Curriculum, Instruction, and Media Technologyhttp://hdl.handle.net/10484/55452024-03-27T12:53:22Z2024-03-27T12:53:22ZAN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF MOBILE WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES IN A TEACHER EDUCATION CLASSROOMGhattu, Anupamahttp://hdl.handle.net/10484/140072023-05-10T02:20:53Z2015-05-01T00:00:00ZAN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF MOBILE WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES IN A TEACHER EDUCATION CLASSROOM
Ghattu, Anupama
Mobile technology is revolutionizing the American higher education system. Integrating mobile technology into college classrooms is changing the teaching and learning process. Today’s millennial generation students are tech savvy and using their mobile devices to learn and explore in many possible ways. Mobile technology devices can be used as effective tools to enhance teaching and learning. The ubiquitous nature of these mobile devices with wireless capabilities makes learning possible instantly anywhere and everywhere with easy access to information for everyone. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of integrating mobile wireless technologies (MWT) on preservice teachers’ attitudes and learning outcomes in teacher education classrooms. A pretest-posttest exploratory model was used to examine the effect of using MWT in the classroom setting. Students’ learning outcomes and attitudes were compared between two teacher education classes to see if there was a significant effect in using MWT.
This quantitative study explored the effects of using MWT for classroom activities. Undergraduate students enrolled in two sections of a teacher education course were the study participants; one section was the control group and the other was the experimental group that used iPads for in-class activities. Data were collected at pretest before the treatment and at posttest after the treatment using an achievement test on the assigned chapter for investigating students’ learning outcomes and a Likert-scale survey for investigating students’ attitudes. The attitude survey was categorized and analyzed using four factors: a confidence/anxiety factor, a liking factor, a usefulness factor, and a training factor. The study results showed no significant change in students’ learning outcomes and attitudes towards using MWT. Due to a small sample size, use of a single intervention, and a limited period for the experiment were some of the major factors for insignificant results of this study. The information from this study can be the basis for further research to determine better ways to use MWT in teacher education classrooms.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZTHE INFLUENCE OF PEER EDUCATORS IN A FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR ON FRESHMAN PREPARATION FOR COLLEGIATE CHALLENGES: A QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION OF OBSERVATIONAL LEARNINGForbes, Sarah A.http://hdl.handle.net/10484/140032023-05-10T02:20:22Z2015-05-01T00:00:00ZTHE INFLUENCE OF PEER EDUCATORS IN A FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR ON FRESHMAN PREPARATION FOR COLLEGIATE CHALLENGES: A QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION OF OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
Forbes, Sarah A.
Most high school students have not spent deliberate time preparing for their transition to college.
Knowing this, institutions have developed a first-year seminar geared toward transitional issues
inherent to a specific institution. While the research on these programs illustrates their utility,
there appears to be an opportunity to further their success by incorporating peers as educators in
the classroom. Bandura (1986) saw the potential of observational learning through peer
modeling, though few researchers have studied first-year seminars from this theoretical
perspective. Through a postpositivistic philosophical paradigm, this exploratory qualitative
study utilized a phenomenological design to investigate two research questions: what are the
academic and social challenges freshmen face in the transition to a small, private, highly
selective, STEM-focused institution and how does the presence of sophomore peer educators in a
first-year seminar influence freshman preparation for those fall quarter challenges. A total of 41
freshmen participated in the study. Data were collected through student journals and focus group
interviews. The results of this study confirm that the transition to this specific type of institution
is just as complex as the transition to other types of institutions, with students reporting similar
academic and social challenges as found in the literature. However, their emphasis was on the
core (i.e., academic) rather than the periphery (i.e., social) of the collegiate experience. The
application of modeling, however, was not strong enough to determine whether observational
learning influenced these transitional challenges.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZTEACHER INVOLVEMENT IN IMPLEMENTING STATE PERSONAL FINANCE MANDATESFranklin, Deanna M.http://hdl.handle.net/10484/126942022-09-20T02:01:25Z2015-05-01T00:00:00ZTEACHER INVOLVEMENT IN IMPLEMENTING STATE PERSONAL FINANCE MANDATES
Franklin, Deanna M.
This study examined strategies teachers are implementing for personal finance instruction in answer to the state financial-literacy mandates in Central Texas. One-on-one interviews, focus groups, and document analysis found that teachers are relying on personal experience, community resources, and Internet resources to instruct in personal finance in absence of personal finance curricula. No data emerged that school districts were providing resources; however, administrators are willing to provide resources if they were available. Teachers are using a variety of creative methods to enhance personal financial literacy in the classroom.
Sporadic in-service/professional-development opportunities were available to train teachers in personal financial-literacy instruction; however, many teachers opted not to participate in those events, selecting to depend on their own personal experiences as background. Data from this study also found that there was no evidence of teachers being involved in the curriculum-change process for personal financial-literacy education.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZA QUALITATIVE HISTORIOGRAPHICAL CASE STUDY OF THE EDUCATIVE PROPERTIES OF EUGENE V. DEBS AND JOHN DEWEY: 21st CENTURY IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATIONCountermine, Bradleyhttp://hdl.handle.net/10484/126922022-09-20T02:01:10Z2015-05-01T00:00:00ZA QUALITATIVE HISTORIOGRAPHICAL CASE STUDY OF THE EDUCATIVE PROPERTIES OF EUGENE V. DEBS AND JOHN DEWEY: 21st CENTURY IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION
Countermine, Bradley
This study aimed to shed light on the current state of educational reform rhetoric through an
analysis of previous attempts to shape public education for the benefit of all. Analyzing Eugene
V. Debs’s and John Dewey’s views on democracy and education during the Progressive Era
promotes a version and vision of education that inspires people to think critically, to navigate
contemporary society, and to acknowledge current issues within public education and United
States society at large. Because education both reflects society and has the power to transform it,
the struggle for fair, equitable, and enlightening education is paramount to the success of future
generations within any society. By linking Progressive Era educational reform rhetoric to issues
prevalent in United States educational reform today, I illustrate the consistencies between both
periods and the underlying fundamental social, economic, and political issues shaping both
educational and societal reform in the 21st century. Further research can focus on intervening
historical variables especially as they contribute toward the motivation behind the current
corporate educational reform movement and the push toward privatization at the expense of
public schools created to make education the great equalizer.
2015-05-01T00:00:00Z