Education Commons^™

What I Think I Learned, Andrew S. Gibbons Iii

Faculty Publications

A retrospective review of fifty years of research and development experience showing the connectedness of the author’s theoretical ideas to practical application. An effort to show designers how over the span of a career new ideas begin as work-related insights and discoveries that by problem solving flow together to create a unique personal view of design and designing. Encouragement for individual designers to be willing to experiment with new ideas that may step beyond received practice and to learn from those experiences, even to the extent of testing and adopting new worldviews that may differ from the general view. Encouragement …

Act-Enhanced Behavior Therapy For A Hispanic Adult With Trichotillomania: A Case Report, Marissa L. Donahue, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Trichotillomania, also known as Hair-Pulling Disorder, is characterized by recurrent pulling out of one’s hair over brief episodes or sustained periods of time and results in hair loss. ACT-enhanced behavior therapy (A-EBT) has been shown to be an effective approach in the treatment of trichotillomania by promoting psychological flexibility around hair pulling urges and teaching stimulus control and habit reversal training. However, there is limited support of A-EBT for clients with an ethnic minority identity. This case report focuses on an adult, Hispanic female client, Luna (pseudonym), who received eight sessions of A-EBT for the treatment of trichotillomania. At post-treatment, …

Playing To Grow. Roundtable Interview On Games, Education, And Character, Owen Gottlieb, Matthew Farber, Paul Darvasi

Articles

In this roundtable interview moderated by Paul Darvasi, lecturer at the University of Toronto and co-founder of Gold Bug Interactive, Owen Gottlieb and Matthew Farber discuss research and practice at the intersection of religion, character education, and games in schools. Gottlieb is an associate professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology, founder and lead faculty at the Initiative in Religion, Culture, and Policy at the MAGIC center, and founder and director of the Interaction, Media, and Learning Lab at RIT, where he specializes in interactive media, learning, religion, and culture. Farber is an associate professor of educational technology and coordinator …

Peer Mentoring Program For Psychology Major Students: A Promising Prospect, Nadia Calderon

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Many first-year and second-year undergraduate students face challenges and abundance of college resources they may not know how to use. Learning about campus resources and dealing with these challenges could help students thrive academically and personally in the college environment. We gathered survey data from 87 students from seven sections of the Bridgewater State University Orientation to the Psychology Major (OPM) course. In one of these sections, we implemented a Peer Mentoring Program (PMP). We also hosted psychology-focused events in which 48 psychology major students attended and filled out feedback questionnaires. In this study we aimed to analyze the effectiveness …

Forgiveness In Education: A Qualitative Analysis Of The Forgiveness Experience For Educators, Corinne D. Denhartog

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Forgiveness is as powerful as it is complex. Evaluating how teachers understand and practice forgiveness has potential applications within broader forgiveness theory as well as more practically in discussions of both teacher health related to practicing forgiveness and student learning of forgiveness. The present study sought to gather qualitative insights related to teacher understanding of forgiveness, teacher practice of forgiveness within their jobs, and teacher opinions on forgiveness education. A total of six semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with groups of two to four public school teachers. Results indicated that there is variety in understanding amongst teachers of what …

A Phenomenological Study On Veterans’ Military Sexual Trauma And Its Impacts On Intimate Partner Relationships, Jaretta A. Buckholtz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe active duty and military veterans’ experiences with intimate partner relationships after a sexually traumatic event. The theory guiding this study is attachment theory. Therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), and eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), demonstrate they could help victims of military sexual trauma (MST) minimize the suffering of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), substance use disorder (SUD), and a host of other debilitating diseases that may have developed as the result of their MST, which could cause difficulties in their intimate partner …

Exploring The Impact Of Cultural Event Attendance On Undergraduate Students' Perceived Sense Of Community At A Dual-Mission University, Post Covid: A Predictive Correlational Study, Jared Stephenson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative predictive correlational study was to determine how accurately a sense of community (the criterion variable) can be predicted from cultural event attendance (predictor variable) for undergraduate students at a dual-mission university, post-COVID. This study is grounded in the Sense of Community Theory and is significant to students and other higher education stakeholders in determining where to focus efforts regarding student involvement that promotes a sense of community. This research utilized the Sense of Community Index-2 to gather data through a convenience sampling method, recruiting 84 participants from a large dual-mission university in the western United …

Youth Identity And Postsecondary Decision Making In A Rural State: Evidence Of A College For All Master Narrative, Jayson Seaman, Cindy L. Hartman, Andrew D. Coppens, Erin H. Sharp, Sarah Jusseaume, Molly Donovan

Faculty Publications

This study examined the normative messages that inform youth postsecondary decision making in a predominantly rural state in the northeastern U.S., focusing on the institutionalization and circulation of identity master narratives. Using a multilevel, ecological approach to sampling, the study interviewed 33 key informants in positions of influence in educational, workforce, and quality of life domains. Narrative analysis yielded evidence of a predominant master narrative – College for All – that participants described as a prescriptive expectation that youth and families orient their postsecondary planning toward four-year, residential baccalaureate degree programs. Both general and domain-specific aspects of this master narrative …

Value Added By Using Joint Displays In Mixed Methods Research, Elizabeth Svoboda

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Mixed methods research collects, analyzes, and integrates rigorous qualitative and quantitative methods to gain a deeper understanding of a phenomenon than would be gained by using either method alone. Integration is one of the key features of mixed methods research and consists of mixing qualitative and quantitative research in a systematic way to generate new inferences or follow-up studies. However, the process of integration can be challenging to draw on expertise in both qualitative and quantitative methods, decide when and how to integrate qualitative and quantitative research, and combine multiple data sources in a coherent way to generate new inferences. …

Value Added By Using Joint Displays In Mixed Methods Research, Elizabeth Svoboda

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

Mixed methods research collects, analyzes, and integrates rigorous qualitative and quantitative methods to gain a deeper understanding of a phenomenon than would be gained by using either method alone. Integration is one of the key features of mixed methods research and consists of mixing qualitative and quantitative research in a systematic way to generate new inferences or follow-up studies. However, the process of integration can be challenging to draw on expertise in both qualitative and quantitative methods, decide when and how to integrate qualitative and quantitative research, and combine multiple data sources in a coherent way to generate new inferences. …

Embracing Uncertainty: A Narrative Case Study On Teacher-Learner Relationships Through Restorative Justice Practices In Education, Zachary Schafer, Guy Trainin

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

Restorative justice practices in educational settings recognising trauma and extreme life circumstances have become increasingly relevant since the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing impacts of climate change. This narrative inquiry uses Clandinin and Connelly’s suggestions for data collection and narrative structure to describe the interactions between one teacher and one learner over the course of two years in a programme created as an alternative to school suspension. Using a dual framework combining a variety of perspectives from restorative justice practices and Chen’s model of uncertainty management in science education, the researchers iteratively and thematically analysed the teacher-learner interactions. The storied …

Merging Acceptance And Commitment Therapy With Exposure Exercises To Treat Social Anxiety In A Teen, Caleb D. Farley, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) often develops during teenager years, and it is important to conceptualize developmentally appropriate interventions. Exposure therapy framed from a perspective of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) shows promise for decreasing pathology and increasing wellbeing. This case illustrates the process through which exposure therapy was integrated with ACT to elicit meaningful outcomes in a case of SAD with a 16-year-old female. Treatment outcomes assessed included engagement in values-based activities as well as assessments of depression, social anxiety, separation anxiety, generalized anxiety, experiential avoidance, and contextually targeted school-based wellbeing. Intervention centered on learning ACT principles through relatable metaphors …

Various Enablers As Predictors Of Bachelor Of Library And Information Science Students’ Thriving At School, Jolo Van Clyde Simbajon Abatayo, Contisza Calinawan Abadiez

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

A thriving student is completely physically, socially, and emotionally active and has a social connection and psychological well-being that can lead to college success. This study was conducted to determine the various enablers that predict the thriving of (BLIS) Bachelor of Library and Information Science students in the Caraga Region which can lead to their academic success through the presence and manifestation of academic, psychological, and social enablers. This study utilized descriptive correlational research design to gather quantifiable information on the relationships that exist between the variables. The respondents of this study were eighty-two (82) BLIS students from 4 schools …

Policy Brief: Investigating School-Based Programs That Support Student Mental Health And Psychosocial Wellbeing In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Anna Dabrowski, Katherine Dix

Global education monitoring

School closures and disruptions to mental health services linked to the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly impacted the lives of children, young people and their families. Now, more than ever, schools are expected to provide emotional and psychosocial support and stability to students, educators and other school staff. Education systems are therefore investing more resources into school-based mental health programs to ensure they can provide the required level of support, in addition to acknowledging the need for social-emotional skill development. The ever-growing number of school-based mental health and wellbeing programs make it challenging to identify programs that are effective. It is …

Information Needs And Sources For Health-Related Information Among Pregnant Women In Tamale Metropolis, Joana Dango, Stephen Okyere

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The purpose of the study is to explore the information needs and sources for health-related information among pregnant women in Tamale Metropolis. A Mixed method approach was used to carry out the study. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 148 pregnant women from three hospitals namely, Tamale Teaching Hospital, Tamale West Hospital and the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, interviews were conducted with three midwives, one from each hospital and a Gynecologist at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. The findings of the study revealed that antenatal lessons were the most used sources of health information, and the least were newspapers …

Strategies For Engagement Of Non-Traditional Students In Engineering-Related Courses, Kimberly T. Luthi Dr., David Harvie, Keith Wilson, Monica Surrency

Publications

Project Goals

Overview

• Goal #1: Increase students' commitment to engineering pathways.
• Goal #2: Increase academic performance and persistence in engineering.
• Goal #3: Increase persistence of Veterans in engineering pathways.

Research Questions

• How does students' participation in peer-led team learning activities in online engineering courses correlate to their a) commitment to engineering, b) engineering identity, and c) self-efficacy.
• How do students in peer-led team learning activities compare to students in non-PLTL groups in terms of a) academic performance and b) persistence in engineering pathways?

How Teachers Use Data: Description And Differences Across Prek Through Third Grade, Amanda Witte, Lisa Knoche, Susan Sheridan, Natalie A. Koziol

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The use of data to inform instruction has been linked to improved student outcomes, early identification of intervention needs, and teacher decision-making and efficacy. Additionally, data are used as a means of accountability within educational settings. However, little is known about data use practices among early grades teachers. The purpose of the current study is to describe the data use of PreK to third grade teachers and to investigate differences in data use and support across grade levels. Participants were 307 early childhood teachers in PreK and early elementary school. Analysis of survey data revealed, overall, most teachers across grade …

Learning Experience Design As An Orienting Guide For Practice: Insights From Designing For Expertise, Jason K. Mcdonald, Tyler J. Westerberg

Faculty Publications

In this paper we consider how learning experience design (LXD) improves designers’ capacities to influence learning. We do this by exploring what LXD offers the design of learning environments that help develop learners’ expertise. We discuss how LXD (a) attunes designers to different learning affordances than are emphasized in traditional ID; (b) challenges the universal applicability of common ID techniques; and (c) expands designers’ views of the outcomes for which they can design. These insights suggest that LXD is useful because it refocuses and reframes designers' work around flexible design approaches that are often deemphasized in traditional ID.

Proceedings Of The Cuny Games Conference 9.0, Robert O. Duncan, Grace L. Axler-Diperte, Joseph Bisz, Christina Boyle, Devorah Kletenik, Carolyn Stallard

Publications and Research

The CUNY Games Network is an organization dedicated to encouraging research, scholarship and teaching in the developing field of games-based learning. We connect educators from every campus and discipline at CUNY and beyond who are interested in digital and non-digital games, simulations, and other forms of interactive teaching and inquiry-based learning.

School-Based Interventions That Support Mental Health And Psychosocial Wellbeing In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Anna Dabrowski, Katherine Dix, Toby Carslake

Global education monitoring

It is encouraging to see a focus on student mental health increasingly reflected in international education policies. However, the growing number of school-based mental health and wellbeing programs makes it challenging to identify quality interventions that effectively support student mental health, and even harder to identify evidence-based programs that link mental health support to learning. There is also a lack of comprehensive evidence on the effectiveness of mental health and wellbeing interventions in relation to student academic outcomes, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). In response to renewed interest in understanding how the education sector can provide effective mental …

Somatic Experience Treatment Techniques For Trauma Symptoms: A Qualitative Case Study, Ashley Marie Schlief

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to provide insight into somatic Experience techniques used while treating clients who suffer from trauma symptoms. Somatic therapeutic techniques improve trauma victims’ negative body and mind symptoms. The use of somatic theory to treat psychological and physical trauma is a relatively new concept within the field of clinical mental health counseling. Somatic therapies are a body-oriented approach that releases restricted trauma emotions by addressing the response communication that continually runs between the mind and the body. For example, bodily therapists use mind-body techniques to release the suppressed tension that negatively influences an …

Pediatric Hearing Aid Management: Experiences And Perspectives Of Spanish-Speaking Parents, Karen Muñoz, Diego Guillen, Carlos Muñoz, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of the study was twofold: (a) to explore hearing aid management experiences of Spanish-speaking parents who have young children using hearing aids and (b) to explore parents' access to the Internet and perceptions about remote audiology services.

Method: The study used a mixed methods design. Data were collected through a phone interview.

Results: Eleven mothers of children aged 14-60 months participated. Most of the children (9/11) had a bilateral hearing loss, and two had an additional disability. Three themes emerged for hearing aid management experiences: audiology services, routines, and emotional challenges/supports. Parents had variable levels of confidence …

Practical Recommendations For Mixed Methods Sampling In Psychological Intervention Research: A Mixed Methods Case Study, Analay Perez

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

Sampling is integral to the research process and, if not appropriately addressed, can affect the meta-inferences of the mixed methods study. Sampling is also closely related to recruitment, retention, and additional methodological components. Sampling issues are magnified in social and health sciences intervention research due to the temporal placement of data collection and analysis. Limited research has examined sampling based on researchers’ rationales and decision-making across mixed methods psychological intervention research. This study explored this phenomenon to develop and refine a list of practical recommendations for sampling in mixed methods that were tested using content validity.

Using an exploratory sequential …

Understanding Psychological Reactance In K-5 Public School Educators: A Hermeneutical, Phenomenological Study, Kimberlee Sproul

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of K-5 educators who have been required to implement the continual transmission of policies and mandates created by policymakers and other stakeholders who are not required to implement such policies. The theory that guided this study is Brehm’s psychological reactance theory, as it relates to educators’ infringement of freedoms through educational policies. This study utilized 10 participants. Criteria for participation included educators with a minimum of three years of teaching experience who have encountered some degree of frustration and were chosen from the researcher’s personal contacts. The …

An Analysis Of The Impact And Efficacy Of An Online Mindfulness-Based Intervention As A Support For First-Year University Students, Wyndham Chalmers, Aiden Carthy, Maria Kenneally, Niamh Bruce, Colm Mcguinness, Philip Owende

Articles

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many university courses transitioned to online delivery, therefore, educators and students faced new challenges associated with the delivery of modules and the provision of necessary student supports. Given the scale of this transition, it is likely that many universities will continue to teach remotely far beyond the reach of any pandemic specific restrictions. This study sought to explore the impact and efficacy of a five-week online mindfulness course to a cohort of first year university students (n = 25) at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), Ireland. Results demonstrated that participation in the course …

Religion/Spirituality, Stress, And Resilience Among Sexual And Gender Minorities: The Religious/Spiritual Stress And Resilience Model, G. Tyler Lefevor, Chana Etengoff, Edward B. Davis, Samuel J. Skidmore, Eric M. Rodriguez, James S. Mcgraw, Sharon S. Rostosky

Psychology Faculty Publications

Although many sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) consider themselves religious or spiritual, the impact of this religiousness or spirituality (RS) on their health is poorly understood. We introduce the religious/spiritual stress and resilience model (RSSR) to provide a robust framework for understanding the variegated ways that RS influences the health of SGMs. The RSSR bridges existing theorizing on minority stress, structural stigma, and RS-health pathways to articulate the circumstances under which SGMs likely experience RS as health promoting or health damaging. The RSSR makes five key propositions: (a) Minority stress and resilience processes influence health; (b) RS influences general resilience …

Digitalization Of Library Resources In Pakistan: A Case Of Academic Libraries, Abdullah Jamil, Rustum Ali, Bilal Ahmad

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study has been designed to examine the digitalization of resources in academic libraries in Pakistan. The world continues its flow of digitalization through the internet such as people starting jobs online, online selling and purchasing businesses, online shares, and investment during the time of Coronavirus. Hence, the digitalization of libraries has no exemption. A purposive sampling technique has been employed to select 16 participants (8 students and 8 library professionals) from the academic library of the University of Gujrat. Further, an interview guide has been developed to conduct case studies. The data collection process takes place within ten working …

Family Strengths Among Native American Families And Families Living In Poverty: Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences, Natira Mullet, Emily A. Waterman, Katie Edwards, Briana Simon, Skyler Hopfauf, Ramona Herrington

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Objective: The purpose of this study was to understand how youth, caregivers, and community professionals perceive family strengths and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in their community. Specifically, this study was focused on the protective role of caregivers and families, positive youth development, and how Native American families and families living in poverty support adolescents’ social–emotional development and help them thrive in the face of adversity.

Background: Research documents the concerning rates and negative outcomes of ACEs. However, very little research has examined the views of families and professionals on how to prevent ACES among these populations.

Method: Participants were youth …

The Influence Of Metacognitive Skills On Bar Passage: An Empirical Study, Jennifer A. Gundlach, Jessica R. Santangelo

Grantee Research

Working Paper

This article builds on our prior research about metacognition and its importance for law students’ learning. We hypothesized that given our past findings about the relationship between metacognition and academic performance in law school, it was possible that metacognition might also play an important role in success on the bar exam.

Our current study documents law students’ metacognitive skills during a final semester bar prep course and examines the relationship between those students’ metacognitive skills and bar passage. We found that students are capable of gaining metacognitive knowledge and regulation skills during law school and even as late …

The Everydayness Of Instructional Design And The Pursuit Of Quality In Online Courses, Jason K. Mcdonald

Faculty Publications

This article reports research into the everydayness of instructional design (meaning designers’ daily routines, run-of-the-mill interactions with colleagues, and other, prosaic forms of social contact), and how everydayness relates to their pursuit of quality in online course design. These issues were investigated through an ethnographic case study, centered on a team of instructional designers at a university in the United States. Designers were observed spending significant amounts of time engaged in practices of course refinement, meaning mundane, workaday tasks like revising, updating, fine-tuning, or fixing the courses to which they were assigned. Refining practices were interrelated with, but also experienced …