Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2759
Browse
6 results
Search Results
Item TOWARD A DATA LITERACY ASSESSMENT THAT IS FAIR FOR LANGUAGE MINORITY STUDENTS(2023) Yeom, Semi; O'Flahavan, John; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Data literacy is crucial for adolescents to access and navigate data in today’s technology-driven world. Researchers emphasize the need for K-12 students to attain data literacy. However, few available instructions have incorporated validated assessments. Therefore, I developed and implemented the Data literacy Assessment for Middle graders (DLA-M) that can diagnose students’ current stages fairly and support future practices regardless of their language backgrounds. I initiated the study with two research questions: a) How valid is a newly developed assessment to measure middle-grade students’ data literacy? b) How fairly does the new assessment measure data literacy regardless of students’ language backgrounds?A new assessment purported to measure two competencies of data literacy of 6th to 9th graders: a) Interpret data representations and b) Evaluate data and data-based claims. I used the Evidence-Centered Design (ECD) as a methodological framework to increase the validity of the assessment. I followed the five layers of the ECD framework to develop and implement the DLAM. Then I analyzed the data from implementing the assessment and gathered five types of validity evidence for validation. Based on the collected validity evidence, I concluded that the assessment was designed to represent the content domain that is purported to measure. The assessment had internal consistency in measuring data literacy except for nine eliminated items, and the data literacy scores from the overall assessment were reliable as well. Regarding item quality, item discrimination parameters met the quality criteria, but difficulty estimates of some items did not meet the intended design. Empirical cluster analyses revealed two performance levels from the participants. Differential item functioning analyses showed that item discrimination and difficulty were not differentiated between language minority students (LMSs) and their counterparts with the same data literacy level. These results did not reveal the possibility of unfair interpretations and uses of this assessment for LMSs. Lastly, I found significant interaction effects between the DLAM scores and the two variables about students’ English reading proficiency and use of technology. This study delineated how to develop and validate a data literacy assessment that could support students from different linguistic backgrounds. The research also facilitated the application of a data literacy assessment to school settings by scrutinizing and defining target competencies that could benefit adolescents’ data literacy. The findings can inform future research to implement data literacy assessments in broader contexts. This study can serve as a springboard to provide inclusive data literacy assessments for diverse student populations.Item ADDRESSING THE DISPROPORTIONALITY OF BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS IN ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) CLASSES(2022) DiFato, John Paul; Imig, David; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Data at the national, state, and local levels all indicate disproportionately low enrollment of Black/African American students in Advanced Placement (AP) classes at the high school level. Black/African American students are missing out on educational opportunities and access to an equitable education by not participating in AP classes in high school. One method for high schools to address this issue is to explore the processes in place for recommending/selecting students for AP classes. The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot a talent-spotting tool using student data for teachers and school counselors to use in the AP course recommendation process. Specifically, this protocol was developed to identify more students, especially Black/African American students, whose data indicated that they might be ready for AP coursework. The researcher developed the talent-spotting tool, and the algorithm used to process the data, and tested its effectiveness in identifying students who should be recommended for AP classes. The researcher employed the following methodology for the study: (a) developed a data-based talent-spotting tool protocol draft; (b) obtained input from potential users regarding current course recommendation practices (including the use of AP Potential) and their perceptions of the talent-spotting tool and its potential usefulness via an anonymous, web-based survey; and (c) piloted the talent-spotting tool and compared the results with course recommendations based on SY1819 AP Potential data and with the SY1819 actual course recommendations. Based on survey responses from potential users, the majority indicated they want a process that is simple to use and can be a portion of the course recommendation process, but not the entire process. Participants appreciated the objectivity that the talent-spotting tool brought to the course recommendation process, but many were not ready to completely give up on the subjective human factors that are involved with course recommendations. Furthermore, the talent-spotting tool accurately identified students who were recommended for AP courses. But, more importantly, the talent-spotting tool identified more students who were not recommended for AP courses but who have the aptitude to succeed in those courses. In fact, the talent-spotting tool identified a higher proportion of Black/African American students than white students. The adoption of this talent-spotting tool as part of the course recommendation process has the potential to directly impact the disproportionate representation of Black/African American students in AP courses.Item IDENTIFYING THE NATURE OF METACOGNITION INSTRUCTION IN READING CLASSROOMS(2017) Ozturk, Nesrin; Afflerbach, Peter; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Metacognition helps control cognitions through the actions and interactions of metacognitive knowledge, experiences, and strategies. Since 1979, metacognition has been extensively studied and found to be an effective tool for learning. In reading, metacognition is associated with improved vocabulary, reading awareness, strategies, comprehension, and task performance. Research confirmed metacognition can be successfully taught. However, it has limited influence on mainstream classrooms; classroom instruction lacks pedagogies of metacognition. Paradoxically, teachers’ practices have been assessed inconsistently and independent of students’ metacognition. For these problems, this study developed a pedagogy of metacognition (PMR) and examined the structural validity of its measurement instrument (ITMR). Following a comprehensive literature review, a PMR consisted of fostering students’ metacognitive knowledge, adopting goal-directedness, integrating language of thinking, scaffolding students’ strategic reading, encouraging their independence with strategic reading, assessing metacognition, and prolonging instruction. Then, scale validation procedures were followed. After scale items were generated, QUAID examination, expert, cognitive, and focus-group interviews were conducted for content and construct validity. Following the ITMR’s initial simulation, the data were collected from reading teachers in the United States of America. The data were collected by a computer-assisted survey method and a non-probability sampling technique. Then, the data were analyzed by a factor analysis method, Welch’s, and Spearman’s tests. The ITMR at elementary school level was found to have a unidimensional model accounting for 60% of the total variance (α.97). There were no mean differences in teachers’ self-reported metacognition instruction practices at any grade levels. All dimensions of the ITMR were strongly and positively correlated. By these findings, the significance of this study was recognized and its contributions to the literature were summarized. Also, the discrepancy between the literature and the ITMR and the congruence of metacognition instruction practices across elementary grades was discussed. Assessment practices were recognized as potential aids for classroom metacognition instruction. Future studies were recommended to improve the validity of the ITMR and understanding of classroom metacognition instruction. Educational implications aimed to support both in-service and pre-service teachers as possible. Finally, limitations with scale development, scale’s generalizability, data collection, and analyses were discussed.Item EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF TRADITIONAL AND BLOCK SCHEDULING: AN EXAMINATION OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT (ALGEBRA, BIOLOGY AND ENGLISH), ATTENDANCE RATES, AND DISCIPLINARY INCIDENTS(2014) Harris, Darlene Marie; Parham, Carol S.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which high school scheduling affects students' academic achievement, attendance, and disciplinary incidents. The study compared 2009-2013 data from high schools utilizing the A/B block schedule and high schools using a traditional schedule in a mid-Atlantic state. This study used quantitative methods to describe, analyze, and interpret algebra, biology, and English HSA scores as well as attendance rates and disciplinary incidents from 2009-2013. Correlation coefficients and independent t-tests were conducted to analyze the difference between the two schedule designs with respect to three achievement indicators: algebra, biology and English HSA scores. The findings yielded the following conclusions: (a) students experienced higher algebra scores on the A/B traditional schedule than the block schedule only in the year 2009; (b) students experienced higher biology scores on the traditional schedule than the A/B block schedule in all five years; (c) students experienced higher English scores on the traditional schedule than the A/B block schedule only in 2010; (d) student attendance rates were similar for high schools that use A/B block schedule and those that use the traditional schedule; (e) disciplinary incidents decreased more for students under the traditional schedule than students under the A/B block schedule in the years 2011 and 2013. Recommendations for research included: recruitment and retention of quality teachers, examine the relationship between school schedules and biology courses, and research additional factors, such as FARMS, socioeconomic, urban/suburban students that may play a significant role in student academic achievement. Recommendations for policy/practice included: utilization of the traditional schedule for biology classes, using part of the teacher evaluation to monitor progress and academic achievement, and to look at students' perceptions and performances in middle and high schools. This should also include teachers' and parents perceptions.Item The Relationship Between Teachers' Mathematical Knowledge and The Mathematics Achievement of Students in Grades Four and Five(2014) Palmer, Jana Eileen; Koziol, Steven; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between teacher mathematical knowledge (content and pedagogy) and the mathematics achievement of students in grades four and five. This study used a quantitative approach using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM). Through a quantitative study based upon a teacher assessment of mathematics content and pedagogy and a student assessment entitled the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), the researcher measured the teachers' mathematical content knowledge, mathematical pedagogy knowledge, and analyzed the data to determine if there was a relationship between teacher knowledge and student achievement. The assessments were based on the Maryland state curricular standards. All teachers involved in the study were considered generalists at the elementary level. Student achievement was measured through MAP. Through the use of the teacher knowledge assessment, the study provided valuable data that could be used to inform colleges providing training to pre-service teachers, principals, supervisors, and those providing professional development to elementary teachers. Additionally, the study could be used to inform teacher education and education policy efforts intended to strengthen and support teacher quality while improving the achievement of students in mathematics.Item Testing the Digital Divide: Does Access to High-QUality Use of Technology in Schools Affect Student Achievement?(2012) Talley, Gregory Keith; Hawley, Willis D.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study investigates the relationship between access, use of technology and student achievement in public middle schools in Maryland. The objective of this study was to determine whether a digital divide (differences in access and utilization of technology based on student characteristics of race, socioeconomic status, and gender) exists among schools, and whether those differences relate to mathematics and reading achievement. More specifically, the study uses school data on technology access, students' instructional uses of technology, and teacher technology proficiency from the 2007 Maryland Technology Inventory. This study analyzes student demographic data and assessment results from the 2007 Maryland School Assessments in reading and mathematics obtained from the Maryland State Department of Education. The data analyses use descriptive and multivariate statistics to determine the existence of digital divides and their effects on reading and mathematics achievement. Analysis of these data described patterns of technology access and use in order to determine whether differences in access and use resulted in a digital divide. Differences in access and use were then examined to determine their impact on reading and mathematics achievement levels. The research design relied on descriptive and multivariate statistics to analyze access and use and their relationship to academic achievement. Findings indicated that digital divides exist in the student-to-computer ratio and the number of teachers with classroom computers, and digital access was positively associated with eighth-grade mathematics and reading proficiency scores. However, student classroom computer ratios were negatively associated with achievement, controlling for other factors. Digital divides in students' use of technology for publishing text, organizing information, and communicating information were identified, with access to technology for these tasks/skills and positively associated with mathematics and reading scores, but connecting language to words had a negative impact. Teachers' use of technology for creating instructional materials had a positive impact on reading scores but a negative impact on mathematics achievement, when the researcher controlled for other factors. Findings suggest that differences exist in several areas of technology access and use when considering student characteristics of race, socioeconomic status, and gender. This study contributes to existing research on the effects of technology on instruction and informs state and local policy on instructional technology implementation and practice.