Education Commons^™

The Overture! Then Is Here-And-Now: Hindsight Is Twenty, Twenty?, Elena Kydd

Music Therapy Theses

My existence and presence as a Black woman and graduate scholar in music therapy have allowed me to share my experience of racial trauma and oppression in the hallways of GCSU’s music therapy program. Autoethnography is the method I use to write my thesis on the relationships between Blackness, pedagogy, and music therapy. Thus, I perform an evocative autoethnographic study that allows me to share my personal experience of racial trauma and oppression within the culture of music therapy and to critique the larger social structures of whiteness that disenfranchise and dominate me and other Black student music therapists (SMTs). …

The Effectiveness Of A Social And Emotional Learning Intervention Program With Middle School Students In Central Georgia, Daymond Ray

Curriculum and Instruction (Ed.D.) Dissertations

Addressing students' social and emotional learning can lead to increased social and emotional functioning, improved classroom and school behavior, and increased academic performance. This study investigated the effectiveness of a social and emotional learning (SEL) intervention program in a middle school in central Georgia. The study utilized a mixed methodology and examined the effects of a semester long SEL intervention program called Second Step. The participants in the study consisted of 60 7th-grade students between 11 and 13 years of age who were enrolled in a health education course for the second semester at ABC Middle School. Descriptive statistics and …

Adults' Recollections And Reflections On The Impacts Of Grade Retention, April Dockery

Curriculum and Instruction (Ed.D.) Dissertations

This qualitative study chronicles the experiences of retention as told by adults who experienced retention. Through criterion sampling and snowball sampling, ten participants were identified and interviewed to learn more about their experiences with retention. Through one-on-one interviews, the researcher sought to examine what characterizes the experiences and responses of adults who were retained during their K-12 academic career. Their in-depth responses revealed participants’ perceptions of retention and the effects that it produced in their lives. This study humanized the data by allowing participants to tell an account of retention that coincides with past research. The findings of this study …

The Impact Of A Human Trafficking Educational Module On Nurse Practitioner Students Awareness, Knowledge, And Confidence In Responding To Human Trafficking, Casey Elliott

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Translational and Clinical Research Projects

Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine if a human trafficking education module increased master level nursing students’ awareness, knowledge, and confidence in responding to human trafficking (HT) victims. Background: HT in the United States and worldwide is a growing problem. Millions of men, women, and children are victims of HT each year. Victims of human trafficking are often vulnerable due to several factors, including emotional problems, social instability, and economic difficulties. Studies have found up to 88% of victims of HT are seen by a healthcare provider during their captivity. Improving the awareness, knowledge, and confidence of …

Case Study Of The Little Caterpillars Development Center, Soyun Park

Graduate Research Showcase

Music therapy is a clinical and evidence-based field in which a certified music therapist manipulates music in a therapeutic relationship to help a client reach healthcare or educational goals. In this case study of the Little Caterpillars Development Center, a student music therapist (SMT) performed music therapy on infants and emerging toddlers, while being supervised by a music therapy professor at GCSU. The CDC Developmental Milestones Checklist was used to assess the highest need of each population. For infants, the music therapy goal was to promote language development, measured by sticking out tongue, blowing raspberries, and saying “mama” or “dada.” …

Effect Of Leveled Literacy Intervention On Reading Comprehension Of Students With Specific Learning Disabilities​, Joni Talbert

Graduate Research Showcase

The Leveled Literacy Intervention System was designed by Fountas and Pinnell to address deficits in reading and comprehension. This intervention system consists of a 30-minute scripted lesson designed to address phonics/word work as well as comprehension skills to increase a student’s reading proficiency. The researcher will determine the effectiveness of the Leveled Literacy Intervention program in reading comprehension for students who have an eligibility of Specific Learning Disability. Presentation will include a description of a student with an eligibility of Specific Learning Disability in the academic area of reading. This research is a single-subject A-B design over a six-week period. …

Effects Of American Sign Language On Communication For Students With Language Deficits, Haley Thigpen

Graduate Research Showcase

Effects of American Sign Language on Communication for Students with Language Deficits was conducted in a K-2 self-contained class at a primary school. This research was conducted in order to study the benefits of the use of American Sign Language (ASL) for students in order to communicate in the classroom setting. Ensuring that students with a language deficit have a form of communication in the classroom is key to making sure that they are getting the most out of their educational experience. Researchers have demonstrated the benefits of sign language including effective communication, speech and emotional development, lowered frustration levels, …

Help Me Help You: Impact Of Outreach On Recruitment And Client Engagement, Mary Brigid Harding, Abigail Mccabe

Graduate Research Showcase

The purpose of this research is to determine how much outreach is too much outreach when recruiting students to Georgia College Graduate Programs. Within the College of Business and Technology we track inquiries and applicants as well as tracking the outreach that is conducted within the office. The outreach tracking, being updated weekly, is intended to watch for potential impact on our conversion rates. The process being researched is that we will find the point at which outreach increasing conversion rates might plateau, and if ever it were to go down due to “too much” outreach. We will be tracking …

What Do Struggling Readers Think?, Janelle Butler, Emily Blankenship, Samuel Conway, Brittany Culbreath, Marine Foron-Leabeater, Michael Ferra, Damiale Johnson, Megan King, Kimberly Vinson, Leila Warren, Linda Bradley, Alexandra Berglund

Graduate Research Showcase

Research Question How do struggling readers identify their experiences with reading, both inside and outside of school?

Purpose In an era of high stakes testing and pressure for students to demonstrate academic achievement, particularly in reading, the state of Georgia has emphasized additional rigor over the past ten years. Data demonstrates that 36% of Georgia’s children read below grade level at the end of third grade (GADOE, 2022). A range of efforts to improve reading levels include the establishment of the Deal Center, Senate Dyslexia Bill (SB 48), and a state reading task force addressing teacher preparation for teaching reading. …