Other Education Commons^™

Two Phenomena In Contemporary Music Education: Mental Toughness And The Law, Jason R. Sivill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This collection of works involved examinations of two phenomena that currently impact music education in the United States and constitute challenges for both pre-service and in-service music educators. Article one is an exploration of college aged musicians, their experiences with critical commentary and stressful scenarios encountered in and through applied music studies, and the role that mental toughness might play in these experiences.

This study examined the perceptions of college level studio teachers and their students.

Results of the study indicated that significant differences in mental toughness scores existed between the studio teacher group and the students (as a whole) …

Simulation And Software Development To Understand Interactions Of Guest Molecules Inporous Materials, Douglas M. Franz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The effect of inclusion of explicit polarization is investigated through several theoret- ical studies of crystalline porous materials herein. In addition to the use of Monte Carlo simulation for such studies, a robust molecular dynamics software is presented which is suitable for analyzing time dependent properties of gases or other molecules in porous materials and other condensed phase systems. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are the main focus of the work included here, a relatively young class of materials originally in- troduced in the early 1990s. These are usually three dimensional crystalline nanoporous materials that exhibit unique properties such as gas separation, …

Inside The Work Of A Rookie Principal Coach: Tackling Equity In Disciplinary Practices, Olayinka A. Alege

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hillsborough County Public Schools embarked on an ambitious goal to improve the highest-need schools by restructuring how the district supports schools and their leaders in July 2018. As part of this effort, the superintendent reduced the span of control and assigned principal coaches to support principals in a more intentional way. The purpose of this study was to explore how a principal coach engages a principal in examining inequities in disciplinary practices and how the principal coach provides the supports to prompt and sustain the principal’s efforts to reduce the disproportionate number of students of color being suspended from school. …

The Left Behind Generation: Instructional Practices To Increase The Technological Literacy Of Older Adults, Daphne Pace Phillips

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to explore the utilization and perception of best practices by community-based technology training programs when instructing older adults to become technologically literate. The target population included adults age 55 years and older of the Baby Boomer generational cohort who ranged academically from possessing a high school diploma or General Education Diploma (GED) through a college degree and had enrolled in a local technology training program to improve their technological skill level with the goal of obtaining employment and/or to remain functionally independent. This study was conducted at three community technology training centers located in the southeast that …

When Healing And High-Stakes Meet: Restorative Justice In An Era Of Racial Neoliberalism, Dani O'Brien

Doctoral Dissertations

Based on a 3-year ethnography, this dissertation documents the story of Presente, an explicitly critical youth-led restorative justice group attempting to dismantle the school-prison nexus and create a more youth-centered culture at their high-reform high school. This dissertation addresses the questions: How does serving as a restorative justice peer leader impact students? What challenges and opportunities arise as the school tries to transition to more restorative practices? And how do the values central to restorative justice come up against, challenge, and get challenged by neoliberal education reform?

Interfaith Education And The Quest For Peacebuilding In Northern Nigeria, Ezekiel Abdullahi Babagario

Doctoral Dissertations

INTERFAITH EDUCATION AND THE QUEST FOR PEACEBUILDING IN NORTHERN NIGERIA Over the past thirty years, relationships between ethnic and religious groups in the northern regions of Nigeria have deteriorated. Conflict occurs on an almost daily basis between Christians and Muslims. Most Nigerians consider themselves very religious which often leads followers of the major religions to fight to protect the teachings of their faith. The high level of illiteracy and lack of interreligious understanding between the faith groups contributes to the propensity for violent clashes in the region. The literature review discusses the concept of religious education, interfaith dialogue and interfaith …

Using Technology As An Independent Learning Strategy To Support Vocabulary Acquisition For Secondary Students With Learning Disabilities, Donna M. Egan

Theses and Dissertations

Students at the secondary level encounter a plethora of content-rich, content-area texts. To achieve comprehension of these content-area texts, students are required to know the meanings, relationships, and contextual interpretations of each new vocabulary word. Students, especially exceptional students (those who have an Individualized Education Plan), struggle with academic demands, challenges of tiered vocabulary, and the lack of comprehensive vocabulary instruction. Researchers have examined the outcomes of computer-assisted instruction on exceptional students’ vocabulary development using various technology. To meet the critical academic vocabulary acquisition needs of secondary students with exceptionalities, research encourages using technological applications as independent word-learning strategies. This …

Using Technology As An Independent Learning Strategy To Support Vocabulary Acquisition For Secondary Students With Learning Disabilities, Donna M. Egan

Dissertations

Students at the secondary level encounter a plethora of content-rich, content-area texts. To achieve comprehension of these content-area texts, students are required to know the meanings, relationships, and contextual interpretations of each new vocabulary word. Students, especially exceptional students (those who have an Individualized Education Plan), struggle with academic demands, challenges of tiered vocabulary, and the lack of comprehensive vocabulary instruction. Researchers have examined the outcomes of computer-assisted instruction on exceptional students’ vocabulary development using various technology. To meet the critical academic vocabulary acquisition needs of secondary students with exceptionalities, research encourages using technological applications as independent word-learning strategies. This …

Least Prompts Approach For Improving Reading Comprehension Of Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Marisa M. Hoins

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this study, the researcher employed a least prompts intervention to improve listening comprehension responses for three participants with intellectual disabilities (ID). All participants were required to (a) be diagnosed with a moderate ID or have a medical diagnosis of a disability typically co-occurring with ID (e.g., Downs Syndrome), (b) be in grades one to seven, (c) communicate orally, and (d) have normal hearing and vision. In addition, all participants expressed choices through orally responding yes/no or by pointing to a response board. The researcher used a multiple baseline design across three participants to determine if there was a functional …

Speech-Language Pathologists' Assessment And Treatment Of Dementia: A Mixed Methods Study, Alyssa Mount

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The intent of this research was to investigate how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are assessing and treating people with dementia (PWD). To examine this the researcher first completed a literature review to determine prominent evaluation and treatment procedures for dementia. Then the researcher set out to identify whether there was a gap between the external evidence found in the literature and the practice patterns of SLPs, and subsequently attempt to delineate potential reasons for the differences.

Using a mixed-method design, the researcher conducted 10 phone interviews and 114 SLPs participated in an online survey. The researcher engaged in grounded theory coding …

Nebline, July 2019

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

CONTENTS

Nebraska’s Bad Buzz: What You Need to Know About Mosquitoes and West Nile Virus

Summertime Snacking With Salsa

Recipes of the Month

Weather Challenges Keep Coming

Block Play Encourages Children’s Development in Multiple Areas

Extension Offers “Block Party” for Childcare Programs

Upcoming Early Childhood Trainings

My Personal Experience With West Nile Virus

Check Landscape Plants for Bagworms

Garden Guides: Things to Do This Month

Greener Town Grant Applications Due Aug. 31

HEART OF 4-H VOLUNTEER AWARD: Kylee Yakel

SUPER FAIR 4-H/FFA ANIMAL ENTRIES MUST BE SUBMITTED ONLINE BY JULY 1

11 4-H Clubs Helped at Kiwanis Karniva

Many Ways …

Effects Of Choice On Multiplication And Division Fluency Acquisition For Third Grade Students, Terri Tammelin

All NMU Master's Theses

Students with the most pronounced behavioral needs are the ones missing the most instruction. A three-tiered system of intervention that is data driven and uses evidence based interventions is used within schools to meet the needs of all students. Within this tiered system, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), founded in the sciences of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), are used. Of the many PBIS interventions, instructional choice at Tier I has been established as an effective, low intensity, teacher delivered support that aims to reduce challenging behaviors and increase academic engagement. Instructional choice involves two parts: selection in response to …

International Teaching Assistants’ Perceptions Of English And Spanish Language Use At The University Of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, Edward G. Contreras Santiago

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Globalization and sociopolitical factors impact migration patterns all over the world. In Puerto Rico, these factors created superdiverse environments where languages users have pushed the boundaries of language in order to make sense of their worlds. Even though this language dynamic is natural for locals, it is those who visit from different countries, specifically international graduate students, that have a difficult time adjusting to Puerto Rico’s rich use of English and Spanish. Understanding how international graduate students perceive the language used at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez (UPRM) upon arrival is essential to provide a better experience for future …

An Investigation Of The Effects Of The Parasitic Nematode Aplectana Hamatospicula On The Performance And Behavior Of Cuban Treefrogs (Osteopilus Septentrionalis), Kerri Surbaugh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parasitic infections are ubiquitous in nature, and host-parasite dynamics can have powerful effects on wildlife populations. Many species have evolved behavioral responses to infection that can help mitigate damage from parasites. Anorexia is a common response to infection observed throughout the animal kingdom. Reducing nutrient intake can help shift host resources from digestion to immunity, as well as limit resources available to parasites. Reduced feeding can weaken the host, but in some host-parasite interactions, this cost is less than that of maintaining an infection. Here, I describe an experiment aimed to explore the effects of the parasitic nematode Aplectana hamatospicula …

Promoting L2 Idiomatic Competence Among Chinese College Students Via Wechat, Zhengjie Li

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many second language (L2) scholars acknowledge that L2 idioms play a critical role in reading development as well as in communicative competence for L2 learners (Arnaud & Savignon, 1997; Barfield & Gyllstad, 2009; Conklin & Schmitt, 2008; Howarth, 1998; Liontas, 2017; Littlemore, Chen, Koester, & Barnden, 2011). Echoing the current trends of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), much research has been done to underscore how L2 idiom learning can be infused with instructional technologies to promote L2 learners’ idiomatic competence (see Luk & Ng, 1998; Nakata, 2011; Yang & Xie, 2013). However, what remains underexplored is the ways that L2 …

Eating In America: Easing The Transition For Resettled Refugees Through An Applied Anthropological Intervention, Emily A. Holbrook

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Refugees resettled in the United States are expected to quickly become self-sufficient members of society despite the numerous challenges they face due to adaptation and integration into new systems and ways of life. Issues with dietary and nutritional adaptation persist for resettled refugee communities in the United States and are not prioritized by national, state, or local policy and practice. This research aimed to help mitigate problems with food assistance benefits and healthy eating issues faced by resettled refugees in Hillsborough County through an applied intervention in local English as a Second Language (ESOL) classes. ESOL materials designed to teach …

A Cross-Case Analysis Of Strategies Used By Novice Elementary School Principals To Understand School Culture, Shane Silpe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many have identified the principalship as a “sink or swim” role (Rooney, 2000, p. 77) in which new leaders address a multitude of tasks daily (Spillane & Lee, 2014, p. 433) with feelings of being ultimately responsible (Swen, 2019, p. 5). Preparing principals through induction programs, internships, mentors, coursework, and exposure, are just some of the many ways that we currently prepare beginning principals for their new role. “Challenges for novice school leaders evolve as information is managed differently and as societal and regulatory expectations change” (Beam, Claxton, & Smith, 2016, p. 145). Given this on-going negotiation, novice principals must …

An Examination Of The Roles Of Classroom Quality And Approaches To Learning On The Early Academic Skills Of Latino Dual Language Learners Enrolled In Head Start, Marcela A. Galicia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examined the relationship between classroom quality, approaches-to-learning, and early academic skills among 384 Latino dual language learners (DLLs) enrolled in Florida Head Start programs. The children were living in low-income homes where Spanish was the primary language spoken by at least one parent. The study analyzed the extent to which approaches-to-learning behaviors moderate early literacy and numeracy skills in Head Start classrooms of varying quality. During the spring of their prek-4 year, the children were administered the English and Spanish Letter-Word Identification and Applied Problems subtests of the WJ-III (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001) and the Batería III …

A Qualitative Case Study Examining The Perceptions Of Elementary Principals In The Retention Of Female Versus Male Students In Rural Areas, Lindell N. Brabham

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Retention continues to be an ongoing issue discussed among educators. Current research indicates that males are more likely to repeat a grade than females, and consistent findings indicate that retention rates are higher for minority students. The research question explored the perception of eight elementary principals as it relates to the retention of female versus male students in rural areas. Interviews and focus group sessions were used in this study to allow triangulation of data. Data collected was analyzed, and a total of seven major themes emerged: (a) early intervention/retention; (b) policies and procedures; (c) gender bias; (d) students’ academic …

Quantifying The Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale And The Functional Performance Measures, Chelsea Rene Davis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Friedreich Ataxia (FA) is a debilitating autosomal-recessive neurodegenerative disorder which is characterized by ataxia of all four limbs, difficulty walking, areflexia, and dysarthria. Further complications of FA include diabetes, scoliosis, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Approximately three-quarters of people with FA have onset before the age of 25 and in most instances, affected individuals will require the use of a wheelchair within ten years after symptoms emerge.

The current advancements in clinical trials have escalated the developmental demand for a scale which validates adjustments in FA. The Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale (FARS) is a disease-specific semi-qualitative assessment which includes three subscales (functional …