Digital Commons Network^™

Assessment Of Two Pedagogical Tools For Cybersecurity Education, Pranita Deshpande

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Cybersecurity is an important strategic areas of computer science, and a difficult discipline to teach effectively. To enhance and provide effective teaching and meaningful learning, we develop and assess two pedagogical tools: Peer instruction, and Concept Maps. Peer instruction teaching methodology has shown promising results in core computer science courses by reducing failure rates and improving student retention in computer science major. Concept maps are well-known technique for improving student-learning experience in class. This thesis document presents the results of implementing and evaluating the peer instruction in a semester-long cybersecurity course, i.e., introduction to computer security. Development and evaluation of …

Aversion And Warning Factors For Assessing Existing Reinforced Concrete Structures, Marcie Van Weerdhuizen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In a world of aging infrastructure, sustainability initiatives require additional investment in the assessment of existing reinforced concrete structures. Reliability-based assessment should minimize costs by reducing conservatism, while ensuring levels of safety equivalent to those for new designs. Current Canadian and US provisions assign target reliability levels for structural assessment based on criteria including occupancy type, expected failure behaviour, and the effect of element failure on the overall structural integrity. These criteria are defined using discrete and qualitative parameter values. It is shown that the true structural conditions can be better represented by verifying the applicability and completeness of these …

Developing An Online Computational Thinking Instrument For Elementary Students, Guanhua Chen

Open Access Dissertations

This study is part of a larger design study that iteratively improves a robotics programming curriculum as well as a computational thinking (CT) instrument. Its focus was majorly on CT assessment and particularly on an online CT instrument with logging functionality that can store a student's problem-solving process by recording interactions between a test-taker and the items with timestamps. The purposes of this research were to examine the psychometric properties of an online CT instrument, test if significant improvement in CT could be found by 200 5th graders who took a robotics programming course and the CT instrument as pretest …

Mississippi Teacher's Perspectives Of Danielson's Framework For Teaching, Donna Floyd

Dissertations

The focus of this study was to measure Mississippi teacher’s perspectives as identified in the Teacher’s Perspectives on Danielson’s Framework for Teaching (TPDFT) instrument. This quantitative study investigated whether or not statistically significant differences existed between domains as identified in the TPDFT, and if these findings differed statistically as a function of years of teaching experience, type of Mississippi teaching certification, and degree of professional trust. A 36-item survey instrument based on the 2013 version of Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching was developed. This survey was piloted and distributed to obtain quantitative data to assess teacher’s perspectives on Danielson’s Framework …

Concussion In Student Athletes: Prevention, Assessment, And Recovery, Miriam A. Carroll-Alfano

Dissertations

The research presented in this study examines concussion among athletes from the perspectives of prevention, assessment, and recovery. The first study examines concussion education for high school athletes by surveying 157 collegiate athletes, who primarily attended high school in Illinois and Indiana, about the previous concussion education, including whether they received mandated education, the methods and providers of education, and their ability to name a variety of concussion symptoms. This study finds that despite legislative mandates in these states, 20% of student-athletes continue to report not receiving concussion education in high school, with females more likely to report not receiving …

Evaluating Recommendations Versus Utilization Of Essential Components Of A Functional Analysis Procedure, Alissa Conway

Dissertations

Functional behavior assessment (FBA) has been identified as an essential process for behavior analytic practitioners to identify the variables maintaining challenging behaviors (BACB Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts (PECC), 3.01ab, 2014). FBAs include a range of strategies, including indirect measures (e.g., interviews and questionnaires) and direct measures of behavior (descriptive and experimental strategies). Functional analysis (FA) is typically considered the most sophisticated of the options subsumed under FBAs in that it involves both direct measures of behavior and experimental manipulation of hypothesized controlling variables to identify controlling variables for challenging behaviors. The results of FAs allow practitioners …

The Effects Of Didactic Training & Behavioral Skills Training On Staff Implementation Of A Stimulus Preference Assessment With Adults With Disabilities, Sandra G. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study assessed the effects of BST and DT on the treatment integrity scores of four direct care staff (DCS) conducting a multiple stimulus without replacement assessment with confederates. A concurrent multiple baseline design showed that BST was effective in achieving mastery level treatment integrity scores for all participants and that these scores generalized to adults with disabilities and remained at mastery levels after a 2-week generalization phase.

Are We Safe Yet? Re-Evaluation Of The Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Safety (Pdc-Safety), Nelmar Jacinto Cruz

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the utility of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist- Safety (PDC-Safety) (Martinez-Onstott, Wilder, & Sigurdsson, 2016) by comparing the effectiveness of a PDC-Safety indicated intervention with a PDC-Safety nonindicated intervention. The interventions targeted participants’ hand washing behavior at a clinic serving children with intellectual disabilities. Failure to wash hands at appropriate times could pose health risks to both behavior technicians and clients, so efforts should be made to increase the likelihood of hand washing. The results of the PDC-Safety suggested that the antecedents and information domain was most problematic. First, a non-indicated intervention, which included access to additional materials …

An Examination Of The Properties, Uses And Interpretations Of First Grade Reading Screening Tools In One School District, Amadee Meyer

Doctoral Dissertations

Early identification of children who are likely to struggle to achieve reading proficiency is essential to providing them timely access to effective interventions. Thus, universal screening is a critical feature of preventative service delivery models that identify students at risk and provide early support for reading difficulties. As schools choose assessment tools for this purpose, three aspects of universal screening tools are especially important to consider: appropriateness for the intended use, technical adequacy, and usability. Using these standards for assessment review, this study investigated two screening tools commonly used to identify first-graders at risk for reading failure: the Aimsweb Tests …

Evaluation Of Oral Function Before And After Frenectomy In Breastfed Infants Diagnosed With Tethered Oral Tissue, Cindy L. Parr

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Assessment and treatment of tethered oral tissue, or tongue tie, vary within and across providers, resulting in inconsistent surgical and therapeutic outcomes. Assessment and treatment have historically focused on the anatomical (structural) underpinnings of tongue tie, as opposed to the physiological (functional) aspects that can affect daily activities. This is particularly noteworthy in the infant population in regards to breastfeeding. Clinical findings, however, suggest that connections exist between tongue tie and a variety of other oral functions that go beyond breastfeeding. The goal of this research was to examine a relatively small group of breastfed infants with tethered oral …

Evaluation Of Clinical Growth And Nursing Student Motivation In The Traditional Clinical Learning Environment, Jessica Barkimer

Dissertations (1934 -)

Evaluation of students in the traditional clinical learning environment is difficult. There remains a lack of standard guidelines to evaluate students using valid and reliable instruments as well as inconsistent processes with lack of interrater reliability standards between educators. A need exists for fair and consistent evaluation of nursing students. When the clinical educator uses a standard evaluation process and understands students’ motivation for learning, adaptations in teaching strategies and education on self-regulatory strategies can be implemented to enhance learning and measure clinical growth. This research study used a prospective, correlational, pre-test/post-test design to examine the relationship between student motivation …

Impact Of Explicit Instruction Using Culturally Relevant Texts In Reading On Student Confidence, Wendy Harriford Platt

Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes an action research question focused on how explicit instruction in reading, coupled with culturally responsive teaching, can affect the confidence levels of African-American male ninth graders regarding their reading comprehension abilities. The research question seeks to illustrate the benefits of using explicit instruction in the context of materials seen as relevant by the student to unpack each step of the reading comprehension process thereby engaging students who otherwise view reading as a streamlined, passive process; it also uses teacher modeling to show how to increase reading comprehension, Also, classroom instruction on the secondary level makes use of …

The Association Between Sentence Repetition And Other Cognitive Abilities In School-Aged Children, Alicia Nicole Bartlett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the association between sentence repetition and other cognitive abilities in 6- to 14-year-old children (N = 118; 60% female) recruited from schools in Windsor, Ontario. The effect of age and sex on children's SR was also examined. Children completed Benton's (1965) sentence repetition task, which required them to repeat a series of 26 verbally presented sentences of increasing length. Language, auditory verbal memory, processing speed, fluid reasoning, and visual perception were measured with subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (5th edition) and auditory nonverbal memory was assessed with the Seashore Rhythm Test. A multiple …

Metrics For Assessment And Management Of Lean Manufacturing Implementation, Mina Ghali

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research is to introduce a new concept of auditing and implementing Lean Manufacturing by translating qualitative criteria to quantitative metrics. Therefore, quantitative formulas were developed to produce a numeric score, representing the progress of three lean manufacturing tools implementation. The tools are 5S, Kaizen, and Value Stream Mapping. The scores could then be compared to an ideal state or a standard set by industrial studies (i.e. baseline). These tools were chosen based on the researcher’s industrial experience and the gap seen in assessing the implementation of these three tools. Other metric formulas with the same approach could be derived …

Teaching To Assess: An Evaluation Of Assessment Education For Secondary Teacher Candidates, Daniel M. Frederking

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the assessment instruction of a four-year undergraduate secondary education program and its alignment to the teaching standards and the summative teacher licensure assessment. Document analyses were conducted on the program’s syllabi as well as the assessment portions of the InTASC standards and the handbook of the edTPA. Results highlighted several areas of misalignment in the areas of categorical concurrence, depth of knowledge, and range of knowledge. Also of note, preservice teachers in different secondary subject areas are receiving different amounts of assessment instruction. Additionally, local edTPA data was examined to highlight areas of strength and weakness. Students …

Leadership, Teacher Learning, And Assessment: A Strategic Approach To Improving Writing Achievement, Tommi Hoogsteen

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

In an era with increasing accountability and pressures to increase student achievement across all levels, school-based leaders need support in bringing about such changes. The problem of practice addressed in the organizational improvement plan is stated as: A document known as Saskatchewan Reads for Administrators exists to support leadership for best practice in reading in elementary school. No such document exists for writing. The problem of practice under investigation is the need for a strategic approach to support school leaders in improving student achievement levels in writing. Attempting to address this gap in a comprehensive fashion and using a strategic …

The Effects Of Formative And Summative Assessment On Student's Connectedness, Satisfaction, Learning And Academic Performance Within An Online Healthcare Course, Thomas J. Wing

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The quantitative study presented here evaluates the effects of formative and summative assessment on student’s connectedness, satisfaction, learning and academic performance within a university three-credit 400 level online healthcare course. Literature exploring the role that formative assessment plays within an online environment is currently lacking. Additionally, understanding how assessment practices can help support the goals of online healthcare education is vitally important given the rise in popularity of this delivery format.

This study investigated student outcomes in the form of connectedness, satisfaction, learning and academic performance. Four cohorts of students were included in this study. Two cohorts were provided with …

An Evaluation Of The Criteria Used To Assess Title Ix Responsible Employee Training Programs At Large, Four Year Primarily Residential Institutions, Catherine Hopkins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to: (a) discover the intended objectives that selected institutions of higher education had for their “responsible employee” training programs and (b) identify what data were collected to determine if the “responsible employee” training programs were meeting those objectives. I surveyed the Title IX Coordinators at 144 primarily residential and highly residential institutions using a 20 question electronic survey. The top four reported training objectives were that the responsible employee learn how to: appropriately respond to a student; understand their legal duty to report; cite the information that students must be informed about; and know …

A Parametric Analysis Of Choice Under Risk, David W. Sottile

Masters Theses

Accurate assessment of risk propensity is important because risky choices underlie a broad range of behavioral problems. The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) is an assessment that measures propensity to engage in risky choice. While this is a useful assessment, the BART changes two variables that affect risky choice simultaneously, probability of an undesirable outcome and stake size, which cannot be separated within the context of the BART. The goal of this study was to evaluate the separate and combined effects of key factors that are likely to risky choice (Magnitude of payoff, probability of an undesirable outcome, and stake …

Performance Of Floristic Quality Assessment In Massachusetts Forested Wetlands, Carolyn Gorss

Masters Theses

In order to combat the loss of valuable wetland functions and services, federal, state and tribal governments must have the tools to accurately assess and monitor the condition of wetland ecosystems. One particular method of wetland assessment is Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA), which has been growing in popularity throughout the United States since its creation in the 1970s. FQA relies on vegetative indicators of human disturbance to assess the integrity of an ecosystem. FQA calculations are based on Coefficients of Conservatism (C-scores), professionally-assigned scores ranging from 0-10 that denote a local species' tolerance to anthropogenic disturbance. Despite increasing interest in …

Re-Assessing Assessment: Implementing Constructivist Testing With New And Existing Curriculum, Joey Kretchman-Grande

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question at the focal point of this research was: How best can educators implement constructivist assessment in a way that benefits all students? This project was heavily influenced by the theories of Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget and discovering how to share their information with educators in a way that will help them

revise their own assessments. The final result of the project is a website detailing step- by-step instructions of how to create or adapt assessments to fit this newer, non- traditional style. The resulting website was published online through Google Sites and is now accessible by …

Framework For Purposeful Technology Integration In Environmental Education Using Inquiry Based Learning, Jonathan Massung

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was, how do you incorporate technology to facilitate raw exploration of the natural world that reinforces inquiry-based learning in Environmental Education? The concept of the project was to create a framing guide to allow traditional and non-traditional educators to purposefully incorporate technology into a program with emphasis on environmental education standards. The primary focus of the format of the program is intended for K-12 lessons. The idea behind creating the program is to not simply add technology to a program, but to include the technology tool as a central piece with standards that …

The Special Education Referral And Evaluation Process For English Language Learners, Celeste Norlander

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research shows that there is a disproportionate number of English Language Learners (ELLs) in special education. The over and under representation of this population in special education can be linked back to issues within the referral and evaluation process. This project looks to answer the question: What accommodations need to be made to the special education process to ensure that English Language Learners are appropriately referred and evaluated? This project resulted

in a flowchart for each step in the special education referral and evaluation process. Research- based practices are presented for each step of the process. The flowchart was created …

Validity Of A Dynamic Spanish Assessment Of Phonological Awareness In Emergent Bilingual Children, Kelsey R. Wyman Chin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within the current decade, the number of Hispanic students has doubled so that about 16% of the total student population within the United States are Spanish-speakers (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). With this growing population comes a responsibility to understand and implement best practices for educating these students. Because literacy is a building-block for learning, one integral part of this responsibility consists of developing valid and reliable means of assessing pre-reading skills that are predictive of later reading abilities (Lonigan, Burgess, & Anthony, 2000; Wagner, Torgesen, & Rashotte, 1994).

English-language learning children are being identified for having reading difficulties and disabilities …

Early Literacy Abilities In Spanish-English Emergent Bilingual Children From Varied Dialectal Backgrounds, Antonietta Mastrota

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Hispanic population within the United States has grown to a considerable amount. The state of Florida’s population is 25% Hispanic, with projected estimates of this population continuing to grow in the coming years (Ortman & Shin, 2011). Statistics show that 28.3% of the state’s population, over the age of five, speak a language other than English at home. With this considerable number of Spanish-speakers comes the responsibility to adjust certain educational practices to best meet their needs. Literacy is an essential part of learning, and therefore assessing early literacy is an essential part to any child’s academic development.

Phonological …

Beyond A Checklist: Development Of A Music Therapy Method For Use With A Population With Developmental Delays And Physical Disabilities, Andria Thomas

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Music therapy has long been used within school settings, particularly within special needs populations. Until the late 1970s students with special needs were usually institutionalized with the belief that they were incapable of continued learning. Since then, music therapy has become a useful clinical medium to assess and aid in treating speech deficits, various cognitive impairments, and physical rehabilitation. This capstone thesis centered on how individuals with significant cognitive and physical impairment interact, communicate, and participate in everyday situations, specifically within a music therapy group setting. Overall, the observations show the usefulness of assessment as a music therapy tool as …

Breaking The Language Barrier: Equitable Assessment In General Chemistry, Eshani Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Because language provides the framework through which knowledge is constructed, it is crucial to consider the ways in which students with limited English proficiencies are able to express their understanding. English language learners (ELLs) make up a significant portion of the student body in the education system and represent many ethnic and racial minorities in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) fields (Burke & Mattis, 2007). Despite the national push to build a more diversified, STEM-ready workforce, there is little research that considers the way ELLs are assessed in STEM courses at the postsecondary level. Literature reports that science tests …

Evidence-Based Practice Screening Protocol To Integrate Physical Health Services Into A Behavioral Health Center, Debra Bell

Doctoral Projects

ABSTRACT

Individuals aged 18 or older who suffer from a serious mental illness (SMI) often have coexisting chronic physical health problems such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Multiple providers in various settings provide care for individuals with co-morbid SMI and physical health problems. Early, effective and efficient screening leads to successful treatment and management of patients with both SMI and chronic physical health complications. The purpose of this DNP project was to develop and implement an evidence-based integrated screening protocol for adult males (18 and over) diagnosed with SMI and co-morbid physical health problems who presented for care …

Principals And The Phenomenon Of Neoliberal Audit Culture, James A. Bishop

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

This study focuses on the perceptions of six principals of the assessment culture within their schools. The principals were experienced in the assessment culture under study from a single school district consisting of two principals from each level – elementary, middle and high – with each level having one principal with a low SES (free and reduced lunch above 60%) population of students and one with a high SES population (free and reduce lunch below 20%). The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which principals perceive functional value in the neoliberal School Assessment Culture Phenomenon comprised …

Using Text Comprehension Analyses To Enhance The Readability Of Self-Report Questionnaires Of Gambling Disorder, Samuel Cody Peter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to use advanced text-comprehension tools to develop a questionnaire of gambling disorder symptoms, the Memphis Gambling Measure (MGM), then experimentally compare rates of accurate comprehension and symptom identification as compared to the NODS, an often used and theoretically less readable questionnaire of the same symptoms. Eighty-five volunteers identified symptoms in a clinical vignette by completing either the MGM or NODS in a between-subjects experimental design. Participants who completed the MGM correctly identified more symptoms of gambling disorder than participants who completed the NODS. Participants with more education more accurately reponded to the questionnaire items, …