Education Commons^™

An Evaluation Of Environmental, Social, And Governance Standards On Fund Performance: Comparison Of Esg Funds In The United States And The European Union, Gracie Del Real

Scholar Week 2016 - present

The growing importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies in global industries has attracted special attention from investors seeking to evaluate companies beyond traditional financial metrics. This study aims to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in the returns of ESG funds between the United States and the European Union. ESG factors encompass environmental, social and governance standards, with each region exhibiting unique regulatory approaches and implementation levels. The project recognizes the current lack of universal standards in ESG assessment and the prevalence of issues of misinformation, greenwashing and transparency in reported data. By comparing randomly selected …

Child Development Degree Program: Careers Spotlight & Panel Discussion, Amanda Chorak, Jenae Pratscher, Dajah Bibbs, Brittany Alsvig, Kayla Deubel, Margaret Landis, Savannah Vaughan, Abigail Gentry, Alexa Gonzalez, Kaitlyn Fish, Ashley Camden, Kathleen Hammerberg, Sarah O’Neal, Kenzy Mallard, Sutton Bate, Kara Vallarta

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Join session via Microsoft Teams.

The Child Development program within the School of Education has continued to grow and strengthen its identity over the recent years. Students currently seek diverse career paths working with children and families following completion and graduation from the B.S. Child Development program. A group of undergraduate students from the spring 2024 CDEV 490 Senior Seminar will facilitate a discussion with a panel of helping professionals connected to the Child Development degree program. The panel discussion will give spotlight to the variety of career paths the degree prepares individuals for and will include both ONU Child …

Using Case Studies In The Classroom: Short Version Of A Presentation Made To The Nsta In Denver Mar 2024, Aggie R. Veld, Emily Blucker, Matthew Aude, Haley Lloyd, Madison Lockhart

Scholar Week 2016 - present

In the Fall of 2023 students in EDUC 383 middle and Secondary Science Methods explored science instruction using case studies. With the upcoming NSTA national conference, the students wrote a proposal to present on teaching with case studies, using one case study in particular, “The Savegre: A Model for Sustainability”, authored by Emilie Janes, an Olivet alum and Dr. Aggie Veld, Professor at Olivet. “While searching for a destination for the best spring break ever, five students in an ecology class happen upon a story of sustainability that inspires them to visit a tropical resort devoted to ecotourism.” Therein lies …

[Phi Delta Lambda Sponsored Session] "Scholar Adventures": Bibliographic Detective Work As An Academic Librarian, Emily Spunaugle, Karen Knudson

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Academic librarians support the research of their college or university community, but also conduct their own research. This presentation focuses on the intersection of the two, featuring the presenter's experience solving bibliographic mysteries of unique 18th century pamphlets and tracking down books heisted from her library 30 years ago.

Emily D. Spunaugle is Assistant Professor, Humanities and Rare Books Librarian at Oakland University in Rochester, MI. Her research is at the intersection of book history and women's writings of the long eighteenth century and appears in Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, Romantic Circles, Libraries: Culture, History, and …

Strategies For Supporting College Students Experiencing Grief, Rachel A. Guimond

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Grief and loss are a shared human experience. However, lacking cultural awareness of the impact of grief and insufficient social support can make managing the loss of a loved one very challenging for students. One strategy to support students who experience loss during college is the development of a course that addresses content related to the experience within supportive academic relationships. This presentation will explore research findings about student experiences of grief on college campuses and evidence-based practices for the development and implementation of an academic course on grief.

Generation Z Cybersecurity Learners: The Identification Of Cybersecurity Instructor Strategies And Attributes That Maximize Student Engagement, Jeffrey Rice

Scholar Week 2016 - present

There exists a significant shortage of cybersecurity specialists in the workforce. Universities should endeavor to keep cybersecurity students engaged if they desire to be competitive and contribute graduates to the remediation efforts of this cybersecurity deficit. Instructors significantly contribute to student engagement and there is a correlation between student engagement and student retention. The purpose of this regional qualitative exploratory study was to identify attributes that Generation Z collegiate cybersecurity learners felt kept them engaged in their cybersecurity courses. The sample comprised 10 individuals identified as GenZ and used purposeful and snowball sampling to select participants. A semi-structured interview strategy …

Specifications Grading Has Improved My Courses!, Bruce J. Heyen

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Specifications grading is a way of "restoring rigor, motivating students, and saving faculty time" as stated in the title of Linda Nilson's book promoting this method. While there are many variations across disciplines, I will present how I am using specifications grading in my Organic Chemistry courses. I label course objectives as essential or non-essential, and students must master these with a quiz score of 80% or greater to obtain the points. Students are allowed multiple attempts to master course objectives.

Literature Review Of Practical Insights Into The Use Of Brain Science And Learning Technology To Enhance Stem Student Learning, Keith Schimmel

Scholar Week 2016 - present

In recent years, college students, including those at Olivet Nazarene University, have experienced an increase in mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression. Researchers think technology is a significant contributor to this trend with social media undermining a viewer’s dignity through constant comparison and ruthless competition for attention. However, social media and teaching/learning technologies also have the potential to enhance efficient, effective student learning. This paper will present the best practices for use of social media and teaching/learning technologies based on a literature review in these areas.

The literature review will seek to tie together knowledge and best practices …

Quality Of Life Disparities For The Rural Economically Disadvantaged, April Westerfield-Jackson

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Families who reside in rural communities and live in poverty often experience a lack of quality of life supports, which impacts their mental health and exasperates any special needs they may have. Research in regards to these concerns, has historically focused on southern states and or the impacts of poverty in urban settings. This phenomenological qualitative research study reveals quality of life supports that impoverished families living in rural communities in Central Illinois often do without. This study further examines the families’ perceived barriers to those supports. The following research questions guided this study: (1) What quality-of-life supports (employment, food …

Advocating For The Middle Man: An Explication Of Chair Perceptions On Overcoming Emotion At Work, Brittany Armstrong

Scholar Week 2016 - present

The researcher’s study aimed to understand the perceptions of private university department chairs when engaging with emotional intelligence (EQ) at work. The qualitative approach provided the boundaries for the voice and the experience of the participants as the researcher collected interviews, department meeting minutes, and department program reviews from a sample of five department chairs across three, private universities. The following departments served as the study’s population: mathematics, family and consumer science, business, education, and modern languages. Findings revealed participants perceived job satisfaction through the mediator of emotion. Participants identified the emotional challenges of department chair and perceived emotion within …

Teaching Tough (Math) Topics (T^3): Survey Of High School Teachers, Darl Rassi

Scholar Week 2016 - present

The goal of this survey was to investigate which Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II, topics practicing secondary mathematics teachers found to be the most difficult to teach. A survey was created and sent to high school teachers within a 60-mile radius of Olivet. The research team described and categorized the responses.

What Are We Teaching In Spirituality And Social Work Elective Courses? A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Bsw Syllabi, Hillary Cole

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Religion and spirituality (RS) are vital aspects of client identity and well-being, yet social work professionals are often ill-equipped to address these in practice due to a lack of specialized training. The National Association of Social Work (NASW) and Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) support spirituality integration, but existing research focuses on Master of Social Work (MSW)-level elective courses. This qualitative study addresses Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)-level integration by (a) exploring how many accredited BSW programs offer an elective course on RS and (b) analyzing syllabi from these courses to determine pedagogical best practices. BSW programs can use …

Persistence In Practice: A Review Of Evidence, Rachel A. Guimond

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Student persistence to graduation is a salient issue in higher education, especially for at-risk groups. Varied approaches to increasing student success and engagement have been tried across campuses throughout North America. The following literature review will highlight evidence-based practices used to increase student persistence at varying levels of organizational structure, including university-level, program-level, and multi-systemic interventions. Recommendations for the specific context of Olivet Nazarene University will be made based on the findings of the included research.

Increase Faculty Awareness Through Personal Experiences In Active Stem Teaching And Learning At A Christian University, Aram Agajanian

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Jesus Christ taught through parables, examples, teamwork, repetitions, and questions, which are the foundations of active teaching and learning. The purpose of this presentation is to increase and invoke faculty involvement in active teaching for optimal student achievement. To emulate Jesus, educators should continually implement hands-on lab experiments; peer-to-peer, project-based, and brain-based teaching methods in their classes. Mentoring students includes providing help through office hours, teaching assistants, weekly homework and exam review sessions, and study groups. Relating to students through social occasions such as meals at the cafeteria; attending the student organizations and sports events, concerts, competitions are additional creative …

Recent Empirical Evidence On The Perceived Impact Of Covid 19 On Faculty And Students From 391 Faculty From 37 Cccu And Cic Institutions June-September 2021, Don Daake

Scholar Week 2016 - present

The presentation provides very recent data on the impact of COVID 19 from 391 Professors from 37 CCCU or CIC institutions. The data was gathered from June to September 2021- right at the height of COVID impacts. (This add-on set of scales was attached to the dissertation written by Dr. John Langenderfer, DBA, J.D. “The Role of an Academic Institution’s Organizational Culture in Retaining Employees during an Industry Downturn.”) Because of the time of the data gathering from June through September 2021, Dr. Daake saw this as a unique opportunity to study the impact of a BLACK–SWAN event …

An Examination Of Grit And Academic Capital In First And Continuing-Generation Doctoral Students, Jacqanai Gipson

Scholar Week 2016 - present

The current study utilized a convergent mixed method design to examine Grit and Academic Capital in first (n = 80) and continuing-generation (n = 35) doctoral students. Specifically, the researcher was interested in comparing the two factors of Grit: passion and perseverance and the eight aspects of Academic Capital: concerns about cost, supportive networks, navigation of systems, trustworthy information, college knowledge, overcoming barriers, family uplift, and family expectations to determine how each contributes to first-generation doctoral student persistence. Data were collected online using the Short Grit Scale (Duckworth & Quinn, 2019) and the Academic Capital Scale (Winkler & Sriram, 2015). …

Comparison Of Alexithymia And Burnout Amid Perceived Stress Levels Of Nursing Students, Kamela Harmon

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Graduate level nursing students are exposed to overload and exhaustion due to academic and professional demands, increasing exposure to stressors resulting in elevated levels of perceived stress, burnout, and alexithymia. This quantitative research, utilizing an online methodology at a midwestern university, explored the prevalence of perceived stress, compassion satisfaction (CS), compassion fatigue (CF), burnout, and alexithymia among master’s level nursing students. The descriptive analysis utilized the Pearson correlation coefficient (Pearson r) by use of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). The researcher discovered statistically significant negative correlations …

Examining The Implementation Of Functional Behavior Assessments And Behavior Intervention Plans, Vedia Page

Scholar Week 2016 - present

There is a need to understand and improve the skills of school staff regarding functional behavior assessments (FBAs) and behavior intervention plans (BIPs). Students who exhibit problematic behaviors are at risk for negative outcomes in school and in adulthood. Students with emotional disabilities, African American students, and male students have the most risk. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ and administrators’ skills and knowledge as they relate to developing and implementing FBAs and BIPs and to identify training needs in this area. The study may be of interest to school staff and others seeking to provide behavioral …

Assessment Of Strengths-Based Interventions On First-Year Medical Students, Linnette C. White

Scholar Week 2016 - present

In the quest for a doctoral degree many candidates fail to meet their milestone accomplishment. It is estimated that approximately 30% of individuals that pursue a doctoral degree will not finish. Medical school has been found to be a very intensive program to pursue for many who begin the journey. Despite its difficulty, 81.6 % to 84.3% of medical students achieve the status of medical practitioner within a three-to-four-year program. Despite the seemingly high completion rate, the achievement gap has future implications on physician shortages. The researcher conducted a quantitative study to determine the impact training first-year medical students using …

A Self-Study Of Frn Olivet: A Student-Led Food Recovery Model On A University Campus, Madeira Sherwood

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Presentation Location: Weber Center, Room 101

Abstract

An alarming amount of unserved food is thrown away daily on university campuses, which emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In those same college communities, there is likely a large food insecure population that is going to bed hungry every night. The Food Recovery Network (FRN) is a network of colleges/universities across the United States that seeks to bridge this gap. The FRN chapter at Olivet Nazarene University, established in October 2017, encountered challenges in its first couple years of operation because there were not yet many resources that laid out best practices …

Why Social Studies Matters: Historical Thinking In The Classroom & Beyond, Margaret Houts, Sabrina Bogart

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Presentation Location: Warming House, Olivet Nazarene University

Abstract

Social studies education is vital to helping students develop critical thinking skills that they will use both in and out of the classroom. As the world becomes increasingly complex and diverse, students must be given the tools they need to interpret and engage with it. The skills that students develop in the social studies classroom prepare them to be critical thinkers and engaged citizens in the 21st century. This presentation will summarize and interpret the body of research pertaining to teaching historical thinking skills. The presenters will share how they have …

What’S Your Natural Next Question? The Inquiry Approach To Learning Economics, Paul R. Koch, Rachel Carlassare

Scholar Week 2016 - present

During the current academic year, both introductory and upper-division economics courses at Olivet have used an app in Canvas, developed by Beagle Learning, for the purpose of engaging students in critical thinking using an inquiry learning process. Students iteratively cycle through: 1) posing a goal question, 2) finding a resource which provides an answer to that question, at least in part, which then 3) prompts an additional question whose answer increases the degree of certainty regarding the original goal question.

This presentation will concentrate on how this process has been incorporated into the Principles of Economics class, which is a …

An Exploratory Study Of Emotional Intelligence Characteristics Between Disciplines In Higher Education And Suggested Curriculum Adjustments, Brad Thomas

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Emotional Intelligence (EI) may be more important to the success of college students than cognitive intelligence and technical skills combined. Recent research has primarily focused on EI in the workplace. However, implications for improving EI skills of college undergraduate students before they enter the workforce appears to be lacking. This quantitative research examined the Emotional Intelligence levels of five different majors to identify differences based on area of study, gender, or other demographic factors. Subsequently, the study aimed to provide suggestions for curriculum development with a goal to better expose students to EI themes. An online survey was offered to …

Teachers’ Oral Proficiency: What Happens After They Graduate?, Karen Leonard, Nancy Bonilla

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Presentation Location: Warming House, Olivet Nazarene University

Abstract

It is widely agreed that a high level of speaking proficiency in the language of instruction is desirable, if not essential, for language teachers. Previous research has looked at the development of teacher candidates’ speaking proficiency prior to certification, but very little research has addressed the question of how teachers’ proficiency does or does not change once they begin teaching.

The current study aims to address this gap in the research. Ten current Spanish teachers who graduated from Olivet’s Spanish education program participated in a semi-structured interview to explore their perceptions …

The Impact Of Wellness Training On Resilience, Depression, And Anxiety In College Age Students, Jamie S. Myrtle

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Data suggests that mental health disorders in college students are increasing. University personnel seek to help students better manage their mental health through access to campus counseling centers. Slow enrollment growth has placed pressure on university budgets making it difficult to fully fund counseling centers. Therefore, university personnel seek cost-effective interventions to meet the need. Increasing resilience has shown promise in reducing the overall impact of depression and anxiety. The purpose of the current study was to explore the impact of wellness training on resilience, depression, and anxiety to determine the effectiveness of the intervention in improving resilience and reducing …

The Impact Of Teacher Methodology Training For Higher Education Faculty Members, Nicole R. Baker

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Many college programs are designed to graduate individuals who are experts in their field of study, but not necessarily individuals who are trained in how to teach. This quantitative, quasi-experiment study examined college faculty member’s level of training in the area of teaching practices and methodology. The relation to student satisfaction, current course performance, attendance, the belief in the need for training, and faculty member’s sense of efficacy in teaching was explored. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to organize the data using a one-way ANCOVA to analyze the impact the level of training had on …

Associations Of Preschoolers' Screen Time, Vocabulary, And Fine Motor, Barbara A. Dolan

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Technology use by preschoolers aged three to five is prevalent today. Parents and educators find conflicting benefits and concerns about the use of technology by preschoolers. By looking at three particular preschool skills of pincer grasp, wrist strength, and receptive vocabulary, this researcher hoped to provide some answers for parents and educators. This non-experimental multiple regression research analyzed two fine motor skills of 53 preschoolers and their receptive vocabulary and compared them to minutes of screen time use each day. Preschoolers were from two middle class, Midwestern private preschools. Parents completed a ten-question survey that provided a measure of the …

Factors Affecting Student Success At A Native American Indian University, Philbert John

Scholar Week 2016 - present

This study investigated the factors affecting American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) student success at a Native American Indian University (NAIU) in the Midwest. Thirty-nine students who graduated from Tribal College University (TCU) contributed to this study as they represented the student population at NAIU. This exploratory study was guided by three research questions that analyzed the collected data through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software tool. The two tools utilized in this study were the Pearson Correlation and the Independent Samples t-tests. The designed study was created to determine the pursuit, preparation, and persistence AI/AN students had that lead …

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Math Curricula And Students' College Readiness, Nancy A. Deluca

Scholar Week 2016 - present

State learning standards with increased rigor have required higher levels of achievement from students on standardized tests, high-school grades, and national percentile ranks which are used for collegiate acceptance and course placement. As a result, preparation of students for standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT have become increasingly more challenging. The current quantitative, quasi-experimental study examined the relationship between the tangible math curricula used for instruction and students’ readiness for collegiate coursework. From sample sizes of 128 and 169 high-school students in two consecutive school years, there were several statistically significant relationship differences. Analysis of test results indicated …

Leadership Preparation Of Preservice Teachers, Kelly A. Lenarz

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Educator preparation providers are passionate about developing the best teachers. It is important for teacher preparation programs to explore how teacher leadership can help attract and retain a diverse and quality educator workforce, however research on teacher leadership at the preservice level is limited. This quantitative study examined the preparation of preservice teachers for leadership. One hundred student teachers completed an online survey using Survey Monkey® to determine the relationship between teacher licensure area (elementary, secondary, K-12, and special education) and leadership behaviors, opportunities, and aspirations. Data analysis was completed using measures of central tendency and variance. No statistically significant …