Education Commons^™

Strategies For Supporting College Students Experiencing Grief, Rachel A. Guimond

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Grief and loss are a shared human experience. However, lacking cultural awareness of the impact of grief and insufficient social support can make managing the loss of a loved one very challenging for students. One strategy to support students who experience loss during college is the development of a course that addresses content related to the experience within supportive academic relationships. This presentation will explore research findings about student experiences of grief on college campuses and evidence-based practices for the development and implementation of an academic course on grief.

Racial Acceptance And Behavior Incidents While Being Educated In An Elementary Dual-Language Classroom, Heather Hodal

Ed.D. Dissertations

Districts and schools are not looking at the data on racial judgments, segregation, and neighborhood quality, along with children’s friendship choices, open-mindedness, and social emotional factors to fully understand and educate others on the benefits of multiculturalism. This case study describes the impact that English-only classrooms and two-way dual language classrooms have on racial acceptance and behavior incidents for kindergarten, first, and second graders in a school located in a Midwest suburb. In utilizing The Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Ruffle, 2000) and Office Discipline Referrals (ODRs) to determine specific behavior problems and the Modified Subtle and Blatant Prejudice Scale …

Essential Or Optional? Effects Of Creative Writing On Expository Skills And Attitude In Middle School Students, Nicole Samuelson

ELAIA

Background: Although emotional benefits and general writing improvement have been shown to be benefits of creative writing, its effectiveness in relation to expository writing skills has not been clearly established through research. Methods: This study was conducted with two groups of middle school students at a rural middle school in Illinois. One group received ten creative writing interventions over a month and the other group continued with normal instruction. The goal was to discover if these interventions would improve students’ expository writing skills as well as their attitude towards and confidence in writing. Results: The data showed that although …

A Curriculum Designed To Teach Elementary-Age Children In Diverse Settings The Kingdom Concept Of Loving One's Neighbor, Abigail J. Flood

Honors Program Projects

United States Census data from 2020 show that the country is becoming increasingly diverse and urbanized. Other research shows children are aware of race from an early age and can pick up biases and stereotypes by watching the adults around them. However, there are no children’s ministry curricula that specifically address how children should navigate differences from a biblical perspective. To fill this gap, a children’s ministry curriculum was written to model how children can love their neighbors like Jesus did, especially those who look different from themselves. The curriculum is comprised of an introduction for the ministry leader, five …

Persistence In Practice: A Review Of Evidence, Rachel A. Guimond

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Student persistence to graduation is a salient issue in higher education, especially for at-risk groups. Varied approaches to increasing student success and engagement have been tried across campuses throughout North America. The following literature review will highlight evidence-based practices used to increase student persistence at varying levels of organizational structure, including university-level, program-level, and multi-systemic interventions. Recommendations for the specific context of Olivet Nazarene University will be made based on the findings of the included research.

An Examination Of Clergy Preparation In The Church Of The Nazarene, Thomas D. Taylor

Ed.D. Dissertations

This study explored the influence of the evolution of post-secondary educational delivery modes on the preparation of ministers in the Church of the Nazarene. The purpose of this study was to examine the trends, outcomes, and efficacy of multiple educational delivery modes for ministerial students in the Church of the Nazarene in order to recommend strategies to enhance the preparedness of clergy for ordination and ministry. The study examined the relationship of the multiple educational delivery modes to student attitudes and perceptions about preparation for ordination, perceived competencies of the formational objectives and curricular objectives, and ministry (career) outcomes of …

Essential Or Optional? Effects Of Creative Writing On Expository Skills And Attitude In Middle School Students, Nicole Samuelson

Honors Program Projects

Creative writing's effectiveness has not been clearly established through research, especially in regards to expository writing skills. However, other benefits of creative writing have been shown such as emotional benefits and general writing improvement. This study was conducted with two groups of middle school students. One group received ten creative writing interventions over a month and the other group continued with normal instruction. The goal was to discover if these interventions would improve students' expository writing skills as well as their attitude towards and confidence in writing. Surprisingly, while the experimental group did not improve significantly in either area, the …

Community College Student Organizations And Hispanic Students' Gpa, Retention, And Graduation Rates, Joanne Alvarez

Ed.D. Dissertations

Although the Hispanic population continues to grow throughout the United States, Hispanic students still have some of the lowest college retention and graduation rates. Administrators at post-secondary institutions need evidence for effective strategies to recruit, retain, and graduate Hispanic students. The current study was created to determine if there was a difference in grade point averages (GPA), retention, and graduation rates between two specific groups. The first group consisted of 506 self-identified Hispanic students engaged in at least one community college student organization versus 506 self-identified Hispanic students not engaged in any campus organization. A quantitative study was conducted to …

The Impact Of Teacher Methodology Training For Higher Education Faculty Members, Nicole Baker

Ed.D. Dissertations

Many college programs are designed to graduate individuals who are experts in their field of study, but not necessarily individuals who are trained in how to teach. This quantitative, quasi-experiment study examined college faculty member’s level of training in the area of teaching practices and methodology. The relation to student satisfaction, current course performance, attendance, the belief in the need for training, and faculty member’s sense of efficacy in teaching was explored. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to organize the data using a one-way ANCOVA to analyze the impact the level of training had on …

Leadership Preparation Of Preservice Teachers, Kelly Lenarz

Ed.D. Dissertations

Educator preparation providers are passionate about developing the best teachers. It is important for teacher preparation programs to explore how teacher leadership can help attract and retain a diverse and quality educator workforce, however research on teacher leadership at the preservice level is limited. This quantitative study examined the preparation of preservice teachers for leadership. One hundred student teachers completed an online survey using Survey Monkey® to determine the relationship between teacher licensure area (elementary, secondary, K-12, and special education) and leadership behaviors, opportunities, and aspirations. Data analysis was completed using measures of central tendency and variance. No statistically significant …

The Exploration Of Multicultural Pedagogy On Rural Student Global Literacy And College Preparedness, Katelyn E. Kreis

Ed.D. Dissertations

The study of the effectiveness of multicultural pedagogy on student global literacy and college preparedness is a topic of concern for educators and students. Multicultural education is a multifaceted pedagogical approach in which educators provide diverse experiences for students to learn to work within the global society. The purpose of this research study was to explore the influence multicultural pedagogy has on rural student global literacy and college preparedness. The quantitative approach examined: differences between urban and rural samples, multicultural pedagogy, global citizenship, college preparedness, U.S. interconnectedness, and confidence of new literacies between students in a traditional instructional setting (N …

The Use Of Diverse Young Adult Literature In High School Classrooms, Lauren Mohler

Student Scholarship – English

This departmental honors project outlined research that has been completed on the benefits of incorporating young adult literature in the secondary English Language Arts classroom and discussed the benefits of using young adult literature as a means of introducing students to various aspects of diversity. While young adult literature continues to grow in popularity among teen readers, there are many negative connotations associated with texts falling under this label and their merit within the classroom. Similarly, classroom dynamics are becoming more diverse each year through the number of students representing different races, ethnicities, ability levels, interests, socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, and …

Emotional Intelligence: The Effect On Social Media Use, Interpersonal Violence, And Gender, Gail Grabczynski

Scholar Week 2016 - present

This study investigated the relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI), social media use, interpersonal violence and gender. EI is a relatively new topic of research that has been of interest to many organizations due to the proposition that EI assists in the development of individuals. With the proliferation of social media, interpersonal violence and women in the workforce, a determination of a relationship between EI and those variables was warranted. The study was conducted at a small private Christian university. An online survey was administered to 123 sophomores. This study was a cross-sectional quantitative design, that utilized three established instruments to …

Understanding The Use Of Instructional Coaching To Support Cooperative Learning In The Secondary Classroom, Adam Roubitchek

Scholar Week 2016 - present

The current study addressed the use of instructional coaches to support the use of cooperative learning in a suburban high school district. Cooperative learning is a research-based instructional strategy that has a long history of increasing student achievement. In this district, most teachers had been trained in the basic use of cooperative learning and all teachers received support from an instructional coach. The researcher administered a demographic questionnaire, a cooperative learning survey, and an instructional coaching survey to all teachers in the district. The data were analyzed based on the responses of 38 participants. The results from the current study …

The Impact Of Online Instruction On Fourth Grade Students’ Reading Self-Efficacy And Achievement, Chad Wickard

Scholar Week 2016 - present

This quantitative, quasi-experimental study examined the relationships between self-efficacy and reading achievement as mediated by an online instructional delivery system called MobyMax® over a period of time between a pretest and a posttest. The sources of self-efficacy were also investigated for the individual contribution of each of the four sources; process accomplishments or mastery experiences, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological states. Finally, the current study explored the relationships across gender and ethnicity (White, Black, Hispanic, and other). Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to organize the data using a mixed factorial ANOVA to analyze the interventions’ …

Increasing Student Achievement In Advanced Placement Courses With Specially Designed Support Systems, Dana M. Krilich

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Cohort XI

Adult Learners And Technology: Understanding The Digital Divide In Developmental Writing Courses, Carleta Laneese Aikens-Alston

Ed.D. Dissertations

This study investigated computer literacy of nontraditional and traditional adult learners in a two-year community college. The study included 276 participants enrolled in developmental writing courses. Participants were administered a computer literacy survey and demographic form to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Mixed methodology and convergent design, in particular, were used to analyses data. Quantitative analysis was used to determine correlations between three constructs: computer literacy scores, age, and performance. Qualitative analysis was used to determine attitudes about receiving supplemental technology training based on the three constructs. Computer literacy score and age did show a significant inverse correlation. In addition, …

The Impact The Amount Of High School Physical Education Has On The Physical Activity Habits Of Traditional College Freshmen, Aaron Thompson

Faculty Scholarship – Exercise and Sports Science

Many states have reduced or eliminated high school physical education classes due to budget cuts and the passage of No Child Left Behind. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the number of years of physical education students received in high school and the traditional college freshmen’s current level of physical activities. The short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and additional demographic questions were used electronically to collect cross-sectional PA data from traditional college freshmen at a private Christian liberal arts university in the Midwest. After cleaning and processing the collected data, the …

Resourcing The Postmodern Pastor: An Examination Of Young Pastors’ Attitudes And The Implications For Denominational Publishers, Bonnie J. Perry

Ed.D. Dissertations

This study explored the influence of postmodernity on the changing attitudes of young pastors regarding spirituality and discipleship in their adult congregants. The purpose of this study was to educate and equip Christian publishers to resource young pastors who are ministering in a postmodern culture. The study focused on Church of the Nazarene pastors 35 years old or younger in the calendar year 2012, exploring their attitudes toward Christian faith, spirituality, and discipleship. At certain junctures in the study, the young pastors’ attitudes were compared to those of pastors who were 36 years or older in order to determine what …

The Impact Of Common Core State Standards On Cross-Curriculum Instruction And On Formal Assessment, Sherrie L. Birts

Ed.D. Dissertations

This study investigated how the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) affected cross-curriculum instruction, student achievement and the learning environment within an urban high school. The researcher compared performance data based on State Standards with performance data based on the CCSS and examined teachers’ perceptions regarding the educational influence of CCSS. A mixed method design was utilized to conduct this study. Data was collected using PSAE test scores and academic grades earned by the Classes of 2010 and 2014 and a semi-structured survey with a 5-point Likert scale and an open-ended short answer format. The results of comparing …

Assessment Of A Community College’S First Year Experience Course: Analysis Of A Student Retention And Success Strategy, Mark Lanting

Ed.D. Dissertations

First Year College Experience is a face-to-face three-credit college course that provided the subject for the current research. The current research was conducted at a small, Midwest community college. This course expanded the college’s existing one-credit hour course called College Success Skills. In the hope of amplifying the impact of the existing course, several learning modules and objectives were designed. The current quantitative, non-experimental research demonstrated that students passing the First Year College Experience course tended to have higher GPAs than students who did not take the course.

His Highest Glory, My Deepest Joy: Discovering Satisfaction At Its Source, Bethany Addington

Honors Program Projects

This independent study project is a narrative devotional book written for a 16 to 25 year-old target audience. The book is primarily composed of autobiographical narratives, exegetical essays, and a small variety of poetic compositions. The literature examines several topics related to the satisfaction, purpose, and joy found in ever-increasing knowledge of Christ. To that end, this literary work ultimately seeks to communicate the unmatched fulfillment of relationship with Christ in a manner that is easily understood and applied, particularly to the lives of young Christians. The project is structured largely around an examination of the narrative of the Samaritan …

The Impact Of Information Literacy Instruction On The Library Anxiety And Information Competency Of Graduate Students, Rodney G. Birch

Ed.D. Dissertations

Many persons enrolling in graduate programs of study do so with varying levels of research skills. The lack of research skills often results in students experiencing some level of library anxiety, which occurs most often at the outset of a research assignment. The role of information literacy instruction is to provide students with the skills necessary to define the information need, understand the resources available to fill the need, understand the process for evaluating information, and understand what it means to use information in an ethical manner. This study explored the relationship between the library anxiety and the information literacy …

Generations: A Family Ministry Curriculum, Bethany Abbott

Honors Program Projects

This Honors Capstone Project created the opportunity to create a children’s church curriculum influenced by the ideas of family ministry. The paper includes an introduction to the writer’s vision and goals, a review of literature focused on what family ministry is and why it is important, a description of the curriculum project, and the creator’s reflection on the project. The first appendix of the paper includes the curriculum elements (philosophy, theology, a two-year curriculum scope and sequence, two examples of Sunday morning curriculum and take-home materials, as well as a curriculum website design and parent event outline). An additional appendix …

An Evaluation Of The Chicago Police Department's Recruit Curriculum In Emergency Response Week Relating To Terrorism Awareness And Response To Terrorism Incidents, Mark T. Sedevic

Ed.D. Dissertations

Police recruits need to be prepared the moment they graduate from the police academy for any type of situation, especially terrorism. This study examined whether the Emergency Response Week portion of the Chicago Police Department Recruit Academy curriculum was adequate and provided Chicago Police Department recruits with appropriate knowledge of terrorism awareness and the skills necessary to respond to a terrorism incident. The results indicated that the Chicago Police Department recruit curriculum in Emergency Response Week was perceived as above adequate by Chicago Police Department recruits. Additionally, the Chicago Police Department recruits perceived their knowledge concerning terrorism awareness and their …

The Integration Of School Garden Programs Into Educational Curriculum, Annie Lowry

Honors Program Projects

School gardens have many benefits for students which include helping students make nutritious choices, encouraging students to be environmentally conscious, and providing experiential learning. School gardens have great potential to be an effective learning tool if incorporated into the classroom. The purpose of this project is to evaluate how gardening is being integrated into classroom curriculum in several schools in the state of Illinois and what factors have led to this integration. Educational professionals from seven different sites were interviewed to collect qualitative data about current integration of gardening into school curriculum. The results from the interviews confirm previous research …

Writing Curriculum And The Adolescent: Addressing Skill Variance In The Classroom, Zakieh A. Mohammed

Ed.D. Dissertations

This study addressed a means of responding to the varying writing skill levels found in the standard high school classroom. A structured writing curriculum was examined through a state, national and marketed rubric, focusing upon a high-risk high school population in Chicago, IL. The research centered around cognitive learning theory, specifically, Vygotsky‘s zone of proximal development. Additionally, to account for the variance in skill level, a new measurement tool was created to quantify rigor in relation to increasingly difficult writing assessments. The longitudinal study determined that, with extended exposure, the proposed structured writing curriculum did enable students to meet state, …

Teaching Christian Readings Of Secular Young Adult Literature, Angela R. Lee

Honors Program Projects

The purpose of this project is to empower Christian young adults to engage with secular literature adolescent literature in a manner that encourages them to grow in their faith. The project has three main components: a case study article on Christian reading practices based on their reviews of The Shack, a literature review of Christian reading theory, and a five day instructional unit plan designed to teach high school freshmen Christians to engage appropriate with secular literature.

In the case study, over 400 Amazon.com reader reviews and comments on the Christian fiction novel The Shack were examined in order to …

From Fourth Grade Slump To Fourth Grade Triumph, Maria Delsing

Ed.D. Dissertations

The Fourth Grade slump has been a phenomenon that was identified over 50 years ago and is most prevalent among students from low achieving schools. This applied research project focused on students using material that was readily available and was free or low cost to help prevent the slump. Students created inference questions, as well as other critical thinking questions, as they read the material. They also played the Set Game daily. Students in this school had historically experienced the fourth grade slump as demonstrated on the standardized tests for the last four years. The study was implemented for one …

Impact Of Two Interventions On Isat Scores In A Small, Rural School District, Vicki J. Good

Ed.D. Dissertations

This case study sought to determine the impact that an after school program and summer school program may have had on the ISAT reading scores of elementary students in a small, rural school in the Midwest. A secondary purpose was to determine if other factors may have impacted the effectiveness of the two interventions. Quantitative data indicated that the after school program had a positive effect on ISAT reading scores for those students who participated, raising the median raw score of the ISAT reading test by 2.23 points. On the other hand, there was no evidence that the summer school …