Education Commons^™

The Impact Of Stability Ball Seating On Behavior And Academic Achievement Among Elementary School Students In Grades 1 Through 4., Sheila R. Borders

Doctoral Dissertations

This study was designed to answer three questions: 1) What is the impact of stability ball seating on the behavior of students in grades 1 through 4? 2) What is the impact of stability ball seating on the mathematics scores of students in grades 1 through 4? and 3) What is the impact of stability ball seating on the reading scores of students in grades 1 through 4? Research has shown that stability ball seating is linked to behavior and academic achievement among students diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examines the …

Successful Secondary Agricultural Programs Outside The Classroom: A View Of Champions, Andrew Bolton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to study select secondary agricultural education programs and determine common traits among these programs which lead them to be successful in a number of different areas including: Career Development Events (CDE) winners, Leadership Development Events (LDE) winners, agricultural science fair winners, chapters of elected state FFA officers, proficiency award winners, national chapter awards, and state fair market show results. This study utilized a modified Delphi approach consisting of three rounds to reach consensus on the importance of traits related to successful SAE and FFA programs. Many traits were identified but the most important traits …

Oral Microbial Burden Of Periodontal Pathogens Among Orthodontic Patients, David Jolley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Objectives

Many research studies involving orthodontic patients have a natural inclination to focus on changes in levels of cariogenic pathogens after bracket placement, and very few studies examine the role of changes of periodontal pathogens – particularly among adult patients. Interestingly, recent evidence suggests that increased levels of a specific periodontal pathogen, Fusobacterium nucleatum, may elevate risk for development of colon cancer in adults through direct pathways. Based upon this new evidence, the objective of the current study was to screen saliva samples taken from orthodontic patients to determine the prevalence of periodontal pathogens, including F. Nucleatum, T. denticola, and …

Enhancing Vegetable Intake In Infants And Toddlers Through Parental Complementary Feeding Education, Sophia Testa

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research project investigated the outcomes of educating parents of infants between the ages of 6 months and 12 months on the importance of including vegetables in complementary feedings on the infant’s vegetable consumption. The efficiency of teaching was measured by comparing physical measurements and quantity of vegetables consumed by infants whose parents received education with the same data from infants whose parents did not receive education on inclusion of vegetable in complementary feedings. The results found contributed to Dr. Shreve’s research on childhood obesity in the Northwest Arkansas population and to the knowledge of parental education with regard to …

Minority Middle And High School Students' Interest In Science: An Exploration Of Teachers' Perceptions, Caroline Makere

Dissertations

A high school teacher conducted a study about minority middle and high school students’ interest in science. The problem was to find out why African American and Hispanic students were showing very little interest in science. The researcher used four middle school science teachers and nine high school science teachers, all from inner city schools in a big city of the Midwest United States except for one middle school teacher from a nearby suburb. The participants answered a survey questionnaire followed with a face-to-face recorded interview. The findings of the study confirmed that students showed little interest in science due …

Comparing Game Simulation To Concept Models For Student-Centered Learning In Biology, Margaurete Romero

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Science education research continues to demonstrate improved learning with active-learning techniques compared to lectures. However, the question of which active-learning methods are the most effective for learning complex scientific principles in various context still remains. Models are commonly used in activities that allow students to simplify complex systems and understand how components interact. I investigated the outcomes for student learning and engagement of two model-based activities - concept models and game simulations. The activities were conducted in an introductory biology course in sixteen discussion sections. Eight sections were assigned to the concept model activity and eight to the simulation activity. …

Providing Adolescents With Outdoor Experiences To Deepen Nature Connection And Enhance Writing In Science, Amanda Ripa

Capstones, Research Projects, and Curricula

This action research study investigates the use of the nature journal with middle school students for three purposes: strengthen descriptive writing, engage observation and thinking, and bridge nature journaling and student’s connection to the natural world. This study describes an interdisciplinary unit in science and language arts focused on the study of seasons, climate, and weather. Nature journals were used as a scientific tool by students to collect data and make observations of nature related to course content. Action research data was collected from a subset of students using the student's nature journals, direct observations, pre and post intervention surveys, …

High School Students' Motivations And Views Of Agriculture And Agricultural Careers Upon Completion Of A Pre-College Program, Andrea K. Scherer

Open Access Theses

Pre-college summer residential experiences hosted by a College of Agriculture have the potential to expose high school students to new career opportunities and fields of study that they may not have considered, and may influence agricultural literacy, perceptions of agriculture, and interest in agriculture. Engaging these students is important for meeting the demand for more students graduating with agriculture degrees prepared to solve 21st century challenges. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the outcomes of two separate pre-college experiences, the Molecular Agriculture Summer Institute (MASI) and the Purdue Agribusiness Science Academy (PASA), and participating high school …

Experiences Of Agricultural Education Preservice Teachers Engaging In Critical Friendships, Sable Sellick

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Like educators in other disciplines, agricultural education preservice teachers must find ways to improve as teachers using methods such as reflection or peer observation. Critical friendship combines both, promoting reflection through the use of a critical friend who observes an individual’s teaching and provides constructive criticism to help the individual advance their practice. This qualitative study sought to use the critical friendship concept to assist agricultural education preservice teachers in reflecting on their teaching techniques. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups; one group selected a critical friend in agricultural education, and the other group selected a critical …

Mental Toughness, Grit, And Motivational Differences In Single-Sport And Multi-Sport Athletes, Cole Justin Shewmake

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Whether it is at work, school or sports, mental toughness (MT), grit and motivation are essential to accomplishing goals. Sports can be an integral platform for developing MT, grit, and factors that increase motivation levels, and it is during childhood and adolescence that these characteristics may develop. All of this could prove beneficial into adulthood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine MT, grit and motivational orientations of single-sport and multi-sport athletes at different levels of competition. Considering MT, a 2 x 2 ANOVA indicated no significant interaction effect between athlete type and competition level, F(1, 387) = …

Culinary Competence: Skills And Knowledge Assessment For Dietetic Students, Nancy Harris Buckley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Graduates of didactic programs in dietetics are entering internships with little cooking experience. The Food and Culinary Professionals’ Dietetic Practice Group (FCP DPG) has identified 11 core competencies that were developed as a recommendation to dietetic educators to include more culinary knowledge into existing programs. The purpose of this study was to determine if developing and incorporating experiential learning targeted to the competencies would increase dietetic students’ culinary skills and knowledge at a southern land-grant university. Food and Culinary Professionals’ DGP core competencies were used to guide the development of curriculum, experiential learning, and assessment in the Principles of Foods …

Sugar Consumption Alters Perception Of And Response To Stress In Undergraduate Students: Understanding The "Freshmen Fifteen", Katherine M Keever

Honors Theses

Psychological stress is a common part in everyday life that directly affects the body through the nervous system and neuroendocrine hormones. A perceived stressor leads to the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and the synthesis and release of the glucocorticoid hormone cortisol from the adrenal cortex. Studies have linked the release of cortisol during high-stress periods to an increased intake of sugary and fatty foods, consistent with a suspected glucocorticoid-metabolic-brain- negative pathway, with high sugar consumption leading to lower stress and subsequently cortisol levels. In this study, undergraduate students’ diets were supplemented with either a high sugar drink or …

Producing Knowledge: The Social Made Visible In The Division Of Environmental Biology Of The National Science Foundation, Patrick Southern

Capstone Collection

This inquiry explores how knowledge is produced in the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) of the National Science Foundation. Beginning from a poststructuralist understanding of science as firmly embedded in the unequal relations of society, this study sought to examine how the policies and procedures of funding research proposals in DEB influence and are influenced by those relations. Using an institutional ethnography approach to analysis, data were collected from analyzing publicly available texts from the division, NSF, Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and the research community. The analysis demonstrates how the activities of DEB could maintain or exacerbate …

Evaluating College Biology Laboratory Accommodations For Students With Blindness And Visual Impairments, Barbara Rae Heard

All Theses And Dissertations

Studies show that active participation in science laboratory activities promotes student learning. However, students with blindness and visual impairments (BVI) often confront obstacles to active participation in the required activities of the college biology laboratory. Legislation requires institutions of higher education to provide accommodations for students with disabilities, yet the institutions must also maintain the academic integrity of their courses and programs. While college biology instructors provide specific accommodations, such as tactile models and audible devices, to enable active participation by students with BVI, they do so without research-supported guidelines for best practices. This mixed methods study sought to evaluate …

Supplemental Action Learning Workshops: Understanding The Effects Of Independent And Cooperative Workshops On Students’ Knowledge, Kathryn M. Morris

Dissertations

Community colleges enroll more than half of the undergraduate population in the United States, thereby retaining students of varying demographics with extracurricular demands differing from traditional four-year university students. Often in a collegiate lecture course, students are limited in their abilities to absorb and process information presented by their instructors due to content-specific cognitive gaps between the instructor and the student (Preszler, 2009). Research has shown implementation of instructor-facilitated action learning workshops as supplemental instruction may help bridge these cognitive gaps allowing better student conceptualization and dissemination of knowledge (Drake, 2001; Fullilove & Treisman, 1990; Preszler, 2009; Udovick et al., …

Mini Series Presentations, Robert L. Moody Iv, Natasha S. Natraj

Senior Year Experience Student Projects

For the month of March, we implemented a mini education program at both EmblemHealth sites to engage, educate and empower members of the fitness center and weight management program. The program was designed to be fifteen minutes in length, allowing for more sessions over the course of 3 hours with one session a week alternating between topics. Upon survey evaluation of the 60 participants, they reported satisfaction with the overall program and validated the worth of EmblemHealth’s Fitness Center. The survey also showed that 10 out of 10 participants recognized sitting disease as a primary health concern after the presentation, …

Why Are Students Doing Research? Examining The Motivation Of Students Involved In Undergraduate Research Programs, Andrew Layne Mcdevitt

Theses and Dissertations

Use of self-determination theory (SDT) within the science classroom focuses primarily on ways to integrate intrinsic motivation into students' identity. Experiential learning plays a large role in promoting learning by shaping students' interests, identity, and intrinsic aspirations. This phenomenological research study sought to understand how experiential learning experiences helped influence career aspirations of graduate students within ecological disciplines. By determining how their experiences met three basic psychological needs outlined by SDT (competence, autonomy, and relatedness), we were able to examine which regulators drove motivation.

In the qualitative pilot study, participants developed a genuine enjoyment and appreciation for their discipline as …

Exploring The Relationship Between Severity Of Illness And Human Milk Volume In Very Low Birth Weight And Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants Over Six Weeks, Shannon Leigh Morse

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Very low birth weight and extremely low birth weight neonates have tremendous risk of mortality. This is a grave concern; however, survival alone is not the goal of neonatal intensive care. Survival, along with a reduction or elimination of life long morbidity is the aim of neonatal intensive care.

Human milk is known as the best nutrition for babies and a growing body of evidence supports that human milk is critical in helping these fragile neonates mitigate the overwhelming risks they face. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between neonatal severity of illness and human …

Assessing The Impact Of Historical Story Telling On Student Learning Of Natural Selection, Janice Marie Fulford

Dissertations

Research suggests that because of its historical nature, the learning of evolutionary biology is problematic compared to that of other science disciplines. While explanations used in historical sciences often employ historical narratives, which are distinct from narratives in other contexts, such as stories, the two types of narratives have structural similarities that suggest the potential role of stories based in the history of science for the teaching of evolutionary biology. Stephen Klassen, a prominent science educator, has studied how stories from the history of physics can promote the learning of and attitudes towards science. Klassen’s pioneering work identifies structural components …

The Relationship Between Landing Error Scoring System-Real Time And Dorsiflexion Range Of Motion In Recreational Athletes, Hannah M. Twiddy

Human Movement Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Participation in physical activity is important for overall health; however, lower extremity injuries are a major risk associated with physical activity. Injuries can lead to time away from physical activity and be associated with negative health consequences. The most common injuries are traumatic injuries to the knee and ankle; which may be related to poor landing mechanics and decreased range of motion. Previous research utilizing motion analysis systems have determined people with greater dorsiflexion range of motion (DROM) demonstrated smaller ground reaction forces and greater knee and hip flexion displacement while landing; indicating a softer landing strategy. The ability to …

The Effects Of Fitness Level And Sex On Epoc Following High Intensity Interval And Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercise, Rachel Lauren Simmons

Human Movement Sciences Theses & Dissertations

In the past few years, much attention has been directed toward shorter-duration vigorous intensity aerobic exercise as opposed to longer-duration moderate intensity exercise. There is conflicting evidence as to whether vigorous exercise can result in a greater excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) and thus more calories burned when compared to moderate continuous exercise performed for a longer duration. In addition, the literature contains a dearth of information isolating and investigating male and female response to these exercises, as well as fit and unfit subjects. The purpose of this study was to quantify EPOC following moderate intensity aerobic exercise (MOD) and …

Factors Lnfluencing Weight Gain And Perceived Barriers Of Exercise In First Semester College Students, Noah C. Neuenfeldt

Masters Theses

College students believe that university weight management interventions impact their health habits. This suggests that universities can play a large role in encouraging students to be active. The purpose of this study was to investigate this claim and to acquire a better understanding of weight change in first year college students in the first semester. We specifically sought to identify the variables that influence weight gain, as well as determine the awareness and usage of resources available to the students. A survey was given to first year students addressing the variables of interest including change in weight and Body Mass …

The Effect Of Exercise Order On Body Fat Loss During Concurrent Training, Tonya Lee Davis-Miller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While the benefits of both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training have been well documented, there is a lack of evidence for the order of exercise that is most effective when both are done in the same day. This study was designed to look at two groups of participants performing both resistance (R) and cardiovascular (C) training in the same day to determine if their order, resistance before cardiovascular (R-C) or cardiovascular before resistance (C-R), matter with regard to changes in body composition, maximal strength, and maximal aerobic capacity. The participants were 17 women between the ages of 30 and 55 …

The Ecological Succession Of Mosquitoes Inhabiting Waste Tires In A Subtropical Swamp And Upland Forest In Central West Florida, Emily Thuong Nguyen Dinh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Literature has not yet seen a contribution involving the description of successional patterns of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) inhabiting discarded automobile tires in sylvan areas nor an investigation into the macro- and micro-environmental factors that may influence the seasonal shifts in species composition and abundance in that respective habitat. Waste tires in undeveloped forests are a hazard to human and animal health because they can support a population of vector mosquitoes. Locating productive waste tire mosquito habitats is problematic in wooded areas but is crucial for diminishing pathogen transfer in areas where humans have regular access to forests because of possible …

Academic Success For The 21st Century Learner: Intrapersonal Intelligence And Resilience, Juanita Lynn Parker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Internal and personal strengths are associated with positive academic outcomes in the higher educational setting and are particularly relevant to the 21st century learner in the modern complex and global society. There is limited research addressing the connection between intrapersonal intelligence, resilience, and academic success. This information is important to better assist students in developing qualities that foster academic success and sustainability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlations between intrapersonal intelligence, as measured by the Multiple Intelligences Development Assessment Scales (MIDAS); resilience, as measured by the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC); and academic success, as measured by …

Resistance Exercise Elicits Selective Mobilization And Adhesion Characteristics Of Granulocytes And Monocyte Subsets, Adam Jajtner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Resistance exercise eliciting muscle damage results in an immune response, leading to increases in circulating cytokines, and immune cell mobilization. Classical monocytes respond to muscle damage, however, little is known about the intermediate or nonclassical monocyte response to resistance exercise. Moreover, the impact of polyphenol supplementation in conjunction with resistance exercise on the innate immune response is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the immune response following resistance exercise with (PPB) and without (PL) polyphenol supplementation. Thirty-nine untrained men were randomized into three groups: PPB (n=13, 21.8±2.5yrs, 171.2±5.5cm, 71.2±8.2kg), PL (n=15, 21.6±2.5yrs, 176.5±4.9cm, 84.0±15.7kg) or a control …

Intramuscular Tnf-Alpha Signaling In Response To Resistance Exercise And Recovery In Untrained Males., Jeremy Townsend

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: The nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κβ) signaling cascade is responsible for mediating stress-activated catabolic effects of Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-α) downstream of the TNF receptor (TNFR1). NF-κβ transcription factor remains inhibited in the cytosol of the muscle and can be stimulated for translocation and transcription by a variety of external stimuli, most notably by pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress. Nevertheless, currently there is a gap in the literature with regard to the time course effect of NF-κβ signaling following acute resistance exercise in humans. PURPOSE: To observe the effects of an acute lower-body resistance exercise protocol and subsequent …

What’S In A Gene: Undergraduates’ Ideas And Misconceptions About Gene Function, Justin M. Levaughn

Theses and Dissertations--Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education

The purpose of this study was to field test a two-tiered instrument including multiple-choice and short answer tasks to assess college students’ ideas and level of understanding in genetics. The instrument was constructed from previously tested assessment tasks and findings from the current research literature. Ninety-seven freshmen enrolled in a biology lab course were surveyed. Test validity and reliability were measured using Chronbach coefficients. Multiple-choice and short answer responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics to identify frequencies of answer selections. Written responses were independently evaluated using a five-point scoring rubric by three researchers to identify common misconceptions revealed in students’ …

Promoting Diabetes Self-Managment Eduaction And Training In Out-Patient Clinics, Inemesit Godwin Udo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a long term metabolic disorder characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. T2DM is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, lower-limb amputation, and other complications that are costly to patients and the U.S. health care system. Lack of knowledge and underdeveloped skills for self-management of diabetes continues to be the biggest problem for patients with T2DM. Using a team approach and Rosswurm and Larrabee's (1999) conceptual model as a framework, the purpose of this doctorate of nursing practice quality improvement project was to develop an …

Exploring Millennial Retention Strategies And Methods In The Workplace, Alphonso Simmons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many U.S. organizations fail to retain Millennials for longer than 3 years. The purpose of this case study was to explore the strategies and methods leaders have used to retain Millennial employees within a small business in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. The leaders of this small business have retained their Millennial employees for the last 3 years. The conceptual frameworks for the study were Bass's transformational leadership theory and von Bertalanffy's general systems theory. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 4 participant leaders with a successful record of retaining Millennials. In addition, company documents including policies, training records, …