Education Commons^™

Mind The Gap: Addressing The Disproportionate Rate Of Discipline Of Black Students In The Public Education System, Sophia Mcconnell

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

Within public education, it has been shown that there is a disproportionate rate of discipline between Black and White students. A literature review was conducted to identify prevailing themes as to why this gap occurs, what factors maintain it, and what can educators do to reduce it. Several themes were found and are detailed in this paper in the following order: First, several studies have debunked the previously held idea that low socioeconomic status and the Differential Involvement theory could be explanations for the disproportionate rate of discipline. Second, there are two leading factors, among many others, that maintain the …

Social Media Addiction And The Loneliness Epidemic, Melanie Huynh

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper discusses the ill-fated relationship between the rise in social media addiction among young adults and the resulting loneliness epidemic that has contributed to greater concerns for mental health – a topic heavily relevant in today’s ongoing battle with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Standardizing America: Why It Should Be A Method Of The Past, Samantha N. Jackson

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper examines, critiques, and suggests improvements on the method of standardized testing in American schools. This paper discusses the history and development of standardized testing and its initial purpose and intentions. Additionally, the effects of standardized testing on students, teachers, and parents are evaluated, with special consideration on how high stakes testing adversely affects disadvantaged student groups such as children in minorities and low-income districts, bilingual students, and children with disabilities. The research suggests that standardized testing is not only damaging to students in these groups, but most likely not the most efficient way of testing student performance in …

Literature Review: Progressive Time Delay As An Instructional Method For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Mindy Medrana, Natalia Allen

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

We conducted a review of the literature on articles published between 1990 and 2020 that measured the effects of progressive time delay (PTD) on skill acquisition in students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In all, 11 experimental research articles, each of which employed a single-case methodology, were deemed appropriate for our review according to inclusionary criteria. We analyzed studies according to methodological details, including participant information, dependent variables, skill acquisition, generalization, and follow-up measures. Findings from our review support the efficacy of PTD as an instructional procedure used to teach students with ASD. That is, all of the reviewed empirical …

Defining Disciplinary Literacy In History, Christina Zendzian

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

History is the complement of several factors that intertwine with one another. Disciplinary literacy in history is complex because it requires the disciple to draw meaning from multiple aspects such as social, cultural, economic, and political. By understanding those factors can one become literate in history. This paper will discuss what it means to be literate in history while formulating an inquiry-based project for students.

Missed School Days: A Correlational Study Between Children With Asthma And Presence Of School Nurses, Shea Brodeur, Caitlyn O’Connor, Rebekah Synowietz, Carrie Carson, Olubukola Goboze, Cierra Patterson

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

Currently, there is a lack of research on the relationship between full-time nurse presence in schools and absenteeism among school-aged children with asthma. The purpose of this paper is to determine the correlation between the amount of time school-aged children are absent and the amount of time a school nurse is absent. A nonexperimental quantitative descriptive correlational study will be conducted with 14 randomly selected participating schools in the Chesapeake public school district. Each school will receive a questionnaire inquiring about the number of asthmatic children enrolled in the school, number of absences of said children, weekly hours the school …

Effectiveness Of Interactive, Collaborative Vs. Traditional, Lecture-Based Educational Interventions For Adolescents In Low-Income Areas To Increase Knowledge Regarding Sexually Transmitted Infections, Nelan Tagra, Maia Jimenez, Christina Benedicto, Christopher Tucker, Gerrard Norman, Charmein Harris, Stephanie Green

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

Aim: To assess whether teens who live in low-income areas who participate in interactive, collaborative sexually transmitted infections (STI) prevention education will have a significant increase in learning outcomes in comparison to students who participate in a traditional, lecture-based approach.

Background: More STIs are reported each year. Among those infected, young people are of the highest incidence at 50% of new STIs in the US annually. High STI incidence is an unintended health outcome as a result of engaging in risky sexual behaviors. This highlights the need to improve STI education among adolescents.

Methods: A quasi-experimental method …

Auschwitz-Birkenau: A Memorial, Nichole Delasalas

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

In the 1940s, Nazi Germany was an unstoppable force spreading throughout Europe. Hitler’s agenda was to take control of Europe and make it part of his pure Aryan race. As a result of his actions and his “final solution”, many people suffered. The concentration camp of Auschwitz I was created out of an old Polish military compound for three main reasons. The first was to incarcerate real and perceived enemies of the Nazi regime and the German occupation authorities in Poland for an indefinite amount of time.¹ The second was to have available a supply of forced labor for …

Introduction: Memory And Reflection, Annette Finley-Croswhite

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

During the spring semester of 2014, Old Dominion University offered a Study Abroad course called “Paris/Auschwitz” that I designed with funding from the Curt C. and Else Silberman Foundation and the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Over spring break, I led a group of eighteen students to France and Poland to study sites of Holocaust memory along with faculty team member, Dr. Brett Bebber. Dr. Bebber and I are both professors in the Department of History. The Study Abroad course was part of my attempt to create more Holocaust courses at Old Dominion …

Auschwitz As A Site Of Memory, Emma Needham

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

Auschwitz is known as the most substantial site of the Holocaust namely because Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest concentration camp in Europe, and it is estimated that about 960,000 Jews and 125,000 others were murdered there.¹ Not only was the process of creating the memorial at Auschwitz filled with controversies, but the site also remains questionable today with regards to dark tourism, or thanatourism, “the tourism of death.”² For some, the thought of traveling to a place subsumed in death and despair sounds troubling as the consumption of dark tourism involves a process of “confronting, understanding and accepting death.” …