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Our graduates have contributed to higher education literature through dissertations related to teaching and learning in their disciplines as well as to administrative and academic leadership research. The doctoral requirements remain committed to the degree’s original purpose: Students complete advanced coursework in their knowledge areas as well as in the higher education core; they fully participate in the scholarship of teaching and learning by discussing pedagogical issues as well as disciplinary theory. Most of the studies use qualitative methodologies; a few follow quantitative research methods. Each dissertation is original, creative scholarship that can serve as a solid base for future research in the field. Many graduates have received awards or have been published. Individual dissertations are available through the Dissertation Abstracts Database or Mason’s Fenwick Library. Spring 2011 Dissertation Title: Healthcare Communication for Virginia Community College System Nurse and Allied Health Programs: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Relational Communication Author's Name: Mary Anne Keefer Dissertation Director: Victoria Salmon Dissertation Abstract: This study examines communication skills in the nurse-patient communication process through interdisciplinary data from the nurse and communication fields. The call for improved communication competency over the last 20 years, and the low rate of skill retention from remedial on-the-job communication workshops, confirms the need for improved communication training at the educational level. Research substantiates improved patient outcomes and patient satisfaction when relational communication is utilized in the nurse-patient relationship. Problems in creating an effective healthcare communication course are the absence of a theoretical framework and a multitude of definitions describing communication concepts and skills. Community colleges educate over 60% of the nation’s nurse and allied health professionals, yet few Virginia community college nurse or allied programs require a communication course in their programs. Communication training is provided within clinical courses and frequently utilizes a task-oriented approach. Findings show that there is an interrelationship between conceptualized behaviors, such as therapeutic, and interpersonal skill behaviors within relational communication that is not apparent in task-oriented communication training. A model healthcare relational communication course was designed to fill the gap between education and practice for communication competence for nurse and allied health students. The model’s framework is communication relational theory, which includes both conceptual behaviors and multi-dimensional interpersonal skill behaviors. Dissertation Title: Campus-Based Child Care Needs Assessment: A Study of Campus-Based Child Care Business Plans Author's Name: Kathleen A. Ludlow Dissertation Director: Victoria Salmon Dissertation Abstract: This dissertation analyzes the demand for child care services at the Manassas Campus of Northern Virginia Community College and describes the demonstrated benefits of a campus based child care center at existing institutions and the features of the business plans that successfully created them. In the process of researching and writing this dissertation, the author conducted a literature search of the documented history and benefits of campus based child care, conducted a survey of the student and faculty of the Manassas Campus to assess child care demand, and performed an analysis of the business planning of existing Virginia college campus based child care centers. This dissertation is slated to be a reference and resource for college leaders and administrators as they focus on selecting options to improve the quality of the community college experience and achieve the objective goals that they have set for their institutions. Dissertation Title: Sustaining Service-Learning Best Practices at Six Exemplar U.S. Community Colleges Author's Name: Ann Ludwick Dissertation Director: John O'Connor Dissertation Abstract: This qualitative study identified key factors associated with exemplar service-learning programs at six community colleges across the United States. The purpose of this case study was to determine why these programs have sustained over time and to better understand how administrators and faculty meet shifting demands for service-learning. The mixed methods research design was primarily qualitative and used surveys, interviews, and document analysis. Participants included program coordinators, faculty, and presidents at the six selected colleges. Semi-structured interviews provided multiple viewpoints of the current state of service-learning at the institutions. An analysis of these interviews relied on the participants' own experiences and explanations as to why service-learning has survived for more than a decade at their colleges. Findings revealed that robust programs started with a strong foundation, made positive connections across the college and throughout the community, had organizational structures aligned with service, used service-learning to emphasize student learning, and recognized the practical application of this method for career and work purposes. Barriers affecting programs within the college and community partners revolved around communication, procedural, and organizational issues. The six colleges have demonstrated that long-term service-learning offers practical, real-world learning opportunities for students, the college, and the community. Dissertation Title: Contesting and Negotiating Social Space in the Classroom: A Case Study that Examines and Explores Power in Two Communication Classrooms at One University Author's Name: Rebecca A. Walter Dissertation Director: Victoria Rader Dissertation Abstract: Summer 2010 Dissertation Title: The Effect of Information Literacy Competency on Student Learning and Success in Three Community Colleges Author's Name: Imogene Zachery Dissertation Director: Victoria Salmon Dissertation Abstract: Higher education administrators, faculty, and librarians recognize that successful students must develop lifelong learning skills to succeed in their academic pursuits. In today’s society, it is necessary for students to function well in an Information Age because of the explosion of information technologies. They must be information literate and know how to navigate, find, retrieve, analyze, and use information to be successful in an academic environment as well as the workplace. Successfully integrating students into the college environment is a crucial concern for improving student success and learning in higher education. Community colleges, in particular, are concerned about students being assigned to developmental courses, and the large number of freshman who dropout after their first year. During the 1990s, the California Community College Board of Governors published several reports that recommended the importance of teaching information literacy skills as a component for successful student learning and workplace performance. As a result of these reports, some of the California community colleges have integrated information literacy within the curriculum through various models. Six pioneering community colleges in California developed and implemented an information literacy requirement within their curriculums. Spring 2010 Dissertation Title: An Examination of Instructor Preparation for Teaching Dual Enrollment Classes Author's Name: Barbara Abdul-Karim Dissertation Director: Dr. Victoria Salmon Dissertation Abstract: This study examined instructor preparation for teaching dual enrollment students, college-level work. This research focused on Maryland dual enrollment programs that offered both high school and college credit to high school students, for each college A.A. and A.S. transfer course taken. One significant goal of dual enrollment programs is to improve pathways for a seamless transition from high school to college. To accomplish this goal and ensure the quality of dual credit instruction, instructors must be prepared to deliver a rigorous course of study equivalent to college-level work. Preparedness is the result of postsecondary degree program completion and prerequisite and ongoing learning opportunities related to curriculum, content, classroom management, and the needs of a special population – in this case, high school students with varying degrees of readiness for college-level work. The study revealed several issues related to instructor qualifications, preparation, and evaluation. Specifically, preparation for teaching dual enrollment classes does not involve orientation or professional development specific to this special population. Instructor qualification policies were not consistently enforced for all faculty teaching dual enrollment classes. Additionally, dual enrollment faculty members are not evaluated by dual program coordinators. Assumptions that faculty can easily apply the same teaching techniques used for college students to all high school students entering their classes can prove contrary, influencing the quality of dual enrollment classes. Although instructors cannot be held responsible for the lack of knowledge and skills of high school students, they can facilitate student success by being made aware of and prepared to handle these academically diverse students. Dissertation Title: SUPERVISION STRATEGIES THAT BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE AMONG COUNSELORS IN TRAINING Author's Name: Nicole Better-Fitzhugh Dissertation Director: Dr. John O'Connor Dissertation Abstract: Nine Counselors in Training participated in this survey study which utilized surveys and a semi-structured group interview to share their perceptions of their internship experience and their development of self confidence in becoming a Professional School Counselor. The purpose of this study was to understand what supervision strategies were utilized by site supervisors and how effective these strategies were to building self-confidence and job readiness among Counselors in Training (CITs). The results of the study indicated that there is some impact on effective supervision strategies and development of self confidence. Also, self confidence among this masters level group was influenced by past experience and prior knowledge, specifically for those who had been employed as school teachers or mental health professionals. Students who rated the supervision strategies positively also perceived themselves as having adequate self-confidence. There were several conclusions about leadership and supervision strategies that were generated from this study. The first conclusion is effective supervisors have “good” leadership qualities. These qualities include the following: passionate, empathic, caring, respectful; understanding, patient, encouraging, responsible, knowledgeable, organized, being a good communicator and having the ability to build rapport. The next conclusion was a supervisor is an effective teacher, coach and mentor. The ability to appropriately supervise, guide, teach and mentor a trainee is important. There are several skills that CITs believed were necessary for building their self confidence and job readiness. These include: application-observation-feedback; hands on experiences, mentoring and coaching; a variety of structured learning activities and providing resources. The role and responsibility of the supervisor is to create a safe environment to learn and grow. Another conclusion was a supervisor provides feedback and helps trainees recognize their strengths and weaknesses. Praise and redirection are important components of supervision and the learning process. Helping a counselor in training recognize their strengths and weaknesses and providing a safe place to develop their skills is essential to their professional development.
The final conclusion for this study was self confidence is influenced by prior knowledge and experience, but can be enhanced by positive supervision during the internship. Based on the above conclusions there were three recommendations for site supervisors: (1) there is a necessity for training in supervision and leadership skills; (2) university professors must be involved in the monitoring of CITs during their field experience and (3) clear definition of the role and responsibility of the site supervisor must be communicated with appropriate and inappropriate learning activities. Dissertation Title: ENDURING PERSONAL LEGACIES: THE NATURE, ANTECEDENTS, AND SUPPORT OF GENERATIVITY IN LEADERSHIP (A CASE STUDY OF FEMALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE LEADERS IN MIDLIFE) Author's Name: Laura Hills Dissertation Chair: Dr. Nance Lucas Dissertation Abstract: The purpose of this descriptive multiple case study was to understand the nature, antecedents, and support of generativity in the leadership of female community college leaders in midlife. This study was undertaken to contribute to the research about generativity in leadership and particularly, among the women who lead our nation’s community colleges. A goal of this research was to develop working hypotheses about how and why female community college leaders in midlife are generative and how the community colleges that employ them can support their leadership generativity. The research questions that guided this study were (1) What is the nature of leadership generativity? (2) What are the antecedents of leadership generativity motivation? and (3) What environmental factors within a community college setting facilitate or inhibit leadership generativity? Nine key findings revealed that the informants’ leadership generativity was an extension of their day-to-day work with a scope limited to the community college and the community it serves. The informants believed that being in midlife, being a woman, and their core leadership values strongly influenced the nature of their leadership generativity. Positivity and faith or spiritualism also influenced informants’ leadership generativity. The informants identified numerous antecedents for their leadership generativity from their childhoods and early adulthoods. They believed that growing up in the 1960s particularly influenced their leadership generativity. Findings also revealed that the community college environment can facilitate or inhibit leadership generativity through its programs and policies. The eight working hypotheses formulated from this study are that (1) generativity is instilled at an early age, (2) generative individuals may be strong candidates for leadership generativity development programs, (3) recognizing leadership legacies motivates leadership generativity, (4) top-down support is needed to develop community college leadership generativity, (5) mentorship programs can develop leadership generativity, (6) leadership generativity can be explicitly taught and learned, (7) learning communities can develop leadership generativity, and (8) leadership coaching can develop a leader’s generative capabilities. The study’s emergent theoretical framework for developing community college leadership generativity relies upon four supports, four structures, and 24 content topics in the areas of organizational and personal development. It is potentially useful to community colleges that seek to develop, motivate, nurture, foster, and sustain leadership generativity. Dissertation Title: BLOGS, WIKIS, AND E-PORTFOLIOS: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TECHNOLOGY ON ACTUAL LEARNING IN COLLEGE COMPOSITION Author's Name: Edith Kennedy Dissertation Chair: Dr. Victoria Salmon Dissertation Abstract: This study, as the title suggests, examines the effectiveness of using blogs, wikis, and e-portfolios in College Composition classes. The value of these tools was examined in their relationship with actual and real learning as defined by Cross (1999), Marchese (2002), Kolb (1884), Smilkstein (2003), Wolfe (2001), and Paul and Elder (2001). The questions examined are whether or not there is a pedagogical underpinning for the use of these technologies and do these tools really enhance student writing. Over the course of three semesters, the work of 207 students was examined to determine the effect of assigning work on blogs, wikis, and e-portfolios. The students were enrolled in College Composition I and College Composition II classes at Northern Virginia Community College, Manassas. Students ranged from dual-enrolled high school students to traditional students and those returning to class after an extended absence. Some students had previous experience with computers and others were novices. The pedagogical areas examined in this study are Time on Task, Collaboration, Peer Feedback and Reflection. Using these criteria, the application of blogs, wikis, and e-portfolios created a learning environment that enhanced the opportunity for student learning. In addition, an examination of student writing showed an improvement in academic prose across the duration of the courses. While there is a learning curve for students and instructors to learn these technologies, they do contribute to actual learning in composition classrooms. This study will be of interest to teachers contemplating the use of or already utilizing technologies in the composition classroom. This document contains a discussion of the elements of each of the technologies under discussion, their application in composition classes, and their effectiveness. Ample use of student work is included to show the results of these assignments.
Spring 2009 Dissertation Title: The Holocaust in Northern Greece: The War Against the Sephardic Jews of Thessaloniki Author's Name: Harry D. Dinella Dissertation Director: Dr. Lenore Weitzman Dissertation Abstract: The Holocaust in Greece is not a well known story. This is primarily because in terms of the overall Holocaust and its six million victims, Greece’s relative small pre-war population of 79,000 Jews remains a relative backwater in Holocaust studies. The majority of Greece’s Jews, over eighty percent, were concentrated in the northern portion of the country, primarily in Macedonia and Thrace and particularly in the port city of Thessaloniki with its pre-war population of 50,000 Greek Jews. The majority of Greece’s Jews were Sephardic or “Spanish Jews” whose ancestors came to Ottoman (Turkish) Greece in the late 15th century. They are a unique civilization that until the arrival of the German occupation forces in Greece in the spring of 1941 had developed and endured in first Spain and then Greece for almost two millennia. Dissertation Title: AUTHENTIC DIVERSITY: A CASE STUDY ON COLLEGE STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT WITH DIVERSITY COMPETENCIES IN AN INTEGRATIVE STUDIES DEGREE PROGRAM Author's Name: Kimberly A. Saunders Dissertation Director: Dr. Nance Lucas Dissertation Abstract: This qualitative study provided a lens into the context of a senior capstone experience in an Integrative Studies degree program. The primary aim of this case study was to explore the use of capstone portfolio pedagogy as a reflection tool to demonstrate how students engage with authentic diversity competencies in an Integrative Studies degree program. In this study, diversity competency refers to the process of acquiring authentic diversity awareness, knowledge, and skills for the expressed purpose of preparing to function effectively in a diverse environment with respect and civility. Perspectives and academic experiences of ten interviewed undergraduate seniors, four graduation portfolio submitters (undergraduate seniors), and five interviewed professors within a single unit of study served as the primary data collection source to gain greater understanding of the themes derived from two investigative research questions: (1) How are the educational benefits of diversity and the competencies that foster it understood by students? (2) How is diversity defined, communicated, and implemented in student development and learning experiences? Findings revealed that evidence of students’ engagement with diversity competencies in an Integrative Studies environment was positively influenced by eight best practices: (a) diverse student interaction, (b) reflection-based teaching and learning practices, (c) experiential learning opportunities, (d) structured and shared curricular vocabulary, (e) integrative pedagogy, (f) enhanced self-awareness, (g) an interchange of diverse perspectives, and (h) portfolio-based assessment. Ultimately, these insights served as the impetus behind the creation of a mnemonic model that illustrates the core elements of authentic diversity and a diagram of the diversity competency cycle. Dissertation Title: Geography in Virginia: Four Hundred Years of Geography and Geography Education in the Old Dominion Author's Name: Monika Bachmann Dissertation Director: Dr. Allan Falconer Dissertation Abstract: This paper examines the four-hundred year history of geography and geography education in Virginia. As the site of the oldest permanent English settlement in North America, the home of many of America’s most important founding fathers and early presidents, and location of many pivotal military battles of the Revolution and Civil War, Virginia was until the mid-nineteenth century one of America’s leading colonies and states. It has an unparalleled and richly documented history of geographic scholarship and thought, producing a reputable geographic study written in each century since its founding in 1607. From Robert Smith in the seventeenth century, through Robert Beverly and Thomas Jefferson in the eighteenth, Matthew Fontaine Maury in the nineteenth, to Jean Gottmann in the twentieth, the Old Dominion provides the backdrop for a valuable geographic heritage that reflects the geographic “Weltanschauung” (world view) of not just Virginia, but the greater nation. Sometimes as a follower, but more often – and more recently again – as a leader, Virginia’s geographically-informed Weltanschauung and the discipline’s fortunes waxed and waned with the flow of people, societal norms, territorial expansion and wars, and technology. The history of geography’s evolution in the Old Dominion is traced chronologically in two ways: the formal geographic studies by Smith, Beverly, Jefferson, Maury, and Gottmann, and the examination of geography education in schools at all levels. The former approach traces the changing nature of Virginia’s “Weltanschauung;” the latter approach reveals that the discipline’s history in Virginia’s (and the country’s) educational system has been fluid, at times giving dictation regarding curriculum and pedagogy, at other times taking it. Various indicators, such as the number of schools offering geography, the number of students enrolled in geography courses, and the kinds of texts used, show a close correlation between the growth and change of the state (and, by extension, the nation), and the growth and change of the discipline, both in academia and in the popular perception of the discipline. Dissertation Title: CONNECTING SCIENCE AND THE MUSICAL ARTS IN TEACHING TONE QUALITY: INTEGRATING HELMHOLTZ MOTION AND MASTER VIOLIN TEACHERS’ PEDAGOGIES Author's Name: Cheri Collins Dissertation Director: Dr. James Gardner Dissertation Abstract: Is it possible for students to achieve better tone quality from even their factory-made violins? All violins, regardless of value, respond the same in the first five vibrational modes, of the instrument. These modes, called signature modes, correspond to the first position range on a violin, (196600 hertz.) For the string to vibrate fully, to stimulate these modes, the bow needs to be pulled across the string with enough pressure for the horsehairs to catch. This friction permits the string to vibrate in Helmholtz Motion, which produces a corner that travels along the edge of the string between the bridge and the nut. Creating this corner is the most fundamental technique for achieving good tone. Dissertation Title: COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACILITY DESIGN: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LEARNING-CENTERED PARADIGM AND LEARNING SPACE THROUGH THE LENS OF DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIES FACULTY IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES Author's Name: Betty J. Perkinson Dissertation Director: Dr. Gail Kettlewell Dissertation Abstract: The view that community college developmental studies educators have about the space in which they teach, any renovated or new spaces they were involved in designing, and the type of space in which they would like to teach is examined. The developmental studies educators are experts in their field, having completed The Kellogg Institute at Appalachian State University or having served as a president of the National Association for Developmental Educators. Qualitative methodology yielded data that indicated the developmental studies educators used collaborative, problem-based, and experiential techniques in their teaching; that some believe that their work was given strong consideration in the final design of the space; and that learning space strongly impacted how they teach. The participants commented positively on the researcher’s sketch of a proposed learning-centered classroom space which permits them to expand their teaching techniques and better effect student learning. Dissertation Title: LIVE CONFERENCE FEEDBACK AS THE PRIMARY MODE OF TEACHER RESPONSE TO FRESHMAN WRITING: PERCEPTIONS, PATTERNS, AND CONNECTIONS Author's Name: Betty F. McLaughlin Dissertation Director: Dr. Donald Gallehr Dissertation Abstract: Freshman composition instructors often spend huge quantities of time on student essays, trying to communicate what works well and what doesn’t in each essay so that students can improve their writing skills. Far too often the time that they spend does not result in the student learning and subsequent improvement in writing that students and their instructors desire.
Fall 2008 Dissertation Title: Protecting Children in Cyberspace: A Higher Education Case Study Author's Name: James Lantzy Dissertation Director: Dr. Victoria Salmon Dissertation Abstract: The internet provides students with a multitude of resources for learning, communicating, and entertainment. Children should develop skills to identify not only good information but biases, misinformation, and safety and security threats. All children should understand how to protect themselves online, their personal information when engaging with others online, and the potential consequences of their actions in online information sharing through social networking sites, e-mail, gaming, and instant messaging to name a few. To this end, the Virginia Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology produced Guidelines and Resources for Internet Safety in Schools (October 10, 2006) which requires all K-12 schools to integrate an Internet safety component into each school division’s instructional program. This case study reviewed the collaboration efforts of one higher education institution’s effectiveness in assisting the middle school education community in Rockingham County and Harrisonburg City schools through a community partnership with the Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology, James Madison University (JMU), and the Harrisonburg City and Rockingham County school districts. This collaboration centered on whether higher education (with JMU serving as a subject matter expert in information security education), and its K-12 resource Cyber Citizenship for Kids Guide, could lead a grassroots community-centered campaign for Internet safety and provide a solution which met the requirements of these Guidelines and Resources for Internet Safety in Schools as outlined by the Commonwealth for their K-12 community. To achieve this end, middle school teachers, school administrators, instructional technology resource teachers (ITRT), counselors, resource officers, school media specialists, JMU staff, and Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology staff participated in a combination of surveys, interview questionnaires, and telephone and personal interviews. This research determined that this community partnership on cyber safety education between higher education and K-12 institutions in Rockingham County and Harrisonburg was perceived by stakeholders as feasible and effective. Several aspects of this county-wide community partnership effort to enhance K-12 cyber safety awareness can serve as a credible statewide model in providing Internet safety education to K-12 throughout the Commonwealth. Summer 2008 Dissertation Title: CRITICAL REVIEW: PRENATAL FLUOXETINE EXPOSURE, NEONATAL TOXICITY, AND DEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOMES Author's Name: Raymond Lattanzio Dissertaion Director: Dr. Robert Smith Dissertation Abstract: In 1988, Ely Lilly and Company introduced fluoxetine (better known by its brand name, Prozac) for the treatment of depression, which occurs most frequently in women during their reproductive years. Women undergoing pharmacotherapy for depression may become pregnant during treatment inadvertently exposing their unborn to the drug or may experience depression so severely as to necessitate treatment even when pregnancy is known. However, the consequences of prenatal fluoxetine exposure to the developing fetal nervous system are not completely understood. A few studies examine the possibility of negative birth outcomes and alterations in early post-natal learning following prenatal fluoxetine exposure, but results are inconclusive and often contradictory of one another. This pattern holds for the larger corpus examining fluoxetine exposures at different points in the life span to brain-alterations and learning behavior. This dissertation critically reviews the fluoxetine-related corpus, with particular attention focused on studies of neonatal toxicity and behavioral alterations following prenatal exposures in humans. Significant differences were found in patterns of results reporting in the fluoxetine-related literature based on the presence or absence of corporate support from fluoxetine’s manufacturer. In studies where no corporate support was acknowledged, findings tended to be less favorable regarding the consequences of fluoxetine than in those studies for which corporate support was recognized. A trend in the differences of reporting patterns was recognized in studies related to prenatal fluoxetine exposure, neonatal toxicity, and behavioral teratogenicity – which resembles that described for the larger corpus. Methodological differences were observed which seem related to patterns of corporate support for prenatal fluoxetine research and could account for some of the disparate results, including (but not limited to): lack of proper control groups and the use of poly-drug studies that failed to control for the influence of other drug exposures on outcome variables. Two new studies are proposed which address the methodological concerns articulated in this dissertation for the purpose of advancing scientific understanding of prenatal fluoxetine exposure and fetal safety, while clarifying outstanding issues in the current corpus. Implications for undergraduate education in the conduct and interpretation of multi-disciplinary research are discussed. Spring 2008 Dissertation Title: School Violence Revisited: A Look at Rural Schools Author's Name: Kathleen Gentry Dissertation Director: Dr. Victoria Salmon Dissertation Abstract: This dissertation examines the actual degree of violence within two rural and two urban public high schools in central Virginia. It also examines the perceptions of violence by rural and urban teachers within these four schools. Respondents were surveyed regarding both the level of violence and perceptions of violence within their respective schools. It was found that although both rural and urban teachers felt that urban schools experienced more violence, neither the level of violence nor the types of violence differed among rural and urban schools. In addition, school personnel at rural and urban schools had varying definitions of school violence, illustrating that a universal definition is necessary in order to explore this problem further. Because local community colleges could be invaluable in providing their communities with school violence workshops to discuss both issues of actual violent incidents and perceptions of violence as determined by high school personnel, a sample workshop is described herein. Dissertation Title: The Fragments of Frustration in Building Academic Literacy for College Bound African-American Students: Implications for the Use of Outdoor Education Author's Name: G. Hope Asterilla Dissertation Director: Dr. Nicola Williams Dissertation Abstract: This study describes the academic and social challenges African American students face in transitioning from high school to college. In addition to academic challenges, first time college students must simultaneously handle new social challenges including self-advocacy skills with faculty and interpersonal peer relations within the university community. Consequently, many first time college students lacking these skills become disillusioned and do not re-enroll after that first year. This qualitative study describes the responses of a small group of African-American college students relative to their high school preparation and first year college experiences to provide a snapshot as to reasons why this transition may be difficult for some students. Based on a short questionnaire and a focus group interview, this research offers candid insight relevant to current instructional practices on both the high school and college level. The study found amongst other things, African-American students experience some social isolation on the college campus. These findings suggests that the instructional rigor of high school be strengthened; that culturally responsive instruction in the classrooms be implemented in high school and college; and, that alternative instructional learning environments be included in the curriculum--the blend of which would help African-American students develop the academic and social skills required for success in college. This research has value for both high school and college administrators as a foundation for developing new perspectives on instructional frameworks for African American students. It also speaks to the need for additional research studies supportive of academic literacy skills for African American students. Dissertation Title: Transforming the Anne Arundel Community College Sophomore Literature Course Lecture Using Multimedia: A Qualitative Study Author's Name: Verna Robinson Dissertation Director: Dr. Victoria Salmon Dissertation Abstract: This qualitative study is an initial investigation to determine the effect or impact of video and CD-ROM/DVD lectures on student engagement in English 222 (The American Novel) for three groups of sophomore literature students at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland. Eleven male and female students of diverse ethnic backgrounds and disciplines ages twenty and up from three academic semesters (Fall 2004, Fall 2005, and Spring 2007) were given video and CD-ROM/DVD lectures on the historical, social, cultural, intellectual, and sociological context of six 19th and 20th century novels (The Scarlet Letter, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, The House of Mirth, As I Lay Dying, y no se lo trago la tierra/And the Earth Did Not Devour Him, and Beloved). Faculty from across the disciplines (American Studies, Women’s Studies, history, English, sociology and political science) provided the context-setting lectures. The study addressed the pedagogical reliance on traditional lecture and investigated the multimedia lecture as an effective method of instruction to engage community college students in a sophomore literature class. Qualitative data was collected using an audiotaped interview, a Multimedia Attitude Survey, a Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, an End Course Survey, and a Student Reflection Journal. Qualitative data indicate students in English 222 found using multimedia lectures a beneficial and a valuable experience, but the data also suggest students experienced varying degrees of engagement and satisfaction with the lecture alternative. However, students reported the multimedia lectures and the lecturers helped them understand the novels’ contexts, clarified important aspects of each novel’s historical background, motivated and prepared them for class discussions, and prompted critical thinking and appreciation of the literary works. Themes that emerged from the qualitative data analysis as benefits students reported include motivation to come to class, taking initiative for learning, having control of learning, confidence to participate in class discussion, convenience, self-paced learning, valuable use of time, promoting learning of course subject matter and novel context, and note-taking behaviors. This investigation yields valuable information on effective and appropriate instructional pedagogies for community college students in a sophomore literature class, the value of faculty collaboration across the disciplines, and the significance of classroom research and teacher reflection on classroom practice as examples of the scholarship of teaching at the community college.
Dissertation Title: Assisting College Students with Learning Disabilities by Evaluating Community College Student Development Courses Author's Name: Salome Turnberger Dissertation Director: Dr. Victoria Salmon Dissertation Abstract: This study examined syllabi for student development courses offered at the 23 main community colleges with 40 branch campuses of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) to determine content and structure relevant to the needs of students with learning disabilities. This dissertation was qualitative with its case study methodology while quantitative in its content analysis. The researcher’s content analysis of the student development 100, 101, and, 108 course syllabi used a 22-point matrix, and concluded with recommendations for community colleges, instructors and student development course syllabi to best serve the academic needs of students with learning disabilities. This project indicated the importance of the student orientation course to students with learning disabilities, and concurs with scholars that both topics – orientation courses and meeting the needs of college students with learning disabilities – require further attention and research in order to gather information pertinent to developing the college curriculum while assisting special needs students achieve academic success at community colleges Dissertation Title: Stone Carving: A Case Study on The Revitalization of a Critical Art Medium at Northern Virginia Community College Author's Name: Barbara Lash Dissertation Director: Dr. Gail Kettlewell Dissertation Abstract: This research examines the 1997 - 2002 Stone Carving Program located on the Manassas Campus of Northern Virginia Community College. Research surveys and interviews were developed to obtain pertinent information from two distinct groups. Part I consisted of administration, faculty, and students from the program which allows a thorough overview of the program. Part II included professional stone carvers, other stone carving programs from the United States and Europe, and prospective students wishing to enroll in a dedicated stone carving program. Part II participants brought added dimension to this study demonstrating how stone carvers learn the traditional art/craft techniques of carving in stone. Dedicated stone carving programs in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany provided insight to well established and successful courses of study. Fall 2007 Dissertation Title: Barrier to Teaching Computing Courses From a Distance at Community Colleges Author's Name: Homayoun Sharafi Dissertation Director: Dr. Edward Wegman Dissertation Abstract: This dissertation describes faculty-perceived barriers associated with offering computing courses from a distance using Internet and Web-based technologies at community colleges. To have a better understanding of these barriers, computing faculty at three community colleges were asked to provide feedback on barriers to distance education. Results of this study resulted in a set of recommendations aimed at (1) increasing the number of computing courses delivered from a distance in community colleges and (2) encouraging computing instructors at these colleges to use Internet and Web-based technologies to enhance their teaching. Dissertation Title: Effective Mathematics Placement Testing Strategies: A Study of Mathematics Placement Test Retake Policies at a Two-Year Community College in Florida Author's Name: Sanford Geraci Dissertation Director: Dr. Stephen Saperstone Dissertation Abstract: Placement testing in college is important partly because initial placement recommendations may be followed by further placement recommendations based on retakes of the placement test. This study examines a particular mathematics retake policy at a community college in Florida which allows students to retest on the mathematics placement test every 90 days. As a result, students may be placed into a particular course and then retake the placement test before the semester ends. It is an increasingly known practice among students that if their retake placement scores place them in a higher course, students sometimes withdraw from their current course and take the higher level course the following semester – without finishing the course into which they were originally placed. Analysis of the data collected reveals that students who retake the placement exam and test into a subsequent developmental course do worse in the subsequent course than those students who initially placed into that higher level course. Although a relatively small number of students retake the placement test, the study further shows that most of those students do not perform better as a result of the placement retake, and the number that performs better is insignificant. These findings are based on analysis of the sample proportions. Recommendations include changing the college’s retake policies. The most significant recommendation permits retakes only before initial enrollment, suggests placing students based on the average of their pre-enrollment placement and retake(s) scores, and defines a stricter time limit on how long placement scores are accepted. The recommendations can serve as an example for other colleges nationwide. Dissertation Title: The Characteristics of the Successful Online Student Author's Name: Linda Atwell Dissertation Director: Dr. Don Boileau Dissertation Abstract: This dissertation describes the challenges facing students in distance education online courses, and the identified student, instructor and program traits that lead to student online success. The traits can be used by instructors to guide students toward success in their courses. A distance education public speaking course was designed that adapted the identified success traits using instructional design. The author conducted an in depth review of the literature which identified and listed the traits that researchers, instructors and students reported contribute to student online success. The traits are tried and proven according to researchers. Additionally, a survey was designed for distance education community college students to obtain their perceptions of those factors involved in student success. Both the review of the literature and the survey provided the basis for this study. The outcome of the study determined that many traits can be (1) integrated in the course requirements, such as using online discussions to promote critical thinking, providing learning questions and activities, or using questionnaires to collect valuable information about students to design the course around. Moreover, (2) the instructor can utilize the traits in their teaching styles such as, using a student-centered approach, accommodates all student learning styles, and offering positive feedback and reinforcement to students, being easily assessable to students, and setting up a solid communication framework for students. Also, success traits can be (3) adopted by the instructor that are beneficial to students through their attitudes and interpersonal behavior with students, such as encouraging students, being friendly and approachable. (4) Instructors can teach success traits to students such as, technology orientations to help students learn new technologies and time management, good note taking and study skills. Finally, some success traits are (5) internal in students and can be encouraged and developed by the instructor such as, independence, self-directing and good cognitive skills. This dissertation is slated to be a reference and resource for distance education online courses. Dissertation Title: Poetry Month: A Model for Integrating a Learning-Centered Cocurricular Project into American Literature and Creative Course Curricula Author's Name: Laura Casal Dissertation Director: Dr. Christopher Thaiss Dissertation Abstract: This course design dissertation models the integration of activities traditionally deemed cocurricular into two academic courses offered at the Northern Virginia Community College, Manassas campus: American literature and creative writing. The cocurricular activities were addressed as assignments within both syllabi, had clear academic objectives, were assessed and assigned a grade, and created a bridge between in-classroom and out-of--classroom learning by culminating most of the activities into poetry month, which was a month long celebration of poetry on the Manassas campus. The two courses were the foundation and base for the activities to be designed and validated as legitimate learning experiences, as well as delivered in a format appropriate to poetry month activities. This dissertation offers the rationale of taking traditional student affairs activities into the academic classroom, as well as designing activities that contain elements of both academic assignments and cocurricular activities. Part of the dissertation offers course materials such as syllabi and objectives for each assignment. This study will be helpful to anyone interested in deep learning that offers a seamless integration of in-classroom and out-of-classroom learning. In addition, this dissertation is an effective model for those interested in creating a learning community within the classroom that extends into the campus community. Although the courses were designed for the community college, this model can easily be adapted for universities interested in expanding learning beyond the classroom, while enhancing learning within the classroom. Summer 2007 Dissertation Title: The Science Writing Tool Author's Name: Arthur Schuhart Dissertation Director: Dr. Christopher Thaiss Dissertation Abstract: This is a two-part dissertation. One part is the text of a science-based composition rhetoric and reader called The Science Writing Tool. This textbook has seven chapters dealing with topics in Science Rhetoric. Each chapter includes a variety of examples of science writing, discussion questions, writing assignments, and instructional resources. The purpose of this text is to introduce lower-division college science majors to the role that rhetoric and communication plays in the conduct of Science, and how writing and communication skills contribute to a successful career in Science. The text is designed as a “tool kit,” for use by an instructor constructing a science-based composition course or a writing-intensive Science course. The second part of this dissertation reports on student responses to draft portions of The Science Writing Tool text. In this report, students of English Composition II at Northern Virginia Community College-Annandale were surveyed about their attitudes toward course materials and topics. The findings were used to revise and expand The Science Writing Tool. Dissertation Title: Art Making and Metacognition: How Visual Artists Approach Problem Finding and Problem Solving Author's Name: Susan Weissman Dissertation Director: Dr. Victoria Salmon Dissertation Abstract: This study investigated metacognition in 2-dimensional visual artists. Thirty-four participants responded to a set of ten questions designed to explore problem finding and problem solving among representationally trained painters who had been involved in art making for two decades. Data was collected through questionnaires, interviews, studio notes, and group discussion sessions. The intention was to explore art making and the thought processes that go into the conception and creation of a work of visual, 2-dimensional art. Individuals provided information as to background in art making, periods of heightened creativity, and awareness of the cognitive process. Ten case studies present examples of problem finding and problem solving.
Dissertation Title: A Handbook for Teaching Shifting to the Intermediate-Level Violin Student Author's Name: Rami Walid Kanaan Dissertation Director: Dr. James Gardner Dissertation Abstract: This study focuses on the development of an effective and efficient pedagogical approach to teach the technique of shifting to the intermediate-level violin student. The review of the literature surveys several issues related to violin shifting: the history of shifting, the different types of shifts, the mechanics of shifting, pedagogical approaches to shifting, and teaching material. The literature review is used to deduce general principles and guidelines for violin shifting and to develop an original shifting handbook created by the author of this study. The handbook contains pedagogically sequenced musical exercises and repertoire, which are geared towards the development of the shifting technique of the intermediate-level violin student. Dissertation Title: Latino Generation 1.5 Student Success in Community College Literature-Based Writing Courses, A Meta-Analysis Author's Name: Dana Burnside Dissertation Director: Debra Shutika Dissertation Abstract: The purpose of this meta-analysis is to explore the problems Latino Generation 1.5 students encounter in literature-based writing courses at Lehigh Carbon Community College, PA, by illuminating the issues facing students who share their characteristics, and to provide viable approaches for addressing their educational needs. The meta-analysis focuses on how research that has already been conducted regarding other populations, combined with the instructor's classroom observations, can be applied to Generation 1.5 students. This study qualitatively explores these issues and addresses the following broad research questions: 1) Are findings relevant to Latino college students helpful to Latino Generation 1.5 students? 2) Can research on first generation college students be applied to Generation 1.5 students? 3) How does ESL research address Generation 1.5 students? 4) Do theories regarding inclusive learning, inclusive literature, and learning communities address the problems exhibited by Generation 1.5 students? 5) How did the instructor's experiences working with Generation 1.5 students in a literature-based writing class confirm or deny findings in these areas? This research shows that an inclusive environment and the use of inclusive literature can help Latino Generation 1.5 students succeed in literature-based writing courses. Dissertation Title: POST 9-11 FOREIGN STUDENT ENROLLMENT AND THE STUDENT EXCHANGE AND VISA INFORMATION SYSTEM (SEVIS): A CASE STUDY OF THREE COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN THE WASHINGTON, D.C. METROPOLITAN AREA Author's Name: Henry J. Coffman Dissertation Director: Dr. Victoria Salmon Dissertation Abstract: This dissertation examines the effects of the implementation of the Student Exchange and Visa Information System (SEVIS) at three community colleges in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, the U.S. Congress mandated that all academic institutions which accept non-resident foreign students must provide information to SEVIS, a U.S. managed information system, on the enrollment status of the foreign student. The deadline for implementation was August, 2003. In the process of researching and writing this dissertation, the author conducted a literature search and reviewed public accessible student enrollment data reports from the following sources: Prince George?s Community College MD, Northern Virginia Community College VA, Montgomery College MD, Virginia Community College System hosted Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and the Institute of International Education (IIE), an independent nonprofit organization. The research included a review of the history and development of SEVIS, the study of government reports (e.g., U.S. Government Accounting Office, Code of Federal Regulations), the analysis of past student enrollments, and the application of the Holt Forecasting Model for predicting future foreign student enrollments. Dissertation Title: Is Current Economic Thought Reflected in the Best-Selling Principles Textbook? Author's Name: Jonathan Sleeper Dissertation Director: Dr. Peter Boettke Dissertation Abstract: This study tracks changes in the textbook Keynesian model in the best-selling principles- of-economics textbook in the United States, McConnell & Brue, and compares it with the profession's textbook of record, Samuelson & Nordhaus. One major and two minor themes present themselves from the analysis: (a) Despite the forces of inertia and other factors that affect textbook composition, the principles textbook is a surprisingly accurate reflection of current events and the evolution of ideas in the economics profession, with a lag of 5 to 10 years. Ideas that appeared rapidly were usually the result of widespread public concern and current events. Concepts that took longer to appear tended to be those that did not meet the research and other needs of the mainstream; delays in acceptance also appear due to conflict with the Keynesian paradigm under which the author(s) and reviewers were trained. (b) The widespread adoption of aggregate demand-aggregate supply (AD-AS) analysis has loosened Samuelson's influence on the principles text because it permits direct classroom exposition of the fundamental question in economics: the length of time it takes the economy to self-adjust. (c) The best-selling principles textbook taught our students a 1960s Keynesian approach to deficits and debt. An analysis in the appendix found that the Nobel Prize is a lagging indicator and the Bates Clark award is a leading indicator of the productivity of prominent economists. Dissertation Title: Examining Student And Teacher Perceptions Of The Usefulness Of Microworlds In Supporting The Learning And Assessment Of Computer Networking Problem Solving Skills: An Exploratory Case Study Author's Name: Mark C. Beattie Dissertation Director: Dr. Nada Dabbagh Dissertation Abstract: This exploratory case study addressed the problems associated with the cost and storage requirements of large amounts of computer network hardware needed to teach real world computer networking problem solving skills in the classroom by examining the use of computer Microworlds to teach and assess computer network problem solving skills. The study included the development of computer Microworld software to both foster and assess the development of computer networking problem solving skills in community college students. Subsequently teachers and students in seven classes of advanced computer networking students at Northern Virginia Community college were exposed to this Microworld software to help them to learn computer networking problem solving skills. Two of the classes involved also made use of the Microworld technology to assess the attending students' problem solving abilities. Teachers and students who were exposed to the Microworld software were later surveyed to evaluate their perceptions about the Microworld software in terms of its effectiveness for teaching and assessing computer networking problem solving skills. The results of these surveys were then compared to similar surveys completed by teachers and students in two additional advanced networking classes that had not been exposed to any Microworld technology. The results showed that both students and teachers who used the Microworld learning environment had a stronger belief in the usefulness of this technology for developing and assessing computer networking problem solving skills than those who had only been exposed to traditional teaching environments. This difference was calculated to be significant at the 95% confidence level. Similarly, the subjects who had used the Microworld technology for classroom assessment also expressed a stronger belief that they had been fairly assessed by this technology than the students who had been assessed by more traditional means felt about their methods of assessment. This difference was also calculated as being significant at the 95% confidence level. Dissertation Title: The Community College and Collaborative Partnerships: Addressing Community Needs Author's Name: Michael Tucker Dissertation Director: Dr. Carol Kaffenberger Dissertation Abstract: Complex social issues are the source of divisiveness within American communities. Despite decades of federal legislation and social programs; issues of racial/ethnic tensions, poverty, crime, and fragmentation of the family unit continues to threaten the nation (Edwards & Foley, 1997; Etzioni, 1993). Current higher education literature portrays the community college as an institutional citizen that is leading the collaborative efforts to resolve critical community issues as the catalyst of community problem solving. Despite this depiction, the image of these two-year educational institutions remains ambiguous. The researcher embarked upon this study with the objective of discovering empirical evidence which is absence in the discussion of the community college as the catalyst of community problem solving within higher education literature. This study utilized a case study design employing qualitative research methodology. Data collection protocol included the analysis of questionnaires administered to institutional personnel, service area constituencies, participants' interviews and the analysis of institutional and service area documentation. The findings emanating from this research study reveals an institution that is actively engaged with its service area, yet, an institution whose engagement is focused upon the workforce and economic development needs of the established segments of its community. Despite the lack of engagement by the institution in issues which by their very nature are divisive, the institution is regarded throughout its service area as a steward of the regions prosperity. This research produced several findings of importance to community colleges as they strive to assist their service areas with new and emerging issues of the 21st century. Establishing congruency between institutional actions and mission statement, effectively communicating the institutional role in the resolution of service area issues to institutional personnel and service are residents will strengthen the institution as an institutional citizen and its ability to address the traditional issues of workforce and economic development as well as those societal issues that are divisive by their very nature. Ultimately, this research lead to a clearer image and understanding of the depiction of the community college as the catalyst of community problem solving and intricacies faced by these institutional citizens as they strive to facilitate the resolution of service area issues. Dissertation Title: A Case Study of American Association of Community College Leadership Characteristics as Translated into Executive Leadership Knowledge Areas, Skills, and Abilities: Ranked Perceptions of Importance by Frederick Community College Trustees, Administrative Staff, General Faculty, Public Administration Faculty, and Graduates of the School's Executive Leadership Classes Author's Name: William Haydn Roberts Dissertation Director: Dr. Harold Gortner Dissertation Abstract: A review of the literature on executive leadership leads to the conclusion that there is much confusion about the definition and discussion of that role. Among the various ways of discussing leadership are descriptions of "traits," "characteristics," "competencies" and "knowledge areas, skills and abilities (KSAs)." This lack of definition and imprecise usage of terms/models is also present in the community college literature on executive leadership. This study attempts to remove some of the imprecision in terminology by examining the perceptions of members of the Frederick Community College (FCC) administration, faculty and staff by asking them to discuss the current leadership environment at FCC and to rank their perceptions of importance of the various characteristics as related to successful leadership in the College. The study was primarily based upon, or built around, the list of "executive leadership characteristics" developed by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Medical Executive Skills (JMES) competency list was also used for specific knowledge areas of the methodology. The study concludes that similar findings, in either a community college competency-based (or other term) position description environment will be achieved by using the knowledge area, skill and ability translation methodology?even though the AACC list is based on "characteristics" rather than the KSA methodology. Secondary research questions examined similarities and differences in perception rankings between trustees, faculty, administrators and graduates of the FCC executive leadership class. The secondary research question findings for each employee subset generally supported the high rankings of the AACC list, with the executive leadership class graduates showing the highest percentage rankings. However, the study findings were inconclusive as to similarities and differences on the sub-set of public administration faculty. It is concluded that the choice of executive leadership terms used in position descriptions does not matter as long as term usage is consistent and fully explained to employees. This is due to the legal status of position descriptions and their impact on institutional recruiting and their subsequent affect on individual employee evaluation, professional development, retention, and promotion decisions. Dissertation Title: Responding to the Barriers to Academic Success for Local International Students Author's Name: Marlene C. Cohen Dissertation Director: Dr. Gail Kettlewell Dissertation Abstract: This case study describes the self-identified barriers to academic success for local international students (LIS) at a metropolitan area community college and makes recommendations for institutional, classroom and co-curricular responses. For this research "local international students" are defined as non-visa students who may be refugees, immigrants or other permanent residents, and possibly citizens, but who identify with another country, were raised in the traditions of another country, and were schooled for many years in another country. Though they fit many different immigrant status categories, what they have in common is that they are not familiar with U.S. American culture or specifically U.S. American higher education culture. Focus group research of students and knowledgeable faculty, staff and administrators assessed the perceived barriers to learning for these students in their new culture and possible remedies. One hundred forty-four students and thirty-nine faculty, administrators and staff identified twenty-six distinct challenges, with the most frequently-mentioned barriers being the following: stress of working long hours to fulfill multiple family, financial and academic needs in a new cultural environment; time and effort required to develop reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in U.S. American English; difficulties due to their English language usage and their accents being misunderstood by U.S. Americans; perception of disrespect from faculty and staff; perception of disrespect from U.S. American students; need for one-on-one help from faculty, tutors, or mentors; and lack of information on their community college's services and procedures. Experienced students agreed with new students' concerns except for one issue; time and experience had led them to value having studied reading, writing, speaking and listening in U.S. American English. Solutions to the barriers fell into the following categories: multiple strategies for increased institutional support that would be personal, immediate and address a broad range of student needs, including a centralized international student center; faculty approaches in classrooms to help LIS students to feel recognized and culturally understood; orientation for international students; and institution-wide training to help faculty and staff understand the needs of LIS students. The results of the research can inform community colleges of the needs to address to support LIS students' academic success, of student services and academic strategies to respond to those needs, and of ways to involve LIS students on campus to strengthen international education for all students.
Dissertation Title: The Effectiveness of Cognitive Flexibility Hypertext in Promoting Active Learning Pedagogy: A Multiple-Case Study Author's Name: Katherine P. Simpson Dissertation Director: Dr. Nada Dabbagh Dissertation Abstract: Cognitive Flexibility Theory (CFT) and the pedagogical model of Cognitive Flexibility Hypertext (CFH) were used for professional development in higher education. Novice and experienced instructors gained familiarity with active learning strategies as they participated in the training; they found the experience affirming. Adjunct instructors typically bring content expertise but little experience with classroom pedagogy. They are less familiar with educational research suggesting that active and learner-centered instructional environments are more conducive to learning than passive, lecture-driven instruction. Prior research indicated that CFH might be appropriate for professional development in higher education because it offers a flexible approach to complex content. Distinctive characteristics of CFH include cases and themes, nonlinear content organization, and multiple perspectives. Eighteen participants used Coach, the CFH that I designed to acquaint them with active learning pedagogy. Data revealed the extent Coach components supported participants’ meaningful knowledge acquisition. Participants explored, embraced, and moved beyond active learning pedagogy in Coach to construct action plans to use with their students. Results showed that educators found this CFH highly effective, especially when combined with collaborative discussion in workshops. Future research will explore use of Coach beyond the discipline of English so that instructors in all areas of higher education have the opportunity to become familiar with active learning strategies for use in their traditional and nontraditional learning environments. Dissertation Title: A Study of Dual Enrollment Policies and Procedures in Virginia's Local School Divisions Author's Name: Anita W. Wallace Dissertation Director: Dr. Penelope Earley Dissertation Abstract: This study examines Virginia’s local school divisions’ dual enrollment policies and procedures for recruitment, advising and promotion of students. This research focused on academic dual enrollment programs that allow high school students to take college-level courses while simultaneously earning high school and college credits. Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses were not included in this study. The primary research was conducted through an online survey that requested specific information to determine if the local school divisions’ policies provide guidance for local school divisions where students are identified and recruited into dual enrollment programs. Secondary data sources included enrollment totals from the Virginia Community College System and the Virginia Department of Education. In addition, the Virginia Plan for Dual Enrollment (1988 and 2005) was examined to determine if local school divisions’ policies and procedures align with the expectations of this articulation agreement between Virginia’s local school divisions and community colleges. That agreement provides broad guidelines for school divisions, and this study sought to determine if school divisions were utilizing those broad guidelines in implementing their policies. This study compared student enrollment data from the survey, the Virginia Community College System, and the Virginia Department of Education to determine if there are participation gaps for minority (African-American and Hispanic), low-income and low-middle achieving students. Findings revealed that there are dual enrollment participation gaps for minority (African-American and Hispanic) and low-income students. There are also gaps in implementation from one school division to another. Dissertation Title: INTRODUCING RUSSIAN NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION TECHNIQUES TO ENHANCE LEARNING AND COPING SKILLS FOR HIGH-RISK STUDENTS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES: AN INITIAL INVESTIGATION Author's Name: Richard L. Esterbrook Dissertation Director: Dr. John Wasserman Dissertation Abstract: Community colleges have traditionally maintained an open-door admissions policy regardless of student academic preparedness. Three quarters of all college students who require remediation due to poor or limited educational preparation or experiences are enrolled in the community colleges. These under-prepared students are at high risk of academic failure. This research represents is an initial investigation to determine the effectiveness of Neuro-Linguistic Programming techniques as an intervention to help under-prepared and underachieving community college students alter undesirable or negative preconceptions and behavioral patterns that would impede or prevent the successful completion of a planned degree or certification program in a community college. Sergei V. Kovalev (2001) has introduced a set of structured NLP interventions that were translated from his book Return from the Edge of the Abyss: Seven Steps to Recovery, NLP - Therapy for Drug or Alcohol Addiction. These NLP interventions are reflected in a three step pilot model that can be applied to help under-achieving community college students use coping resources and successful life experiences in approaching their academic work. The intervention techniques were developed involving applications of cognitive-behavioral exercises (e.g. use of imagery). A sample of 17 community college students underwent the NLP imagery intervention exercises and techniques and was compared to a control group of 17 students who did not receive the intervention. All participants completed pre and post-intervention assessment with a test battery of behavioral adjustment, self-concept, and social skills. Results indicated that the intervention group demonstrated statistically significant and positive change in the areas of self-reported anxiety/depression and social assertion. The limitations of this investigation are discussed. The pilot model is meant to be a supplement to the normal standard community college interventions and assistance programs but it is not designed to supplant or substitute them. The results from this investigative study showed positive change in student preconceptions and behavior from a NLP intervention in community college students. Dissertation Title: Memorializing Community Grief: Bedford, Virginia, and the National D-Day Memorial Author's Name: Roger H. Hill Dissertation Director: Dr. Robert Hawkes Dissertation Abstract: This dissertation describes the development of the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, as a result of the unique characteristics of the Bedford community and the evolving American concepts of community memorialization, especially memorialization of its war dead. It reviews the scholarly assessment of both traditional western and uniquely American experiences with memorialization, describes the history of the community of Bedford, Virginia, especially the impact of the deaths of many Bedford soldiers during the World War II D-Day invasion. It traces the evolution of the National D-Day Memorial in response to that loss and in the context of community and regional values and traditions, and analyzes those factors that most significantly affected the process. It concludes with observations about the role the study of community memorialization can play in the teaching of American history at the college or university level and identifies resources useful for developing such a course. Dissertation Title: Exploring the Risks That Affect Decision Makers Today (2001-2010) Author's Name: Margaret W. Wood Dissertation Director: Dr. David Rine Dissertation Abstract: For the leader, decision making is a charge that cannot be escaped. For those who would prefer to avoid this responsibility, the startling truth is even not making a decision is a decision. An executive has the critical accountability to build a support network that has easy access to pertinent information and carries out decisions in the manner they are intended. The impending risks associated with decision making—particularly in this age of “I need it yesterday”—are strained by the likelihood of misunderstanding and miscommunication. The man-hours (gathering, analysis and prioritization) behind a good decision can be thwarted when there is no strategy on how to make a decision with the information that has been received. This dissertation explores the under-researched question about why organizations—whether big or small, or one that impacts millions or fewer than a hundred—falter as a result of decision making. To change this cycle, this long-neglected dynamic is in obvious need of having light shed upon it. The risks of poor infrastructure lead to damaging results that are obvious yet all-too-often repeated. Those consequences include, but are not limited to: a negative opinion by the very people they are designed to serve and who depend on the responses from decision making; and no trail of important information and processes. Federal agencies, community colleges, and small businesses have resembling concerns when it comes to decision making. It is for that reason that this dissertation addresses the complexities involved with making effective decisions within the community college. Dissertation Title: Technology and Second Language Writing: A Study in Discussion Author's Name: Aimee Ledewitz Weinstein Dissertation Director: Dr. Christopher Thaiss Dissertation Abstract: In the increasingly global world of the early twenty-first century, young men and women across Asia are realizing the value of learning the international language of business: English. This creates a unique opportunity for American universities in that branch campuses of their U.S. main campus placed in Asian cities will have significant increases in population. However, there are some impediments to student success in the American university abroad, the largest of which is a cultural reticence to critical thinking and elaborating on individual opinions. In addition, though Asian students have English instruction from an early age, the language is taught via grammar and reading lessons and with a lecture-style method, not conversationally, so that the typical Asian student finds the American system of recitation and student-centered classrooms quite difficult. Temple University of Philadelphia, which holds the distinction of being the only degree-granting American university in Japan, and also the one with the largest branch campus of an American university in Tokyo, has been working on this problem for over twenty years. It is in this singular situation that I taught and studied upper-level writing. In my teaching there, I studied the challenges faced by the students and the faculty, and created a constructivist-based pedagogy that incorporated elements of technology to increase the success of second language learners in a composition class. What I found is that using computers in a hybrid environment, specifically discussion-based technology within a classroom management tool, increased students’ fluency in read, written and spoken English and additionally led them to overcome their culturally native reluctance in order to form an interactive community of learners. The research presented here outlines the cultural confines within which I worked as well as the specific pedagogy I implemented and then shows the success of the students. The study, conducted with only nine students, can serve as a start for more research into the effects of technologically-based pedagogical methods with Asian students, as well as the effects of hybrid classrooms on writing classes. Dissertation Title: Faculty Knowledge About Disability Laws and Their Attitudes Toward Students with Disabilities at Northern Virginia Community College Author's Name: Charlie Dy Dissertation Director: Dr. Michael Behrmann Dissertation Abstract: This study investigated faculty knowledge of disability laws and their attitudes toward students with disabilities. Findings showed that full-time faculty members in Northern Virginia Community College were not as knowledgeable of the disability laws as one might expect. A total of 86% of full-time faculty members scored below the 80% correct responses. The mean score for part one of the survey knowledge of was 57% correct answers. No significant relationship could be established between teaching experience and knowledge of disability laws, between number of students taught and knowledge of disability laws, and between genders.
Dissertation Title: Knowledge Construction in a Geographically Disparate, Cross-Indigenous, Computer Supported, Collaborative Context
Author's Name: Richard Baker Hall Dissertation Director: Dr. Robert Smith Dissertation Abstract: There is a lack of knowledge (prescriptions, guidelines, specifications) relative to geographically disparate, computer-supported, collaborative, intercultural teams who must effectively learn and work together on tasks of common purpose at the interface of cultures. Prescriptive models are needed that will successfully facilitate and sustain cross-indigenous, computer-supported collaboration (CSC). The present study approaches the problem from a cross-indigenous perspective rooted in psychology with a Chinese xīnlǐxué
Dissertation Title: DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS: SPENDING PUBLIC FUNDS TO RE-TEACH HIGH SCHOOL BASIC SKILLS Author's Name: Elvear B. Johnson, Doctor of Arts Dissertation Director: Dr. Toni Michelle Travis Dissertation
Abstract: The purpose of this doctoral study is to collect and evaluate
information on the outcomes of developmental education. This dissertation
treats the significance of developmental education as a critical mission
of an open door admission system held by community colleges. Education
assessments and demographic projections support the view that 35-40% of
first-year community college students need one or more remedial courses
and that three-quarters of all remedial courses are found at the community
college. These statistics raise concerns for critics who are alarmed by
the costs required to teach growing numbers of postsecondary students
basic skills that they believe should have been learned in high school. Dissertation Title: FOR-PROFIT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND CORPORATE UNIVERSITIES: OPPORTUNITY OR THREAT TO THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE Author's Name: Antione D. Johnson, Doctor of Arts Dissertation Director: Dr. Gail Kettlewell Dissertation Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the contemporary concerns over the competitive threat from for-profit educational institutions to regional community colleges. The study contrasts national data on for-profits and regional data on public post-secondary institutions. It also examined data of a for-profit chain located near two regional community colleges. The data analysis suggests that the for-profits have only a small share of enrollments in two- or four-year institutions and their share of two-year enrollment did not appreciably increase during the late 1990s. For-profit institutions are likely to have a limited range of course offerings in continuing education and workforce development for students seeking to enhance skills or re-career. As a group, the for-profits are concentrated in a limited number of business and technical fields. Although they may compete with the community colleges in those specific areas, current economic conditions and the small size of the for-profit sector will limit their overall competitive effect. While some of the four-year for-profit institutions target upper division students and aggressively recruit community college graduates, the collective effect of the for-profits is complementary rather than competitive to community colleges. Continuing education and workforce development administrators and staffs do not perceive the for-profit institutions as a competitive threat. Community colleges characterize their mission as providing the educational infrastructure through the delivery of education rather than just training, theory beyond merely skills, and analysis in addition to practice. Community colleges recognize the challenges they face, as a public institution, if forced through competition to provide higher cost, lower demand programs for the working adult learner. Dissertation Title: Information Technology as a Democratizing Agent: A Case Study on the 1999 Elections in Malaysia Author's Name: Sonja L. Taylor Dissertation Director: Dr. Edgar Sibley Dissertation Abstract: My dissertation explored the impact of information technology (IT) on Malaysia's November 1999 federal parliamentary elections. The work involved the examination of a topic that has remained largely under-studied, namely, whether IT fosters a consolidation toward democracy in semi-democracies or authoritarian regimes. Many scholars have assumed that, as access to IT becomes more widely available, citizens in semi-democracies will use it successfully to press for democratization. However, prior research and current conditions in many of these nations has not fully supported this assumption. Accordingly, my thesis is that although information technology is assumed to be a powerful democratizing agent, it is not strong enough, in itself, to bring about significant political change. The research uses content analysis to assess the impact of the Internet campaign on the elections in question by comparing the 1999 election results and Malaysian's data on IT users to determine if there areas with high Internet penetration supported opposition candidates. At first glance, my results appear to support the hypothesis. However, upon a closer examination of the Malaysian elections, it turned out that the elections were affected, to some extent, by the use of the Internet by dissatisfied voters. The margin of votes revealed that many of the parliamentary seats were more closely contested than in the times when Internet use was not as widely prevalent, especially in states with the highest level of Internet penetration. My primary conclusion is, therefore, that while information technology did not appear to bring complete democracy to the country, it did contribute significantly to the opposition movement and it provided a platform for the first alternative media in Malaysia. Nevertheless, IT was not a strong enough factor to counter all the powerful tools that the ruling party held in this semi-democracy, at least not in the short term. My findings offer a theoretical foundation of how the Internet and other IT may, or may not, influence the democratization process. This should help citizens and organizations promoting democracy determine how best to use the power of this technology to bring about change in a semi-democratic regime, especially during election cycles. Dissertation Title: The Thom Family of Culpeper County: The Rise, Fall, and Restoration of a Virginia Planter Family, 1746-1935 Author's Name: David Pembroke Neff Dissertation Director: Dr. Jane Censer Dissertation Abstract: This dissertation is the chronological examination of a Virginia planter family during the nineteenth century. Using a qualitative historical approach that utilizes a large amount of primary source material, this study traces the rise, fall, and eventual restoration of the Thom family. This dissertation investigates how various members of the Thom family were affected by and reacted to, the larger social, political, racial, military, religious, and economic events of the century. Because of its broad and comprehensive nature, this examination contains elements of Southern, Virginia, women's, African-American, military, and family histories. Nineteenth century events covered in this work include, but are not limited to, the War of 1812, slavery, the Mexican War, the American Civil War, and the Post-war era. This dissertation includes an appendix which is designed to encourage and facilitate constructivist-learning theory in a higher education history course centered on the document's topic. Dissertation
Title: A Best Practices Examination of Instructor Effectiveness Models
in Selected Higher Education Institutions for Possible Inclusion in Author's Name: Robert J. Bohls, Sr. Dissertation Director: Dr. Dennis Dunklee Dissertation Abstract: Corporate America must ensure that its employees possess critical technical and business skills to compete in the global economy. Unfortunately, corporate America has become dissatisfied with the public educational system, and turned to other training institutions. This competition is forcing America's postsecondary educational institutions to improve the services they provide, or they will fade from the scene. Responding to competition means re-engineering, revamping, or transforming, the universities and colleges in America. The president of a postsecondary educational institution, with the mission to improve the learning of students and increase educational effectiveness of its instructors, needs to harness the energy of every employee. Each employee must understand the mission, goals, and strategies of the institution. Only then can the employee align personal goals to help contribute to the success of the institution. This mission drives the need to acquire key processes, such as strategic planning, operational planning, and employee evaluation, which will successfully point the direction, and evaluate progress against the goals to transform the educational institution. Similar to any civilian college and university, the president of the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) announced the need to transform the university to meet the transformational goals of the Secretary of Defense. The end of the cold war and the emergence of a worldwide terrorist threat completely changed how the Department of Defense (DoD) will defend America. Federal budget constraints, and the shrinking and aging defense acquisition workforce, have changed the training requirements for the workforce to meet the future acquisition environment. The literature review provided the basis for a conceptually sound faculty evaluation system. Key development and implementation steps were identified. Sufficient rationale has been provided to assist management in understanding the necessity to proceed carefully, and to involve the entire faculty in the process of developing an educational effectiveness evaluation system. The researcher contacted officials from various public, and private, colleges and universities in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, and DoD universities and colleges throughout the United States. The request was for the documentation of their planning and evaluation systems. Most of the information was obtained from the Internet web site of the colleges and universities. Information not resident on the web site was mailed by the officials contacted. Dissertation Title: Planning for High Quality E-Learning in Institutions of Higher Education: An Analytical Case Study of a Two-Year Public Community College in Virginia Author's Name: Abed-Elslame Almala Dissertation Director: Dr. Nada Dabbagh Dissertation
Abstract: Quality e-learning is based on principles such as institutional
support, course development, teaching/learning, course Dissertation Title: DIFFERENCES IN ATTITUDES, EXPERIENCES, AND SUCCESS BETWEEN DELIVERING AND RECEIVING SITE STUDENTS IN INTERACTIVE TELEVISION FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES Author's Name: Elizabeth A. Smith, D.A. Biography: George Mason University, 2003 Dissertation
Abstract: This study investigated community college foreign language
courses delivered by videoconferencing over the course of two semesters,
spring 1995 and spring 2002, to better understand the teaching and learning
environment of the interactive television classroom. I surveyed, questioned,
observed, and interviewed community college students and faculty of varied
age, sex, and ethnic background who voluntarily and anonymously participated
in this study. My research revealed that the primary strength of this
environment is providing learner access to language courses. Another strength
is that students at all locations generally felt very positive about their
instructor’s performance and accessibility. The most surprising
result was that the students at the receiving sites were equally or more
academically successful than those at the delivering site. However, my
research also revealed inconsistencies and deficiencies with regard to
the availability of student support services, such as facilitators present
in the classroom, tutors, and language laboratories for additional practice.
The research also indicated that audio and video transmission is often
faulty, which can be problematic in language acquisition. Based on this
research, it is my hope that educational institutions involved with interactive
television-based language courses will implement improved student support
services and upgrade or replace the existing delivery technologies, so
that students will have a more equitable and quality experience, regardless
of geographical location. Dissertation Title: MUSICAL THEATER IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Author's Name: Donna Timmons,D.A. Biography: George Mason University, 2003 Dissertation
Abstract: The value of musical theater as an integral part of community
college education is presented through the perspective of music as a form
of communication. A discussion includes a review of research and writings
by scholars in the fields of music, community college education, and communication.
Included in this document is an original musical, complete with script
and musical orchestrations, which serves as a demonstration model of musical
sound as a form of communication. The documented review of scholarly authors, analysis of communication as applied to the musical theater presentation, along with the planning and implementation procedures guide, results in a positive evaluation which adds to the reinforcement of musical theater as a valuable part of the community college curriculum and experience. Dissertation Title: THE NEED FOR AND MEANS OF DEVELOPING A COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM FOR THE PHILIPPINES Author's Name: John J. Lane, Doctor of Arts Biography: George Mason University, 2004 Dissertation Title: PRESERVATION OF THE NÔM HERITAGE: KEYBOARD INPUT METHODS FOR PRESENTING THE VIETNAMESE QU?C NG? AND CH? NÔM ON MULTILINGUAL WEB PAGES Author's Name: Bot L. LeDynh (Lê Ðình B?t), Doctor of Arts Biography: George Mason University, 2004 Dissertation Abstract: This dissertation employed the case study methodology, and served as a report on (1) the current status of Vietnamese web pages, and (2) keyboard input methods for presenting both Vietnamese Qu?c Ng? and Ch? Nôm on multilingual web pages so that the Vietnamese Nôm heritage could be globally and digitally preserved and disseminated. The findings revealed that, on Vietnamese web pages, fonts of popular Vietnamese character sets were the most frequently used (43.84%); Unicode standard fonts were in second (27.56%); and fonts of Nôm character sets were not used at all. The findings indicated that web pages written in Qu?c Ng? and English were 68%; those written in Qu?c Ng? only were 28.6%; and web pages containing the Nôm script were less than 0.5%. Among the fonts of popular Vietnamese character sets, VNI fonts were the most frequently used (57.3%); VPS fonts, 19.1%; TCVN fonts, 16.9%; and VISCII fonts, the least used (6%). The findings provided a model for typing both Qu?c Ng? and Ch? Nôm in a Word document ready for being uploaded on the web, which model included the steps of (1) preparing the Microsoft AutoCorrect program for being used as a keyboard input method editor, (2) using the editor to type Qu?c Ng? and Ch? Nôm in the Word document; and (3) saving the Word document as a web page. The findings revealed that (1) Nôm fonts could be created by MS Paint program, MS Private Character Editor, and MS Character Map; and (2) Nôm characters could be typed with sound-based or structure-based input methods. The findings disclosed that the keyboard editor was portable, i.e., it could be imported from one computer to another. The findings also provided a feasible keyboard input method editor for typing most, if not all, of the scripts of the languages in the world, simple or sophisticated, old or new, dead or living.
Dissertation Title: A Model Program to Address the Needs of Gays and Lesbians in Community Colleges Author's Name: Graham E. Barton, Jr. Dissertation Director: Dr. Gail Kettlewell Dissertation Abstract: This study reviewed current programs within the Virginia Community College System that addressed gay and lesbian policies and any form of recognition in training programs. Sixteen institutions were compared to determine similarities or differences among these policies and programs based upon each institution's size. Information was solicited from college administrators as to what they believed to be critical success factors in developing a model that could be utilized by all Virginia community colleges to address gays' and lesbians' needs. These critical factors are: gender studies, guest speakers to discuss sexual orientation, relaying information including hate crime statistics and other factual data, and discussing the institution's policy and/or support of sexual orientation nondiscrimination. Recommendations were developed in the form of a model with the goal of working toward a comprehensive program that involves active participation of the administration, students, and external groups across the state to establish policies to protect gays and lesbians, as well as to perform outreach in order to not only focus on gays' and lesbians' needs, but to overcome heterosexism on campus. The model includes: a) establish an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policy within each campus that incorporates sexual orientation, b) faculty participation by serving as student mentors, c) train faculty and staff on diversity, including sexual orientation, d) establish diversity training, incorporating sexual orientation for all students, e) establish alliances with external groups and invite guest speakers from other institutions, f) celebrate all forms of diversity through a campus-wide event, and g) measure and evaluate training/programs for continuous improvement. Dissertation Title: Hermeneutics to Homiletics: Teaching Preachers to Preach Author's Name: Wollom A. Jensen Dissertation Director: Dr. Warren Decker Dissertation Abstract: This qualitative study was undertaken to determine human communication and rhetoric components present in homiletics courses offered by the eight Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) seminaries in order to define the need to include an overt human communication studies component in their curricula. This component would improve the effectiveness of ELCA pastors' preaching through increasing their understanding of human communication theories and the complexities of effective communication. In addition to reviewing online catalogs containing homiletics course descriptions, a confidential survey was provided to each ELCA seminary professor teaching homiletics to request comments on their courses' human communications components. Based upon the research, homiletics courses in general make up less than 1% of the eight seminaries' total Master of Divinity course requirements; furthermore, human communications and rhetoric components were overall insignificant parts of these homiletics courses. In short, both preachers and congregations are being denied the benefits of more complex communication skills-including information sharing, reflective listening, and effective public speaking in the form of sermons preached. This research's findings indicate that although the current method of teaching homiletics is popular, the preparation is insufficient to help preachers analyze their audiences, construct and deliver effective sermons, and draw upon the competence required of ministers in contemporary organizational and institutional settings. Due to the Master of Divinity degree requirements imposed upon the seminaries by the ELCA, the seminary boards, and the Association of Theological Schools (the accrediting body), the researcher determined it was not feasible to add more content to the eight ELCA seminaries' current curricula. In addition, in response to action taken at the 1995 Churchwide Assembly requiring active ELCA clergy to take 50 CEUs each year, the ELCA's Division for Ministry published "Life-Long Learning and Development for Faithful Leaders" in 1996, which articulates a systematic approach to this life-long learning. Therefore, the researcher proposes drawing upon community colleges' resources-primarily their Continuing Education/Workforce Development programs-to provide an economically, geographically, and time efficient venue for practicing clergy to enhance their preaching skills through formally studying human communications. Dissertation Title: Ten Years of Progress: Responding to Special Education Legislation and Students with Disabilities in the Virginia Community College System Author's Name: Joseph Robert DiFulgo Dissertation Director: Dr. Gail Kettlewell Dissertation Abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the progress and response of the twenty-three colleges within the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) to Special Education Legislation in the areas of accommodating and servicing students with disabilities in the last decade. By exploring this field, the researcher investigated how counselors and faculty are servicing these students and how possible new strategies and solutions can be consolidated and developed in the future. The method used in the research was that of a case study. Four questions were posed regarding the knowledge of laws and the needs of students with disabilities, availabilities of programs / services, and identification of strategies to better serve the needs of students with disabilities in a learning environment and through the students' support services. The database for the analysis derived from an in-depth review of the available literature related to each question and from responses from a program questionnaire sent to the presidents of all twenty-three colleges in the VCCS in March 2004. On the basis of the data analysis and the literature review, a number of conclusions were reached. First, there has been a significantly increased interest in addressing the needs of college students with disabilities in the past decade. Second, programs and services for college students with disabilities have significantly increased in the past decade. Third, colleges are making greater efforts to ensure that all educational programs and services offered to non-disabled students are also offered to students with disabilities affording them equal opportunity to attain the same levels of achievement in the most integrated situation. Fourth, there is an ongoing need for further qualitative and quantitative research, and for demographic studies concerning students with disabilities attending VCCS. Finally, there is an exigency for more research on accommodations, services, and the level of support given to students with disabilities relative to the disability they possess, and to distinguish between learning disabilities and other physical and mental disabilities Dissertation Title: So you Want to Launch a Satellite: A Practical Guide to the Development of a Community College Off-Campus Location Author's Name: Dennis E. Huffman Dissertation Director: Dr. Gail Kettlewell Dissertation Abstract: This dissertation documents the opening and first three years of operation of Prince George's Community College at University Town Center, an off-campus center located in Hyattsville, Maryland. Five broad areas, corresponding with selected functional areas of the College's five vice presidents, are covered: facilities, instruction, student services, technology, and continuing education. Within each of these areas, the author explores operational issues encountered during the first three years of the Center's existence. The facilities chapter addresses such issues as parking, security, custodial services, and procurement. The challenges faced at the Center are outlined, as are the strategies adopted for addressing them. Instruction is presented in four parts-scheduling classes, staffing instruction, sustaining instructors, and supporting learning. The scheduling section provides insight into the development of the Center's first schedule and factors affecting subsequent schedules, particularly with regard to maximizing enrollment and space usage. The discussion includes issues related to full- and part-time faculty and examines reasons for the heavy reliance of off-campus centers on adjunct faculty. Implications, both from a policy perspective and from an instructional perspective, are presented, including strategies for faculty orientation and the dynamic of how the functions of the respective academic departments are represented and carried out by off-campus staff. This section concludes with an examination of tutoring, off-campus library services, and other systems for supporting learning. The Student Services sections focuses on ways in which a broad range of functions can be represented off-campus by a very small staff. Recruitment, admissions, testing, orientation, advising, cashier functions, and financial aid are each discussed. In addition, strategies for managing the front counter, as well as providing for college life services, are presented. Instructional and administrative technology and issues are presented as well. Connectivity and hardware concerns, software issues (particularly with regard to licenses), and facility design and staffing are discussed. The section concluded with a discussion of the Workforce Development and Continuing Education division. Scheduling, staffing, and student services issues comprise the bulk of the discussion regarding noncredit courses. The final chapter poses sets of key questions for various administrators at a community college to consider as plans are being developed for the opening of an off-campus center. The dissertation concludes with numerous appendices presenting key documents developed over the course of the Center's first three years. These range from a parking permit and the sign-in sheet for student services to a faculty newsletter and the cooperative agreement with the local public library. Dissertation Title: A Qualitative and Comparative Study of the Course: History of Western Civilization Author's Name: Chretien F. Guidry Dissertation Director: Dr. Gail Kettlewell Dissertation Abstract: The course History of Western Civilization has undergone many criticisms and changes over the past twenty years. Most arguments tend to center on the value of the course. In addition, there is considerable debate about the validity of continuing to use History of Western Civilization as part of a history curriculum. While the debate centers on universities, there is also a need to consider what impact the course, History of Western Civilization, has on community colleges. Because of this debate, the opportunity and timing is excellent for further research into this course. The challenges faced by this course in community colleges are numerous, when one considers the diversity of the student body, the accessibility of new technology, the discovery of different student's learning styles, and the issue of transferability as some community colleges must change their course criteria to match new university requirements. The question is how can History of Western Civilization contribute in developing knowledgeable, thinking students, as both a course for community colleges and universities? Finding a solution to this challenge requires an examination of the purpose History of Western Civilization serves to both the academic field and community colleges. This is necessary in order to determine whether this purpose is still valid and whether it needs redevelopment to maintain its value. Also, an examination of both teaching methodologies and evaluation techniques such as exams, papers, and participation should reveal whether this purpose is addressed or not, and if so, how it is addressed. In order to contribute to the development of knowledgeable, thinking students, the purpose of this dissertation is to focus on a more thorough examination of the course content and the distinction between the teaching of Western Civilization at universities and at community colleges. To accomplish this, this study examines four college institutions and their syllabi on the course, History of Western Civilization. In addition, the purpose of the research is to examine critical research questions, which are broken into three prime components including: purpose, value and effectiveness of this course. Dissertation Title: Third Level Evaluations of New Graduate Nurses' Performance Post Internship Programs Author's Name: Audrey E. Sandhusen Dissertation Director: Dr. Victoria Salmon Dissertation Abstract: Failure of the new graduate nurse to transition to competent staff nurse can result in job dissatisfaction and high turnover rate within the first year. Internship programs are one of the most critical and costly processes necessary to ensure a competent and satisfied employee; however, as healthcare organizations experience fiscal constraints, it becomes essential to monitor programs concerning their effectiveness in meeting strategic organizational outcomes (Bethel, 1992). The author uses an extensive literature review to describe the events in nursing history leading to the current nursing shortage, as well as, research related to new graduate nurse preparation and performance, and return on investment for internship programs. This study describes an employer's evaluation of new graduate nurses' performance post internship programs. Donald Kirkpatrick's (1984) model of evaluation of training served as a guide for a third level evaluation using four evaluation tools: two new graduate nurse self-evaluations pre-and post-internship program, a supervisor's, and a preceptor's evaluation of the new graduate nurse's performance post-internship program. The data was controlled for the variables of age, educational preparation, which included ASN, BSN, and BA-ASN comparisons, and previous healthcare experience. Results of the data analysis show a significant difference in new graduate nurse performance evaluation scores pre- and post-internship program. The variables of education preparation, age, or previous healthcare experience did not significantly affect performance evaluation scores. As a result of the research it was determined that new graduate nurses were able to meet the employer's performance expectations following an internship program. Findings from this study can be used as a guide to plan and design education programs for new graduate nurses as they transition to professional staff nurses. Dissertation Title: Computer Assisted Instruction in the General Chemistry Laboratory Author's Name: Jerry Clark Pate Dissertation Director: Dr. Wayne Stalick Dissertation Abstract: The subject of this dissertation is the examination of current applications concerning the use of computer technology to enhance instruction in the general chemistry laboratory. The work describes a prototype compact disc (CD) used to 1) introduce the general chemistry laboratory, 2) familiarize students with the use of chemistry laboratory equipment, 3) introduce laboratory safety practices, and 4) provide approved techniques for maintaining a laboratory notebook. Upon completion of the CD portion of the pre-lab, students are linked to individual self-help (Web CT) quizzes over the information provided on the CD. The CD is designed to improve student understanding of basic concepts, techniques, and procedures used in the general chemistry laboratory. A critique of widely used educational software and examples of multimedia presentations, used in beginning chemistry laboratory courses at undergraduate and community colleges, is also a topic in this dissertation. Dissertation Title: Astrobiology as an Alternative Integrated Science Curriculum for Higher Education Author's Name: Harold A. Geller Dissertation Director: Dr. Maria Dworzecka Dissertation Abstract: Many higher education institutions now offer an integrated science course to give students a flavor of all of the science disciplines. These courses are typically types of survey courses that do not demonstrate the interdependencies among the sciences. Students are exposed to each of the science disciplines individually. Astrobiology, as a multidisciplinary science requiring the skills of a physicist, chemist, geologist and biologist can be offered as a new paradigm in the teaching of science for non-science majors. A curriculum for a full-year course in astrobiology based upon sound content and pedagogy is outlined. Dissertation Title: Education and the Female Inmate: A Study of Whether Educational Programs Offered at the Prince William Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center Have Any Effect on Female Inmate Post-Release Recidivism Author's Name: Carrie E. Tuning Dissertation Director: Dr. Catherine Gallagher Dissertation Abstract: For many years, countless studies have been conducted on male inmates; however, there have been limited studies on female inmates. There is, however, a noticeable increase regarding the number of women in jails and prisons over the last decade: More women have been sent to jail and prisons than ever before. This, in turn, has caused female inmates to be regarded as high risks for criminal recidivism. Recognizing that there is a dire need for a study on female inmate recidivism, this quantitative study reveals that education- particularly at the college level- while incarcerated reduces female inmate post-release recidivism. The researcher reviewed existing literature on both male and female inmate recidivism, and education, and extensively examined a sample of 100 female inmates' records regarding their marital status, number of children, education level prior to incarceration, participation in educational program(s) during incarceration, criminal charge(s), sentence, employment prior to incarceration, and arrest records. As a result of in-depth analysis, the researcher offers specific recommendations for the women's penal education system regarding restructuring some educational programs, extending programs' length, better notifying inmates of program availability, updating and enhancing implementation procedures (i.e. enrollment, curriculum, pretesting and posttesting, and evaluation procedures), and automating record keeping- to name just a few of this study's findings.
Dissertation Title: SERVING THE COMMUNITY: A PROPOSAL FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES TO EXPAND THEIR INCOME STREAM THROUGH SPECIAL PROGRAMS Author's
Name: Paul Caron
Biography: Presently, Paul Caron is a full-time instructor at NVCC Woodbridge, and
an adjunct instructor at George Mason University. Paul has presented scholarly
papers and participated in peer discussion on the subject of communication
theory. He presently acts as coordinator of the Communication Cluster
for the NVCC. Paul earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication
from State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego and his Master of Sciences
in Speech from SUNY at Cortland. Paul is also certified as Supervisory
District Administrator (SDA) from the University of New Hampshire. Paul
resides in Sterling, Virginia with his wife Ann Mulvany-Caron.
Dissertation
Abstract: Community colleges across the nation are struggling with
income shortfalls. Traditionally, community college institutions secure
their income from state and federal funding, foundations, and student
tuition. Unfortunately, state and federal funds to community colleges
have measurably decreased over the past decade. Over the same time period,
while student tuition has steadily increased, adjusting for inflation,
tuition as a source of income has actually lagged behind. Day in and day
out, community colleges are asked to do more with far less.
To
determine possible new income sources to mitigate a shrinking income stream,
an online survey was developed and administered to members of the National
Community College Business Officers Association (CCBO). A similar survey
was mailed to top decision-makers of the statewide Virginia Community
College System (VCCS). The purpose of both surveys was to determine the
level of institutional focus, and performance of Special Programs or non-academic
programs whose purpose is to increase funding.
On
a micro level, campus leaders from Northern Virginia Community College
(NVCC) were also interviewed to access the specific regional level of
participation in Special Programs. These interviews concluded the need
fro both autonomy and collaboration in implementing Special Programs on
behalf of the One College concept.
As
a result of evaluating the survey responses and synthesizing the interview
findings, a Special Program Model (SPM) was developed to support the concept
of Special Programs. The SPM spoke to the need for innovative, aggressive
institutional leadership, the integration of faculty into the design and
implementation of Special Programs, and the dynamic nexus of the community
college to the corporate milieu. The SPM is grounded in research on leadership,
faculty synergy, and the economic impact of the business community on
Special Programs.
Dissertation Title: THE USE OF VISUAL EVIDENCE IN THE HISTORY CLASSROOM: IMAGE, OBJECT, AND VISUAL CULTURE IN ENGLAND, 1460-1520 Author's Name: Diane Gerard Biography: Diane Gerard is currently an adjunct instructor at the University of South
Alabama in Mobile. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University
of Bridgeport and a M.A. in History from the University of Maryland, College
Park. Closely involved with Washington area schools for many years, Ms.
Gerard served as community liaison for the Washington Area Independent
Schools Association and is a former trustee of the Edmund Burke Preparatory
School in the District of Columbia. Her interest in British history has
led to several published essays for the Time-Life series What Life Was
Like. She is presently working on a popular travel history for the United
States.
Dissertation
Abstract: A "visual reader" designed for use in the undergraduate
history classroom, this instructional model incorporates written essays
into an interactive study comprised of sixty-four illustrative figures
intended to facilitate the use of visual evidence by the college instructor.
The popular and well-researched areas of late medieval and Early Tudor
England focus the reader on a particular historical time and place but
the application and its value to teachers and students of history is considerably
wider in scope.
Thematically
organized, the reader combines existing scholarship with selected forms
of visual and material evidence in an innovative format that introduces
new content knowledge and stimulates questions for class discussion. Beginning
with the assumption that historians and history teachers favor written
evidence over other forms such as oral and visual, the author hopes to
introduce students to a more skillful use of visual sources beyond the
illustrative role normally assigned, and demonstrate that an ability to
manipulate the visual as well as the verbal or literary, is an effective
way to enhance critical thinking skills.
Dissertation Title: EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PRIVATE SECURITY PROFESSIONALS Author's Name: Van Dale Holladay Biography: Van Dale Holladay is the Program Head of the Administration of Justice
Program at the Manassas Campus of Northern Virginia Community College.
He grew up in Salem, New Jersey and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree
from Gettysburg College and a Master of Science Degree in Police Science
from Washington State University, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Community
College Education from George Mason University. He retired from the Army
in 1980 as a Colonel.
Dissertation
Abstract: Private security plays a very important role in protecting
our society and maintaining a crime-free work environment. Leaders of
major US companies delegate corporate security responsibility to security
executives. There has been little research regarding educational requirements
for private security executives, or the role community colleges play in
this education.
The
purpose of this project is to determine the level of education attained
by Fortune 500 security executives, the importance of education in their
careers, and the utilization of community college security programs to
develop their security officers at the journeyman level. This dissertation
addresses minimum educational requirements for corporate security professionals
for their positions. Questionnaires, participation in six American Society
for Industrial Security (ASIS) International Annual Security Academic
/ Practitioner Symposia, and qualitative interviews with security professionals
and college professors were used to obtain data.
This
dissertation reviews collegiate security educational programs at each
level from Associate Degree through Master's Degree. It develops information
on the decline of collegiate security degree programs, and what might
be done to stem the tide, including marketing the programs, using or developing
outline programs, and revamping existing programs. Lastly, it provides
a recommended curriculum for a Security Management Associate in Applied
Science Degree.
Dissertation
Title: THE COMPARATIVE FORAGING ECOLOGY OF A SCAVENGING GUILD OF BIRDS
AT TWO NORTHERN VIRGINIA LANDFILLS
Author's Name: Hillary Boyle Cressey Biography: Hillary Boyle Cressey was born on February 28, 1949 in Ossining, New York,
and is a citizen of the United States. She received a Bachelor of Arts
degree in biology from Dunbarton College of Holy Cross in 1971. In 1976
she received a Master of Science degree in biology from Georgetown University.
From 1972 to 1990 she was employed and volunteered as a research assistant
in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at the Smithsonian Institution.
She has also been a biology instructor at Northern Virginia Community
College and Shepherd College. She currently teaches animal behavior and
general biology as well as serving as the coordinator for the general
biology program at George Mason University.
Dissertation
Abstract: A foraging guild of birds, composed of ring-billed gulls
(Larus delawarensis), herring gulls (L. argentatuts), great
black-backed gulls (L. marinus), American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos),
fish crows (C. ossifragus), European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris),
turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) and black vultures (Coragyps
atratus) was studied for two wintering seasons (November through March,
1996-1997; 1997-1997) at the Loudon County and Prince William County Sanitary
Landfills, both in Northern Virginia.
Descriptions
are given of the general daily cycle of activities for all groups of birds,
individual foraging behaviors including kleptoparasitism, scrounging and
caching, and competitive behaviors.
The
Prince William Landfill, which was twice as large as the Loudoun Landfill,
and accepted 20 times more refuse than Loudoun during the study period,
attracted, on average, more than 12 times as many birds than the Loudoun
Landfill. The average density of birds per hectare at Prince William was
more than five times that of the Loudoun Landfill. The most numerous species
was the ring billed gull. There was evidence of a dominance hierarchy
positively correlated to size, although all species were more likely to
interact with their own, rather than other, species.
There
is a discussion of the possible use of bird studies at landfills as a
mechanism of active learning for undergraduate biology students to promote
direct student involvement in laboratory science courses.
Dissertation Title: THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF PUERTO RICANS IN INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY TEXTBOOKS, 1983-2003 Author's Name: Maria I. Bryant-Serrano Biography: Maria I. Bryant-Serrano, an American citizen, was born in Ponce, Puerto
Rico, on April 20, 1961. She received a BA in Psychology and Sociology
in 1983 from the University of Puerto Rico, and a M.A. in Sociology in
1991 from George Mason University, Virginia.
Today,
she is a full-time, tenured Professor at the College of Southern Maryland.
She is chair of the Diversity in Education Committee, organizes a Summer
Institute on Multicultural Education, and coordinates the Women's History
Month activities at the College of Southern Maryland. Her areas of dissertation
research focus on the social construction of Puerto Rican feminist thought
in the context of nationalism and globalization.
Dissertation
Abstract: Most societies categorize and label their members. Often
labels involve race and ethnicity. Ethnic categorizations can be imposed
by government agencies and / or chosen by groups and individuals to participate
in social life and to make sense of their identity. Thus the question
of how labels are constructed and why they persist is central to the discipline
of sociology.
A
controversial ethnic label in sociology and in the United States is the
"Hispanic" ethnic category. Under this rubric many groups are
studied and presented. In this study, I examined the social construction
of Puerto Ricans in 39 introductory sociology textbooks published and
/ or copyrighted during 1983-2003. The research aimed to discover how
the sociological labels and the categories created by introductory sociology
textbooks include and portray Puerto Ricans.
This
study used a quantitative and qualitative research design. Specifically,
content analysis of introductory sociology textbooks was conducted in
three key areas. These areas included the amount of coverage, the geography
of coverage, and the representation of Puerto Ricans in a sample of 39
introductory sociology textbooks.
Results
of the study suggested that the amount of coverage of the Puerto Rican
group in introductory sociology textbooks is limited. When included, the
geography of coverage resided in what I called the barrio or chapter on
race and ethnicity. In addition, the coverage and representation of Puerto
Ricans followed a social problems perspective with a focus on social disadvantageousness,
poverty, and female-headed households.
The
study concluded with a discussion of the implications of these findings
and recommendations for further study, including textbook revisions.
Dissertation Title: HIGH SCHOOLS THAT WORK: THE EFFECTIVENESS ON SELECTED VARIABLES AT TWO SITES Author's Name: Eugenia M. Johnson Biography: Eugenia M. Johnson was born on November 30, 1944 in New York, New York,
and is an American citizen. She graduated from St. Joseph's High School,
McSherrystown, Pennsylvania in 1962. She received her Bachelor of Science
degree from College Misericordia, Dallas, Pennsylvania in 1966 and a Masters
of Arts in Counseling from Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
in 1972. She received an Associate Degree in Nursing from Shepherd College,
Shepherdstown, West Virginia in 1985 and a Masters of Science Degree in
Nursing from George Mason University in 1989. She is currently employed
as a Clinical Director at Winchester Medical Center, Winchester, Virginia.
Dissertation
Abstract: This study reviews the concerns and challenges to the public
school system to create and maintain an educational system that prepares
a workforce with skills that are competitive in a global economy. The
Introduction (Chapter 1) and the Literature Review (Chapter 2) describe
the continuing need for educational reform. The implementation and curriculum
innovations of the High School That Work (HSTW) model, developed by the
Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) highlighted 10 key practices.
The development and design of the HSTW conceptual framework was examined
at two sites. These sites utilized the HSTW model and key practices for
over ten years. The processes of changing expectations, attitudes, teaching
styles, and organizational structure throughout the planning and implementation
stages were reviewed. A major objective of the HSTW education reform model
is to raise the level of student achievement through the implementation
of the 10 key practices. The select variables that have been examined
are those emphasized in the HSTW literature as areas needing improvement.
These variables include: number of students graduating; test scores in
reading, mathematics, and science; number of students continuing post
secondary education; and performance on tests with comparisons to national
standards. Such tests include the National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP), the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), and American College Testing
(ACT). The Methodology and Findings (Chapters 3 and 4) of the study demonstrates
the utility of the case study design and of the Stufflebeam Context-Input-Process-Product
(CIPP) model of evaluation. Student performance on the select variables
was measured against the previous performance at the respective site.
It was concluded that adherence to the practices of HSTW demonstrates
strong evidence that it can improve student achievement as well as offer
strong support to the school system.
Dissertation Title: THE ROLE OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE PRESIDENT AS AN ENTREPRENEUR: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES Author's Name: Richard R. Rankin Biography: Richard R. Rankin was born on September 11, 1937 in Paducah, Kentucky
and is an American citizen. He graduated from Augusta Tilghman High School,
Paducah, Kentucky in 1955. He received an Associate of Science from Paducah
Community College in 1957, a Bachelor of Science from the University of
Kentucky in 1960, and a Master of Business Administration from George
Washington University in 1968. He retired from the U.S. government in
1994, where he last served as Deputy Administrator for Management, Extension
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Dissertation
Abstract: The American community college system has not only grown
greatly in numbers but it has expanded its mission far beyond serving
as a feeder system to four-year colleges. This expanded mission places
a great emphasis on addressing the needs of the local community. For example,
the private sector has begun to look to community colleges for assistance
in improving the quality of the work force. As a result, the community
college president must be a successful entrepreneur as well as an education
administrator. Like other entrepreneurs, the president must design and
market programs and establish and maintain a customer base for those programs.
This role has become more important as public funding agencies have inconsistently
supported some program initiatives. Progressive presidents of community
colleges have accepted this role and have looked for innovative ways to
serve the local community. This dissertation explores that role and the
associated challenges and opportunities.
Dissertation Title: COMMUNITY COLLEGE EDUCATION FOUNDATIONS AND TRANSFORMATIONAL PHILANTRHOPY: RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, STEWARDSHIP AND PROFESSIONALISM Author's
Name: Joanne P. LaBeof
Biography: Joanne P. LaBeouf was born in Geneva, New York, is an American citizen,
and graduated from DeSales High School, Geneva, New York. She received
an Associate's Degree from Leeward Community College, Pearl City, Hawaii
in 1982; a Bachelor of Arts in History from California State University,
Hayward, California in 1987; a Master of Arts in History from Bridgewater
State College, Bridgewater, Massachusetts in 1991; and attended Lehigh
University in the Ph.D. Program in History. She has worked as a college
instructor since 1994 and has taught at Bucks County Community College
and St. Joseph's College in Pennsylvania; Central Texas College and Paul
D. Camp Community College and Northern Virginia Community College in Virginia.
Presently she is an instructor in history at Northern Virginia Community
College, Annandale Campus, and at George Mason University. In addition,
she is serving a third term as president of the Association of Community
College Educators at George Mason University.
Dissertation
Abstract: Public community colleges in the 21st century continue to
face a decline in state subsidy and increasingly look to their foundation
to build the financial means with which to respond to institutional needs
in the long term. The future of post secondary education is reliant upon
colleges having a professional foundation, proper stewardship, and accountability
of its foundation. The three cases presented are Dabney Lancaster, Patrick
Henry, and Southwest Virginia Community Colleges. All three belong to
the Virginia Community College System and have active foundations with
proven track records in fund raising. The system has an inactive education
foundation at present.
Public
administration, economic, and education theory regarding public-private
collaborations, professional leadership, and strategic planning should
be part of the new thinking in the community college foundation field.
The published works of Grace, Grace and Wend off, Glass and Jackson, Covey,
Davis, Evans and Worsted, Million and Larch, and Hedgiest provided major
theoretical foundations of this study. This study urges combing extant
public administrative assumptions and approaches to the need for transformational
leadership and the desire for increased sources in two-year colleges.
It also adds to community college discourse on the following topics: the
value of the education foundation; process development for an educational
foundation; proper stewardship; management of change; and long-term planning.
Among other things, this study proposes a sample multi-source flexible model that foundation administrators can use to start or develop a foundation. Findings indicate that there is still much work to be done in order for community college foundations to be competitive with other public and nonprofit foundations. Some solutions to funding problems can be found within educational administration and, as well, other fields. In addition, the system foundation can serve a broader role as an information vendor rather than compete for funds with its constituent community colleges.
Dissertation Title: A PROPOSAL TO INTEGRATE PRESENTATION TECHNOLOGY IN BASIC COMMUNICATION COURSES AT COMMUNITY COLLEGES (Fall 2002) Author's Name: Kimmarie Lewis Biography: Kimmarie Lewis attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, Virginia, where she received her B.A. in English. She received her M.A. in English and her D.A. in Community College Education from George Mason University, Virginia. Kimmarie is a member of the faculty at Lord Fairfax Community College in Warrenton, Virginia, where she teaches English and Communication. Dissertation Abstract: This dissertation describes current presentation technology and visual aid practices in the Virginia Community College System's basic communication courses by providing an analysis of representative Introduction to Public Speaking (SPD 100) and Survey of Communication (SPD 110) syllabi. In addition, the author proposes that basic communication course instructors teach students how to communicate with presentation technology. Finally, the author synthesizes research from the disciplines of education, information technology, psychology, graphic design, and communication to propose methods of conducting such training. Dissertation Title: AN OPEN DOOR FOR THE BABY BOOMERS: THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE PREPARES TO MEET THE LIFELONG LEARNING NEEDS OF AN AGING POPULATION (Spring 2002) Author's Name: Linda Morgan Malami, D.A. Biography: On my next birthday, I will be fifty-five years old, and I am proud
to Dissertation
Abstract: The motivation to achieve successful aging is an emerging
issue now that the oldest members of the baby boom generation have experienced
their fiftieth birthdays. The paradox of early retirement and longer life
expectancy forces the question: What will the baby boom generation do
with the 20 or more productive, vital years remaining after their retirement?
Because meaning-making continues to be an essential human need throughout
the adult life span, those whose identities are tied to their vocations
will need to reassess themselves and establish their post-retirement identity.
Baby boomers, many of whom have devoted their adult lives to the advancement
of their professional careers, will need to identify ways to successfully
transition from previous roles to new and different ones. Participating
in lifelong learning activities may be one means to facilitate the transition.
Many have accepted continuing education as an integral part of their career
development; consequently, it is not unrealistic to expect them to pursue
lifelong learning activities after retirement. Lifelong learning activities
offer the retiree a means of identifying and maintaining new purpose in
life, either as an avenue to other activities, or as a way to achieve
self-actualization and socialization. issertation Title: TEACHING INTRODUCTORY COLLEGE MATHEMATICS WITH LEARNING STYLE PROJECTS (Fall 2002) Author's Name: Bruce N. Wahl, D.A. Biography: Bruce N. Wahl was born in Austin, Minnesota on November 7, 1964. In 1987 Bruce received his Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics (Summa Cum Laude) from Saint Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. In 1990, he received his Master of Arts in Mathematics from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Mr. Wahl began teaching as an adjunct mathematics instructor at the Alexandria campus of Northern Virginia Community College in 1992. The following year, he was appointed to a full-time temporary faculty position, and in 1994, he was hired in a full-time permanent position as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the college. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1999. He teaches all levels of mathematics, focusing on introductory college mathematics courses with learning style projects. In 1997, Mr. Wahl was awarded a Virginia Community College System professional development grant to study service learning, and received an Honorable Mention for his final research grant award report from the VCCS. He has been twice nominated for the Northern Virginia Community College Alumni Federation Faculty of the Year Award. Mr. Wahl entered the Doctor of Arts in Community College Education program at George Mason University in 1995. He is scheduled to present his research at both local and national mathematics meetings in 2002 and 2003. Dissertation
Abstract: The purpose of this project is twofold: to create learning
style projects for introductory college mathematics courses and to understand
how students respond cognitively, emotionally, and motivationally to learning
style projects. This project grew out of the need for learning style activities
that could be implemented immediately and easily in introductory college
mathematics courses and the need to document the effects of learning style
projects on students' learning. Dissertation
Title: SOIL ATTRIBUTES AS VIABLE AGENTS IN RED SPRUCE MORTALITY ALONG
THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN HIGHLANDS WITH APPLICATIONS AS FIELD AND LABORATORY
EXERCISES FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE SCIENCE COURSES (Spring 2002) Author's Name: Craig M. Ashbrook Biography: Craig M. Ashbrook was born on April 20, 1950 in Lebanon, Virginia, and attended Cleveland High School. Upon graduation from Cleveland High he attended Southwest Virginia Community College and earned his Associate in Science degree in Education. He attended East Tennessee State University (ETSU) where he earned both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degrees from the Department of Geology & Geography. His areas of expertise include geomorphology and environmental hydrology. Mr. Ashbrook completed post-graduate work in hydrology and dendrology at ETSU and post-masters work in geology and astronomy at the University of Virginia. Additionally, he received a Doctoral Fellowship from ETSU. Mr. Ashbrook earned his Ground Water Scientist credential from the Ohio State University in Columbus, his Diploma in Community College Education from George Mason University in Fairfax, is a Registered Environmental Manager, a Registered Professional Geologist and a Registered Hazardous Chemicals/Materials Manager. Mr. Ashbrook was the recipient of the John Moss Award in 1991 as an outstanding Geology Teacher and he was also the recipient of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education's VA Outstanding Professor of the Year for 1992. Mr. Ashbrook began his professional teaching career with the Russell County Public Schools where he taught Mathematics and Earth Science. He also taught Earth Science with the Tazewell County Schools. Mr. Ashbrook began teaching as adjunct instructor with Southwest Virginia Community College in 1980 and was appointed as Program Head for the Environmental Management program in 1989. He also is adjunct professor at Radford University and at East Tennessee State University. Additionally, Mr. Ashbrook spent a number of years with a Virginia consulting firm as a hydrologist and continues to be involved with hydrogeologic consulting through Earth Sciences, which serve the East Tennessee-Southwest Virginia, Western North Carolina region. Dissertation
Abstract: The southern Appalachian h displaying peaks above 1500m
frequently support a northern boreal forest. These highland forests sustain
both red spruce and Fraser fir trees, which are typically aboriginal to
the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Within the past
century, these forests are declining at an unusual rate. Past studies
have focused on the impacts of acid deposition and similar atmospheric
pollutants. However, the scientific community found difficulty in establishing
a cause-and-effect relationship between the decline and these atmospheric
pollutants. |
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orientation embedded within a socio-constructivist pedagogy via a computer-supported collaborative medium. Using a between-subjects design, twelve post-baccalaureate participants from U.S. and Chinese Heritage Cultures (CHC) were assigned to computer-supported collaborative teams consisting of one of three possible levels of cultural configuration (CHC/CHC, CHC/US, and US/US). Teams independently worked and learned together within web-enabled collaboratories using a synchronous/asynchronous tool suite. Each team was asked to determine whether analogous elements exist within CHC that could augment or supersede the utility of the existing American model for successful CSC.
Six models exhibiting various degrees of hybridity emerged from the intercultural and culturally homogenous CHC teams as expected. These models are treated both quantitatively (in terms of IM transcript dialog data, along with supporting model comparisons and post-test questionnaire responses), and qualitatively through interviews. The findings have implications for computer-supported collaborative work and learning, instructional designers, trainers in globally distributed companies, distance learning programs, and the increasingly diverse American classroom and workplace.