Education Commons^™

The Role Of Cultural Capital In Improving Advanced Placement Outcomes, Kolbe Ricks

Education Theses and Dissertations

This work delves into the potential benefits and criticism of Advanced Placement (AP) courses, with a specific focus on the necessity of cultural capital to address disparities in access and success. The researcher argues that the broad content coverage in AP courses often leads to conventional lecture-based instruction that does not value cultural capital and limits student engagement and outcomes. To rectify this, recommendations are made to incorporate pedagogical approaches like culturally relevant teaching and providing teacher feedback and support that allows for the successful implementation of these practices. Numerous studies indicate that participation in AP courses predicts success in …

Evaluation Of A District’S Leadership Development Pipeline, Alyta T. Harrell

Education Theses and Dissertations

Leading a school campus is an increasingly challenging and critical task that requires effective leadership. It is important to identify the specific leadership skills needed to create a culture conducive to learning, meet the unique needs of a particular campus and community, and enable continuous improvement. The leadership development pipeline aimed to identify, develop, and support potential school leaders, fostering their growth through targeted professional development, mentoring, and support. This mixed methods embedded experimental model study evaluated the effectiveness of a district's leadership development program, focusing on best practices for school leaders. The study employed a combination of quantitative data …

Evaluation Of Personalized Learning, Jorly Thomas

Education Theses and Dissertations

The persistent challenges surrounding student achievement continue to raise questions about the effectiveness of personalized learning methods, and educators seek a reliable means to determine if the implementation of personalized learning can lead to improved academic outcomes. Improvement science presents a promising approach, providing iterative inquiry cycles and data-driven decision-making strategies that can empower teachers to make informed decisions (Regional Educational Laboratory Program, 2017). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of personalized learning on reading achievement in sixth-grade students on a Texas middle-school campus. While prior research has demonstrated promising outcomes with this learning method (Pane …

Impact Of Response To Intervention On Achievement, Aimee Leigh Dennis

Education Theses and Dissertations

The Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice focused on an initial comprehensive assessment of the Response to Intervention (RtI) framework, implemented in a district in East Texas, and its impact of student achievement. Following the evaluation, a subsequent improvement iteration concentrated on the impact of RtI, with the use of job-embedded professional learning, on student achievement. Both iterations utilized a mixed-methods case study using an embedded experimental model with a one-phase approach. The findings highlighted that student achievement did improve with statistically significant results except for in the second iteration where there was not statistically significant results in fifth and sixth …

Handedness And Test Anxiety: An Examination Of Mixed-Handed And Consistent-Handed Students, Christopher L. Thomas, Savannah B. Fitch

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Test anxiety refers to maladaptive cognitive and physiological reactions that interfere with optimal performance. Self-regulatory models suggest test anxiety occurs when there is a perceived discrepancy between current functioning and mental representations of desired academic goals. Interestingly, prior investigations have demonstrated those with greater interhemispheric communication are better able to detect discrepancies between current functioning and preexisting mental representations. Thus, the current study was designed to investigate the relationship between test anxiety and handedness—a commonly used proxy variable for interhemispheric communication. Undergraduate and graduate students (N = 277, 85.20% female, 68.19% Caucasian, age = 29.88) (SD = 9.53) completed the …

Facilities Beyond Physical Spaces: A Case For The Intentional Design And Use Of Learning Space, Yanira Oliveras

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In 2022, the state department released new standards and a competency-based education curriculum. Simultaneously, the Toledo Creek School District has experienced an unprecedent shift in the student population demographics. The shift has resulted in two distinct zones, east and west, with income averages on the two extremes of the income spectrum. Given the shift in both the curriculum and demographics, the superintendent in consultation with stakeholders decided to implement project-based learning (PBL) as the district’s instructional model. PBL has a significant research-based supporting implement for authentic learning as intended by the new standards and better supporting deeper learning among all …

Strategies For Preventing Surgical Site Infections, Dorathy Anderson

MSN Capstone Projects

Post-surgical site infection has continued to remain a significant public health concern. Amid the prominent hospital-acquired infection, surgical site infections contributed to a considerable rate of death, severe morbidity, increased cost of therapy, disability, prolonged hospital stay, higher insurance payment, complications in patient healing, an increase in healthcare cost as well as treatment expenses (Allaf & Navyashree, 2022). Although seemingly relatively low in occurrence, about 10% of the infections are related to healthcare-associated infections. (Allaf & Navyashree, 2022). Knee reconstructive procedures are most common among older patients, who have a higher risk of developing complications.

The current practice of scrubbing …

#Teacherquittok: A Content Analysis Of How Current And Former Teachers Navigate Attrition On Tiktok, Forrest J. Kaiser

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this study is to use thematic content analysis to examine conversations and factors most discussed by teachers centering on attrition using the TikTok social media platform. Social media offers teachers a way to connect with others and share their thoughts while maintaining a perceived level of professional distance from their workplace. This research will explore how teachers use social media to provide a window into their classroom, working conditions, and decisions to leave or stay. The study was guided by the following questions: (1) How are current and former teachers using the TikTok social media platform to …

Evaluating Healthcare Student Learning Performance During The Initial Year Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case Study, Maria D. Garcia-Villarreal

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a mass interruption to daily life lasting almost an entire academic year. Return to normalcy was hard won and phased over the following academic year. Neither time-period offered “traditional” learning experiences in academic institutions. The extent to which the operational shut-down affected academic institutions and their learners is just now beginning to be elucidated. Human resource development (HRD) is uniquely positioned to apply established and newly developed theories and applications to the study of this phenomenon. One particular case lends itself to observation. A major academic medical center launched a technology-driven state-of-the-art simulation education center mere …

The Role And Effectiveness Of Response To Intervention To Improve Elementary Students’ Reading Skills And Abilities, Natalie M. Weber

Education Theses and Dissertations

Elementary students at a local elementary school were having reading difficulties and demonstrated a decreased performance on intervention measures, formal and summative assessments. Success in reading is imperative because students must read the content throughout their educational career and students must read the content on state assessments. Students’ success on state assessments determines placement of future intervention groupings in the next grade level, eligibility in extra-curricular activities and ultimately eligibility for high school graduation. The purpose of this evaluation study was to evaluate a pre-existing program to examine whether the implementation and use of Response to Intervention (RTI) was effective …

Using Extreme Pedagogy Toenhance Entrepreneurship Education, Dave Silberman, Herman Aguinis, Rob E. Carpenter

Human Resource Development Faculty Publications and Presentations

We address the ongoing concern that entrepreneurship education (EE) is not preparing students sufficiently well for jobs in the 21^st-century. We argue that many criticisms leveled against EE for not effectively addressing the entrepreneurial skills gap are due in part to EE’s emphasis on the roles of specific stakeholder groups separately (i.e., universities and their leaders, instructors, students, potential employers) rather than a shared focus on developing valuable graduates. Stated differently, there are competing and conflicting “ownerships” over the entrepreneurial skills gap. We enhance current pedagogical methods by offering a learning innovation called extreme pedagogy. Extreme pedagogy takes …

Retention Drivers Post-Pandemic, Maria Charles, Christina Gonzalez

MSN Capstone Projects

The Covid pandemic influenced the world in many ways that we still witness a need for recovery. One significant concern that remains apparent is the culture change within the healthcare system. This study is directed to cover only one aspect of this culture change but remains to be a very significant topic for the nursing workforce (AHC Media, 2021). Even though we have managed to find a downward trend of Covid cases, the pandemic has devastated nursing retention to well established facilities. There is currently an exodus of nurses in high acuity departments or simply bedside nursing entirely. This causes …

Reinventing Identity In Transition From Principal To Professor: A Collaborative Autoethnography, Forrest J. Kaiser, Jennifer Bailey

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

School leadership is a fast-paced job where stakeholder feedback is frequent, and decision-making requires quick thinking and strong organization. When school leaders transition from practitioner to scholar, they face a dramatic change in pace and responsibility. Unlike their peers who come from academia, practitioner-scholars experience a unique context and career shift that requires navigating unfamiliar organizational structures and translating existing skills into new contexts. This collaborative autoethnography explores the lived experiences of two junior faculty who recently transitioned from the campus principalship to the tenure track professoriate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a process of individual writing, group reflection, and …

Using The Annotating Strategy To Improve Students' Academic Achievement In Social Studies, Zena T. Lloyd, Daesang Kim, J. T. Cox, Gina M. Doepker, Steven E. Downey

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose: This experimental study aimed to examine the effects of annotating a historical text as a reading comprehension strategy on student academic achievement in an eighth-grade social studies class. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-method design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data sequentially. First, the authors collected quantitative data with a series of pre- and post-tests from all student participants during a six-week instructional time frame. Next, the authors collected quantitative and qualitative data with a survey from teacher and intervention group student participants. Quantitative data were analyzed to evaluate the mean differences in participants' test scores and survey responses. Finally, …

Librarian-Faculty Collaboration For Literacy Courses: Promoting Better Learning For Preservice Teachers, Annamary Consalvo, Gina M. Doepker, Vandy Dubre, Joanna L. Neel Dr.

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This narrative describes a collaboration between three university literacy faculty and a subject librarian undertaken to embed library instruction across the semester in three required courses--children’s literature, early literacy, and disciplinary literacy--in order to help undergraduate preservice teachers better understand and incorporate children’s literature and high interest literature into their teaching. Concrete, scaffolded, hands-on experiences for preservice teachers with teaching materials helped to build awareness of foundational concepts in literacy instruction. Librarian/faculty collaborations have the potential to improve literacy teacher preparation programs by providing designed opportunities for active, concrete engagement coupled with structured reflection.

Identifying The Research And Trends In Stem Education In Pakistan: A Systematic Literature Review, Sarfraz Aslam, Atif Saleem, Teresa J. Kennedy, Tribhuwan Kumar, Khalida Parveen, Huma Akram, Baohui Zhang

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although STEM is an essential feature of 21st-century education and learning, there is a lack of awareness about it in Pakistan, especially at the K-12 and tertiary levels. Recently many initiatives have been launched across Pakistan to create more interest in STEM education. In order to assist in raising the level of STEM awareness in Pakistan, this study sought to examine the current state of research and identify recent contributions and gaps in the literature. A systematic literature review was conducted using 22 research papers from five renowned databases. Results produced limited research in this area, with the majority being …

Dnp Final Report: Implementation Of An Electronic Clinical Placement System For Improving Faculty Workflow And Accreditation Compliance, Janice R. Hawes

DNP Final Reports

Healthcare today is continually evolving and requires healthcare providers to coordinate and work together to provide quality care. Among healthcare changes is the increasing expansion of technological improvements assisting in mainstreaming processes. In the academic setting, these changes are currently needed to help improve faculty workflow and assist in regulatory compliance. The purpose of this paper is to discover if implementing technology in a clinical nursing setting through an evidence-based practice approach will improve nursing faculty workload and aid in accreditation compliance. The design and methodology for this project were developed using the Iowa model of evidence-based practice, the Donabedian …

Advancing Algebra Achievement Using Affordances Of Classroom Connectivity Technology: The Case For Noticing Through Discussion, Stephen J. Pape, Yasemin Gunpinar, Ranjini Mahinda Johnbull, Clare V. Bell

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article reports on two aspects of a professional learning (PL) and research study. Twenty-five teachers participated in a two-year PL program that sought to support teachers to implement classroom connectivity technology (CCT) in their Algebra I classrooms. Students in one school who learned Algebra I with CCT outperformed their peers who learned without CCT. Therefore, we explored the classroom practices of one teacher whose students attained higher achievement. There were several aspects of this teacher's instruction that created the context for noticing and potentially led to the significant difference in Algebra I achievement. First, we describe the foundational components …

Age- And Sex-Based Differences In The Moral Intuitions Of American Early Adolescents, Brandon Bretl, Marlon Goering

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study sought to explore the validity of a latent-factor model of moral intuition development during early adolescence. The 3-Factor Character Foundations Survey (CFS-3) was used to assess the moral intuitions of early adolescents (n = 850, mean = 12.4 years old, SD = 0.96) under a moral foundations theory framework. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the psychometric validity of the three latent factor constructs (autonomy, loyalty and empathy), and partial metric invariance was established to allow for the comparison of latent factor means between four age- and sex-based groups coinciding with averages for pubertal onset. Results support prior findings of …

Dnp Final Report: An Evidence-Based Hesi Exit Exam Remediation Plan, Nancy Mcclurg

DNP Final Reports

In a small East Texas associate degree nursing program, the average pass rate for the National Council of State Board exam fell and was below both national and state averages for three years. In an effort to identify students who may need extra preparation prior to taking the licensure exam, the college administers the HESI Exit Exam during the last semester of the program. For the last three years, between 28 and 37% of the senior class did not achieve a passing score on the exam. The project’s purpose was to evaluate the effect of a remediation plan which consisted …

Dnp Final Report: Mission Cyborg: An Ebp Project Integrating Hybrid Learning In An Undergraduate Nursing Course, Mary A. Thomas

DNP Final Reports

In modern times it is an expectation of students that technology be incorporated into how they receive their education. The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light how pure reliance on traditional face-to-face (F2F) learning can be detrimental to student learning. Many institutes of higher education had already implemented hybrid/blended learning prior to the pandemic and saw no difference in their NCLEX-RN pass rates. This evidence-based practice project gathered, reviewed, and synthesized evidence in order to determine if implementing different teaching strategies would maintain or improve student performance on both unit exams and end of course exit exams.

Community-Engaged Audit For Reform: One District’S Approach To Address Equity Issues, Kelly Brown

Diversity, Social Justice, and the Educational Leader

The traditional equity audit itself is going through a reform process. The process began with Skrla (2004, 2009) reimagining the traditional audit with a focus on equity. However, researchers support the notion of using audits to disrupt and dismantle oppressive practices and systems (Khalifa et al., 2016) and involving the community to ultimately have power through the audit process (Green, 2017). Translating theory into practice can be more difficult when school leaders cannot rely on their personal training and experience to solve the problem. The purpose of this case study is to analyze how one urban school district implemented a …

Collaborative Conversations For Culturally Sustaining, Socially Just Pedagogy: Creating A Safe Space For Dialogue And Practice, Sarah N. Newcomer, Kathleen M. Cowin

Diversity, Social Justice, and the Educational Leader

Given the increasing number of culturally and linguistically diverse students in our nation’s schools (NCES, 2020), we need teachers and school leaders who teach in inclusive and socially just ways. In this qualitative case study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016), we paired up leader candidates (LCs) and teacher candidates (TCs) in a series of collaborative conversations focused on culturally sustaining, socially just pedagogy (CSSJP) (Authors, 2018), to learn how bringing teacher and leader candidates together may support their understandings of enacting CSSJP. Collaborative conversations may help TCs and LCs share the responsibility of doing the challenging, but necessary, work of enacting …

Amicus Historicorum (The Friend Of Historians), Jacob Williams

Senior Projects

A guide/help manual for present and future undergraduates students of history at The University of Texas at Tyler, from a group of faculty members, librarians, and undergraduate students.

Bridging Mental Healthcare, Kristin L. White

MSN Capstone Projects

Nurses have an important role in the care given to mental health patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). Without expectations or encouragement toward growth or continued education, the quality of care and the therapeutic ability for care are crippled, as evidenced by nurses' knowledge/competency deficits and negative attitudes. Through ongoing/continued education, the cultivation of a therapeutic culture toward patients that present to the ED for mental health complaints could result. Additionally, these improvements in care, in turn, could promote not only the closure of gaps that exist for quality mental healthcare but may also lead to an increase in …

Development Of Cultural Humility And Ethnocultural Empathy In Nursing Students, Claudia Keck

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

Problem: Differences in cultural backgrounds, values, beliefs, and practices between healthcare providers and clients can create challenges and lead to disparities, and adverse events. Healthcare providers’ cultural humility and ethnocultural empathy promote services that meet patients’ social and cultural needs. However, it is unclear how to best promote the development of cultural humility and ethnocultural empathy amongst nursing students.

Theory: The transformative learning theory, developed by Jack Mezirow guided the study.

Hypothesis: Students who participate in a cultural immersion experience will report higher cultural humility and ethnocultural empathy compared to students who receive a lecture.

Design and Methods: This study …

Validation Of The State Version Of The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory In A University Sample, Christopher L. Thomas, Jerrell C. Cassady

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Model makes a theoretical distinction between the contribution of dispositional anxiety and the transitory experience of anxiety to performance difficulties during testing situations. According to the State-Trait framework, state anxiety is viewed as the primary performance barrier for test-anxious students, and as such, educators and educational researchers have expressed interest in validated, state anxiety measurement tools. Currently, the most widely used measure of state anxiety is the state version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. However, evidence regarding the psychometric properties of this scale is relatively scarce. Therefore, the current study was designed to determine the structural validity, …

Use Of Standardized Test Results By Faculty And Students For Advanced Practice Nurse Certification Success, Dinorah Martinez-Anderson

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

The utilization of standardized testing as a recognized educational strategy to measure pre-professional readiness in Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) graduate programs has increased. Research supports such use for predicting licensure success for undergraduate education, however when related to the use in graduate nursing education, it is limited. Teaching and learning practices of APN faculty and students have not been comprehensively explored. This study examined the use of standardized testing results by faculty and students in APN graduate education that contributes to student national certification success. The Reconceptualization of Vygotsky’s Theory of Zone of Proximal Development (RVZPD) underpins the study. An …

Dnp Final Report: Reducing The Rate Of Falls With A Stuctured Fall Program, Elanda L. Douglas

DNP Final Reports

Background: Fall rates continue to be a significant problem in health care facilities despite all the research and tool kits created to prevent falls. Hospitals that have successfully reduced fall rates find it challenging to sustain a reduction in the fall rates. During hospitalizations, 3%-20% of patients fall, with 30%-50% resulting in injury (Joint Commission, [JC], 2015).

Internal Evidence: Despite Medical City Alliance (MCA) having an evidence-based fall program, the fall rate has not decreased. Falls are one of the quality measures identified at the division level that needs improvement.

PICOT: In adult patients in a progressive care unit (P), …

Predicting Academic Success Using Grit And Academic Resiliency In College Freshmen, Julianna Boyle

Health and Kinesiology Theses

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine if there are other factors that could predict academic success. Specifically, is there an association between Grit and Academic Resiliency prior to the start of a semester and academic success (defined by GPAs) in college freshmen. This study also explored students’ experiences of high school, effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, perception about their journey through the beginning of their College freshmen year, and perception about success.

Methods: A mixed methods design was used. A quantitative survey was emailed to all incoming UT Tyler Freshmen students prior to the Fall …