Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-135).

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The Building Construction Science program at Mississippi State University is undergoing a major curriculum review and revision process in preparation for accreditation by the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE). This will be the program’s first attempt at accreditation in its 10-year history. None of the faculty in the program have ever been through an accreditation – making the process more challenging. What’s more, the accrediting body recently adopted an outcomes-based approach to curriculum review that hinges on programs demonstrating student achievement of 20 different student learning outcomes. These outcomes have been recognized by many as ambiguous and difficult to define – reducing motivation of programs and their faculty to move forward with accreditation. This has been the impetus for this study. The purpose of this research was to define what the 20 student learning outcomes mean for the BCS program and identify the program’s effectiveness toward including the outcomes required for accreditation into their curriculum and assessing student achievement. The study was conducted in three parts: Defining the 20 outcomes, mapping outcomes to the curriculum, and identifying assessments used to measure student achievement of the outcomes. A modified Delphi was used that incorporated the Nominal Group Technique for initial data gathering and 2 stages of surveys to identify the most essential learning criteria that define each learning outcome. The Delphi included a sample of BCS faculty, Alumni, and construction industry members. A syllabus review of the program’s core construction courses was used to map the outcomes through the curriculum and identify assessments connected to the intended outcomes. The results of the inclusion mapping were organized into three categories of Missing, Adequate, or Overlapping. The results of the study generated an initial list of 355 learning criteria across the 20 student learning outcomes that were reduced to a final list of 173 criteria identified as essential to demonstration of student achievement for the learning outcomes. The curriculum evaluation showed that nearly two-thirds of the learning outcomes are likely being redundantly included in the curriculum, and about five are missing. Assessments were shown to be included in all courses but many were difficult to connect to specific learning outcomes.

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It has been suggested that teachers’ instructional practices mediate the relationship between teacher background variables and student learning (Fennema & Franke, 1992; Mewborn & Cross, 2007). That is, an indirect relationship between these variables exists in which teacher variables are related to teacher instructional practices; and teacher instructional practice is then related to student learning. One instructional practice that has been supported as a way to help build students– mathematical understanding is the use of manipulatives (e.g., Hiebert et al., 1997). In this dissertation I investigate the role of manipualtive use as a mediator of the relationship between teacher variables and students’ mathematics learning. To examine the potential mediating role of manipulative use, I conducted two separate quantitative studies. In the first study, I examined the relationship between teacher variables and the frequency with which teachers use manipulatives in their classroom activities. Using data from 503 in-service elementary teachers, I investigated the relationship between manipulative use and teachers’ beliefs about manipulatives, the grade level they teach, their age and experience, as well as the interrelationship among these teacher variables. Teachers’ beliefs and grade level were found to be important predictors of manipulative use. In the second study, I examined the relationship between manipulative use and mathematics learning of elementary- aged students (K-5). Data for this study were drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS), and analyzed using a two-level hierarchical linear model and graphical techniques. I also investigated the moderating effects of student home language on this relationship. A positive relationship between the frequency of manipulative use and student mathematics learning was found. Home language was not found to moderate this relationship. Results from this manuscript dissertation seem to support the claim of Fennema and Franke (1992) and Mewborn and Cross (2007) about the mediating role of teacher instructional practice on the relationship between teacher variables and student learning. In particular, combining the results from the two studies, teachers holding positive beliefs about manipulatives tend to use these devices more often in their classroom activities, and teachers in lower grades tend to use manipulatives more often than teachers in the upper grades; and when students use manipulatives more often in their mathematics lessons, their mathematical learning tends to increase. Thus, together these findings suggest a tenable indirect relationship between teacher variables and student learning. That is, teacher variables are related to manipulative use which in turn is related to students’ mathematics learning. Together these two studies provide a more complete picture of teacher factors and student outcomes as they relate to manipulative use in elementary mathematics classrooms. Implications and future directions for research on manipulative use in the teaching and learning of mathematics are discussed. / Ph. D.

The goal of this study was to identify strategies used by exemplar practitioners to develop integrated instruction. A pilot case study design was used and four sources of data were analyzed allowing for a convergence of data sets. These data sets included a questionnaire, an audio recording, lesson plans, and student artifacts. Data were analyzed through theme analysis producing 26 strategies. These strategies were then collapsed into a final list of 15 representing important areas of consideration for practitioners. A careful review of these 15 strategies identified three broad strategy categories: Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation. By grouping strategies in this way, each could be shown to relate to specific aspects of the overall integrative instructional process. / Master of Arts

Building on the epistemological foundations of constructivism (Creswell, 2014) and qualitative research methodologies, a FADE framework (Reinking and Bradley, 2008) and a case study approach (Merriam, 2002) were selected to develop an understanding of preservice teachers' thinking about student learning during their planning, teaching, and reflection through the lesson study (Lewis, 2009) process. Through qualitative methodology, the triangulation of data occurred using qualitative data sources: (a) pre and post interviews, (b) participatory field notes, (c) research lesson plans, (d) debriefing interviews, (e) field notes created by the preservice teachers. Each data source was analyzed individually and then compared across the case providing a deeper understanding of how preservice teachers think about student learning in the context of lesson study including how: (a) preservice teacher grew their thinking about student learning, (b) preservice teachers were better able to observe and look for evidence of thinking about students' learning, (c) the lesson study process allowed them to work as a team, (d) they associated lesson study with being a positive learning experience. This research provides additional insight into how teacher preparation programs can strengthen preservice teachers learning in classrooms through lesson study (Darling-Hammond, 2009; Lewis, 2009; Lewis et al., 2012). It also provides opportunities for further research on connecting planning, reflection, and teaching practices as well as, how to build connections between mentor teachers, preservice teachers, and teacher preparation programs (Parks, 2009). / PHD / This case study explored the impact of a collaborative learning cycle with preservice teachers in elementary classrooms. The research question was: What was the impact of lesson study on preservice teachers thinking about student learning. Preservice teachers participated in a lesson study cycle where they collaboratively developed goals for students, planned a lesson, one teacher taught the lesson and the others observed, and lastly they reflected on this process as a group and adjusted their lesson based on their thinking about student learning. Each of the lessons was taught in real classrooms with students whom they were familiar. The data suggested that preservice teachers were able to deepen their understanding of thinking about student’s learning and identify it in their work together. The collaborative process enabled them to further their understanding of thinking about student learning by having additional insight to what they observed in their lessons. The cyclical process of lesson study allowed the preservice teachers to attend to additional observations of their students because they were familiar with the lesson, content, and had considered what evidence of student learning they could collect. This study provides insight into how preservice teacher preparation programs could better connect theory to practice through lesson study cycles and provide authentic collaborative learning experiences for preservice teachers that mimics actual teaching in the classroom.

Brief experimental analysis (BEA) has shown to be an effective method of rapidly testing the relative effects of two or more interventions in order to determine interventions that best supports a student’s learning. Little research has been found in regards to the consistency of methods across studies. A meta-analysis in 2008 by Burns and Wagner looked at BEAs that assessed oral reading fluency and provided recommendations for future practice. This study investigates the methods, procedures, and outcomes in BEA studies from 1994 to 2016. The findings of this study are compared to Burns and Wagner’s (2008) recommendations from their meta-analysis, as well as used to discuss the shifts and consistencies found in BEA methodology over the past 23 years. There is not sufficient evidence that Burns and Wagner’s (2008) recommendations have greatly impacted the process of BEA, but there have been changes in predominant methodological components of BEA such as the explicit use of conceptual models, methods of assessing interventions, and the emergence of a problem solving model to inform intervention selection. A general increase in the publication rate and a shift to publication in school psychology journals over behavioral journals was also noted. BEA outcomes continue to support its utility for informing instruction.

The overarching goals of this study were twofold: first, to learn how community colleges are preparing students to flourish and contribute to a changing and global economy, and second, how they address those students that do not make it through the community college. Within this context, the researcher elected to perform a case study of Tallahassee Community College (TCC), a college identified as focused on improving student success and empowering students to reach their goals; and, committed to sharing data and information across and throughout the institution. To achieve its ultimate goals, this study had four specific purposes. First, it provided an in-depth account of the development and implementation of the organizational vision and student success (learning and attainment) focus at TCC. Second, the study examined how the use of data provided transparency and redirected the focus of TCC. Third, it examined how TCC’s student learning portal is used by students, faculty, staff, administrators, and the board of trustees. Finally, it considered how the findings may inform policy makers, institutional leaders, and researchers about key factors impacting a student success focus. Taken in concert, the study was designed to provide a contextual framework for implementing an organizational vision focused on improving student success. The study is a qualitative research designed case study informed by quantitative data. The study included TCC serving as the unit of analysis for the entire case, and the student learning portal serving as the unit of analysis for an embedded case study. Qualitative methods employed included documents, archival records, interviews, focus groups, and direct observations. Multiple approaches were used to present the case study including a chronology of key historical events and a categorical or topical format based on an inductive analysis of data. Eight themes emerged as contributing to the work of the student success agenda: 1) leadership style of the president and the board relationship, 2) the vision for student success, 3) transparency and open communications, 4) strategic plan, 5) budget, 6) data and information technology, 7) people and development, and 8) sustainability of the shared vision. / text

Thesis advisor: Marilyn Cochran-Smith / Preparing students to participate in a democratic society means cultivating citizens who are capable of making informed, rational decisions about complex issues related to the common good. In order to do this, teachers need to provide students learning opportunities that promote critical thinking and involve in-depth examination of meaningful content. Drawing on Gutmann's (1987) theory of democratic education, this dissertation examines how beginning teachers who were prepared in a teacher education program that emphasized social justice and democratic practices think about and engage their students in this type of work. Specifically, using Newmann's (1996) framework of "authentic intellectual work" as an indicator of knowledge consistent with democratic education, this dissertation examines the extent to which the learning opportunities teachers create and the work that students produce demonstrate authentic intellectual work and examines the degree to which teachers' understandings of student learning align with authentic intellectual work. This qualitatively-oriented mixed methods study (Creswell, Plano Clark, Gutmann, & Hanson, 2003; Morse & Niehaus, 2009) used quantitative and qualitative methods concurrently to examine 11 beginning teachers' experiences during the preservice period and first two years of teaching. Using the Teacher Assessment/Pupil Learning protocol, this study draws upon quantitative methods to evaluate teachers' assessments/assignments (n=53) and students' work (n=481) on these assignments and qualitative methods to analyze interviews (n=54). Findings suggest that these beginning teachers and their students engaged in "moderate" levels of authentic intellectual work, although this varied widely. The quality of assessments was positively correlated to the quality of student learning. The degree to which teachers fostered authentic learning opportunities is complicated by teachers' beliefs about assessment and student learning and particular contextual factors such as time, accountability frameworks, classroom management, student ability, and content area. Teachers whose goals for learning aligned with authentic intellectual work were more likely to construct more authentic learning opportunities. This dissertation argues that evaluations of teacher performance and student learning must account for the quality of learning and utilize multiple measures of evaluation. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.