Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item The Triumphs and Tensions of Transfer Articulation: Investigating the Implementation of Maryland's Associate of Arts in Teaching Degree(2018) Maliszewski Lukszo, Casey Lynn; Cabrera, Alberto; Espino Lira, Michelle; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation study investigated the implementation of the Associate of Arts in Teaching (A.A.T.) degree at two, public four-year universities in Maryland. Using Honig’s (2006a) Framework for Policy Analysis as a conceptual framework, I used higher education and policy implementation research to expand the conceptual model’s three dimensions: the Policy Dimension, the Places Dimension, and the People Dimension. Using an interpretative case study design, I used multiple data sources, including semi-structured interviews with state and university administrators and faculty, interviews with A.A.T. students, observations of state and university meetings, and a review of federal, state, and university documents. This study revealed that administrators and faculty generally perceived the A.A.T. degree to be an effective method to recruit diverse students into teaching professions and to create more efficient transfer pathways into education baccalaureate programs. However, administrators and faculty acknowledged a number of challenges associated with implementation, including: 1) confusion surrounding admissions policies into education programs; 2) trouble completing the Basic Skills Test requirement; and 3) miscommunication, misadvisement, and misalignment with regard to transfer courses in the A.A.T. program, which often led to transfer credit problems. Three factors were found to influence implementation challenges: 1) state and organizational governance structures and culture; 2) state and university leaders (particularly how they interpreted the A.A.T. policy and how they communicated those interpretations to others); and 3) external pressures, such as accreditation and state workforce demands. Some challenges associated with transfer credit articulation can be attributed to differences between community college and university priorities and values. Overall, the findings from this dissertation provide additional understanding of the promise and the challenges associated with subject-specific state transfer articulation degrees, such as the A.A.T. While subject-specific transfer policies can yield some positive effects on transfer pathways, they are not the sole solution to fixing transfer credit problems. To conclude, I provide recommendations for state policymakers, considerations for university practitioners, and directions for future research.Item Student Experiences of Writing Conferences in a Blended First Year Composition Course: A Case Study(2017) Swan, Lisa M.; Slater, Wayne H.; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this case study was to investigate student experiences in the writing conferences in a blended first year composition course at a large public institution in the Mid-Atlantic region. I applied a critical sociocultural framework, cultural mismatch theory, to examine the relationship between students’ experiences and the culture of an instructor’s writing conference practice. My central research question was: what are students’ experiences in writing conferences in a blended first year composition course? I used an interpretive single-case study design to investigate the writing conference practice of one skillful instructor and the experiences of six students. The instructor offered three writing conferences per semester, each lasting twenty minutes. Data sources included: surveys, artifacts, field notes from observations, audio recorded writing conferences, and interviews. I analyzed the data deductively using a conceptual framework consisting of three key factors in the conference interaction: purpose, participant roles, and classroom context. I presented key findings thematically and discussed them in terms of literature to develop analytic generalizations. Study findings suggested cultural mismatches in the purpose and participant roles of the writing conference. The instructor’s purpose of the conference was invention, yet students’ purposes varied from generating ideas to getting instructor feedback and fixing errors. Students also reported varying familiarity and comfort with the prescribed participant role, which assumed students would prepare materials, direct the conversation, and answer questions. While all the students in this study evaluated their conferences as successful and reported positive outcomes in terms of learning, the students for whom the interaction was relatively culturally congruent described their experiences positively, reporting feelings of confidence and willingness to seek individualized help with their writing. In contrast, the students for whom the interaction was comparably culturally mismatched described their experiences in mixed terms. They reported persistent anxiety and opted not to seek additional individualized help because they did not trust the interaction would be productive. Study findings highlight the general utility of cultural mismatch theory to examine classroom practices. It also suggests a potential refinement of the conceptualization of educational equity to examine students’ experiences of the learning process, in addition to outcomes.Item PARTICIPATORY PLANNING PILOT CASE STUDY IN CHINA: REALITY, CHALLENGES & LESSONS LEARNED FROM US(2016) He, Yijing; Lung-Amam, Willow; Urban Studies and Planning; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Urban planning in China is in a period of change, where participatory planning may supplement the traditional planning system. Since the beginning of the 21st century, several pilot participatory planning projects have responded to the new challenge. The author collected eight cases from the Chinese planning institution to explore the possible models of and barriers to participatory planning. On the other hand, public participation has been a concrete component of planning and implementation process in the United States. The author will also elaborate on one practical case of the planning process in the United States to compare the two countries on planning methods and barriers.Item A Case Study on A Cross-Context Asynchronous Online Writing Tutorial: The Mediated Learning Process for U.S.-Based Tutors and L2 Writers in Taiwan(2014) Chen, Pei-Jie; Martin-Beltran, Melinda; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Giving students written feedback has been a common practice in L2 writing instruction. Written feedback has been widely studied in second language writing and acquisition research, yet many questions and disputes remain concerning its effectiveness (See Ferris, 2010). While most research on written feedback has adopted the cognitive psychological perspective focusing on its effectiveness (Hyland, 1998, 2000), this study aims at discovering the mediation, mutual growth and engagement between tutors and writers in an asynchronous online writing tutorial. In the tutorial, U.S.-based tutors (teacher candidates in a teacher education program) worked with L2 writers (graduate students) in Taiwan on their English academic writing course assignments (biodata and summary). Data sources included written comments by the teacher candidates, writer's drafts, uptake documents, interview transcripts, self-evaluations, and field observation notes. Oriented by speech act and Vygotskian theoretical framework and using discourse analysis, this qualitative case study identified 12 feedback acts under three categories (direct, indirect, and conversational Feedback Acts) among three focal dyads throughout the tutorial. Findings suggest that the three tutors used feedback acts strategically to guide the L2 writers, particularly using IFA and CFA as mediational tools to provide various metalinguistic explanations, give extended information, and asked thought-provoking questions to stimulate writers' thinking in the tutorial process along with the corrections, suggestions, or requests they made. As writers incorporated more than 70% of the feedback, they found the tutorial process beneficial for their revision and learning of English academic writing. Tutors also learned to accommodate writers' needs, providing feedback within their zone of proximal development and applying concept-based instruction and dynamic assessment. This study contributes to second language writing and learning research, revealing the complexity of tutor-writer interaction and feedback process and providing a window into how written feedback can foster communication and dialogues between tutors and writers. Close examination of discourse in the tutorial context offers insights into the mutual growth and engagement for the participating teacher candidates and L2 writers. This study also has implications for both L2 writing instructors and teacher educators who seek new ways to engage language learners and teacher candidates in their learning processes.Item Fostering Teacher Learning Communities: A Case Study of a School-Based Leadership Team's Action Research(2013) Fischer, Kenneth B.; Valli, Linda; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study is to examine how a school-based leadership team identifies and alters school conditions to foster the development of TLCs. Many educators, school leaders, and politicians have embraced teacher learning communities (TLCs) as a vehicle for school reform. Despite the considerable documentation of the capability for TLCs to influence teaching and learning, TLCs are not the norm in American schools. The development of advanced levels of TLCs is dependent, in part, on the presence of certain school leadership, professional development, and workplace design conditions. This study examines how school leaders and teachers conceptualize TLCs, how they identify and alter supportive conditions, and how those altered conditions influence the development of TLCs. The researcher conducted a single case study incorporating a practitioner inquiry stance with his own school where he served as an assistant principal. The study traced the influence of conditions altered by school leaders to two embedded subunits: the Math and World Language TLCs. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with five school leader participants, focus group interviews with the two TLCs, observations, and document analysis. Participants identified six characteristics of TLCs capable of accomplishing goals: trusting relationships, common purpose, reflexive dialogue, collaborative activity, data-driven decisions, and agency. School leaders identified and altered 12 supportive conditions. Of those 12, participants reported that nine influenced their work and the development of their TLCs from traditional teacher teams to novice and intermediate professional communities. Although compatible with scholars' descriptions of TLCs, participants' descriptions represented an emerging/novice perspective suggesting a dynamic TLC conceptualization. Three of the six characteristics that participants' identify are precursors to other scholar's conceptualizations. These TLCs could reach advanced levels without developing shared values, deprivatizing practice, and focusing on student learning. The study's findings also suggest that school leaders seeking to foster TLCs provide time embedded into the teachers' regular workday and identify someone to serve as a resource/power broker to help teachers negotiate power relationships. By addressing their emerging/novice perspective and continuing to alter additional conditions, school leaders may influence the development of TLCs, eventually reducing teacher workload and improving teaching and learning.Item Reevaluting the CERCLA Process: A Case Study at Beaverdam Road Landfill(2012) Michaelson, Daniel; Torrents, Alba; McConnel, Laura; Civil Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This case study consists of a reassessment of the decision making process and chosen remedial action for the Beaverdam Road Landfill (BDRLF) Superfund site. Analyses incorporate case study review, site data, and experimental results to assess whether the chosen remedial action meets the EPA goals of protecting human health and the environment. The case study evaluation produced conclusions used to assess the chosen remedial action. For site analysis, I reassessed the original data interpretation using pertinent soil gas, soil, surface water, and groundwater data. Experimental work consisted of a batch experiment testing the ability of various biowall media and amendments to degrade TCE relative to site soil and a negative control. I concluded that although CERCLA was generally followed, absence of clear remedial goals and limited interpretation of site data resulted in a remedial action which does not meet the EPA's goal of protecting human health and the environment.Item Analysis of the Implementation of Teacher Education Policy in China since the 1990s: A Case Study(2006-11-30) Li, Jun; Lin, Jing; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)China has at present the largest system of basic education and the largest teacher work force in the world. The teacher education system plays a critical role in preparing an enormous army of qualified teachers for the basic education system. Since the 1990s, China's teacher education has been undergoing radical transformations: The vision and mission of teacher education have changed significantly; teachers' roles are redefined in order for them to respond to the new demands of the dramatically changing society; the "market" for preparing teachers is shared by various competitors; new degrees, programs as well as curricula are designed for prospective teachers. The implementation process of the national policy of reform, however, has not been paid enough attention. This study looks into the complicated implementation process of China's teacher education reform policy since the 1990s from the rational and critical frameworks. It has been designed with a case study approach to investigate and understand how a higher teacher education institution has responded to the national policy of teacher education reform. The study focuses on changes in institutional goals, strategies the case university adopted, and examines communication channels of policy, conflicts among stakeholders, and barriers arising from internal and external factors for the implementation of the national policy of teacher education reform. The study serves as an explanatory instrument to understand what the national policy of teacher education reform in China is about, to explore how the teacher education policy was implemented in a higher teacher education institution, and to reveal the unique policy implications derived from the Chinese experience. The findings of this study reveal that the implementation of the national policy was a linearly developed process to resolve the substantial problems of the teacher education system by unitary policy players, viewed from the rational framework. The policy action was advanced and developed to meet the need of the rapidly changing society. The critical framework suggested that the stakeholders of the national policy were diverse conflicting groups who worked together to implement the national policy while at the same time they conflicted with each other on many fronts for their own legitimacy and benefits. The implementation process became a heatedly contested process for redistribution of political and economic benefits among the interest groups. In addition, this study identifies that there were severe institutional barriers accounting for the success or failure of the implementation of the national policy. These barriers include stakeholders' adverse attitudes, authoritarian traditional culture, and overlapping implementation of other national policies. Theoretical reflections are rendered from the findings for implementation studies. Specifically, the role of the cultural dimension in the implementation process is discussed. Finally, recommendations are proposed for implementation practices and for future research.