Browsing by Author "Dr. Robert Serow, Committee Member"

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    Computer Use and Interest in Continuing Education via the Internet by Older, Late-Deafened Adults
    (2002-12-09) McCallum, James T Jr.; Dr. J. Conrad Glass, Committee Chair; Dr. Melody Harrison, Committee Member; Dr. John Pettitt, Committee Member; Dr. Robert Serow, Committee Member
    The purpose of this research was to investigate to what extent are older, late-deafened adults interested in continuing education via the Internet. This increasing population is confronted with many barriers in the traditional classroom but do not usually possess the literacy problems of the congenitally deaf, therefore making them ideal candidates for continuing education via the Internet. For the study, 500 surveys were mailed to a random sample of members of Self Help For Hard of Hearing People, Inc. The survey consisted of 30 questions pertaining to computer usage, continuing education experience, and interest in continuing education via the Internet. Of the 297 returned 249 met the criteria for the study. Data analyses consisted of descriptive statistics concerning demographic variables of age, education, degree of hearing loss, race, and age of onset of hearing loss. Chi Square analyses were used for investigation of relationships between demographic and other selected variables. An alpha of 0.10 was selected as the significance level for determining an association between variables. Several conclusions resulted from the research: 1) The majority of the population sampled are computer literate; 2) The majority of respondents (71.9%) were interested in courses for leisure via the Internet; 3) Gender had little effect on computer ownership, Internet usage or interest in web-based continuing education; 4) The more educated the older, late-deafened adult, the greater the likelihood of computer ownership; 5) The level of education has no significant effect on the individuals interest in continuing education via the Internet; 6) Degree of hearing loss has no significant effect on computer usage nor interest in continuing education via the Internet; 7) Age of onset of hearing loss is associated with computer ownership, but not with other aspects of interest in continuing education via the Internet. The subject pool was not sufficiently diverse to study the effects of race on the other variables.
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    Expecting AVID Success: The Teacher Perspective
    (2008-04-04) Carlin, Lori Major; Dr. Bonnie Fusarelli, Committee Chair; Dr. Pam Van Dyk, Committee Member; Dr. Kenneth H. Brinson, Jnr., Committee Member; Dr. Robert Serow, Committee Member
    This study considers the perceptions of the AVID program of 3 teachers within 3 counties in North Carolina. Although multiple student achievement programs are available to public schools today, the AVID program is the one most commonly adopted because AVID aggressively claims positive results. According to the AVID program, more AVID graduates apply, attend, and graduate from higher education than national and local averages. AVID is designed to assist those students from the "forgotten middle," characterized by those with high test scores, average-to-low grades, and minority or low-socioeconomic status who will be the first in their family to attend college. Within the program are 11 components that must be followed in order for school districts to receive AVID certification. Several studies of the AVID program have investigated the quantitative claims of the program, but very few have addressed qualitative concerns. This study seeks to provide a cross-case analysis of the teacher's perspective of AVID in light of teaching practices and teacher expectations. The research was conducted through semi-structured interview questions, observation, and data collection. Study findings demonstrate that the participants are largely satisfied with their experience and training in the AVID program although they acknowledge the initial training is overwhelming. They do not believe that AVID alters the expectations they have for themselves or for their students. They provide several recommendations on how AVID can improve in order to meet their needs as well as those of the AVID students. Finally, this study suggests a number of other questions for future research.
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    Parental Involvement as an Explanation of Mathematics and Reading Achievement in Kindergartners
    (2006-06-19) Campbell, Bernice Virginia; Dr. Paul Bitting, Committee Chair; Dr. Lance Fusarelli, Committee Member; Dr. Robert Serow, Committee Member; Dr. Lee Stiff, Committee Member
    The purpose of this study was to determine how well parent involvement, as a form of social capital, made up for familial differences in human (educational) and financial (income) capital thereby influencing reading and mathematics achievement scores. The sample consisted of 14952 kindergarten students from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort of 1998. The research examined the effect of parent involvement on overall gains in mathematics and reading achievement scores. Using multiple regression analysis, level of parent involvement was found to have an influence on overall reading and mathematics gains, however the effect was weak. Predictor variables found to have an influence on overall reading gain were poverty level, gender, level of parent involvement, and SES. These variables explain 1.2% of the overall variance in reading gain scores. Predictor variables found to have an influence on overall mathematics gain were poverty level, child changed schools between rounds, level of parent involvement, and SES. These variables explain 1.3 % of the overall variance in mathematics gain scores.
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    A Study of Educators' Perceptions of Spatial Thinking
    (2009-04-22) Branch, Benjamin DeWayne Jr.; Dr. Stacy Nelson, Committee Member; Dr. Robert Serow, Committee Member; Kenneth H. Brinson, Jnr., Committee Co-Chair; Dr. Paul Bitting, Committee Co-Chair
    ABSTRACT BRANCH, BENJAMIN D. A Study of Educators’ Perceptions of Spatial Thinking (Under the direction of Dr. Paul Bitting and Kenneth H. Brinson, Jnr.) The purpose of this dissertation study was to explore perceptions of policy makers and educators towards spatial thinking. Following the issuance of Executive Order 12906, Coordinating Geographical Data Acquisition and Access: The National Spatial Data Infrastructure, by the federal government in 1994, educators have become interested in exploring their possible roles in spatial thinking, broadly defined as the use of space to define, formulate and solve problems. This work was a qualitative study that relied on interview data from educators and policy makers who have some knowledge and/or experience with spatial thinking. From the interviews, four themes emerged: public interest, administrative capacity, classroom use and policy and research. Suggestions are offered for enhancing the role of spatial thinking in each of these areas.