This dissertation advances research on evaluation (RoE) through a trio of studies focusing on the role of context and the innovative use of Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software in formative evaluation in a qualitative research project. The first article extends Coryn et al. (2017) and elucidates how various contextual…

This dissertation examines how modernity sets conditions within higher education and how those conditions impact writing-related transfer. I draw on research into modernity and higher education; narratives of teaching writing; and a qualitative research project with student-athletes, student-non-athletes, and writing tutors to explore how…

This study examines the student writer perspective of a first-year composition program's student learning outcomes. Student descriptions of learning are a valuable, yet often overlooked data source. The student voice broadens a first-year composition program's outcomes-based, student learning assessment process as program assessment data is often…

This research was carried out within a qualitative research paradigm. The objective was to observe, analyze and enrich pedagogical practice through the use of pedagogical learning strategies. The learning strategy was a participative and individualized lab carried out during a research project in a non-Traditional Laboratory (LnT). The primary aim…

Tullahoma City Schools, a rural district in Middle Tennessee, recently switched from traditional static textbooks to an online, open educational resource platform. As a result of this change the role of curator, a teacher who creates the Flexbook by compiling and organizing content, was created. This research project sought to add to the limited…

Tullahoma City Schools, a rural district in Middle Tennessee, recently switched from traditional static textbooks to an online, open educational resource platform. As a result of this change the role of curator, a teacher who creates the Flexbook by compiling and organizing content, was created. This research project sought to add to the limited…

Tullahoma City Schools, a rural district in Middle Tennessee, recently switched from traditional static textbooks to an online, open educational resource platform. As a result of this change the role of curator, a teacher who creates the Flexbook by compiling and organizing content, was created. This research project sought to add to the limited…

A participatory action research project involving social workers as stakeholders from high schools and the local community college in Nassau County, New York, provided the basis for an inquiry that addressed the effectiveness and implementation of clinical social work practice with Black male students transitioning to community college from high…

Technology and a variety of resources play an important role in students' educational lives. Vygotsky's (1987) theory of tool mediation suggests that cultural tools, such as computer software influence individuals' thinking and action. However, it is not completely understood how technology and other resources influence student action. Middle…

This study implemented and evaluated gaming instruction as a professional development for science teachers at a Georgia high school. It was guided by four research questions that (a) assessed the impact of training in gaming instruction and evaluation of that training on science teachers' ability to use games; (b) examined evidence showing that…

This grounded theory study explores the ways in which scholars conduct their research, including how they find and organize resources, how they identify and work with collaborators, how they interact with technology during the course of their research, and how they disseminate the results of a research project. Nine scholars were interviewed…

Literature suggested that the mandated filtering required by the Children's Internet Protection Act of 2000 adversely affected the educational system. The literature stated that schools imposed more restrictive filtering than the Act mandated. School systems had the responsibility to ensure that children learn to read, write, and perform…

This dissertation is a qualitative study of a curriculum I designed for composition students in the Fall of 2012. The curriculum I created is informed by the Freirean edict that a self-generated desire to "create knowledge" is far more likely to result in meaningful, holistic learning than simply "banking" information. In the…

As an insider-action research project, there are really two projects at work in this study (Coghlan & Brannick, 2010)--the core project and the dissertation project. The aim of the core project is to promote organizational change for my organization, the Women's Center, by facilitating the first iteration of a participatory evaluation with our…

This study identified factors that influenced the use of project management in higher education research projects. Using a qualitative grounded theory approach that included in-depth interviews with assistant professors, the researcher examined how these individuals were using project management processes and tools and factors that enabled,…