LDL Preliminary Exam and Final Dissertation Manuscripts and Presentations
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Learning Design and Leadership Doctoral Program
Learning Module
- Creator(s):
This work includes a compilation of graduates from the Learning Design and Leadership doctoral program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Specific work types include:
For current students looking for examples of previous dissertations, please note the following:
If you have any questions about what your particular manuscript should look like, please send a sample and/or attend a group advising session or request an individual advising to discuss your specific project
Title: Negotiation of Meaning and Comprehension in Audio and Videoconferencing: A Mixed Methods Study
Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of audio- and videoconferencing on intermediate-level Russian language learners’ interaction with a native speaker, specifically in the context of 1) negotiation of meaning, 2) rates of comprehension, and 3) learners’ perceptions of interaction. The research is grounded in the theoretical framework of interaction hypothesis and the sociocultural approach. Initial findings indicate that learners actively and successfully negotiate for meaning both in audio- and videoconferencing with no statistically significant differences in the number of negotiation routines and comprehension rates. The structure of negotiated interaction, quantity, and redundancy of input also revealed many similarities between the two conditions. The notable characteristic of interaction in videoconferencing is observed in the use of non-verbal responses by both native and non-native Russian speakers during most stages of a negotiation routine.
Focus group interviews and questionnaires reveal starkly divided learner views on audio- and videoconferencing. Learners differ in their perceptions of not only the socio-affective but also the pedagogical benefits and drawbacks of each mode.
The study assesses the potential benefits and drawbacks of each condition as a platform for language learner interaction. Areas of future research in the use of audio- and videoconferencing are suggested.
Manuscript: Manuscript not currently available
Title: How to better retain teachers in one-way K-12 language immersion programs
Abstract: Language immersion education is a dream of the 1960s and 70s that has repeatedly found a way to reinvent itself and continue to survive. It not only brings language and culture to classrooms in all corners and cross-sections of society, but it raises the academic capital of the students who are a part of it. Also, as this study aims to promote, it is a part of the fabric of the school, school district to which it belongs, and the greater community of citizens that surrounds it. Very important to that school and overall community are the teachers who dedicate their professional lives to the biliteracy and biculturalism of their students, though it comes with additional costs.
K-12 immersion schools, especially their teachers, are often pulled in many directions. Consequently, the quality of curricular instruction can become suspect at times (Tedick & Young, 2018). Though the legitimacy of these programs is quite obvious in border and multicultural communities where both languages (i.e. Spanish and English) are very prevalent on the streets of the community, the programs face wavering support in places with a more monolingual culture (i.e. the U.S. Midwest, western Canada) (Rocque, 2014). One-way immersion programs are an understudied part of immersion education that has become more prevalent, and this researcher argues, needed around the globe. Hence, the main focus of this research study is on one-way language immersion programs, its talented reservoir of teachers, and the stressors that most affect them and the ability to retain them in immersion education.
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Title: Course design for online art education: A case of the quality matters standards applied to a drawing class
Abstract: This thesis evaluates the Quality Matters rubric standards for improving online drawing courses. Findings include general effectiveness, positive perceptions from faculty, and suggestions for improvement for the Quality Matters standards for designing studio art courses. This study contributes to gaps in the literature about course design techniques for online studio art courses and content specific investigations of the Quality Matters standards. The methods include a case study with a review of student artwork and a questionnaire of key faculty informants. Additionally, this study codes the data for the strengths and weaknesses of Quality Matters. From the coding, a synthesis of the themes that emerged is presented in the section on findings. The salient themes that arose related to the examination are enhanced student experience, emphasis on student learning, quality of student artwork, issues of the design phase, suggestions for the QM standards, faculty perceptions, and technology issues. The concluding chapter answers the main question, 'How effective are the Quality Matters standards for online studio art course design?' offering suggestions for further study and presenting ideas for improvement to the Quality Matters standards.
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Title: Factors that influence students to choose cybersecurity careers: An exploratory study
Abstract: Despite the strong, global demand for talented workers, higher than average salaries, and relatively low education requirements (bachelors degree) for computing fields such as cybersecurity, there continues to be a pipeline issue with graduating enough workers educated in cybersecurity to fill the demand in the United States and globally (Information Security Analysts, 2019; Morgan, 2017). At the same time, while there is significant literature related to factors that influence students to choose STEM careers more generally, there appears to be a lack of literature that addresses factors that influence students to choose a career in cybersecurity. This lack of literature limits our understanding of what interventions and programs may improve the cybersecurity pipeline issue.
This study utilized a mixed-methods case study approach with the goal of providing insight into what factors influenced students in an accredited university cybersecurity program to choose cybersecurity as their career. The study also sought to better understand what aspects of cybersecurity the students found most and least interesting. Twenty-nine new cybersecurity students and 10 information systems students completed a mixed-methods survey, and five faculty at the Midwestern university were interviewed. Key findings suggest strong themes of factors that influence students to choose cybersecurity careers and these students' interests in traditional computing subjects as well as subjects specific to cybersecurity. Differences in influencing factors, interests, barriers, and obstacles amongst female and minority students suggest unique considerations and challenges.
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Title: Multimodal Meaning Making and the Doctoral Dissertation: An Exploration of Academic Forms
Abstract: This study investigates the inclusion and expansion of multimodal research in academic and dissertation writing, exploring how to overcome the challenges and obstacles encountered in the creation of multimodal doctoral dissertations in the field of education. The work starts by looking at multimodality in education in general – trying to understand what is multimodality and its application in the classroom. Next, I look more specifically at the literature related to the use of multimodality in academia and dissertation writing. The literature review reveals a lot of studies on the inclusion of multimodality in K-12 education, and a growing interest in the incorporation of multimodality in college composition classes. However, a gap exists with regards to multimodal scholarship and dissertation writing in particular. The number of successfully defended multimodal dissertations in the field of education is still quite limited and the obstacles preventing the production of multimodal academic work, will be discussed in the findings section of this study.
The theoretical foundations of multimodality are explored, with the inclusion of key scholars and concepts that guide the field and drawing from Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development and Freire's Critical Pedagogy. To gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and difficulties in producing a multimodal dissertation, a case study was conducted with four multimodal dissertations successfully defended in the last ten years in the humanities. Analysis of the interviews and additional university data were used to uncover the challenges and obstacles encountered by the study participants and help provide recommendations for future students who wish to produce a multimodal doctoral dissertation.
This Dissertation can also be viewed at the website: https://www.soniaestima.com, where the reader can watch the embedded videos side-by-side with the text, without leaving the page.
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Title: Student Grouping for Academic Intervention Review and Proposal
Abstract: Since the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) of 2004, students are grouped in a variety of ways based on the least restrictive environment (LRE). The LRE is determined by the best setting for learning influenced by the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Student grouping for appropriate setting occurs within the classroom and for class placement within a school. Within-class grouping considers all students as public education classrooms promote inclusive practices in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Act, 2004. Meaning, students from the first to the 99th percentile can all be in the same general education classroom. Schools and teachers are tasked with accommodating curriculum and instruction to meet the variety of needs of students within one classroom.
MTSS or Multi-Tiered System of Supports helps teachers to determine what student needs are and what interventions should occur to support student learning. Grouping practices vary based on the capacity of the school setting. This thesis seeks to 1) Identify and explain current academic interventions and student grouping practices for these interventions. 2) Provide a conceptualized theory of student grouping practices for academic intervention based on the gaps in the literature. 3) An elucidation of policies and theories through the lens of the researcher's reflective practice; concluding with a proposal for a randomized control trial to test the proposed conceptualized theory of student grouping.
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Title: Teaching and Learning Arabic as a Second Language Online: A Case Study of Dubai During COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract: Enrollment into Arabic as a second language (ASL) in Dubai has increased steadily due to the high influx of expatriates’ populations. Although Arabic is the primary language in Dubai, the government has mandated that Arabic be taught in all private schools for non-native Arabic speakers from grades one to nine. This was at the time when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and it threw this mandated study into the world of teaching and learning via online means. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the teaching and learning of ASL online in Dubai during the COVID-19 pandemic by exploring the role of innovation and technology infusion in teaching ASL, assessing how education stakeholders can motivate students in online learning, and investigating ways of effectively assessing students’ progress in online learning. The study utilized a qualitative case study where ten teachers and ten learners in 20 private schools in Dubai were interviewed, having been selected through the purposively sampling technique for the administration of unstructured interviews. The researcher analyzed the data using thematic analysis.
There were three major findings in this study. First, the adoption of online digital technologies for the teaching and learning of ASL has a positive influence on online teaching. The adoption of such technologies was successfully carried out with the support of capable infrastructure and efforts by the Dubai government, parents, leaders, and teachers of Dubai schools. Second, students are motivated by their parents and teachers for the adoption of online learning techniques where the learning was made interesting, flexible, manageable, autonomous, and generalized. Third, online learning shifted the focus from quantifiable assessment means such as grades, credits, rankings, and markets to the achievement of learning and teaching outcomes and acquiring the needed skills.
The study concluded with recommendations, implications for practitioners, and limitations of the study. It also identified suggestions for future research.
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Title: Empowering Educators: Differentiated Instruction at the Organization Level
Abstract: Differentiated Instruction (DI) is the process where educators modify instruction to play to the students' strengths and learning preferences while meeting their individual needs rather than teaching all students in the same manner. DI allows the educator to change how they deliver content, what content is provided, the learning environment, and how students demonstrate their knowledge (Tomlinson, 2001). Unlike other publications, this dissertation's intent wasn't to create a guide on how to implement DI, as that has been well documented in the literature. Instead, the aim is to empower DI educators by creating an organization that supports and enables both the educators and the organization to succeed. In short, the goal of this dissertation is to answer the following question: How can education administrators support Differentiated Instruction educators through faculty development, incentives, and the use of new technology to improve students' success?
To investigate this question, the author used two different literature search techniques. First, a substantial literature search on Differentiated Instruction teaching and organizational dynamics was conducted. This provided the evidence needed to validate the research question. The second literature review, an integrative review, was performed to determine specific areas where educators and administrators expressed frustration or a need for assistance (Frederiksen & Phelps, 2018; Whittemore & Knafl, 2005). Next, the author investigated Educative Curriculum Materials (ECM), designed to promote both teacher and student learning rather than traditional curriculum materials focused on student learning (Davis & Krajcik, 2005; Beyer & Davis, 2009). Davis and Krajcik's Design Heuristics for Educative Science Curriculum Materials are a common framework for designing ECMs (Davis & Krajcik, 2005). The author transformed these heuristics into the Guiding Principles for Empowering Educators.
The output of this dissertation is a guide titled " Cutting Edge Differentiated Instruction Strategies for Administrators: Supporting Innovation at an Organizational Level," which not only provides a background of differentiated instruction, technology-enabled education, and organization dynamics it also offers high-level initiatives for administrators to empower their educators.
This dissertation concludes by brainstorming future applications of this guide, including improvements, distribution, and creating measures of success for organizations to track their progress.
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Title: Security in a mobile learning environment
Abstract: Mobile devices are rapidly becoming a very popular and convenient means of delivering and consuming learning content worldwide. The rise in popularity is due in part to the technological advancements that mobile devices have made in recent years, along with developments in the online learning platforms and spaces that support mobile learning. Security concerns begin to arise regarding five areas in the mobile learning platform: the user, the mobile device, the wireless connection, the learning management system, and the computer networks that support the processes and environments. These concerns surround the proper training, security methods and best practices, along with continual maintenance and updating of systems and procedures in each of these five categories. Without properly addressing any of these five areas security concerns, it opens the potential for an attack on devices and systems, unauthorized access and/or copying of user data which may be protected under various federal, state, or local laws or statutes, and general system instability which does not support a secure mobile learning environment.
In this mixed methods study, research will be conducted at two research sites in the Chicago area to collect survey data from students, faculty, learning management system administrators, and computer network administrators who use their mobile devices to access their learning content and from learning management administrators and network administrators who support the mobile learning environments at their sites. The research will include online surveys. The data collected will be analyzed to help point towards answers in the question of security in a mobile learning environment that include sub-questions such as do students receive security awareness training, do learning management system administrators take necessary steps to secure their mobile learning environments, and do network administrators take precautions to help ensure a secure mobile learning platform. This will provide information that will help determine how secure mobile learning environments are at the two sites where research is conducted.
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Title: Lifelong Learning In Amateur Chamber Musicians
Abstract: Lifelong learning is essential for adults to adapt to an ever-changing world. It benefits both individuals and society. Lifelong learning includes formal learning that focuses on credentials and informal learning that happens along the way. Measuring this informal learning can be challenging since it is not marked by exams, grades, or credits. This study explores informal lifelong learning in a specific context: the peer-to-peer learning that occurs between amateur chamber musicians. Research on adult music opportunities focuses on nonformal settings such as community bands and group classes. Less attention has been paid to informal lifelong music learning, particularly the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are passed between peer musicians.
This study uses the informal peer learning of amateur chamber musicians to explore what motivates lifelong learners. The literature review begins with background on lifelong learning generally, including a discussion of access and barriers. Next, it narrows to lifelong music learning, focusing on what adult musicians want in their music experiences, what they have access to, and barriers that inhibit participation. This study then examines motivations and benefits for adult community music participation, how musicians learn to play chamber music, specifically, and how their roles as musicians are shaped through informal communities of practice. Finally, this study discusses broader implications and conclusions about informal lifelong learning that can be drawn from the findings.
Dissertation Manuscript: Not available. Contact dissertation advisor.
Title: Invited But Excluded: Examining the Underrepresentation of African American Women and Girls In Stem-Based Fields of Education, and How Historically Black Colleges and Universities are Bridging Tthe Equity Gap
Abstract: This dissertation explores the social, institutional, and structural conditions believed to be at the center of the racial disparities that influence access and participation within secondary and post-secondary environments of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. More specifically, this study investigates the disproportionate underrepresentation of African American women and girls in STEM fields of education, examines how the unique social experience of African American women is compounded by the intersectionality of their racial and gender identity, and investigates how Historically Black Colleges and Universities are making science and technology education more equitable, socially inclusive, and culturally representative of our broader academic society.
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Title: A Qualitative Meta-Analysis of the Impact Translanguaging as a Pedagogical Possibility Has on the Learning Experiences of Adolescent Newcomer Emergent Bilinguals in the United States
Abstract: Today, one in ten students in U.S. classrooms is learning English. A subgroup of these students who are at risk are adolescent newcomer emergent bilinguals. The pedagogical approaches to teach these students have varied from English-Only approaches to bilingual education programs. Within bilingual education, different approaches have also emerged, such as dual language bilingual education programs and, more recently, translanguaging pedagogies. While studies have been conducted to identify, analyze, and further understand translanguaging as a pedagogical possibility in schools in the U.S., their impact on the learning experiences of adolescent newcomer emergent bilingual students represents a gap in the literature.
This study aimed to (1) analyze the evolution of translanguaging as a pedagogical possibility and its impact, if any, on the learning experiences of adolescent newcomer emergent students in the U.S., (2) understand how these students use translanguaging in school, and (3) synthesize what the literature says the social justice implications are, if any, of using translanguaging as a pedagogical possibility when teaching these students. After screening 162 records that met the search criteria for this qualitative meta-analysis, 128 records were identified, assessed, and appraised. A total of 11 records were included and treated as data. They were then analyzed in order to answer the following three research questions: How might translanguaging as a pedagogical possibility impact the learning experiences of adolescent newcomer emergent bilinguals? How do adolescent newcomer emergent bilinguals use translanguaging in school? What does the literature say the social justice implications are, if any, of using translanguaging pedagogies to teach adolescent newcomer emergent bilinguals?
The results of the data analysis found that translanguaging as a pedagogical possibility has a positive impact on the learning experiences of adolescent literate newcomer emergent bilinguals, but it is not enough on its own. Evidence was found that translanguaging, along with multimodal exposures to the content, allowed these students to engage more with it. However, it was also found that the level of literacy of the students was a key factor, particularly with students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) and late entrant students that had been out of school. The lack of literacy skills made it more difficult to engage with the content, even with translanguaging spaces and multimodal exposures to the content. These students also use translanguaging in a variety of ways, which enable them to do more than they would be able to do in the absence of it.
It was also found that there are some social justice implications when using translanguaging pedagogies to teach these students. However, the evidence also shows that translanguaging needs to be strategic, as it isn’t a socially just act on its own.
Preliminary Exam Manuscript
Preliminary Exam Presentation
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Final Dissertation Presentation
Title: Sense Of Community And Peer Review: A Case Study Of A Doctoral Dissertation Experience
Abstract: The traditional doctoral dissertation process can be considered an isolating and challenging experience, but the extent to which this may be true for online-only students is unknown. The objective of the present study was to understand whether participation in peer review activities related to feelings of sense of community in online doctoral students. The relationship between sense of community and peer review assignments was measured using a fully online Doctor of Education program at a large, research-based university in the midwestern United States as the case study. A mixed-methods exploratory, intrinsic case study was deployed using surveys, focus group interviews, and system-captured peer review data. This study demonstrated that sense of community persists while deploying a peer review process for doctoral dissertation students as a part of a peer-to-peer learning model. The present study also revealed certain program and peer review factors as the constitutive elements of sense of community that contribute to a suggested framework of a peer review process for doctoral dissertation students, such as synchronous group advising sessions and peer research groups. Recommendations as a result of the present study also included a focused peer review assignment methodology that establishes an intimate peer learning community that can strengthen students’ sense of community and ultimately their task outcomes.
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Final Dissertation Presentation
Title: High School Instructional Coaches And Their Cultural Impact On Teacher Development
Abstract: Instructional coaching is a model that continues to grow as a form of support for teachers. Instructional coaches provide job-embedded professional learning through one-on-one development and team building. The instructional coaches have an opportunity to influence change in the school through direct relationship building with their teachers. This study focuses on a mixed methods exploration of a theoretical framework designed to improve resiliency, psychological safety, and team performance in a high school.
This study begins with understanding the role of an instructional coaching model and the importance of trust, confidence and team performance. The general study is followed by researching self-determination, self-efficacy, and social learning theories since there is a lack of research regarding how instructional coaches can develop a safe environment that fosters risk-taking and adaptability. As a result of this theoretical research, the researcher created a resource guide for instructional coaches to introduce responsibilities to their teachers to answer the following research question: Can instructional coaches change culture and improve team performance by increasing psychological safety and resiliency with their teachers?
After identifying a high school that recently incorporated the instructional coaching model, the researcher used quantitative and qualitative surveys to analyze the impact of coaching interventions introduced by the resource guide. Those results were cross-referenced with the instructional coaches’ journal entries and unstructured interviews. The research shows that the theoretical framework and logic model, combined with fidelity of implementation of the resource guide, produced significant findings. Specifically, the resource guide is general and adaptable for any school district. School conditions are conducive to fostering resiliency. Increased responsibility does lead to improved psychological safety. Instructional coaching interventions positively impacted teacher sentiment.
This study informs the academic leadership team’s understanding of the teachers’ response to the resource guide. This research identified the importance of collaboration and feedback loops and how essential they were for teacher success. However, it also informed the continued need for team performance. With continued research, the resource guide should validate how the instructional coaching model positively influences student success.
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Title: Exploring Retention Of Career Changers In An Online Library And Information Science Professional Master’S Program: An Exploratory Case Study
Abstract: This dissertation explored the retention of career change Library Science students in an online, professional master’s program. This study specifically examined retention through student motivations for career change, levels of self-regulation, and the deemed usefulness of Student Affairs services. This work explored Library Science career change, adult learner students as well as adding to the insufficient literature on retention of master’s students in an online program. Key informant interviews, content analysis, and student surveys were used in a qualitative, case study. It was found that participants most utilized personalized communications such as emails and appointments followed by on-demand content, such as websites and recorded workshops. Other important factors for adult learner career change student success were community connections and alumni involvement. It is the determination of the researcher that these findings are generalizable to career changer adult learners enrolled in other, synchronous, online, professional masters’ degree programs.
Preliminary Exam Manuscript
Preliminary Exam Presentation
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Final Dissertation Presentation
Title: The Evaluation of a Metacognition Education Intervention Through Dialogic Teaching for the Promotion Of Self-Regulated Learning of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in Deaf Schools
Abstract: A majority of one's education is conducted through informal learning. With the increase in digitization and the use of the Internet, informal learning is becoming a facet of formal learning and adult learning. Learning strategies can be employed to aid students and learners toward a higher degree of achievement in academic or workplace goals. These strategies include metacognition, self-regulated learning, and self-directed learning. These tools are nested entities in that strong metacognitive skills and awareness are important to have strong self-regulated learning skills and effective self-regulated learners are effective self-directed learners. This would imply that in order to have successful lifelong learning, metacognitive strategies are a necessity.
Deaf and hard of hearing people have issues employing metacognitive skills due to being passive learners, having too much external regulation, and other executive functioning issues that stem from hearing loss. The literature reveals self-directed learning is important in adult learning including on-the-job training and developing good managerial skills. The implications from the literature suggests that by increasing metacognitive skills in a formal setting, through means of active learning and scaffolding, Deaf and hard of hearing students can increase the use of metacognition in their learning which could have lifelong applications for academic success.
This study will address the Deaf and hard of hearing students' deficits in metacognition through an educational intervention of dialogic teaching and evaluate the promotion of self-regulated learning.
Final Exam Manuscript
Final Defense Presentation
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Title: The Impact Of Higher Education Institutions On Voter Registration, Education, and Participation of College Students in the 2016 Presidential and 2018 Mid-Term Congressional Elections
Abstract: During both the United States 2016 Presidential Election and the 2018 Mid-term Congressional Election,voter registration and voter participation rates showed significant improvements over previous trends in voters ages 18-29. This study aimedto understandthe variousenvironmental factors, campus features, and educationalinterventions used by colleges anduniversities to determine if any best practicesinfluenced these improvements. Furthermore, this study soughtto determine if there wasany correlation between these environmental factors, campus features, and educational interventions and the varying levels of improvement in the corresponding college or university voter registration rates and/or voter participation rates.
This mixed-mode interpretive researchstudy examinedsecondary data in the form of a comprehensive analysis of existing documents, campus action plans, and voter registration and participation data available through institutional participation in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge programfor the purposes of sharing best practices and creating a theoretical framework. Findings from this study present that someenvironmental factors, campus features, and educational interventions used contributedto increased voter engagement and/or participation rates duringthe 2016 Presidential Election and/or the 2018 Mid-term Election.
Furthermore,their collective impact, crafted together in an intentionally created Campus Action Plan,made a differenceacross the 81 colleges and universities included in this study. This study presents a theoretical framework for a more intentional approachtoCivicLearning and Democratic Engagement work on college and university campuses moving forward. Keywords: civic education, civic engagement, civic learning, civic literacy, democratic education, democratic engagement, democratic learning
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Final Defense Presentation
Title: K-12 Education and the Impact of COVID-19 on Parental Responsibility in Emergency Remote Learning
Abstract: Parents, teachers, and students have changed from the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic however, the implications to K-12 education are yet to be discovered. The objective of this study was to understand the shift in responsibilities in the lives of parents and their roles in the sudden move to virtual learning because of the impact of the pandemic on schools. This dynamic affected communication of parents with teachers and consequently led to the emergency remote learning experiences of students. An interpretative phenomenological, objective qualitative study was conducted to get a deep understanding of this phenomenon. This study thus explored the experiences of 21 respondents: 7 parents, 12 parent/teachers and 2 teachers. It was revealed that teachers believed that the emergency remote teaching/learning context that involved hybrid teaching produced new insights for them as educators and afforded new technological abilities and versatility. Parents reported that they did their best to support their children’s learning with the resources and skills available to them but needed better support with clear communication from teachers and the school system. It was also found that students’ socioemotional situations impacted require immediate action to close academic gaps that emerged, in the emergency online and hybrid contexts. As a result of this study, recommendations include research into the individual needs of parents, teachers, students, and school administrations.
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Title: A Bilingual/L2 Hybrid Intervention Model: Combining Human and Machine Intelligences
Abstract: Most Taiwanese English language learners have been exposed to traditional approaches to acquiring English as a second or foreign language. Studies demonstrate current/traditional teaching practices are not the most effective for struggling English language learners, and the rate of improvement has been limited. Therefore, this study explores current hybrid environments that integrate a combination of advanced computer-assisted technologies that are operated with artificial intelligence technologies to deliver more effective English language teaching, as well as using translanguaging, a current bilingual teaching method, to support the language acquisition process. To push English language teaching and learning to a more effective and efficient level, artificial intelligence-powered tools providing interventional support have been identified as the integral technological innovations to be leveraged with other tools (reading platforms, formative platforms, on-screen share tools, etc.). Specifically, the use of machine translation tools operating with artificial intelligence technologies have been identified in the literature as a vital computer-assisted tool in supporting learners with their English or second language development via translingualism. However, due to the limitations of artificial intelligence in which causality is lacking, machine translation tools operated on artificial intelligence continue to make errors in translation. Therefore, human intervention is needed in facilitating the teaching and learning process by leveraging other intelligent computer-assisted tools, namely writing assistant software and voice recognition/evaluation software, to make the intervention model more effective in the overall language learning process. Hence, combining machine and human intelligences in deploying machine translation tools, as well as other artificial intelligence-operated tools, serves as an integral approach to addressing learning progression limitations and moving the teaching and learning process into a more innovative hybrid zone based on extending the transtheoretical model for hybrid learning in assisting struggling English language learners.
This research will explore how humans can interact with machines by training image-bilingual text translation models via Google's Teachable Machine, as well as utilizing other artificial intelligence-powered tools, namely a writing assistant and a voice recognition or evaluation software, to fill the gaps in current literature regarding integrating intelligent computer-assisted tools for English language learning amongst struggling nonnative English speakers in a hybrid learning environment.
Final Defense Manuscript
Final Defense Presentation
Title: Cultivating Innovation: An Exploration Of Teacher Professional Identity And Innovative Work Behavior In Private Catholic Schools
Abstract: This doctoral dissertation examines the relationship between teacher’s professional identity and innovative work behavior in 21st century Private Catholic schools. This mixed-methods study uses a quantitative validation model which includes scale items measured on a 4-point Likert scale as well as open-ended survey questions which serve as qualitative data to support, negate, verify, and/or further explain quantitative data collected. Using an adapted Teacher Professional Identity Scale derived from validated scales which measure each of the six domains of teacher professional identity that includes items from Geisel et al. (2001); Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, (2001); Hasinoff and Mandzuk (2005); Abu-Alruz and Khasawneh (2013)); Obunadike, (2013); Hanna et al. (2020) and Lambriex-Schmitz et al.’s (2020) Innovative Work Behavior Scale, the researcher examined the relationship between six internal domains of teachers’ professional identity and teachers’ innovative work behavior. Data were analyzed through the lens of Rogers’ (2003) Diffusion of Innovations Theory to determine which internal factors of teachers’ professional identity most influence participants category of innovation adoption as set forth by Rogers (2003).
Upon gaining consent from school leadership, this study surveyed 1275 teachers from 20 Private Catholic schools from Lasallian Districts within the United States. The research outcomes of this study provide insight into ways educational leadership can streamline the diffusion of innovations in educational organizations to meet the needs of both teachers and students in the 21st century.
Understanding teacher identity in relationship to teacher innovative work behavior will assist the leadership decision making processes relating to policy and technological change fostering a higher success rate of both teacher participation and student achievement.
Preliminary Exam Manuscript
Preliminary Exam Presentation
Final Exam Manuscript
Final Exam Presentation
Title: An Exploration Of 21St Century Practices In The Upper Elementary Classroom: How Covid-19 Impacted Implementation
Abstract: The Common Core State Standards require students to showcase their learning through performance standards, yet from the limited literature that is currently available there is not much proof that students have been able to raise to the rigor of these new requirements. Using Ryan and Deci’s self-determination theory, research has shown that when students are offered high levels of autonomy in a supportive learning environment there is more engagement, allowing for deeper conceptual learning, more transference of knowledge to other learning, resulting in a positive effect on achievement, as measured through state standards. Through the use of a mixed-methods explanatory sequential design, the research has found to what degree Illinois educators carry out 21st century practices within their upper elementary classrooms, and how the global COVID-19 pandemic affected this. Further, it has determined what supports are needed to carry out these practices successfully. It offers insights and recommendations for school districts, professional development curators, and teacher preparation programs seeking to design their content and classroom practices in ways that best meet the needs of 21st century educators and learners.
Preliminary Exam Manuscript
Preliminary Exam Presentation
Final Dissertation Manuscript
Final Dissertation Presentation
Title: Class In Session?: A Case Study Exploration Of The X’S And O’S Behind Teaching A Sport And Performance Psychology Course At The High School Level
Abstract: The purpose of this case study was to explore the extent to which an innovative Sport and Performance Psychology course could be designed and implemented effectively at the secondary level for high school student-athletes. The innovative goal of this course was to help student-athletes strengthen their mindset in school and sport by building mental skill in 14 different mental skills like goal-setting, mental toughness, and leadership. It was hypothesized that mental skill development could help address various self-actualization needs within athletic performance and well-being. While there is a growing base of literature in the field of sport psychology, there is a limited amount of literature covering its incorporation in education. In fact, school sport psychology is especially limited at the high school level where very few sport psychology courses are taught.
This dissertation was conducted for the purpose of expanding the literature in teaching sport psychology at the high school level. As a result, the present study designed, implemented, and evaluated an innovative Sport and Performance Psychology course with 21 high school student-athletes who attended a small public high school in the Midwestern United States during the 2020-2021 academic year. The proposed design theory utilized educational and psychological principles found within the literature to create a course anchored in sport and performance psychology concepts. Specifically, humanistic learning theory was used as the main theoretical foundation for pedagogy and Maslow's theory of self-actualization served as the central motivational tenet to inspire student-athletes to become the best version of themselves.
Similarly, cognitive-behavioral theory was used as the main underpinning for curriculum development as Event + Response = Outcome served as the primary cognitive-behavioral system to teach and apply sport and performance psychology concepts. Finally, case study methodology was utilized to examine the effectiveness of this semester-long elective class within building mental skill and addressing self-actualization needs. The performance evidence was gathered using a mixed methods approach, as quantitative and qualitative data was collected through pre- and post-course surveys and participant interviews. Pre-course data included a baseline assessment of mental skill and a needs analysis. Post-course data collection included a final assessment of mental skill and participant feedback on course effectiveness.
Overall, the findings of this dissertation suggested that a Sport and Performance Psychology course could be successfully designed and implemented at the high school level. Specifically, certain curricular and pedagogical elements seemed to be effective at building mental skill and addressing the self-actualization needs of high school student-athletes. Furthermore, an overwhelming majority of participants appreciated the course, reporting a vast array of positive benefits from what they learned. This dissertation thus adds to the existing literature by contributing one of the first published accounts of a high school Sport and Performance Psychology class-in-action. The implications of this study were discussed alongside several suggestions and recommendations for those wishing to incorporate sport psychology at the high school level.
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Title: Women’s Sense of Belonging in Computing Education Amidst A Global Pandemic
Abstract: This descriptive study examined women’s feelings of fit and value in computer science courses amidst the rapid transition to online education necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The qualitative study supplemented previous quantitative research on women’s sense of belonging in computing by deeply exploring the women’s nuanced experiences with gender in face-to-face and online computing education. The findings contribute to educators’ understanding of how best to create inclusive educational environments for women studying computing. Research methods included in-depth, semi-structured interviews and a focus group. Data was coded and analyzed for themes. Women reported experiencing stereotypes about their abilities and microaggressions related to gender, in both face-to-face and online course formats. Validation of their competence, inclusive student communities, and positive interactions with students and professors promoted women’s sense of fit in computing. These findings emphasize the importance of gender-inclusive strategies to promote women’s sense of belonging in computing across course modalities.
Ideals Link: https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/124541
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Title: Smart online language learning modules: An exploration of the potential of advanced digital technologies and artificial intelligence for collaborative language learning utilizing translanguaging and multimodal communication approaches
IDEALS Link: https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/124903
Abstract: This dissertation is a mixed-methods case study that follows design-based and agile research approaches. It investigates pedagogical practices to enhance language learning involving innovative literacy practices, digital tools and peer engagement. More broadly, this study addresses the ways in which, by incorporating advanced digital tools in learning, the language proficiency of students can be extended along with their digital literacy. It proposes a teaching and learning design grounded in the efficient integration of innovative digital tools, in a rich setting of peer language learning and based on a translingual – transpositional – multimodal theoretical framework. The proposed design aims to explore the value of artificial intelligence in educational practice to enhance human-to-human interaction and translingual communication, and to test the efficacy of translanguaging as a pathway for learning to communicate in the contemporary globalized society. An additional objective of the study is the further improvement of the digital tools and their application in language learning classrooms. Thus, the study’s intervention includes activities that utilize multimodality in languages and communicative contexts, as well as in the design of the digital tools. Ultimately, the study intends to explore how state-of-the-art technological advancements like artificial intelligence can assist the goal of translanguaging and multiform transpositions as part of the everyday life, communication, and learning processes of contemporary global digital citizens. In these ways, this dissertation also explores human-technology interaction as an integral part of the contemporary communicative repertoire. Students in this context are encouraged to effectively use digital tools to facilitate multilingual communication in digitally mediated, peer language learning contexts, and by extension to facilitate multimodal meaning-making capacities in their everyday lives. The findings of this study show that the learning design as developed and implemented was a successful learning experience with positive learning outcomes, based on students’ perceptions and their performance scores. Findings suggest that students felt more comfortable in using their holistic communicative repertoire as they familiarized themselves with the use of multiple digital tools in various aspects of the course activities. These tools assisted them to improve their association with digital and online spaces, in general. Furthermore, online interactions among native speaker peers played a fundamental role in making the experience effective and engaging, by contributing both in the enhancement of language acquisition and of the complete learning and social experience of the intervention. Considering the future implementations of the learning design of this study, it was found that the design principles and processes of the course were effective. The findings from this study support the work of second/foreign language learning teachers, educational technology providers and governments to develop more advanced and real-life digital solutions, policies, and instructional schemes with the goal of preparing students to become independent digital learners while also supporting multilingual and multicultural education.
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Title: Comparing Screencast Feedback to Written Feedback in Freshman Composition Courses
Abstract: This dissertation compares the impact of instructor screencast feedback and instructor written feedback on the writing of college students in freshman composition courses. A mixed methods study was used to assess the level of improvement between drafts of essays, the final scores of essays, and the level of improvement over time for both types of feedback. The results of the study indicate that the students who receive screencast feedback score higher on final essay drafts and improve more between drafts than their peers who receive written feedback. Additionally, student and instructor responses to the use of screencast feedback in the study were similar to those found in previous qualitative studies. Some findings were inconclusive, however, and more research is needed on what role factors such as essay genre and repeated use of specific feedback modalities have on student outcomes.
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Title: The Efficacy of District-Based Professional Development for Music Educators
Abstract: Professional development for music teachers is a challenging task for designers of professional development activities. Professional development activities are typically structured to introduce knowledge and skills to improve classroom practice. However, music teachers have a unique set of challenges and skills that are often different from those of their colleagues. Consequently, music teachers often find these in-district activities do not meet their professional development needs (Bauer, 2007; Schneckenburger, 2014; West, 2019).
The purpose of this study was to examine the features of school district-offered professional development for music teachers because those features align with the framework of Desimone et al. (2002) and Knowles (1980). The literature review includes the historical origins and evolution of professional development for K–12 education. The literature review continues with review of studies of aspects of professional development experiences for music teachers in K–12 settings. The study portion of this work was an explanatory sequential mixed methods study. The first phase of the study included a survey administered to current music teachers in the Illinois Music Education Association, and the second phase of the study involved interviewing volunteer participants on their professional development experiences. The results demonstrated music teachers most often seek relevance, collaboration, and content-focused activities in their professional development activities. School providers can meet these needs, particularly if they consider alternatives to typical in-district professional development activities.
Keywords: professional development, music education, music teacher
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Title: Understanding the Efficacy of Online Postsecondary Culinary Arts Education
Abstract: The method of culinary arts education can be traced to ancient times when masters trained apprentices to prepare and present meals. This method of transferring culinary knowledge and skill continues to shape modern culinary arts education, including culinary school. To remain relevant in a changing landscape for higher education, culinary schools must be willing to accept and adopt new, innovative ways to present culinary knowledge and skill to their students. This two-year concurrent triangulation mixed methods study examined three iterations of two online fundamental culinary arts courses, covering history, professionalism, sanitation, knife skills, and cooking methodology.
This study found that Automated Online was the least preferred among students, educators, and accreditors. Students described feeling engaged with the instructor in the courses that offered weekly face-to-face (ZOOM) sessions and promptly responded to text and email correspondence. Culinary school educators overwhelmingly indicated a preference for Synchronous Online courses to better gauge the competencies students are asked to produce or demonstrate. Regardless of modality, engagement and interaction between students and instructors, students and students, as well as students and content are key elements of effective course delivery. Course design that includes regular and substantive interaction may keep students committed, participating, and progressing.
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Title: Measuring Disruption in Higher Education Using the Metaphor of Ecology: A Case Study of Changes to Postsecondary Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract: The novel coronavirus “COVID-19” was first detected in the United States in February 2020, and its effects were immediately felt in many dimensions of public postsecondary education as it faced unprecedented challenges related to instructional continuity resulting from the rapidly increasing risk of COVID-19 exposure to all members of the community. This interpretive case study describes the actions taken by a large, public postsecondary research institution as it reacted to factors that prompted and required operational changes to ensure instructional and operational continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic. While this global health crisis will not likely recur identically in the future, this case study illustrates how different dimensions of teaching and learning were interconnected in the form of an ecological metaphor and were affected during COVID-19's disruption to standard operating procedures with the intention of improving future planning related to instructional support efforts. This case study focuses primarily on instruction and student learning but includes information about changes to physical spaces and technologies used for communication and instruction within the shifting "ecology". Instructional technology support demand patterns are viewed in sync with a timeline of pandemic spread events and communications from federal, state, and local agencies while including secondary, institutional data related to student enrollment, course evaluations, retention, and graduation rates prior to and during the pandemic. The result of this case study is a descriptive narrative that describes a chronology of external changes and their measured impacts on the dimensions within the broader ecology of the university.
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Title: The Efficacy of District-Based Professional Development for Music Educators
Abstract: Professional development for music teachers is a challenging task for designers of professional development activities. Professional development activities are typically structured to introduce knowledge and skills to improve classroom practice. However, music teachers have a unique set of challenges and skills that are often different from those of their colleagues. Consequently, music teachers often find these in-district activities do not meet their professional development needs (Bauer, 2007; Schneckenburger, 2014; West, 2019).
The purpose of this study was to examine the features of school district-offered professional development for music teachers because those features align with the framework of Desimone et al. (2002) and Knowles (1980). The literature review includes the historical origins and evolution of professional development for K–12 education. The literature review continues with review of studies of aspects of professional development experiences for music teachers in K–12 settings. The study portion of this work was an explanatory sequential mixed methods study. The first phase of the study included a survey administered to current music teachers in the Illinois Music Education Association, and the second phase of the study involved interviewing volunteer participants on their professional development experiences. The results demonstrated music teachers most often seek relevance, collaboration, and content-focused activities in their professional development activities. School providers can meet these needs, particularly if they consider alternatives to typical in-district professional development activities.
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Final Defense Presentation
Title: Clinical Suprvision of Physiotherapists in Singapore: A Mixed Methods Exploration
Abstract: Clinical supervision has been a part of physiotherapy for as long as the profession has existed. It is now expected and required by the Allied Health Professions Council (AHPC) of Singapore. Despite this, the clinical supervision of physiotherapists in Singapore has been largely unexamined. Therefore, this study examines the effectiveness of clinical supervision and explores the phenomenon of clinical supervision of physiotherapists and how they perceive and experience clinical supervision as it occurs in Singapore. Pragmatist and constructivist interpretivist epistemological perspectives and a mixed sequential qualitative-dominant status mixed methods research design (quantitative → QUALITATIVE) were used to guide and conduct this study.
Phase 1 of the study generated quantitative data that involved the administration of the Manchester Clinical Supervision Scale© 26-items version (MCSS-26©) survey tool to examine the physiotherapists’ perceived effectiveness of clinical supervision. Of the approximate 1,892 registered physiotherapists, 301 responded to the survey (response rate of 15.9%). Phase 2 of the study generated qualitative data via individual semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 30 physiotherapists who participated in Phase 1 of the study to explore their experiences with clinical supervision and the aspects of supervision they perceived to be effective.
The mean total MCSS-26© survey score was 70 (SD = 10.3; 95% CI [68.8, 71.1]), below the recommended threshold score of 73 for effective clinical supervision. Thus, in general, the clinical supervision received by physiotherapists working in Singapore across different work settings and job designations was perceived to be marginally ineffective. The qualitative interviews revealed that physiotherapists in Singapore perceived clinical supervision was most effective when it focused on addressing their specific learning needs and that physiotherapists preferred supervisory styles that best suited their learning styles and desire for practice autonomy. The challenge of finding time for clinical supervision is consistent with the convergence of both quantitative and qualitative data. A working definition and a conceptual framework for the clinical supervision of physiotherapists were also constructed based on the study’s findings to guide best practices for effective clinical supervision.
To date, this dissertation is the first study to be conducted to explore the phenomenon of clinical supervision of practicing physiotherapists in Singapore. It contributes to the limited extant literature on the clinical supervision of physiotherapists. Consequently, this dissertation adds to the understanding of the place and value of clinical supervision in physiotherapy in Singapore.
Keywords: clinical supervision, physiotherapy, Singapore, mixed methods
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Title: Sources of Professional Knowledge and Their Impact on Teacher Beliefs, Behaviors, and Development of Student Creativity in Art
Abstract: Creativity is a necessary skill to be successful in the 21st century. Many education policymakers around the world include creativity and creative thinking among their learning goals for P-12 students; however, defining, developing, and assessing this multidimensional construct has been challenging. Because art is often conflated with creativity, it is expected that art teachers, more so than teachers of other subjects, would have some knowledge of creativity and how to develop it in students. This study used a mixed methods approach to explore P-12 art teachers’ creativity training, examining the relationship between their sources of professional knowledge, their beliefs about creativity, and their creativity fostering behaviors. The study subjects were a convenience sample of art teachers, recruited from an online forum of a national art education association and representing a wide geographic range in the United States. A total of 43 participants completed an online survey that included measures of their beliefs about teaching for creativity (BATCS), their creativity fostering teacher behaviors (CFTIndex), and their support for creativity in a learning environment (SCALE tool). Three survey participants also participated in follow-up Zoom interviews. Data were analyzed using both descriptive statistical analysis and structural and thematic analysis to determine if there was a relationship between the sources of participants’ training to develop creativity and their creativity-related beliefs and behaviors. Findings showed that the sources of professional knowledge of creativity stemmed primarily from self-directed learning and that undergraduate education was not frequently cited as an important source of learning to develop student creativity. In addition, training to develop one’s personal creativity was positively related to the creativity-fostering beliefs of Desirability and Creative Self-Efficacy and the behaviors of Integration and Learner Engagement. Having professional art-related experiences were also found to be beneficial to helping students cope with frustration. It was also found that teachers with more than 16 years of experience were more likely to have developed both their own and student creativity. This study sheds light on the sources of art teachers’ training to develop student creativity and provides valuable insights into how these sources influence teacher beliefs and behaviors in the classroom. These findings have important implications for art teacher education and licensing practices, which can inform future research and policy decisions.
Keywords: creativity, art teachers, professional training, sources, beliefs, behaviors, self-efficacy, creative self-efficacy
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Title: Enhancing Civic Readiness: A Case Study Exploring the Impact of New Learning on Citizenship Education in a Midwestern High School
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Educators, policymakers, and the general public have expressed concern over the last several decades about U.S. citizens’ insufficient civic knowledge and declining community engagement for the sustainment of a healthy democratic republic. As the focus of education has shifted from fostering good citizens to preparing future workers, the emphasis on civic education has waned. This mixed-methods exploratory, intrinsic case study evaluates the impact of an innovative citizenship education intervention, the Emerging Servant Leaders Program, on ten students in an urban, Midwestern public high school through analysis of surveys, student interviews, and the facilitator’s observation journal to determine whether a combination of traditional and digital pedagogical modes and content increased participants’ civic readiness and civic self-efficacy. Applying an adapted Civic Readiness Survey derived from validated civic readiness survey scales curated by Tedeschi et al. (2021) that included civic attitude (Syvertsen et al., 2015), civic behavior (Flanagan et al., 2007), and civic/political knowledge (Flanagan et al., 2007; Gainous and Martens, 2012), the researcher examines the application of New Learning principles (Kalantzis and Cope, 2012) as a pedagogical bridge between the Dutiful Citizenship and Actualizing Citizenship civic learning styles proposed by Bennett et al. (2009) for their impact on civic readiness. This study offers insights into ways that educational leaders can apply digital affordances and facilitated classroom dialogue to improve civic readiness, encourage more robust participation in the body politic by citizens from disadvantaged backgrounds, and effect a better educated citizenry prepared to engage in the responsibilities of self-rule in a representative democracy.
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Title: Homeschool Facebook Groups as a Homeschooling Support
Abstract: This qualitative exploratory study explored homeschool Facebook groups as a support for homeschooling parents. Although the previous literature examined homeschool supports like curricula, homeschool cooperatives, and community engagement, there was limited research on homeschool Facebook groups as a support. The theoretical framework for this study was Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, being informed by both the Triadic Reciprocal Model and the concept of self-efficacy. The main research question for this study was: In what ways are homeschool Facebook groups a support for homeschooling parents?
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Title: An Investigation of U.S. Army Instructors Providing Feedback Face-to-Face and Online
Abstract: As the United States Army modernizes its institutional learning domain, the shift from traditional face-to-face classroom settings toward online environments requires designers, instructors, and students to evolve. The instructor is the keystone that closes the gap between the content and the learner through instruction and feedback. Early identification of the challenges imposed on instructors by the infrastructure, policy, procedure, training, or generation increases the chances of optimizing the efficiency and effectiveness of the instructor's delivery, presence, and feedback face-to-face or online.
This study utilized a convergent parallel mixed methodology approach to examine how the Community of Inquiry's Teaching Presence and the Transactional Distance Theory's Learner-Instructor Interaction influenced United States Army instructors providing face-to-face and online feedback. Additionally, this study explored how the face-to-face or online environment affected the United States Army instructor's attitudes and perceptions of feedback.
The participants in this study included certified United States Army Officers, Warrant Officers, Noncommissioned Officers, and Department of the Army Civilian (DAC) instructors from a large military installation located in the southeast region of the United States. One hundred thirty-three respondents completed the online survey for the quantitative study, and 13 participants contributed to the focus group discussions.
A side-by-side comparison of the data from both studies displayed the merged findings. The key findings suggest that engagement and instructor presence matter regardless of the learning environment, instructors lack the requisite competencies to facilitate discourse or provide formative feedback effectively, courseware utilized by the instructors was designed summatively with little or no formative feedback cues included, and there were internal and external influences that impact instructor confidence. Additionally, the study also offered evidence that there were course design and equivalency concerns that influenced the instructor's attitudes and perceptions.
Keywords: community of inquiry, convergent parallel mixed-methods, equivalency, feedback, military instructor, transactional distance theory
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Title: The Effectiveness of COVID-19 Signs on a College Campus
Abstract: COVID-19 is a virus that primarily spreads between individuals through close contact and droplets of fluid from sneezing, coughing, and speaking. As COVID-19 continued to spread within the United States, higher education institutions were tasked with promoting the practice of nonpharmaceutical interventions using signs. The Health Belief Model was selected for this study to explore COVID-19 preventative health-related behaviors resulting from the COVID-19 signs. This study focused on COVID-19 signs at a large urban and suburban community college located in a major United States city in Pennsylvania. The purpose of this study was to understand how this institution's COVID-19 signs influenced and promoted the practice of nonpharmaceutical interventions among the employee population. A mixed method explanatory sequential study was conducted using surveys, focus groups, and multimodal social semiotic analysis. The results found that certain COVID-19 signs were more effective than others and there were connections between one's health belief about this virus and sign adherence. The qualitative results found that COVID-19 signs were not only effective reminders but were also identified as effective for corrective actions for non-compliant behaviors. The overall conclusions found that the visual design of the signs impacted the sign's effectiveness; signs were effective in correcting non-compliant behaviors through non-verbal cues; one's health beliefs about COVID-19 affected the practice of nonpharmaceutical interventions, and it was found that static and digital signs are effective based on their use case and for supplementing one another.
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Title: Social Capital and Higher Education Success for First Generation College Students
Abstract: This study examines the ego networks (i.e. personal networks) of first-generation college students who started their first term of college during the AY2021-22 academic year at a private, non-profit, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in an urban setting in the midwestern United States. The dissertation uses Lin’s (1999) definition of social capital: resources embedded in a social network that an actor uses for purposive action and uses Lin’s three phases of social capital: availability of social capital, access to social capital, and activation of social capital as an analytical framework to understand the role of social capital to aid a first-generation college students’ first term success. The study employs a convergent mixed methods (Creswell & Creswell, 2018) and features social network analysis while taking a mixed methods approach to examine the ego networks of 20 first-generation college students. [Information about findings and conclusion to be added later.]
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Title: Information Literacy at the Crossroads: Fake News Influence and Student Behavior
Abstract: Determining the effect of fake news on college students and how to best overcome its influence on them rests squarely upon the success of how effective information literacy instruction has been for students. A review of literature revealed the great extent that fake news has penetrated and permitted digital media in general and social media in particular. That review also suggests that existing information literacy instruction is not effective in overcoming fake news influence. To determine the significance of fake news and the effectiveness of information literacy to combat it, a randomly selected group of college students will be studied using quantitative research methods by way of a structured questionnaire. Higher education librarians will also be studied using qualitative research methods by way of an open-ended questionnaire and follow-up interviews. The object of this study will be to better understand the extent and effectiveness of the information literacy instruction that participants have received. Analysis of those results should provide some guidance in determining what information literacy skills are required in order to adequately equip students to find credible information sources for their own research as well as be better prepared to tackle fake news on social media.
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Title: Reading Online for Research Purposes in a Middle School Science Classroom
Abstract: This dissertation investigated how students made decisions about the value and meaning of multimodal sources as they read online for research purposes. It aimed to shed light on this experience to inform pedagogical practice and add to the growing body of literature on the new literacies practices of students. Reading increasingly takes place online and adolescents are found to be engaged with devices that connect them to these contexts at astonishing rates. Understanding students’ reading practices in such contexts can equip teachers to teach in light of student understanding and prepare students for the literacies skills needed for today’s reading contexts. Through a qualitative, single case study employing think-aloud protocols and screen recordings of seven eighth-grade students in a science class, findings emerged. The findings indicated the online context qualitatively impacted the reading practices of the participating students. As a result of this study, recommendations are made for instructional design that aligns learning outcomes with instructional practices by accounting for the ways the internet can affect the reading process.
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Title: Learner Perceptions in an Online Doctoral Program
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Title: Educational Neuroscience and EFL in Higher Education in Isreal: English Teacher Beliefs in Neuromyths and Their Perceived Impact on Teaching Practices
Abstract: The growing interest in educational neuroscience gave rise to the so-called neuromyths or false beliefs about the brain. While the prevalence of neuromyths among the teachers has been established around the world, the research on the proliferation of neuromyths among English teachers specifically is limited, and non-existent in Israel. The study will use a mixed methods approach to explore the beliefs in neuromyths and their impact on English instruction in higher education in Israel. At the first stage of the study, participants will fill out an online survey. In the second part, key informants will participate in voluntary follow-up interviews. The survey results will be analyzed using a statistical analysis and triangulated with the results of thematic analysis of in-depth interviews. Quantitative and qualitative results will be analyzed, and conclusions will be drawn to further the neuromyths research and help device effective ways to dispel the neuromyths in EFL classrooms.
*To be revised in accordance with the study results.
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Title: Redefining K-12 School Education by Implementing the 'Research Skill Development' Framework Based on Blooom's Taxonomy and Associated Action Words for the Acquisition of 21st-Century Skills
Abstract: Innovations are necessary for achieving improvements in any realm. Saying so means ‘newness is welcome,’ not that old is obsolete. Obtaining approval and support is crucial for the effective implementation of any innovation. The world requires newer strategies to face the evolving global challenges. We need to create abilities in students to meet these. Education, being the backbone of the future, should be consistently innovative in addition to holding on to the already proven old standards. This dissertation examines the effectiveness of educational innovation, the Research Skill Development framework, developed a year back. Bloom’s taxonomy action words, the Indian National education policy 2020, and various 21st-century frameworks are emulated to arrive at the Research Skill Development framework. The framework is thought to successfully teach key 21st-century capabilities to students in Bloom’s way – Old wine in a new bottle. A mixed-method study has been adopted to understand the framework’s effectiveness in acquiring key 21st-century skills, including creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving. The students of one school, the experimental group, have adopted the Research skill development framework for teaching-learning while the students of another school, the control group, have adopted routine content-based teaching-learning. The quantitative experimental analysis involves a comparison of student performances of these two K-12 schools in India. The qualitative analysis involves interviews of teachers from both schools regarding teaching–learning practices and students from both schools regarding their feelings about their education. The qualitative interview findings should reflect and validate the quantitative results.
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Title: Academic Writing Genres and their Relationship to Task Goals and Self-Efficacy in Community College Composition Courses
Abstract: This study examines whether academic writing genres assigned in the community college composition classroom affect student self-efficacy and goal-orientation. The impact of student motivation on success is well documented in the literature, as is the fact that motivation is itself affected by task. However, this study aims to describe the relationship between writing performance task assigned in a required college composition course with cognitive domains and motivational factors as articulated in writing genres, writing goals, and writing self-efficacy in order to ascertain whether academic writing tasks are related to student perceptions of self-efficacy and goal orientation. Guided by social-cognitive theory, the study employs embedded mixed-methods research to qualitatively code instructor assignments in an emergent fashion. Additionally, two quantitative surveys will be used to measure student perceptions with respect to Achievement Goal and Self-efficacy of instructor assignment genres. Surveys will be analyzed for correlation with assignment genre.
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Title: Teacher Union Involvement in the Arizona English for the Children Movement
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Title: The Effects of the Closure of a Private Four-YEar Nonprofit University on Doctor of Education Candidates: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis
Introduction:
There is a growing phenomenon of institutes of higher education closing in the United States of America (NCES, 2021). The phenomenon of institutes of higher education ceasing operations was on the rise before the Covid-19 pandemic because of declining enrollment, financial mismanagement, and demographic changes (Grawe, 2018; Keefe, 2020; Krupnick, 2016; NCES, 2021; Vasquez & Bauman, 2020). The pandemic, with the additional financial complexities wrought, is predicted to be an exacerbating factor in the number of institutes of higher education closing in the next ten to twenty years (Baker et al., 2020). It is estimated that 500,000 students had been affected by campus closures between 2014 and 2018 (Vasquez & Bauman, 2020) with many more set to be affected as the number of institutes of higher education closures accelerates (Hess, 2018; Horn, 2018).
Hegji (2021) has noted that, when institutions close, students are left with a decision of what to do with one option being to transfer to another institution to complete their studies. Jemmott (2021) has noted that, while the experiences of transfer students has been widely studied, these studies have focused on the experiences of students transferring from one institution to another in voluntary vertical or lateral transfers. Additionally, what research there is on the experiences of students transferring to other institutions in the context of institution closure in the literature reviewed focuses on the experiences of undergraduate students. Examples of studies in this context are De Veau’s (2021) study into undergraduate students experiencing the closure of a non-profit four-year institution and Longsdon’s (2018) research into undergraduate students’ experiences of a for-profit master’s degree awarding institution closing. This research has shown mixed outcomes for students in these contexts with some detrimental and some positive experiences noted. This research has also resulted in calls for additional support for students in these contexts.
The research in the current project seeks to expand understanding of the experiences of learners who transfer following the closure of an institution by examining the case of students enrolled in a doctoral program at the time of their institutes closure. The purpose of the project is to understand the experiences of learners enrolled in a doctoral program at a non-profit four-year institute in the Pacific Northwest of the United States of America when their institution announced the closure of the institution necessitating the transfer to an alternative institution. While the experiences of vertical transfer students has been widely researched and undergraduate students experiencing transferring to a teach-out institution after the closure of their institution has been narrowly researched, a search of the literature revealed that little is known of the experiences of doctoral candidates making a forced transfer. Understanding these experiences will thus add to the literature of transfer students in different contexts. The participants in the proposed research are currently in or aiming to obtain leadership roles in education. An understanding of the way institution closure has affected the perspectives of educational leaders can also shed light on the effects these transformative experiences have on their leadership approaches in a world in which such closures are increasingly common. Furthermore, the group of students involved in this study, experienced the disruption of their program yet persisted to graduation. Understanding the motivating factors that made this possible could lead to support and strategies useful to future students in the same position.
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