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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    Exploring the Use of Cognitive Apprenticeship for Teachers and Students in Science Classrooms
    (2019) Lee, Yewon; De La Paz, Susan; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The primary goal of this dissertation is to explore the use of cognitive apprenticeship (CA) with teachers and students in science classrooms. In particular, studies that make up this dissertation explore ways that teachers can improve the quality of students’ written scientific explanations and the supports that teachers need in order to promote such growth in their students. CA is a complex instructional model that is challenging for both teachers and students to use, especially in secondary classrooms. Other reports indicate the potential of CA for teaching disciplinary literacy in history classrooms, but this approach has not often been used to teach scientific writing. This project explores that, in inclusive settings with heterogeneous learners, and in an afterschool program, with students with learning disabilities (LD) and those who are English learners (ELs). The first part of the work reported here involved a systematic review of the literature on science writing instruction with these populations and with struggling learners. A total of 14 studies (three randomized control trials, nine quasi-experimental, and two single case design studies) that met established criteria as high quality studies were identified and examined to determine whether researchers were including instructional elements that have been found to be effective for these learners (e.g., cognitive and linguistic supports) and to determine learning and writing outcomes that resulted from the science writing interventions. The next project focused on an in-depth study of two middle school science teachers who participated in PD that was focused on science writing, culminating in the implementation of a CA on constructing and critiquing explanations for scientific phenomena in writing. The goal in this work was to examine how doing so impacted the teachers’ beliefs and their subsequent choice of writing tasks for their science instruction. After this PD, both teachers expressed changes in their beliefs about learners that had lasting effects on their subsequent teaching. They also believed the CA led to improved writing in their students, including their ability to engage in argumentative reasoning. This realization led to changes in other beliefs about their students in general, and about the importance of incorporating writing instruction in class. Ultimately, these changes may have affected the types of tasks they assigned in class. Prior to implementing CA, they assigned writing tasks that were close-ended, but after, they assigned analytical writing tasks like a Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) that promoted scientific reasoning. The third project in this dissertation was an intervention study (using single-case design methodology) that focused on teaching middle school students with LD and who are EL to write scientific explanations. The intervention provided cognitive supports such as procedural facilitators to guide students’ thinking. In addition, linguistic supports, such as the use of contextualized instruction on text structure, vocabulary, and grammar, and instruction on how language is used in a science was also provided to meet the needs of the sixth- and seventh-grade participants. After delivering instruction using CA (and four weeks later), students produced explanations that were rated as higher in overall quality, grammatical and lexical sophistication, and in the length of their writing. Of importance, they also made substantial gain in causal and mechanistic reasoning, which is central to good scientific writing. These findings lead us to believe that middle school science teachers who work with students with LD and those who are EL may underestimate their students’ ability to write. Contrary to their beliefs, findings from these projects suggest otherwise. Given sufficient and appropriate support such as those afforded by CA, our findings provide tentative support for the conjecture that all students, regardless of their disability status or language needs may be able to improve their reasoning and writing skills in science. CAs can be a powerful vehicle that can transform both teacher practices and student learning outcome.
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    ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY USE AMONG SECONDARY SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN A PRIVATE SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES: TYPES, LEVELS OF USE AND REPORTED BARRIERS.
    (2015) Constantinescu, Carmen; McLaughlin, Margaret; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Special education teachers are expected to integrate assistive technology (AT) for students with disabilities per Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). However, the legal mandates do not provide clear guidelines regarding the type, the frequency, and the purpose for which AT can be used and, often, the decision of AT integration is left up to teachers and members of Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) teams who may or may not have complete knowledge of the AT implementation strategies. This research study provides an overview of how teachers of different content areas in a technology-rich self-contained secondary program for students with learning disabilities implemented AT in their daily instruction. Teacher reports and observations reflected discrepancies in how teachers may perceive their teaching with AT and revealed that, in spite of having access to a variety of technologies, there continues to be a focus on using low and medium AT (less complex technology). Specific factors (barriers) that influenced the integration of technology for students with learning disabilities are also investigated and described.
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    The Effects of Blended Instruction and Visual Representations on Area Problems Involving Quadratic Expressions for Secondary Students with Mathematics Difficulties
    (2011) Strickland, Tricia Kay; Maccini, Paula; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The current study examined the effect of an instructional package on the algebra performance of secondary students with mathematics learning disabilities or difficulties (MD) when applied to the grade-appropriate algebra content of quadratic expressions. The instructional package included a blend of research-based instructional practices for secondary students with LD (i.e., concrete-representation-abstract instruction, graphic organizers, and components of explicit instruction) and the process standards recommended by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics process standards (i.e., problem solving, reasoning and proof, communication, connections, and representations). A concurrent embedded mixed methods design was utilized with the quantitative data representing the main strand, while qualitative data provided supplemental data (Creswell & Clark, 2011). Specifically, the quantitative data were collected from a multiple-probe design across two groups replicated over five students. The participants were five high school students identified as a learning disability or difficulty in mathematics. The qualitative analysis of transcriptions from instructional sessions, field notes, and work samples was completed on one participant, who represented a critical case (Creswell, 2007). Results of the study indicated that all five participants improved their algebraic accuracy on tasks involving quadratic expressions embedded within an area context. Further, providing multiple representations allowed participants to make connections to algebraic content and enhanced their metacognition. Additionally all participants maintained their performance up to six weeks following intervention. Three participants also transferred the performance to novel and more complex tasks. The study suggests that students with MD may be successful with higher-level algebra content when provided blended instruction and visual representations.
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    Achievement and integration factors related to the academic success and intent to persist of college freshmen and sophomores with learning disabilities
    (2007-03-28) DaDeppo, Lisa Marie Wilson; Speece, Deborah; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The number of students with learning disabilities (LD) attending college has increased over the past several decades, yet outcomes including graduation rates continue to lag behind those of non-disabled students. In addition to students' background characteristics and past academic achievement, Tinto's (1975; 1993) constructs of academic and social integration have been the focus of much of the research identifying factors associated with college student success and persistence. Previous research has validated the impact of academic and social integration on college student persistence and success; however, these factors have not been studied with a sample of students who have disabilities. In this investigation hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to study the relative influence of pre-college achievement and college integration variables on the academic success and intent to persist of college freshmen and sophomores with LD, while controlling for background characteristics. Participants were 97 freshmen and sophomores with LD at a large, public university in the southwestern United States. Students completed a demographic questionnaire as well as portions of the Freshmen Year Survey (Milem & Berger, 1997) to measure integration and intent to persist. High school GPA, SAT scores, and college GPA were obtained from university records. Academic, social and total integration were not unique significant predictors of college GPA beyond background characteristics and past academic achievement. However, total integration was a significant predictor of intent to persist, accounting for 17 percent unique variance. Academic integration was a significant predictor of intent to persist accounting for 12 percent unique variance. Further, social integration was a significant predictor of intent to persist, accounting for 18 percent unique variance beyond background characteristics and past academic achievement and 7 percent unique variance in the model that also included academic integration. These findings suggest academic and social integration are promising constructs to explain the persistence of college students with LD. Implications of this study include the need for continued research on the role of academic and social integration for college students with LD, as well as on the practices of high school and college personnel in preparing students with LD for college.