Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

David Weintraub

Committee Member

Steven Hecht

Committee Member

Kimberly Durham

Keywords

academic achievement, bilingual education, bilingual resources, community college, content comprehension, developmental mathematics, digital learning, English learners, help resources, Hispanic students, homework, homework help, instructors, mathematics education, metalinguistic awareness, online homework, qualitative research, scaffolded learning, semi-structured interviews, Spanish language, student perceptions, translanguaging, vocabulary development, web-based homework, XYZ Homework

Abstract

This applied dissertation, grounded in the theoretical framework of metalinguistic awareness, was designed to understand how six Hispanic English learners (ELs) were utilizing homework help resources when offered in both English and Spanish. Specifically, the study was conducted at a mid-Atlantic community college with students enrolled in a developmental mathematics course. Homework has long been established as a tool that increases the probability of academic success. The shift to web-based assignments in developmental mathematics from traditional pencil and paper homework has yielded positive results yet little is known regarding how learners utilize bilingual digital assessment tools to achieve mastery of the material.

A semi-structured interview was utilized to better understand the behavior of ELs when given access to bilingual help videos embedded in the web-based homework platform, XYZ Homework. Self-identified Hispanic ELs were interviewed about how they utilize the embedded homework resources, how they perceive the resources as they pertained to academic achievement and comprehension of course content. In addition, participants were asked what is still needed to support their learning in developmental mathematics as a bilingual.

Results from the study revealed that, when available, by far the embedded help videos were the most valuable resource. Moreover, when those videos were available in Spanish, Hispanic ELs utilized them in conjunction with those offered in English as a method to scaffold content comprehension and build vocabulary. On the downside, participants reported an inconsistency in availability of videos, a mismatch in difficulty level between the given problem and the one worked out in the video, and insufficient orientation by instructors on the help resources within the XYZ Homework platform.

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