In educational contexts, students often self-select into specific interventions (e.g., courses, majors, extracurricular programming). When students self-select into an intervention, systematic group differences may impact the validity of inferences made regarding the effect of the intervention. Propensity score methods are commonly used to reduce…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if student perceptions of their advisor and the institution they attended were affected by either the developmental or prescriptive approach that their assigned academic advisor used. A group of academic advisors volunteered at the beginning of the study to be trained in the developmental…

For nearly four decades, research has documented positive correlations between metacognitive abilities and student growth. Teachers who wish to cultivate metacognitive thinking should encourage their students to plan, investigate, and expand on the concepts they learn in class (Fisher, Frey, & Hattie, 2016; Flavell, 1979). This mixed-methods…

Junior enlisted Marines are getting married at a faster rate than their civilian counterparts and nearly twice that of senior personnel (Gomulka, 2010; Cohen, Passel, Wang, & Livingston, 2011). With the high rate of marriage, these same junior Marines have a disproportionately high divorce rate. While the high rate of divorce is a significant…

There is evidence that participating in physical exercise reduces stress and the risk of many physical maladies. Exercise is also correlated with higher levels of approach motivation, or a tendency to approach challenge as an opportunity for growth or improvement instead of an opportunity for failure. To date, most research on this relationship…

Students' inability to meet grade level standards in reading on state and national assessments continues to be a problem across the nation. This causal comparative cohort model sought to examine the effect of the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model (GRRM) on 4th grade reading achievement, gender, and socio-economic status, and to examine…

Low reading skills constitute a serious achievement problem. Although there are remedial support in schools, between 2% and 6% of the student population continues to show persistent reading difficulties despite intensive intervention. The research problem in this study addressed the lack of effective reading interventions for students who were in…

The purpose of this study was to analyze School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SW-PBS) and Behavior Intervention Support Teams (BIST) and their impact on managing student behavior in sample schools in Missouri by using methodological triangulation. Office disciplinary referrals (ODRs) and Safe School Act Violations during the 2012-2014 school…

This research analyzed the effects of teacher professional development and lesson implementation in integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) on: (1.) Teacher self-efficacy and their confidence to teach specific STEM subjects; (2.) Teaching outcome expectancy beliefs concerning the impact of actions by teachers on student…

Economically disadvantaged students are being outperformed by their non-disadvantaged peers in middle school mathematics. This problem is evidenced by 2013 data from a national middle school mathematics assessment which revealed an achievement gap of 27 scale score points. Closing this gap is important to schools with high populations of…

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which sustained teacher professional development in science education affects the classroom instruction of elementary school teachers in third through sixth grade over a 3-year period. The teachers in the study were all elementary endorsed and prepared to be generalists in the content areas.…

Use of external vendors to implement school reform and address student achievement in urban secondary schools has not been studied. This quasi-experimental longitudinal study focused on changes in student achievement among urban 9th grade students during the 2010-2011 school year. The theoretical framework was the transformational model of using…

Recent advances in technology and ideology have unlocked entirely new directions for education research. Mounting pressure from increasing tuition costs and free, online course offerings are opening discussion and catalyzing change in the physical classroom. The flipped classroom is at the center of this discussion. The flipped classroom is a new…

Set in a large, urban, public university, this study explores the use of an institutionally specific risk instrument developed to identify students who had a high risk of attrition and the effectiveness of subsequent interventions deployed through advising. Though implemented throughout the institution, this study identified control and treatment…

Professional Development (PD) is an important tool in the field of education. Successful PD programs are those that include adult learning methods and opportunities for experiential learning and discussion. The university where this action research was conducted does not offer formal training to adjunct instructors. The adjunct instructors are…