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 Examining the Multidimensional Nature of Engagement: The Development of the Multidimensional Engagement Rubric (MER)(2018) Smith, Patricia; Taboada Barber, Ana M.; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The current literature on the construct of engagement lacks clarity in how it defined, the dimensions associated with engagement, and the way it has been measured. Establishing agreement on how engagement is conceptualized and operationalized will inform the development of instruments that measure this construct accurately. Engagement is an important topic of study given its relationship to students’ reading achievement. Understanding the engagement needs of growing populations of students in K-12 schools, such as English Learners (ELs), is vital to their academic success. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to clarify the conceptual and operational problems with the construct of engagement, assess the content validity of a newly developed engagement instrument through experts’ judgements, and test the reliability and criterion-related validity of this instrument with a small sample of ELs. Chapter 2 is a research synthesis that examined the discrepancies surrounding the construct of engagement using instruments that measure engagement for upper elementary and middle school students. Two empirical studies comprise Chapters 3 and 4 of this dissertation. Study 1 assessed the content validity of the items included in the Multidimensional Engagement Rubric (MER) through expert opinion. Study 2 explored the reliability and validity of this instrument when used to measure the engagement of 6th grade English Learners (ELs) participating in literacy instruction. The results from these three papers have uncovered several findings. First, the instruments used to measure student engagement have been constructed using a confounded body of literature which may, in turn, have led to the development of measures that may not have assessed this construct with precision. Next, the MER was developed after synthesizing the engagement literature and eliciting feedback from experts on engagement and motivation, which revealed a need for revising indicators included in the MER. Evidence of high reliability was revealed through weighted Kappa analysis, while criterion-related validity of the MER, when correlated with time on task scores, revealed moderate positive correlations. Finally, correlations between engagement and participants’ ages revealed mostly weak relations despite the small sample size.Item THE CONTRIBUTION OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTION TO READING COMPREHENSION FOR LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE LEARNERS(2018) Meyer, Anna; Silverman, Rebecca D; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research suggests that EF can aid in the prediction of RC. However, much of the existing research into the relationship between these two variables has relied on statistical correlations and simple linear regression, neither of which fully capture the complexity of their theoretical relationship and other known contributors to RC, such as decoding and linguistic comprehension. Accordingly, this dissertation study investigated the relationship between EF and RC through a synthesis of the literature and two separate empirical studies. The first empirical study investigate whether (1) a latent construct of EF, measured by separate assessments of working memory, shifting, and inhibition, makes unique direct contribution to the prediction of RC and (2) whether EF’s latent construct mediates the prediction of RC through decoding and a latent construct of linguistic comprehension. The second empirical study investigated whether (1) a latent construct of EF, measured by separate assessments of working memory, shifting, and inhibition, makes unique direct contribution to the prediction of RC and (2) whether EF’s latent construct mediates the prediction of RC through decoding and a latent construct of linguistic comprehension. Both empirical studies examined this relationship in linguistically diverse learners (LDLs) as an understudied population to extend the current research base. Specifically, the sample included three groups of LDL students: (a) English Learners (ELs), or students who speak a language other than or in addition to English in the home and who are receiving school-based English language services because they have not passed an English language proficiency exam, (b) R-ELs, or students who speak a language other than or in addition to English in the home but have passed an English language proficiency exam and have thus been recently exited from EL services, and (c) EL students from the above cohorts who the school identified as having a disability. Language and disability status, respectively, were entered as moderators in the above models to test for significant differences by group. Limitations of the dissertation study and directions for future research are discussed.Item TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF ONLINE SIOP® PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT(2018) McCall, Aundrea; Fagan, Drew; McLaughlin, Margaret; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Educators are concerned with the academic attainment of English learners (ELs) in U.S schools, as this student population’s numbers continue to grow. In 2014-15, 4.6 million, or about 9%, of all public school students in the United States were ELs. The number of ELs in public schools is projected to represent 25% of all public school students by 2025 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017; National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, 2013). The purpose of this study was to examine non-ESOL elementary content area teachers’ perceptions of the online SIOP® professional development course regarding implementing the six features of lesson preparation and applying the eight components of SIOP® within their lesson preparation. The study was guided by three research questions and an online survey to obtain teacher perceptions regarding their implementation of the key SIOP® components in lesson preparation, application of the eight SIOP® components, and potential ways that SIOP® had positive effects on instructing ELs. Qualtrics (a web-based tool) was used to create the descriptive survey and generate reports from the participants’ responses. From the research findings, recommendations were made to contribute to the literature and for future study in general, for the school district, and the researcher. SIOP® as an online professional development tool has the potential to reach a growing audience of content teachers who require best practices and sound approaches to teaching ELs in their classrooms.Item EXAMINING NON-ESOL CLASSROOM TEACHER KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES FOR EDUCATING SECONDARY ENGLISH LEARNERS(2017) Quick-McQueen, Contina; McLaughlin, Margaret J; Fagan, Drew S; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)When describing English learners (ELs) at the secondary level, it is important to note that there can be two distinct groups of students: students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) and Long-term English learners (LTELs). The Long-term English learners are defined as students who have been in U.S. schools for at least seven years and learned English during their elementary school years. Some, nonetheless, reach secondary levels without having mastered English or the home language and may be caught in a state of semi-literacy, which is hard to escape. Adolescents newly arrived to the United States come during the critical period of adolescent development. For a majority of newly arriving adolescents, their past educational backgrounds have not prepared them for studies in core content areas at the secondary level in any education system. These learners have to work harder than their native English-speaking peers and even harder than their more literate EL peers to meet the same accountability goals. Only educated in the United States for a brief period, these students need to learn a new language, develop literacy skills in the new language, and master content area standards simultaneously. One of the most complex challenges facing educators when working with secondary ELs is how to meet their academic, cultural, and linguistic needs. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine non-ESOL teachers’ knowledge and practices when working with secondary ELs. Participants were high school teachers in one rural school district in Maryland. Data for the study were gathered utilizing an online survey-questionnaire. The findings showed the knowledge non-ESOL teachers possess and instructional practices they use to support secondary ELs in content area courses. This study also revealed teacher perceptions of professional development needs and the willingness these teachers demonstrate to do whatever it takes to help their students.Item ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICES, AND PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHING ENGLISH LEARNERS(2017) Adams, Wauchilue D.; McLaughlin, Margaret J.; Fagan, Drew S.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)For decades, the academic achievement of English Learners (ELs) has consistently fallen below that of non-ELs on standardized achievement tests. The purpose of this inquiry was to examine the continuous achievement gap between ELs and non-ELs and to understand how the knowledge, practices, and perceptions applied when teaching ELs can impact the academic progress of ELs in elementary schools. This study focused specifically on teachers in Title I schools, because nearly half of the elementary ELs in the district attended a Title I school. Bay Shore Public Schools served as the site for this this study. During the data collection process, the researcher sent an electronic survey to the 50 intermediate teachers (Grades 3, 4, and 5) working at the four Title I elementary schools in the district. This effort resulted in a 50% response rate. The survey included 14 questions and 79 indicators that examined the following: teachers’ knowledge about the federal and state laws, policies, and assessments; specific instructional strategies and practices employed when teaching ELs; specific instructional materials used during instruction; available supports for ELs; and perceptions about the instruction of ELs. The survey revealed that (a) the majority of the respondents had little-to-no knowledge of the laws and regulations that governed their work; (b) most respondents used only 11 out of 20 recommended instructional strategies daily; and (c) the use of specific materials and suggested supports during instruction varied in frequency. The data also revealed that the demographic characteristics of the respondents did not seem to impact their responses, specifically in terms of their perceptions. The findings resulted in a number of recommendations for future studies, particularly for relatively small districts that may be considered low-incidence and have teachers with little-to-no first-hand experience teaching ELs. Based on the results of this study, future research studies should utilize case studies to examine the actual interactions between ELs and their non-EL peers and between ELs and their teachers. Researchers might also apply positioning theory to examine how the interactions change from situation to situation and the impact on the resulting academic outcomes for ELs. Additionally, future inquiries might involve the examination of local policies and practices to identify the types and degree of communication between ESOL teachers and classroom teachers that facilitates understanding ELs’ performance on ACCESS and what the outcomes mean.