Matching Items (11)
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- All Subjects: Academic Achievement
- All Subjects: Educational technology
- Creators: Buss, Ray
Description
The use of educational technologies as a tool to improve academic achievement continues to increase as more technologies becomes available to students. However, teachers are entering the classroom not fully prepared to integrate technology into their daily classroom teaching because they have not been adequately prepared to do so. Teacher preparation programs are falling short in this area because educational technology and the role of technology in the classroom is seen as an extra component to daily teaching rather than a central one. Many teacher preparation programs consist of one stand-alone educational technology course that is expected to prepare teachers to integrate technology in their future classrooms. Throughout the remainder of the program, the teachers are not seeing educational technologies modeled in their other core courses, nor are they getting the hands-on interaction necessary to become more confident in using these technologies with their future students. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' views of educational technology in the classroom from those enrolled in a graduate program. The study consisted 74 first- and second-year teachers who were enrolled an alternative teacher preparation program. Thirty-four of the teachers received the Integrating Curriculum and Technology (iCAT) intervention and the remaining 40 teachers were part of the control group. Each teacher completed a pre- and post-intervention questionnaire and 23 of the 74 teachers participated in one of three focus group interviews. Additional data from the teachers' course instructors were gathered and analyzed to compliment the focus group and quantitative data. Results showed that iCAT participants' scores for confidence in using technology and efficacy for using educational technology increased at a faster rate than the control group participants' scores. Similarly, confidence in using technology, perceptions about integrating technology in the classroom, and efficacy for using educational technology could be predicted by the amount of hands-on interaction with technology that the teachers received during their graduate course. The discussion focuses on recommendations for infusing technology throughout teacher preparation programs so that teachers have the tools to prepare their students to use a variety of technologies so that their students can be better prepared to complete in today's workforce.
ContributorsKisicki, Todd (Author) / Wetzel, Keith (Thesis advisor) / Bitter, Gary (Thesis advisor) / Buss, Ray (Committee member) / Savenye, Wilhelmina (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Expectation for college attendance in the United States continues to rise as more jobs require degrees. This study aims to determine how parental expectations affect high school students in their decision to attend college. By examining parental expectations that were placed on current college students prior to and during the application period, we can determine the positive and negative outcomes of these expectations as well as the atmosphere they are creating. To test the hypothesis, an online survey was distributed to current ASU and Barrett, Honors College students regarding their experience with college applications and their parents' influence on their collegiate attendance. A qualitative analysis of the data was conducted in tandem with an analysis of several case studies to determine the results. These data show that parental expectations are having a significant impact on the enrollment of high school students in college programs. With parents placing these expectations on their children, collegiate enrollment will continue to increase. Further studies will be necessary to determine the specific influences these expectations are placing on students.
ContributorsJohnson, Benjamin Howard (Co-author) / Scheller, Sara (Co-author) / Kappes, Janelle (Thesis director) / Fairbanks, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Expectation for college attendance in the United States continues to rise as more jobs require degrees. This study aims to determine how parental expectations affect high school students in their decision to attend college. By examining parental expectations that were placed on current college students prior to and during the application period, we can determine the positive and negative outcomes of these expectations as well as the atmosphere they are creating. To test the hypothesis, an online survey was distributed to current ASU and Barrett, Honors College students regarding their experience with college applications and their parents' influence on their collegiate attendance. A qualitative analysis of the data was conducted in tandem with an analysis of several case studies to determine the results. These data show that parental expectations are having a significant impact on the enrollment of high school students in college programs. With parents placing these expectations on their children, collegiate enrollment will continue to increase. Further studies will be necessary to determine the specific influences these expectations are placing on students.
ContributorsScheller, Sara Matheson (Co-author) / Johnson, Benjamin (Co-author) / Kappes, Janelle (Thesis director) / Fairbanks, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Dual language use is thought to afford certain cognitive advantages to bilingual children and may function as an additional resource to help low-income Mexican-American children achieve academically. Emotion regulation and executive functioning (e.g., inhibition) have been found to be particularly important in studies investigating pathways to early academic achievement. Understanding how we can capitalize on children’s bilingual abilities to strengthen their executive functioning and emotion regulation, or to offset problems in these domains, may be important to promote better educational outcomes and inform policy. Thus, the current study investigated the relation between emerging bilingualism, inhibition, emotion regulation, and academic achievement across early childhood in sample of 322 low-income, Mexican-American children. Data were collected in a laboratory space at child ages 36-, 54-, and 72-months. Bilingualism was indexed as the interaction of Spanish and English vocabulary, and a mediated moderation model was examined. Results provided further evidence that inhibition positively predicts academic achievement during early childhood. Greater Spanish language vocabulary indirectly predicted academic achievement while controlling for English language vocabulary, suggesting that children from immigrant families may benefit from maintaining their Spanish language abilities as they begin to immerse themselves in an English-speaking classroom. Advancing our understanding of the development of self-regulatory abilities within bilingual, immigrant populations could have significant implications for educational policy.
ContributorsWinstone, Laura K (Author) / Crnic, Keith (Thesis advisor) / Gonzales, Nancy (Committee member) / Benitez, Viridiana (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Purpose: The goal of this study was to examine how vocabulary size and inhibitory control affect word learning in bilingual (English-Spanish) children with hearing loss. Experiment 1 examined whether children with larger vocabularies learn and retain more words than children with smaller vocabularies. Experiment 2 examined whether children with better inhibitory control learn and remember more words than children with poorer inhibitory control. In addition, monolingual and bilingual children with and without hearing loss were compared on word learning and inhibitory control tasks.
Method: Seventy-three children between 8 and 12 years of age participated in the study. Forty children had normal hearing (20 monolingual and 20 bilingual) and 33 had hearing loss (20 monolingual and 13 bilingual). For Experiment 1, children completed a receptive vocabulary test in English and Spanish and three word learning tasks consisting of a training and a retention component in English, Spanish, and Arabic. For Experiment 2, children completed the flanker task for inhibitory control.
Results: In Experiment 1, larger total (English + Spanish) receptive vocabularies were predictive of better word training outcomes in all languages and better Spanish word retention, after controlling for age, degree of hearing loss, and maternal education. Children with hearing loss performed more poorly in Spanish and Arabic word training and retention than children with normal hearing. No differences were observed between children with normal hearing and hearing loss in English word learning. In Experiment 2, inhibitory control only predicted English retention outcomes. Children with hearing loss showed poorer inhibitory control than hearing peers. No differences were observed between monolingual and bilingual children, with and without hearing loss, in word learning or inhibitory control.
Conclusions: Language experience (measured by total vocabulary size) helps children learn new words and therefore children with hearing loss should receive well-fitted hearing aids and school accommodations to provide them with access to spoken language. Bilingual exposure does not impair nor facilitate word learning. Bilingual children showed similar difficulties with word learning and inhibitory control as monolingual peers with hearing loss. Hearing loss, probably via language deprivation, has broad effects on children’s executive function skills.
Method: Seventy-three children between 8 and 12 years of age participated in the study. Forty children had normal hearing (20 monolingual and 20 bilingual) and 33 had hearing loss (20 monolingual and 13 bilingual). For Experiment 1, children completed a receptive vocabulary test in English and Spanish and three word learning tasks consisting of a training and a retention component in English, Spanish, and Arabic. For Experiment 2, children completed the flanker task for inhibitory control.
Results: In Experiment 1, larger total (English + Spanish) receptive vocabularies were predictive of better word training outcomes in all languages and better Spanish word retention, after controlling for age, degree of hearing loss, and maternal education. Children with hearing loss performed more poorly in Spanish and Arabic word training and retention than children with normal hearing. No differences were observed between children with normal hearing and hearing loss in English word learning. In Experiment 2, inhibitory control only predicted English retention outcomes. Children with hearing loss showed poorer inhibitory control than hearing peers. No differences were observed between monolingual and bilingual children, with and without hearing loss, in word learning or inhibitory control.
Conclusions: Language experience (measured by total vocabulary size) helps children learn new words and therefore children with hearing loss should receive well-fitted hearing aids and school accommodations to provide them with access to spoken language. Bilingual exposure does not impair nor facilitate word learning. Bilingual children showed similar difficulties with word learning and inhibitory control as monolingual peers with hearing loss. Hearing loss, probably via language deprivation, has broad effects on children’s executive function skills.
Contributorsde Diego Lazaro, Beatriz (Author) / Pittman, Andrea L (Thesis advisor) / Restrepo, María A (Thesis advisor) / Benitez, Viridiana (Committee member) / Wilkens, Natalie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Over the past 25 years, efforts have been made to integrate technology into teaching and learning. In particular, the personalized learning approach has sought to leverage technology to deliver instruction that is adaptive to the learner and personalized learning environments were used as tools in tailoring instruction to match learner needs. Typically, personalized instruction has been delivered using technology, such as the computer. However, little research has focused on using personalized learning as a tool for remediation. The goal of this study was to empirically investigate the efficacy of personalized learning in Algebra as a remediation tool. This study used a mixed-methods approach to analyze satisfaction with the learning environment, perception of and attitudes toward the content being delivered, and the reported overall experience and the personalized experience in the context of two versions of a computer-based multimedia Algebra learning environment. A total of 117 high school students in grades 10 through 12 participated on a voluntary basis. They had previously taken an introductory Algebra course and were now enrolled in a different math course. The students were assigned to one of two conditions: (a) the computer-based multimedia learning environment on the personalized learning platform known as Personalized Learning and (b) the same learning environment without the Personalized Learning platform. In addition to completing a pre- and post-test, participants were administered attitudinal surveys. Results indicated no knowledge gains in either group at the post-test assessment. Further, analyses by gender and race also did not reveal any significant differences among the groups. However, survey results indicated one significant finding: the students exposed to the personalized learning environment had more positive perceptions towards personalized learning than towards the overall experience with the learning environment.
Implications for these results and further goals for this line of research are discussed in greater detail within the context of personalized learning, user experience, and social aspects of learning. This work also provides opportunities in helping educators choose adequate tools for teaching and delivering instruction tailored to learners’ needs.
Implications for these results and further goals for this line of research are discussed in greater detail within the context of personalized learning, user experience, and social aspects of learning. This work also provides opportunities in helping educators choose adequate tools for teaching and delivering instruction tailored to learners’ needs.
ContributorsSavio-Ramos, Caroline Andrea (Author) / Bitter, Gary G. (Thesis advisor) / Buss, Ray (Committee member) / Legacy, Jane (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Public Mathematics Education is not at its best in the United States and technology is often seen as part of the solution to address this issue. With the existence of high-speed Internet, mobile technologies, ever-improving computer programming and graphing, the concepts of learning management systems (LMS’s) and online learning environments (OLE’s), technology-based learning has elevated to a whole new level. The new generation of online learning enables multi-modal utilization, and, interactivity with instant feedback, among the other precious characteristics identified in this study. The studies that evaluated the effects of online learning often measured the immediate impacts on student achievement; there are very few studies that have investigated the longer-term effects in addition to the short term ones.
In this study, the effects of the new generation Online Learning Activity Based (OLAB) Curriculum on middle school students’ achievement in mathematics at the statewide high-stakes testing system were examined. The results pointed out that the treatment group performed better than the control group in the short term (immediately after the intervention), medium term (one year after the intervention), and long term (two years after the intervention) and that the results were statistically significant in the short and long terms.
Within the context of this study, the researcher also examined some of the factors affecting student achievement while using the OLE as a supplemental resource, namely, the time and frequency of usage, professional development of the facilitators, modes of instruction, and fidelity of implementation. While the researcher detected positive correlations between all of the variables and student achievement, he observed that school culture is indeed a major feature creating the difference attributed to the treatment group teachers.
The researcher discovered that among the treatment group teachers, the ones who spent more time on professional development, used the OLE with greater fidelity and attained greater gains in student achievement and interestingly they came from the same schools. This verified the importance of school culture in teachers’ attitudes toward making the most of the resources made available to them so as to achieve better results in terms of student success in high stakes tests.
In this study, the effects of the new generation Online Learning Activity Based (OLAB) Curriculum on middle school students’ achievement in mathematics at the statewide high-stakes testing system were examined. The results pointed out that the treatment group performed better than the control group in the short term (immediately after the intervention), medium term (one year after the intervention), and long term (two years after the intervention) and that the results were statistically significant in the short and long terms.
Within the context of this study, the researcher also examined some of the factors affecting student achievement while using the OLE as a supplemental resource, namely, the time and frequency of usage, professional development of the facilitators, modes of instruction, and fidelity of implementation. While the researcher detected positive correlations between all of the variables and student achievement, he observed that school culture is indeed a major feature creating the difference attributed to the treatment group teachers.
The researcher discovered that among the treatment group teachers, the ones who spent more time on professional development, used the OLE with greater fidelity and attained greater gains in student achievement and interestingly they came from the same schools. This verified the importance of school culture in teachers’ attitudes toward making the most of the resources made available to them so as to achieve better results in terms of student success in high stakes tests.
ContributorsMeylani, Rusen (Author) / Bitter, Gary G. (Thesis advisor) / Legacy, Jane (Committee member) / Buss, Ray (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
This study explores teacher educators' personal theories about the instructional practices central to preparing future teachers, how they enact those personal theories in the classroom, how they represent the relationship between content, pedagogy, and technology, and the function of technology in teacher educators' personal theories about the teaching of mathematics and their practices as enacted in the classroom. The conceptual frameworks of knowledge as situated and technology as situated provide a theoretical and analytical lens for examining individual instructor's conceptions and classroom activity as situated in the context of experiences and relationships in the social world. The research design employs a mixed method design to examine data collected from a representative sample of three full-time faculty members teaching methods of teaching mathematics in elementary education at the undergraduate level. Three primary types of data were collected and analyzed:
a) structured interviews using the repertory grid technique to model the mathematics education instructors' schemata regarding the teaching of mathematics methods; b) content analysis of classroom observations to develop models that represent the relationship of pedagogy, content, and technology as enacted in the classrooms; and c) brief retrospective protocols after each observed class session to explore the reasoning and individual choices made by an instructor that underlie their teaching decisions in the classroom. Findings reveal that although digital technology may not appear to be an essential component of an instructor's toolkit, technology can still play an integral role in teaching. This study puts forward the idea of repurposing as technology -- the ability to repurpose items as models, tools, and visual representations and integrate them into the curriculum. The instructors themselves became the technology, or the mediational tool, and introduced students to new meanings for "old" cultural artifacts in the classroom. Knowledge about the relationships between pedagogy, content, and technology and the function of technology in the classroom can be used to inform professional development for teacher educators with the goal of improving teacher preparation in mathematics education.
a) structured interviews using the repertory grid technique to model the mathematics education instructors' schemata regarding the teaching of mathematics methods; b) content analysis of classroom observations to develop models that represent the relationship of pedagogy, content, and technology as enacted in the classrooms; and c) brief retrospective protocols after each observed class session to explore the reasoning and individual choices made by an instructor that underlie their teaching decisions in the classroom. Findings reveal that although digital technology may not appear to be an essential component of an instructor's toolkit, technology can still play an integral role in teaching. This study puts forward the idea of repurposing as technology -- the ability to repurpose items as models, tools, and visual representations and integrate them into the curriculum. The instructors themselves became the technology, or the mediational tool, and introduced students to new meanings for "old" cultural artifacts in the classroom. Knowledge about the relationships between pedagogy, content, and technology and the function of technology in the classroom can be used to inform professional development for teacher educators with the goal of improving teacher preparation in mathematics education.
ContributorsToth, Meredith Jean (Author) / Middleton, James (Thesis advisor) / Sloane, Finbarr (Committee member) / Buss, Ray (Committee member) / Atkinson, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This paper addresses a local problem of practice at Arizona State University regarding the support for potentially underprepared students. The overarching goal of this study was to better understand the role rapport plays in student achievement. This study examines how the LEAD Project (Learn, Explore, Advance, Design), in particular student relationships with instructors and their peers, may or may not influence student achievement. LEAD students complete three courses as a group – Introduction to Human Communication (COM 100), Critical Reading and Thinking (UNI 110), and The LEAD Project (ASU 150). The innovation was designed to give students the opportunity to build relationships with their instructors and with each other, so class sizes are limited to 40 students. Additionally, instructors work together outside of class to develop curriculum, instructional plans, and how to best support individual students.
Guiding literature for this study included Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as well as related studies (Deci & Flaste, 1995). This theory describes human motivation as a factor of the extent to which one feels autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Though relevant in many contexts, past researchers used SDT as a tool for understanding students’ motivation to learn (Black & Deci, 2000; Freiberger, Steinmayr, & Spinath, 2012; Reeve & Jang, 2006).
The study used a concurrent mixed-method action research design including interviews, questionnaires, and institutional data. Over 400 first-year students participated in the study. Students shared their perceptions of their rapport with their instructors and peers, and their perceived learning in each of the three LEAD courses.
Data were analyzed using correlation and linear regression approaches. Significant relations occurred between many instructor-student rapport scales, peer rapport, perceived learning, and course grades. Additionally, instructor-student rapport scales significantly predicted perceived learning.
Qualitative and quantitative findings were aligned with each other, and were consistent with previous studies. This study advances the body of knowledge about instructor-student rapport by extending the findings around its role in student achievement. Results also suggested the need to further explore the role of peer rapport and its influence on student achievement. Results from the study show instructor-student rapport was mediators of student achievement.
Guiding literature for this study included Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as well as related studies (Deci & Flaste, 1995). This theory describes human motivation as a factor of the extent to which one feels autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Though relevant in many contexts, past researchers used SDT as a tool for understanding students’ motivation to learn (Black & Deci, 2000; Freiberger, Steinmayr, & Spinath, 2012; Reeve & Jang, 2006).
The study used a concurrent mixed-method action research design including interviews, questionnaires, and institutional data. Over 400 first-year students participated in the study. Students shared their perceptions of their rapport with their instructors and peers, and their perceived learning in each of the three LEAD courses.
Data were analyzed using correlation and linear regression approaches. Significant relations occurred between many instructor-student rapport scales, peer rapport, perceived learning, and course grades. Additionally, instructor-student rapport scales significantly predicted perceived learning.
Qualitative and quantitative findings were aligned with each other, and were consistent with previous studies. This study advances the body of knowledge about instructor-student rapport by extending the findings around its role in student achievement. Results also suggested the need to further explore the role of peer rapport and its influence on student achievement. Results from the study show instructor-student rapport was mediators of student achievement.
ContributorsVawter, Katherine (Author) / Kulinna, Pamela (Thesis advisor) / Buss, Ray (Committee member) / Potts, Shelly (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Students at High Achieving Schools (HASs) have recently been identified as an at-risk population, and excessive pressure to excel is considered the cause of this maladjustment. However, the specific aspects of pressure that lead to these outcomes have yet to be comprehensively explored. In two schools, one public and one independent, this study examined multiple constructs potentially implicated: feelings of pressure to succeed from different sources (parents, teachers, coaches, the self, and friends) and total felt pressure. Also considered are dimensions of being overextended across commitments, including hours of sleep, homework, and levels of associated strain and enjoyment. These indices were all examined in relation to adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing symptoms, as well as feelings of disengagement with school, after controlling for attachment to both parents. Results showed that total felt pressure, and pressure felt from the self, were most notably related to internalizing symptoms and disengagement with school. Additionally, strain from commitments showed unique links with depression, anxiety, and negative feelings about school. Finally, enjoyment from different commitments showed robust links with feelings about school. Overall, the different pressure predictors showed sporadic links with externalizing behaviors and substance use. Findings are discussed in terms of directions for interventions as well as future research with HAS populations.
ContributorsBenoit, Renee, L (Author) / Luthar, Suniya (Thesis advisor) / Infurna, Frank (Committee member) / Benitez, Viridiana (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019