analysis was used to determine if significant differences existed between students enrolled in online and traditional courses when comparing course completion and academic performance. Analysis found significant differences existed in both course completion and academic performance for students enrolled in online vs. traditional courses. Additional analysis indicated significant differences existed in course completion by course discipline. A predictive model was created using binary logistic regression and included the predictor variables age, student classification, term course load, and cumulative GPA. The final model correctly predicted successful completion of 85.5 percent of all cases.

It was a goal of this study to identify leadership strategies and other select variables such as instructional strategies, professional staff development, teacher-student relationship, parental support, and student academic motivation and their relationship with student achievement. Pearson correlations, ANOVA, Alpha Cronbach, construct validity, and regression tests were used to analyze the data that had the greatest significance on student achievement scores. The researcher concluded that instructional strategies, parental support, student academic motivation, and teacher expectation have the greatest significance on student achievement scores. Recommendations were suggested for classroom teachers, educational leaders, teacher preparation programs, and future researchers.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not a significant relationship exists between the implementation of the Morristown-Hamblen High School East (MHHSE) Freshman Academy, student academic achievement, and the high school graduation rate at MHHSE. The testing variables included GPA, attendance, number of core course failures, number of discipline referrals, English I End-of-Course test scores, and graduation rate. Grouping variables included 8th grade (pretreatment) and 9th grade (posttreatment) groups, preacademy and postacademy groups, socioeconomic status, and gender. Ten faculty members of the MHHSE Freshman Academy were interviewed to ascertain their perceptions about the smaller learning community concept. The population of the study was limited to students enrolled in the MHHSE Freshman Academy (2004-2008) and students enrolled at MHHSE 2 years prior to the implementation of the academy (2002-2004). Paired-samples t-tests were used to make comparisons between the same students on 8th grade (pretreatment) and 9th grade (posttreatment) measures. Independentsamples t-tests were used to make additional comparisons between different groups of students categorized according to socioeconomic status and gender, as well as preacademy and postacademy groups. Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that the 9th grade transition year is a very difficult year for most students. Male students and those classified as economically disadvantaged develop additional risk factors during their freshmen year that might identify them as potential dropouts. The MHHSE Freshman Academy has had a positive effect on student academic performance and conduct as measured by the data analyses and teacher opinions.

This study aims at looking deeper into school-based leadership and teacher leadership in particular. The starting point of any line of thought is to be found in the claim that there is a positive correlation between teacher leadership and student academic performance.When searching the curriculum for the non-compulsory school system in Sweden, Lpf94,for its position on school-based leadership, the only item that is found on the subjectrefers to principal leadership. I therefore chose to perform interviews with a number ofhigh-school teachers, to attain a complementary image of how they perceive that they, as teachers, practice leadership on a daily basis. The results show that they all feel that their professional role entails a leader role, but the analysis shows that how they practice leadership can be recognized in slightly different ways.

This dissertation focused on the new performance-based teacher evaluation system implemented in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Eight school districts were granted an implementation waiver for one year making the 2013-2014 school year the implementation year for those school districts. A mixed methodology study was designed to understand teacher perceptions in one waiver school district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The purposes of this study were to collect empirical evidence on the implementation of the new performance-based teacher evaluation system by comparing teachers' and principals' perceptions at three elementary schools to teachers' perceptions in the school district, identified as District Z and were to add to the research base on policy implementation theories and teacher evaluation. Findings and analysis of research questions were based on the responses of 357 teacher participants, two district directors, and three principals. Policy implementation research suggested access to resources and support along with an alignment of beliefs and values resulted in more effective implementation practices. Conclusions of this study, while limited to the district studied, suggested professional development on the new performance-based teacher evaluation system, including the Uniform Performance Standards and SMART goals, would provide teachers and principals with the increased knowledge to use as a resource during new implementation phases. Additionally, involvement in the design and modification of the teacher evaluation system would encourage participation and provide opportunities for teachers and principals to develop shared values regarding aspects of the evaluation system. / Ed. D.