Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of A Gamified Flipped Classroom On First-Generation Low Income Student Motivation And Achievement In A Georgia High School Mathematics Class, Michael Maxwell

Learning Sciences Dissertations

Math continues to be a challenge for American high school students. The United States was placed ninth in reading and thirty-first in math literacy out of 79 nations and economies in the most recent results for international exams given to teens. Math test results were worst in states with large wealth disparity. Motivation and engagement, conceptualized as students' energy and drive to participate, learn, work efficiently, and realize their potential at school, play a significant impact in students' academic success. While the flipped classroom methodology has demonstrated some success within helping this trend, many studies indicate that additional assistance is …

Why Do Adults Sing? The Impact Of The High School Experience, Thomas Ryan Fitzstephens

Middle and Secondary Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the potential relationship between high school choral experiences and adult amateur musicians’ current motivations to continue making music. The study methodology included the selection of two ensembles (N = 81), the Community Choral Guild (n = 23), an adult community chorus, and Choral Ensemble (n = 58), a university chorus class. All members of both ensembles were invited to provide information via questionnaire about their backgrounds and their recollections of their high school chorus programs. Six participants were selected for individual interviews (n = 6). The two rounds …

Academic Enabling Behaviors Of Students With An Intellectual Disability In Inclusive Postsecondary Education Programs, Katherine Mclendon

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) continue to be marginalized members of society, lacking access to opportunities individuals without disabilities can obtain with minimal difficulty. This is also true in higher education. In the past decade, the United States has seen an increase in the number of students with ID who participate in Inclusive Post-Secondary Education programs (IPSE). Although it is known that IPSE programs demonstrate benefits for students with ID, little is known about IPSE students’ classroom-related, non-academic thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors, which are sometimes referred to as academic enabling behaviors. According to a model proposed by DiPerna and Elliott …

Is The Role Model Effect Related To The Motivation Of Women Running For Office? An Investigation Of The Role Model Effect On Women In The Workforce, Courtney Lawrence

Political Science Theses

This paper focuses on the relationship between the role model effect, and the motivation of women running for office. Many studies have suggested that the role model effect is associated with women entering political races, since women become more politically ambitious when more female candidates appear on the ballot. However, the extant literature tends to have a general focus on younger women and girls as opposed to other groups of women. Therefore, this paper examines the ways in which the role model effect is experienced by women already in the workforce. Five female participants from the researcher’s network, who occupy …

Les Motivations A Apprendre Pour Les Non-Francophones, Derrick Adjei Kankam

World Languages and Cultures Theses

Nous estimons qu’à GSU les apprenants ont des motivations individuelles pour étudier le français car ils étudient normalement le français pendant un semestre ou deux et continuent rarement à suivre des cours au niveau avancés. Cette situation est le contraire d’objectif du département de WLC qui cherche à retenir le plus d’apprenants possible dans le programme de français. Nous jugeons donc nécessaire d'étudier en détail la motivation des apprenants à suivre des cours de français au niveau élémentaire et intermédiaire afin de concevoir un enseignement et un apprentissage répondant aux objectifs des apprenants.

The Impact Of Motivation, Psychological Functioning, And Perceived Teacher Support On Academic Achievement: A Multilayered Approach, Alva Archibald

Learning Sciences Dissertations

While there is extensive research on numerous factors that influence students’ academic achievement, there is little research that captures the dimensionality of the learning experience by simultaneously taking into account motivational, psychological and classroom contextual factors. For this study, multiple predictors of academic achievement are assessed for a predominantly Latinx sample. Investigating various configurations of determinants becomes especially important during adolescence, a time when motivation tends to wane with age and grade level (Caprara et al., 2008; Fredricks & Eccles, 2002; Jacobs, Lanza, Osgood, Eccles, & Wigfield, 2002; Watt, 2004). An appraisal of the interplay among the sources of influence …

Teacher Mobilization: A Case Study On Organizational Factors & The Movement Of Teachers Within An Urban District, Jason A. Patterson

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

Professional educators are known to have one of the highest attrition rates among the American professions. As a result, administrative personal face financial hardships in the effort to attract, develop, and often replace large numbers of educators on a yearly basis. The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), in a 2016 report, found that over 15% of the national education workforce either left or mobilized within the profession between 2011 and 2013. Another report from the Alliance for Excellent Education in 2014 indicated that school and district administrators spend on average 2.2 billion dollars annually to replace teachers. These expenses …

The Effects Of Autonomy-Based Instruction On Motivation To Learn And Academic Performance, Mariana Stone

Middle and Secondary Education Dissertations

This study, which was informed by self-determination theory, examined the impact of an autonomy-based instructional intervention on the motivation and academic performance of American university students (N=219) enrolled in an elementary Spanish course. This study utilized a quasi-experimental design with the experimental group receiving an autonomy-based instructional intervention while a comparison group receiving a business as usual course experience. Both the experimental and comparison groups were exposed to the same curricular material, with the difference being that the experimental group was given the opportunity to apply autonomous decision-making to structuring their learning experience. The following research questions were examined: (1) …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Implicit Motives Of Violent Extremist Groups, Rebecca Wilson

Psychology Theses

Terrorism represents a national security threat to most countries. Recent research has demonstrated the ability to determine when groups are most prone to engage in violence through textual analysis. Using the Information, Motivation, Behavioral Skills (IMB) Framework and McClelland’s Three Needs Theory of human behavior, we compared implicit motivation as expressed through textual online propaganda of three jihadist groups. This model posits that all people are driven by three primary implicit motivations: affiliation, achievement, and power. This study analyzed 58 magazine issues (Inspire, Dabiq/Rumiyah, Gaidi Mtaani) from three extremist Arabic-speaking groups (Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, Islamic …

Understanding Self-Regulated Learning, Dina M. Schwam

Communication Sciences and Disorders Dissertations

Over the past few decades, self-regulated learning (SRL) has been an area of research that continues to grow in importance due to its strong relationship with academic success (Zimmerman, Bandura, & Martinez-Pons, 1992; Zimmerman & Kitsantas, 1997). Its early development arose through the metacognitive and social-cognitive literature with research geared towards a better understanding of successful learning. Over the years, confusion has grown over the conceptual definition of SRL, leading to a vast array of literature researching many of its sub-components and processes of metacognition and motivation. Two researchers in the area of SRL, Pintrich (1999, 2000, 2004) and Zimmerman …

Overcoming Diminished Motivation, Jumana Morciglio

Philosophy Theses

Self-control is required when an agent encounters some opposition to acting on her better judgments. One such opposition is diminished motivation, that is, a lack of desire to act on a better judgment. Thomas Connor compares two views of successful self-control, actional (i.e. the view that self-control is produced by a motivated action) and non-actional (i.e. the view that self-control consists of having unmotivated thoughts), and argues that non-actional views are better at explaining successful self-control in cases of diminished motivation. I reject Connor’s suggestion that successful self-control is likely to be non-actional by presenting two arguments: (1) non-actional views …

Making Student Engagement Visible: Using Self-Determination Theory To Examine How Two Social Studies Teachers Support Students? Needs For Autonomy, Competence, And Relatedness, Audrey Schewe

Middle and Secondary Education Dissertations

Student engagement in academic work is critical for learning and scholastic achievement. Fortunately, an abundance of empirical evidence and engagement theories recommend what educational contexts are most likely to engage students in learning. Yet the epidemic of adolescent disengagement in schools suggests there is a gap, even a chasm, between student engagement research and practice. This study addresses this critical void in the literature; to understand how education theory can inform practice to improve the quality of student engagement in learning.

I approached my research question, “How do secondary social studies teachers promote and sustain student engagement in academic work?” …

These Heads Are Packed With Stories: The Out-Of-School Writing Experiences Of Elementary Age Boys, David Brown

Middle and Secondary Education Dissertations

This focused ethnography (Knoblauch, 2005; Jeffrey & Troman, 2004) investigated the out-of-school writing experiences of elementary age boys. The theoretical framework combined sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978; Wertsch, 1991, 1998) and self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) to shed light on the social, cultural, and motivational aspects of boys as they wrote. Few researchers have talked with boys about their experiences; this study examined what they wrote, the tools they used, the purposes for their writing, and how they defined writing. Participants were elementary age boys. Multiple data sources and multi-layered cycles of analyses allowed for detailed examination of the boys’ …

The Effectiveness Of Emotional Motivational Feedback Messages, Firat Sarsar

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

An important technique for learning, feedback has been described as responses to students’ behaviors, tasks, assignments, and outcomes. In this study, the researcher used a new kind of feedback message called an Emotional Motivational Feedback Message (EMFEM). EMFEM is a feedback message which includes motivational strategies and emotional content for motivating and encouraging students to learn more and to focus on a specific topic. EMFEM is based on Visser and Keller’s (1990) motivational message design, which was influenced by Keller’s (1987) ARCS theory and emotional content strategies. Because EMFEM is primarily used in text-based, online learning environments, it is limited …

An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Academic Emotions And Goal Orientations In College Students Before And After Academic Outcomes, Stephanie L. Dietz

Psychology Dissertations

In this dissertation, the intersection between emotion and motivation was explored. Participants in this study were given a survey at two time points during the semester. Using this data, the factor structure for the motivation construct as described by Elliot and colleagues were explored using a MTMM model. Leading from the measurement model from the CFA, results indicated that emotion and motivation are highly related, but in different ways depending on if the students have had academic feedback. The academic feedback also may change some students’ motivational orientations, based on their emotional reaction.

Willpower And Ego-Depletion: How I Do What I Don't Want To Do, And Why It's Not (Completely) My Fault When I Don't, Samuel C. Sims

Philosophy Theses

Experimental studies on willpower confirm the Strength Model of Self-Control, which claims that willpower depends on limited physiological resources. Exercising willpower depletes these resources, which impairs further exercises of willpower. This phenomenon is called “ego-depletion.” As a result, depleting these resources impairs further exercises of executive control. My thesis argues that this phenomenon has two important philosophical consequences: First, ego-depletion provides evidence against the Humean approach to motivation, according to which people always act according to their strongest desires. Second, people suffering from ego-depletion are not fully responsible for failures of self-control.

Constructing Arabic As Heritage: Investment In Language, Literacy, And Identity Among Young U.S. Learners, Amanda L. Temples

Applied Linguistics and English as a Second Language Dissertations

The numbers of learners studying Arabic in the U.S. have increased more than any other language over the last ten years. As a critical language, important for strategic political and economic reasons, Arabic has received considerable support from the Departments of State and Education (Jackson & Malone, 2009; Wiley, 2007). However, Arabic is also a prominent heritage language, important for cultural and interpersonal reasons to the families and communities who speak it and for whom it is a binding force (Fishman, 2001; Van Deusen-Scholl, 2003). Nevertheless, research on learners of Arabic and their learning processes is still very limited.

Existing …

Foreign Language For Content: Aiming To Develop Lifelong Learning Dispositions, Svetoslava Dimova

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

ABSTRACT

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FOR CONTENT: AIMING TO DEVELOP

LIFELONG LEARNING DISPOSITIONS

by

Svetoslava Dimova

In the context of emphasis on English language, mathematics and science within the American educational system (No Child Left Behind, 2001), foreign language education appears to be increasingly dissociated from educational priorities. Ways to create relevant goals and optimize the effects of foreign language teaching emerge through the use of communication technologies and connections to academic content.

This qualitative study explores the relationship between high school students’ skills in French as a foreign language (L2), their cognitive strategies during reading in L2 for academic …

Predictors Of Science Success: The Impact Of Motivation And Learning Strategies On College Chemistry Performance, Shari B. Obrentz

Communication Sciences and Disorders Dissertations

As the number of college students studying science continues to grow, it is important to identify variables that predict their success. The literature indicates that motivation and learning strategy use facilitate science success. Research findings show these variables can change throughout a semester and differ by performance level, gender and ethnicity. However, significant predictors of performance vary by research study and by group. The current study looks beyond the traditional predictors of grade point averages, SAT scores and completion of advanced placement (AP) chemistry to consider a comprehensive set of variables not previously investigated within the same study. Research questions …

Volunteerism In The University Culture, Stephanie V. Blocker

Anthropology Theses

This project examines how undergraduate and graduate students at a university in the Southern United States utilize and conceptualize volunteering at the beginning of the second decade of the 21^st century, a time when volunteerism is on the rise despite a severe economic crisis. I was interested in taking an anthropological approach to explore the reasons that people volunteered as well as how their decisions about volunteering might be impacted by different aspects of their identity, including their ethnicity, gender identity, student status, and affiliation with student groups. Based on in-depth interviews and surveys conducted with five undergraduate and …

Applied Cognition In Reading: An Analysis Of Reading Comprehension In Secondary School Students, Joshua A. Cuevas

Communication Sciences and Disorders Dissertations

This research sought to add to a body of knowledge that is severely underrepresented in the scientific literature, reading comprehension in secondary students. Chapter 1 examines the current state of literacy in the nation’s public schools and the consequences that arise if students leave high school with inadequate reading skills. It discusses the neurological processes involved with reading and posits that independent silent reading (ISR) combined with scaffolding techniques may prove to be an effective method for addressing reading comprehension. The review also analyzes the components believed to be essential to reading, including vocabulary development, prior knowledge and background information, …

The Reduction Of Anti-Gay Bias Through Interpersonal Contact: The Moderating Roles Of Hiv Stigma And Motivation To Respond Without Prejudice., Lisa Ann Elliott

Psychology Theses

The intergroup contact effect is well-documented in the research literature (for a meta-analysis see Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). Although researchers have identified a few moderators of the contact effect, the constraints under which the contact effect is optimally effective are not well understood. The current research explored two individual difference measures related to anti-gay attitudes, AIDS stigma and motivation to respond without prejudice (internal and external motivation), as potential moderators of the contact effect on heterosexual men’s attitudes towards gay men. Results indicated that increased external motivation and AIDS stigma hinder the benefits of contact for anti-gay attitudes. Implications of …

Improving Retention For Principles Of Accounting And Elementary Statistics Students: Ultra-Short Tutorials Designed To Motivate Effort And Improve Performance, Carol Springer Sargent

Communication Sciences and Disorders Dissertations

This dissertation reports on two supplemental instruction implementations in courses with high failure rates. In study one, 27 ultra-short on-line tutorials were created for Principles of Accounting II students (N = 426). In study two, 21 tutorials with a similar design were created for Elementary Statistics students (N = 1,411). Accounting students were encouraged by their instructor to use the resource, but statistics students only saw a brief demonstration by the researcher. Neither course gave students credit for using the tutorials. In study one, 71.4% of the accounting students used the tutorials. Students who used the tutorials had dramatically lower …

The Relationship Between Intrinsic Motivation, Motivational Interviewing And Physical Activity In An African American Church Population, Simone S. Rahotep

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

African Americans carry a disproportionate amount of the health burden for chronic disease in the United States (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007). Diabetes, heart disease and cancer, to name a few, are diseases which prematurely capture the lives of African Americans. While chronic, these diseases are preventable with the advent of behavioral change. Physical activity is a primary contributor to longer life expectancy and fewer health concerns (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 1996). While American society, as a whole, struggles to incorporate more physical activity in their lifestyles, African Americans exhibit higher levels of physical …

Frontal Alpha And Beta Eeg Power Asymmetry And Iowa Gambling Task Performance, Richard Toby Amoss

Psychology Theses

Frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha (α) asymmetry may index the activation of lateralized affect and motivation systems in humans. Resting EEG activation was measured and its relationship to Iowa gambling task (IGT) performance was evaluated. No effects were found for α power asymmetry. However, beta (β) power asymmetry, an alternative measure of resting EEG activation, was associated with the number of risky decisions made in the early portion of the task. Additionally, IGT deck selection patterns suggest there are at least three distinct performance styles in healthy individuals. Interestingly, β power asymmetry contradicts performance predictions based on accepted frontal asymmetry affect …

African American Women's Perceptions Of And Experiences With Mandated Substance Abuse Treatment: Implications For Counselors, Kathryn Newton

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

African American women, in particular those who are economically marginalized, are disproportionately subject to surveillance by social service and criminal justice agencies (James et al., 2003) and are vulnerable to race- and gender-biased policy implementation (Chibnall et al., 2003; Zerai, 2002). They also experience population-specific personal (Ehrmin, 2001, 2002), social (Riehman, Iguchi, Zeller, & Morral, 2003; MacMaster, 2005), and economic barriers (Tighe & Saxe, 2006) to accessing and entering substance abuse treatment services. These factors contribute to lower rates of treatment entry follow-through (Siqueland et al., 2002) and higher drop-out rates (Scott-Lennox, Rose, Bohlig, & Lennox, 2000) than women from …

The Effect Of Career Goals And Socioeconomic Mobility On Nontraditional Students' Intrinsic Motivation For College Attendance, Janice C. George

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

The growth of the community college has created an access point for many students that traditionally would not pursue higher education. Although community colleges have soared in enrollment in the last forty years, the rate at which students persist and graduate has remained low compared to four-year institutions. Studies on college persistence and academic achievement indicate that there is a consistency of characteristics among community college, low-income, and first-generation students. Behaviors traditionally associated with persistence, such as integration within the institution, are not characteristic nontraditional students because they tend to have closer connections with the environment external to the college …

The Impact Of Motivation And Conflict Escalation On The Five Zone Model For Preferred Conflict Handling And Managerial Decision Making, Dewey Wilson Todd

Managerial Sciences Dissertations

ABSTRACT THE IMPACT OF MOTIVATION AND CONFLICT ESCALATION ON THE FIVE ZONE MODEL FOR PREFERRED CONFLICT HANDLING AND MANAGERIAL DECISION MAKING BY DEWEY WILSON TODD JULY 2005 Committee Chairmen: Dr. Peter Zhang and Dr. Craig Hill Major Department: Managerial Sciences (Decision Sciences) The Todd-Cambridge Preferred Conflict-Handling Mode (PCHM) Instrument is an example of a two-dimensional, five zone model, similar to the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, used to explain how individuals deal with situations in which their desires are in conflict with another individual or group. The instrument, developed for this research, was based on the Managerial Grid (Van de Vliert …

Design, Development And Evaluation Of Web-Based Motivational Strategies Training: Individual And Situational Aspects Of Academic Motivation, Beverley Taylor

Learning Sciences Dissertations

Purpose

This research stemmed from observations and concern for the importance of learner motivation in academic situations. The purpose of this research was to investigate the potential for and process of change in academic motivation of undergraduate students enrolled in Learning Support Program (LSP) courses.

Methods

The Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation (Vallerand, 1997) provided the theoretical basis for this research. The Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) was administered as a pre and postassessment. Instructional materials, based on motivational research, were designed and developed. Formative evaluation, construct validity, and pilot testing of the motivational strategies training program (MTV 101) …