This study explored relationships between writing sample features and LMS usage patterns for 366 college students who enrolled in Theology courses, junior-level courses cross-listed with theology courses, or Senior Perspective Program courses in the fall semester of 2012. These hybrid courses were managed inside the Canvas(TM) learning management…

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare educational needs and goals during deployment and nondeployment of spouses of active-duty Army service members. The sample consisted of spouses of active-duty military service members from the Army brigades who had recently returned from a deployment or who were experiencing a deployment…

Distance education, especially that of online coursework, is growing at a phenomenal rate. Despite its growth, there is a lack of experimental and quasi-experimental research that has been conducted to investigate what factors influence students' experiences and academic success in online learning environments. Previous research has focused on…

This study investigated the strategic uses of music in the U.S. history classroom of six expert secondary U.S. history teachers identified by their administrators as expert teachers based on the merit of national certification, exemplary student and/or administration evaluations, high achieving teacher awards, or a combination of these criteria.…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how engagement, mood and number of assignments completed on computerized differentiated homework using an iPad in a one-to-one mobile device environment influenced the growth index and normalized gain in reading literature benchmark assessments of students in grades five, six, and seven. Furthermore,…

The primary objective of this dissertation was to help illuminate why most students who enroll in developmental English at community colleges never make it to a college-level course. The extant literature suggests that students' learning experiences in a course largely account for success or failure, yet few studies have uncovered how students…

As a way of examining how writing helps college students balance an understanding of subject matter with self and social understanding as well as develop their abilities to participate in the public realm, this qualitative study focused on the writing experiences of five college students, with particular attention paid to the assignments that…

While many college students at two-year public colleges need Basic Writing classes before entering college-level writing courses, only 34% have successfully passed their Basic Writing classes (Ternes, 2008). Troyo (2000) maintained that the reason students failed in Basic Writing classes was that more research-based effective teaching strategies…

Over the last decade, the number of one-to-one laptop programs in U.S. schools has steadily increased. Though technology advocates believe that such programs can assist student writing, there has been little systematic evidence for this claim, and even less focused on the benefits of specific technology use by diverse learners. This dissertation…

This study investigates the dynamics in the Spanish classroom between heritage language learner (HLL) dyads, second language learner (L2L) dyads, and mixed HLL-L2L dyads. Specifically, it examines oral, written and embodied discourse that informs our understanding of how learners attend to language. Analysis for this dissertation examined…

Student success in community-college online courses remains a topic of concern within higher-education research. Online courses offer flexibility and opportunities for students to learn anytime and anywhere. Students who are not prepared for the anytime-anywhere format struggle in online courses. As enrollment in online courses increases, the rate…

The role of interest in educational settings has been seen as a significant factor in nurturing an appreciation for learning and influencing the extent to which that learning occurs. Interest can be divided into two sub-categories, individual interest and situational interest. Individual interest is personal rather than global, slow to develop,…

The Individual with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) 2007, a federal special education law, states that students with disabilities requiring special education services can use accommodations or adaptations of the curriculum to access the general education curriculum. A shortened assignment, as an accommodation, can help learning disabled…

Teacher education programs across the United States must prepare teachers who have the content area knowledge, pedagogical expertise, and cultural competence needed to teach an increasingly diverse student population. One consistent suggestion for programs committed to preparing culturally responsive teachers is to incorporate investigations of…

Michel Foucault argues that power is everywhere, all of the time. He describes it as concrete, "capillary," acting in, on and through the actual body. All "knowledge" and "truth" is an effect of that power which is why power and knowledge are integrally related. Power/knowledge produces social positioning. In this…