Utilizing New Technologies To Measure Therapy Effectiveness For Mental And Physical Health, Jonathan Ossie

Dissertations

Mental health is quickly becoming a major policy concern, with recent data reporting increasing and disproportionately worse mental health outcomes, including anxiety, depression, increased substance abuse, and elevated suicidal ideation. One specific population that is especially high risk for these issues is the military community because military conflict, deployment stressors, and combat exposure contribute to the risk of mental health problems.

Although several pharmacological approaches have been employed to combat this epidemic, their efficacy is mixed at best, which has led to novel nonpharmacological approaches. One such approach is Operation Surf, a nonprofit that provides nature-based programs advocating the restorative …

The Impact Of Environmental Education Delivery Methods And Outreach Messaging On Attitudes, Interests, And Intended-Behavior Changes Toward Nature, Vanessa Elizabeth Hoffman

Theses and Dissertations

Environmental education (EE) is important for environmental awareness and stewardship. Involving youth and adults in EE ensures current and future generations will conserve natural resources. This thesis explores impacts of delivery methods on participants’ environmental attitudes and behaviors toward nature through middle school classroom- and camp-based EE instruction, focus group interviews with rural minority youth, and adult responses to aquatic conservation outreach messaging. I observed no difference in environmental attitudes between online versus in-person delivery of EE lessons for middle-schoolers. Outdoor-based learning may be more impactful for EE than experiential, classroom-based learning. Focus group outcomes suggested youth EE programs should …

An Inclusive Playground For Infant And Toddler Development, Amanda Swartz

Human Development and Family Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this project was to help children develop more proper developmental goals and make outdoor play at the Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center more inclusive for all children. Children gain many developmental goals from playing outside and being exposed to other environments as compared to just being inside the classroom. Outdoor play should be as inclusive as indoor play and offer many different activities and outlets, just as the indoor classroom does. The implementation of this service-learning creative project is to add more versatility to the outdoor area at the Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center and …

Environmental Education In Informal Learning Spaces: Integration, Design, And Access, Maya S. Gutierrez

Graduate Student Portfolios, Papers, and Capstone Projects

In this portfolio, I will focus on using learning spaces to facilitate environmental education and promote environmental literacy. I will discuss the incorporation of the framework of environmental education into an experiential and informal learning environment; the creation of a curriculum that fuses formal and informal learning, providing upper elementary students opportunities to participate in hands-on experiential learning opportunities of environmental education; and the direct and indirect benefits nature-based experiences can provide when implemented into a therapeutic group home. Embedded throughout is an environmental education framework that has been adapted for the diverse setting and requirements of the respective organization …

Early Childhood Educational Toys Through An Architectural Perspective, Anindhitha Sudhakaran

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This capstone explores the overlaps between architectural training and early childhood education, and how architectural design can inform the design process of creating educational toys for young children. Through an analysis of pedagogies used throughout history in early childhood education and my own personal experiences of architecture school, an understanding of how an architectural perspective can influence activities for three- to five-year-olds is developed. Precedent studies of open-ended educational toys designed by educators and designers introduced the design thinking mindset necessary to create an effectively enriching toy. The next phase of this project involves designing an educational toy for the …

Increasing Science Curriculum In Preschool, Sandra Rogel

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Early preschool curriculum often needs more attention to science. When the science curriculum is missing from the preschool curriculum, children may not recognize early science concepts, develop little interest in scientific concepts, and lack sufficient skills for kindergarten readiness. When preschool children are exposed to a science curriculum, they begin to apply scientific concepts, acquire scientific language, and develop scientific thinking. Therefore, to address the insufficiency of science in the preschool curriculum, I developed a three-day lesson for 3 to 5-year-olds at MCOE Early Learning Program at Creekside in Salinas, California.

Developing Science Education For Early Elementary Students, Caty Rodriguez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Children in early elementary school lack science education. They lack science because it is not a subject that schools concentrate on. Schools are more concentrated on math, English, reading, and writing, while science is just put aside. Our students need science in order to create a better vocabulary, open their minds to new things, and to move on to the next grade.

In This Issue (14:1), Stephen J. Langendorfer Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

In This Issue 14:1 introduces and overviews the research and education articles and position statement associated with the first issue of the fourteenth volume of the International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education.

Which Stroke Next? All Strokes Next! Part Two: Strokes For Intermediate And Advanced Swimmers, Robert Keig Stallman, Ebbe L. Horneman, Nils O. Vikander, Alexander Mwaipasi, Bente W. H. Laakso, Haakon - Paavo L. Nysted, Toni Ongala

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The primary goal of this two-part project is to answer the rhetorical question of which strokes should be taught first, and which later (Langendorfer, 2013, Stallman, 2014a). As you have seen in Part One, we emphasize (as have many others) the need for a firm foundation before any stroke is introduced. When the learner is ready for propulsive motor competencies, there is no stroke which suits all as their first. In Part One we explored the “beginning strokes” all of which are candidates for any given learner’s first stroke. We also argued that after mastering their very first stroke the …

Meeting, Moving, Mastering - A Text Analysis Of The Aesthetic Attractions Of 'Wild Swimming', Dagmar Dahl, Åsa I. Bäckström

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Why are people fascinated by swimming in nature? This article addresses the aesthetic experiences of wild swimming as expressed by five wild swimming authors in their books. Drawing from aesthetic philosophy, we analyze the ways in which the appeal of wild swimming is described on three levels: the allure of water in the environment, the sensory encounter between water and the body, and the experience of moving in water. Furthermore, with reference to Seel’s concept of nature aesthetics (1996), the experience of wild swimming is analyzed in terms of contemplation, correspondence, and imagination. We can conclude that the special intensity …

Revisiting The Metaphorical Concept Of “No Strokes First - All Strokes First”: Part One - Beginning Strokes, Robert Keig Stallman Ph.D., Alex Mwaipasi, Ebbe Laakso Horneman, Nils Olof Vikander, Bente Wäinösdatter Horneman Laakso, Haakon-Paavo Laakso Nysted, Toni Ongala

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The aim of this article is to address the familiar question “Which swimming stroke should be taught first?” The discussion is usually focused on breaststroke versus crawl. Provoked by these naïve discussions of which stroke should be taught first (as if stroking equals swimming, which it emphatically does NOT), the question was answered metaphorically in an earlier article “No Stroke First – All Strokes First” (Stallman, 2008a). Here in Part I we identify and describe six strokes, all of which might be a candidate for any learners ‘very first’ stroke. We describe them as beginning strokes. Having identified and learned …

Exploration Of The Lived Experiences Of Native American Science Teachers Of The Great Plains: A Narrative Inquiry, Uma Ganesan

Theses, Student Research, and Creative Activity: Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education

The complicated history of the education of Native American children through U.S. government-sponsored practices has led to the elimination of the Native children’s sense of Indian identity, culture, and language (Noel, 2002). In addition, increased emphasis on standardization and high-stakes accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has resulted in less culturally responsive educational efforts and more Indigenous students left behind in school systems (Castagno & Brayboy, 2008). This has led to Indigenous students being underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields where they account for only 3% of STEM workers (Fry, Kennedy, & Funk, …

An Exploratory Study Of Aquatic Walking On Symptoms And Functional Limitations In Persons With Knee Osteoarthritis: Part 1, John M. Coons, Brandon Grubbs, Vaughn W. Barry, Ryan T. Conners, Sandra Stevens

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

This paper represents Part 1 of a study that explored the effects of an underwater treadmill (UT) walking program on pain and function in adults with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). The Western Ontario & McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), numerical rating scale (NRS), timed up-and-go (TUG), and 10-m walk were assessed in 6 adults (62.7 ±14.2 years) who participated in an 8-week (3x/wk) UT walking intervention based on the Arthritis Foundation’s Walk With Ease (WWE) program. Walking pace was self-selected, and walking duration of each session was increased from 10 to 45 minutes throughout the study. Knee pain and function were …

An Exploratory Study Of The Effects Of Aquatic Walking On Function And Muscle Activity In Knee Osteoarthritis: Part 2, John M. Coons, Brandon Grubbs, Conor Theiss, Vaughn W. Barry, Sandra Stevens

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

This paper presents Part 2 of a study that investigated the effects of an 8-week (3x/week) underwater treadmill (UT) walking intervention on knee osteoarthritis (KOA) outcomes in 6 adults with KOA (62.7 ± 14.2 years). The Knee Outcome Survey (KOS) for activities of daily living and muscle activity during a 10-m walk and a 20 cm step down were measured before and after the intervention. The following KOS measures improved after the UT walking program (p < 0.05; g > 0.8): stiffness, swelling, weakness, walking, going up stairs, going downstairs, kneeling on the front of the knee, squatting, and sitting with the …

Evaluating Attitudes Toward Non-Formal Science Education Programs Among High School Science Teachers In Southeast Louisiana, Heather Egger

LSU Master's Theses

Abstract

The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) has begun implementing Louisiana Student Standards for Science (LSSS), as well as developing high school science certification programs. The LDOE recognizes that teaching science using three-dimensional learning methods and phenomena based inquiry learning will be a challenge that would be addressed in part by partnerships between formal science teachers and nonformal science education programs. However, limited available information on this topic shows that utilization of nonformal science education opportunities by science educators has declined and, in some instances, have been relegated to unstructured “fun” outings to reward students, often after the final quarter …

Fostering Connection Through Ecological Identity: Expanding Colonial Concepts Of Outdoor Adventures, Elizabeth Farrell

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

How can I foster ecological identity? Defining ecological identity as a sense of awareness of how one relates with nature, and identity as an ecological being that is nature, this action research project will explore the ways in which people connect to the natural world through everyday moments. In understanding that the foundations, practices, and industry messaging of the outdoors can be exclusive and perpetuate systems of oppression, I am seeking to expand the notion of what nature connection can be. The hope is to create more accessible, inclusive, and equitable outdoor education practices. Research design included a survey and …

Analysis And Installation Of A Demonstration Agroforestry Orchard For Californian Mediterranean Plant Communities, Brandon Hurd

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

Climate-appropriate agroforestry can provide low-input food security and ecosystem services for local Californian Mediterranean climates, while conserving natural resources (e.g., water, nitrogen, etc.). This project showcases a variety of agroforestry methods for five common plant communities of California and other analogous Mediterranean climates at the CAFES Experimental Farm on the campus of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Plant community species and their ethnobotanical uses were analyzed to mimic and incorporate aspects of native flora. Agricultural plants were also characterized to represent each of the five selected plant communities. GIS was used to assess the project site for soil, slope, and …

Confluence: Evaluating The Individual Learning Outcomes Of A Combined Citizen Science And Environmental Education Project, Evan A. Harms

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Citizen Science has moved beyond a methodological tool for ecologists to crowdsource data to a novel platform for environmental and informal science education. However, few studies document the individual learning outcomes of citizen science as an educational tool, particularly in youth or extension education. This quantitative study focused on evaluating the individual learning outcomes of an environmental education and citizen science non-formal learning experience about water quality.

In this study, an existing lesson plan using four sequenced activities was adapted for use with West Virginia 4-H summer camps in 2022. Potential outcome areas were first identified from foundational environmental education …

The Play Workforce In Wales – An Exploratory Demographic Study, Pete King, Justine Howard Dr

International Journal of Playwork Practice

An online survey of 211 playworkers, 90 childcare and early years workers, and 90 ‘other play’ professionals provided demographic data from 391 people involved in the play workforce in Wales. This was the first extensive survey of the Welsh play workforce since 2008 and was part of a larger Welsh play workforce study. Results of the study found the play workforce in Wales is predominately white, female with no disabilities. Differences within the play workforce exist in relation to the average age where playworkers are younger compared to childcare/early years workers and ‘other play’ professionals. There is a significant difference …

We’Re Not Migrating Yet: Engaging Children’S Geographies And Learning With Lands And Waters, Anna Lees, Megan Bang

Occasional Paper Series

Considering the places, the geographies, of children’s learning, of human learning, is fundamental to seriously considering not only the “whats” or the content of learning but perhaps more importantly the “whys” and the “hows” of learning and the overall goals of education. The whys and hows of education construct what is deemed relevant and irrelevant as well as what is rendered invisible to the “here and now” to children’s lives (Apple, 2004; Iorio & Parnell, 2015; Nxumalo et al., 2011; Tesar, 2015). We argue in our work that issues of place, and relevancy to the “here and now”, is always …