3543 research outputs found
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A Phenomenological Study: The Lived Experiences of Females Enrolled in Nontraditional Programs in Career and Technical Education
No full textThe purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of female graduates of nontraditional programs of study in career and technical education to better understand how their experiences influenced their career choices. A total of 11 female graduates from the same career and technical center located in rural, Southwestern Pennsylvania were selected to represent the population for this study. Lent, Brown, and Hackett’s (1994) Social Cognitive Career Theory was applied to examine how personal, behavioral, and environmental factors work together to influence an individual’s career choices. Data collection for this study featured semi-structured interviews with all participants, participants’ personal artifacts, and the researcher’s field notes. The four factors that were examined through data collection included the availability and presence of female role models, familial influence, gender roles and stereotypes, and self-efficacy. Following data collection, the participants’ responses were coded and organized into six themes: increased self-efficacy, bullied by male peers, need to prove oneself, lack of female role models in nontraditional occupations, familial influence, and not being challenged by their instructors. The emerging themes provided a foundation for how to better support female students enrolled in nontraditional programs of study in career and technical education. The findings from this study could be shared with career and technical education administrators as they strive to increase nontraditional participation and completion rates in qualifying programs of study
Perspectives of Adult Learners and Faculty on Technology Integration and Student Achievement Levels
No full textThe purpose of the study was to develop an understanding of how adult learners and faculty perceive the integration of technology to affect the academic achievement level of the adult learner. The following two research questions guided the study: RQ 1: How do adult learners and faculty, at a community college located in Southeastern North Carolina, perceive technology integration affecting the academic achievement of the adult learner? RQ 2: How do faculty and adult learners, at a community college located in Southeastern North Carolina, perceive technology integration contributing to developing interactive and educational learning environments? The constructivism theory and the TPACK (Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge) model were the theoretical foundations for the study. There were fourteen students and six faculty participants in the study. Evidence was generated using three forms of data collection to include face-to-face student interviews, a student focus group, and a faculty focus group. The researcher analyzed and coded each data source to determine the participants’ perceptions toward the research questions. The findings of the study indicated the participants perceived technology integration to have no overall effect on academic achievement. However, the participants did perceive there to be a positive effect on student interest, engagement, and confidence when technology is effectively integrated into the academic classroom
Epiphany 2 Series C 2019
No full textThis PDF comments on the Propers for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Series C and offers ideas for proclamation and preaching
Epiphany 4 Series C 2019
No full textThis PDF comments on the Propers for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Series C and offers ideas for proclamation and preaching
First-Year Postsecondary Reading Comprehension: Case Study of Student Perceptions
No full textThe intention of this qualitative study was to investigate the reading comprehension strategies that first-year postsecondary students use for comprehending complex college-level text and their perception of their reading efficacy of academic texts. This is significant because there are students entering higher education without the necessary skills to succeed in reading college-level text. The research design was an exploratory case study. Research participants are first-year college students from a rural, open enrollment, public, Midwestern institution. The researcher seeks to examine first-year college students’ perceptions of the strategies that they use to read and understand their college textbooks and materials and their efficacy in comprehending their textbooks and materials. The researcher utilized repeated semistructured and open-ended interviews as a way to develop a deeper understanding of the students’ experience. The goal was to understand current college students’ realities as they used reading strategies to comprehend complex text. The data were analyzed utilizing descriptive and In Vivo coding. Through the interviews the data confirmed 15 themes: ways students feel they are better readers, ways students read difficult material, what students understand during reading, what students understand following/after reading, how students learn material, connections students make while reading text, student reading experiences, ways students segment their reading, steps students use to read text, strategies students use to learn text, how students feel textbooks are useful, types of text that students read, when do students read, with whom do students read, and professor strategies to help students with text
The Lived Experiences of General and Special Education Teachers When Implementing Personalized Learning: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study
No full textCurrently, in the state of Illinois, over two million students are enrolled in public schools. Despite the implementation of Common Core State Standards, only 34% of those students are ready for the next academic level (Illinois Report Card, 2018b). Current research indicates that general education teachers who implemented personalized instruction met all students’ needs. To provide background information on personalized instruction, the conceptual framework of this study used the work of Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences. The researcher gathered data from initial and follow-up interviews, and reflective journals. The researcher employed the use of the interpretive and inductive methods to analyze the data. The primary themes of the findings include: comparing effective and ineffective instructional features, critical need for personalized education, levels of knowledge and understanding, motivation to move away from traditional methods, stimulating-mainting interest and motivation, friendliness of implementation and management, major barriers, beliefs about teaching content without personalized learning, effectiveness when integrated into normal routines, journal observations and insights and enhancing achievement. The recommendation of this study is to create a personalized instruction committee comprised of both general and special educators to design and disseminate information through professional development courses that focus on effective practices and training when implementing personalized instruction. Implications for social change are that with the proper training, time, and administrative supports and cohesiveness amongst staff, personalized instruction could be successful
Audience Analysis: Learning About Student Motivations and Instructional Preferences
No full textThe energy level in the room is high. Students work together diligently, examining their computer screens and sharing ideas to try to solve a problem. When the instructor asks them to share their findings, several students raise their hands and offer insightful observations. After the session is over, a couple of students take the time to tell the instructor the value of what they learned in class and how helpful it will be to them. This scenario is what we instructors strive for—that our students will be engaged in our sessions and leave feeling their time was well-spent
Implications of Teacher Participation in a Professional Learning Community on Teacher Effectiveness
No full textThe purpose of this study was to discover how, if at all, teacher participation in a Professional Learning Community (PLC) influenced their overall effectiveness in the classroom. Specifically, this study examined how, if at all, the participation in the PLC influenced Algebra 1 teachers’ instruction, assessment, and response student data. Trends in educational research indicate the need for more teacher collaboration and are placing a greater focus on teacher evaluation. A PLC is a form of professional development that could address both of these issues. A review of literature illustrated the success that PLCs had with providing teachers the forum in which to collaborate in order to improve student learning. Using a focus group, individual interviews, and teacher evaluation ratings, the researcher investigated the role the PLC played on improving teacher instruction, assessment, and overall effectiveness. The three major themes identified from the data were improved instruction, improved assessment and increased collaboration. The results of this study showed that the participants felt their overall effectiveness had been positively impacted by their participation in the PLC. All participants earned evaluative ratings of either proficient or distinguished as measured by PVAAS, which demonstrated their overall effectiveness in the classroom
