Matching Items (3)
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- All Subjects: Action research in education
- All Subjects: Agile software development
- Creators: Johnson, Melissa
- Creators: Carter, Heather
Description
Honors colleges have offered an academically rigorous option for growing numbers of diverse students. This study took place at a large, public university that required undergraduate students to complete a thesis to graduate from the honors college. In 2017, 97% of students who began the honors thesis prior to senior year completed it. Thus, the aim of this study was to help more students begin the honors thesis process early.
Thesis Launch was a six-week intervention that was designed to provide support for students in the critical early steps of thesis work such as brainstorming topics, examining professors’ research interests, reaching out to professors, preparing for meetings with potential thesis committee members, and writing a thesis prospectus. Thesis Launch offered web-based resources, weekly emails and text message reminders, and was supplemented by in-person advising options.
A mixed methods action research study was conducted to examine: (a) students’ perceptions of barriers that prevented beginning thesis work; (b) self-efficacy towards thesis work; (c) how to scale the intervention using technology; and (d) whether participants began the thesis early. Quantitative data was collected via pre- and post-intervention surveys, journals, and prospectus submissions. Qualitative data came from student interviews, journals, and open-ended questions on the surveys.
Quantitative data showed that after students participated in Thesis Launch, they had higher self-efficacy to work with professors, perceived fewer barriers to thesis work, and greater proportions of students began thesis work early. The qualitative data were complementary and showed that participants overcame barriers to thesis initiation, built self-efficacy, preferred an online intervention, and began thesis work early. Findings also showed that a primarily technology-based intervention was preferred by students and showed promise for scaling to a larger audience.
Thesis Launch provided a framework for students to begin work on the honors thesis and have mastery experiences to build self-efficacy. Strategies that fostered “small wins” and reflective efforts also assisted in this aim. Participants accomplished tasks tied to thesis work and customized their personal thesis timelines based on work begun during Thesis Launch. Finally, a discussion of limitations, implications for practice and research, and personal reflection was included.
Thesis Launch was a six-week intervention that was designed to provide support for students in the critical early steps of thesis work such as brainstorming topics, examining professors’ research interests, reaching out to professors, preparing for meetings with potential thesis committee members, and writing a thesis prospectus. Thesis Launch offered web-based resources, weekly emails and text message reminders, and was supplemented by in-person advising options.
A mixed methods action research study was conducted to examine: (a) students’ perceptions of barriers that prevented beginning thesis work; (b) self-efficacy towards thesis work; (c) how to scale the intervention using technology; and (d) whether participants began the thesis early. Quantitative data was collected via pre- and post-intervention surveys, journals, and prospectus submissions. Qualitative data came from student interviews, journals, and open-ended questions on the surveys.
Quantitative data showed that after students participated in Thesis Launch, they had higher self-efficacy to work with professors, perceived fewer barriers to thesis work, and greater proportions of students began thesis work early. The qualitative data were complementary and showed that participants overcame barriers to thesis initiation, built self-efficacy, preferred an online intervention, and began thesis work early. Findings also showed that a primarily technology-based intervention was preferred by students and showed promise for scaling to a larger audience.
Thesis Launch provided a framework for students to begin work on the honors thesis and have mastery experiences to build self-efficacy. Strategies that fostered “small wins” and reflective efforts also assisted in this aim. Participants accomplished tasks tied to thesis work and customized their personal thesis timelines based on work begun during Thesis Launch. Finally, a discussion of limitations, implications for practice and research, and personal reflection was included.
ContributorsEardley, Trisha Lynn (Author) / Buss, Ray (Thesis advisor) / Henderson, Mark (Committee member) / Johnson, Melissa (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Teacher candidates completing their senior year student teaching practicum as part of the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University are expected to graduate as professional, high-quality teachers who are classroom-ready and dedicated to the profession. One lacking component of the program is the opportunity for teacher candidates to have personalized learning experiences that develop professional teacher identity in addition to the development of enhanced teaching skills. To address this, an intervention of an Action Research Project (ARP) was added to the final semester of the student teaching practicum. The goal of the project was to increase professional teacher identity, which would lead to increased teaching practices and a more favorable outlook on real-world problem solving in teaching elementary students.
This mixed methods action research study included data collection methods to measure how integrating action research into a cohort-based student teaching experience improved teacher candidates’ teaching practices, how it affected their professional teacher identity and how they perceived the project contributed to the formation of their professional teacher identity. Frameworks that guided the study included principles from the Theory of Self-Organized Learning and Social Identity Theory.
The participants of the study were seven teacher candidates completing their student teaching experience in an Arizona school district. Data gathered included teacher evaluation scores, results from a “Teacher Candidate Experience Questionnaire,” narratives collected from Teacher Learning Conversations and written responses on a Final Reflection.
Results suggested that teacher candidates’ teaching scores either slightly improved or stayed the same following the intervention. Professional teacher identity increased through the integration of the project, while student identity decreased. Through narratives collected from the participants, observations of other teachers and classrooms emerged as the most impactful component of the intervention. Participants perceived that observations contributed to their growth as teachers by providing exposure to more diverse situations, prompting them to feel engaged and inspired, encouraging high expectations and fostering ways for them to make personal connections. Observing in other classrooms did not always provide the examples and structures the participants had hoped for, yet this disappointment also added value to their growth as teachers.
This mixed methods action research study included data collection methods to measure how integrating action research into a cohort-based student teaching experience improved teacher candidates’ teaching practices, how it affected their professional teacher identity and how they perceived the project contributed to the formation of their professional teacher identity. Frameworks that guided the study included principles from the Theory of Self-Organized Learning and Social Identity Theory.
The participants of the study were seven teacher candidates completing their student teaching experience in an Arizona school district. Data gathered included teacher evaluation scores, results from a “Teacher Candidate Experience Questionnaire,” narratives collected from Teacher Learning Conversations and written responses on a Final Reflection.
Results suggested that teacher candidates’ teaching scores either slightly improved or stayed the same following the intervention. Professional teacher identity increased through the integration of the project, while student identity decreased. Through narratives collected from the participants, observations of other teachers and classrooms emerged as the most impactful component of the intervention. Participants perceived that observations contributed to their growth as teachers by providing exposure to more diverse situations, prompting them to feel engaged and inspired, encouraging high expectations and fostering ways for them to make personal connections. Observing in other classrooms did not always provide the examples and structures the participants had hoped for, yet this disappointment also added value to their growth as teachers.
ContributorsAbrams, Toya Boudreaux (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth B (Thesis advisor) / Carter, Heather (Committee member) / Schenk, Matthew (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Most redesigns involve exhaustive plans, dense reports, and thorough documentation of site requirements. When the website is perfected, this brand-new site is rolled out to users. This is often a lengthy process. The principals of Agile development champion interactions over processes, working software over comprehensive documentation and responding to change over following a plan. These methods encourage small, iterative changes on a rapid development and delivery cycle. This allows developers to respond to needs more quickly and decreases the cognitive load on users while allowing them to more easily adapt to change. Get tips for making a case for library websites to adopt Agile practices —small improvements through iterative changes allow users to adapt and increase user satisfaction.
ContributorsAllgood, Tammy (Author) / Johnson, Melissa (Author)
Created2014-10-27