Education Commons^™

Parenting And The Academic Library: Experiences, Challenges, And Opportunities, Courtney Stine, Sarah Frankel, Anita Hall

Faculty Scholarship

Academic Library Workers in Conversation is a C&RL News series focused on elevating the everyday conversations of library professionals. The wisdom of the watercooler has long been heralded, but this series hopes to go further by minimizing barriers to traditional publishing with an accessible format. Each of the topics in the series were proposed by the authors and they were given space to explore. This issue’s conversation revolves around parenting and how academic libraries must do more. The insights from the authors apply beyond parenting and are a great reminder that people make our academic libraries work.— Dustin Fife, series …

Case Study: Improving Student Advisory Board Engagement, Anita R. Hall

Faculty Scholarship

After two pandemic-impacted academic years, the University of Louisville’s Libraries Student Advisory Board (LSAB) was starting to feel stagnant. Meetings that had previously included hands-on activities, lively conversation, and free food had settled into the virtual meeting doldrums. Attendance was down and conversation felt stilted, despite the librarian facilitator devoting additional time and effort to preparing for each meeting. In an effort to improve engagement among the group and better understand the continued relevance of advisory groups in the current moment, the author undertook a series of interviews with other advisory group facilitators. Results from these interviews were used to …

Exploring Students’ Epistemological Understanding Of Atomic Structure Models, Claire V. Ward, Morgan Balabanoff

The Cardinal Edge

Developing a robust understanding of atomic structure and the nature of matter is foundational across chemistry and STEM courses. The development of this concept is challenging because it relies on models to illustrate something not directly observable. Scientific models are important tools used to explain phenomena, particularly phenomena that are not directly observable. In general chemistry, students are typically asked to consider four different models: (1) the particle model, (2) the nuclear model, (3) the Bohr model, and (4) the Quantum model. Each depiction has its own advantages and limitations, where instructors introduce each model to explain specific parts of …

The Science Of Learning: Understanding The Learning Process And Its Implementation Into The Classroom, Robert Hawkins

The Cardinal Edge

College and higher education is often seen as the next step for many students pursuing a particular career or field. These institutions strive to facilitate learning and maintain a rewarding academic environment. However, students often face various challenges when first attending college which is reflected by high levels of dropout and withdrawal from general education courses, especially for first-time students. In fact, according to the education data initiation, “at 4-year institutions, 18.4% of first-time, full-time college freshmen dropped out between 2019 and 2020” (Hansen & Checked, 2022). One of these challenges is understanding the process of learning on a fundamental …

Perceptions Of Student Loan Debt: A Phenomenological Study Exploring Black Undergraduate Students' Experiences., Pilar Prather

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rising cost of higher education concerns many families in the United States, especially those from historically underrepresented backgrounds. The purpose of this study is to explore the phenomenon of Black students' perception of their student loan debt and how their financial knowledge influences their decisions at a public institution. This qualitative research provides space to empower individuals to share their stories through semi-structured interviews to get an account of their experiences. Grounded in Yosso's (2005) Community Cultural Wealth Theory, the study seeks to capture the unique ways Black students make financial decisions. The dissertation is divided into five chapters: …

Meta-Analysis Of Therapeutic Interventions For The Treatment Of Test Anxiety., Thomas Reece

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This systematic review and meta-analysis was designed to be a practitioner-focused review of the current research into interventions for the treatment of test anxiety. As testing continues to be a large part of students’ academic experiences and the stakes of that testing grow for students, teachers, and schools, there is a need for a synthesis of the literature to provide teachers and schools with some guidance on how best to help their students succeed. In this review, I describe the phenomenon of test anxiety and the current theoretical questions concerning the relationship between test anxiety and test performance. I also …

Tell Us What You Really Think: Implementing A Mixed-Methods Approach To Library User Assessment, Lidiya Grote, Emily Dill, Jennifer Hardin

Faculty Scholarship

This article presents an analysis of student feedback received via formal biennial survey and informal post-it notes assessment, and advocates for the use of informal assessment methods to supplement formal methodologies. A biennial satisfaction survey and an informal post-it notes assessment were employed to collect data from library users and yielded comprehensive, timely, and actionable feedback from the students, faculty, and staff. Feedback received from the two assessment methods allowed the University Library of Columbus (ULC) to gain a greater understanding of user needs and preferences which was used to improve library spaces, resources, and services to increase user satisfaction. …

A New Direction For Public Understanding Of Science: Toward A Participant-Centered Model Of Science Engagement., Christopher Rickels

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Engaging the public with science is not an easy task. When presented, scientific findings, public health recommendations, and other scientific information filter through the personal values, beliefs, and biases of members of the public. Science communicators must contend with these differences in order to be effective in cultivating a public understanding of science. Given the importance of scientific understanding for living well in a complex world, increasing science understanding through science engagement is imperative. The field of public engagement with science is dichotomized by a public information deficit approach and a contextualist approach. The deficit approach prizes the factual content …

The Effect Of Typewriting Vs. Handwriting Lecture Notes On Learning: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis., Timothy Schaun Lau

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the effect of note-taking modality during lecture, that is, taking notes by hand using pen and paper vs. taking notes using a keyboard and computer, on learning among secondary and postsecondary students. I begin with a review of the literature and theoretical introduction to the theories and terms used. From a theoretical standpoint, there are strong reasons to believe that taking notes by hand might offer recall benefits relative to taking notes using a computer and keyboard. At the same time, I point out that one problem, which I …

Is The Early Promise Of Money Enough? Examining High School Students’ College Knowledge And Choice In A Promise Scholarship Program, Tangela Reavis

Journal of Student Financial Aid

This study is part of a randomized control trial examining the results of a promise scholarship program, the Degree Project (TDP). Half of the ninth graders in one Midwestern urban school district were notified about a $12,000 promise scholarship offer if they met certain GPA and attendance requirements (2.5 GPA and 90% attendance). This analysis draws on interview data to understand students’ financial knowledge over four years (grades 9-12). The study examined how treatment students (those who were offered the scholarship) and control students (those who were not offered the scholarship) explained and understood the methods they intended to use …

Early Mathematical Abilities Of 48-Month-Old Children With Williams Syndrome., Jenna N. Tinnell

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder associated with relative strengths in concrete vocabulary, nonverbal reasoning, and verbal short-term memory and considerable weaknesses in visuospatial construction and relational language. While the cognitive profile of WS has been studied extensively, there have been few studies of the early mathematical abilities of children with WS and the cognitive predictors of these abilities. The purpose of this study was to describe the early mathematical abilities of 48-month-olds with WS and determine the concurrent cognitive predictors of these abilities. The Differential Ability Scales–second edition (DAS-II) was used to determine cognitive and mathematical abilities …

The Underbelly Of Residential Segregation, Bussing To Integrate And The Educational Ramifications: A Case Study Of Louisville Kentucky., Camara Douglas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Integration of the American public school system is often examined to figure out if integration worked. This dissertation examined busing to integrate into Louisville, Kentucky. Busing to integrate in Louisville, Kentucky, took place during that 1975-1976 school year. Louisville’s case is somewhat different. Not only did they finally follow federal mandates to integrate, they had to mix two totally separate school systems, one for the county (White) and one from the city (African American). The objectives are: (1) what were the experiences and perceptions of African American students in high school who lived in the West Louisville hyper-segregated neighborhoods and …

The Water We Were Swimming In: Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Students' Lived Experiences In Engineering., Natalie Saroff Oliner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Few studies address the lived experiences of transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) students in engineering. Grounded in critical trans politics (Spade, 2015), this dissertation contributes to the literature on TGNC students in engineering by examining their experiences negotiating their identities while navigating interrelated systems of oppression in a field dominated by White, heterosexual, cisgender men. Using a critical constructivism framework, I conducted a narrative inquiry to explore the lived experiences of five TGNC students in engineering programs. Participants experienced TGNC oppression at their universities, built LGBTQ+ and TGNC communities, and described more welcoming climates in non-engineering contexts compared to engineering. …

The Journey Towards Critical Self-Authorship For Native Lacrosse Athletes At Ncaa Division I Institutions., Brandon C. Joseph

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an examination of contemporary collegiate lacrosse as a symptom of settler colonialism and the experiences of Native lacrosse athletes at NCAA Division I historically white institutions. It begins with a brief historical overview of Native lacrosse and Native education through a lens of settler colonial theory and Tribal Critical Race Theory. It uses Critical Indigenous Research Methods to examine the experiences of contemporary Native collegiate lacrosse players and their journey towards critical self-authorship. The ultimate goal was to explore the extent to which Native lacrosse athletes felt they could show up as their authentic Native self in …

Literacy Abilities Of Children And Adolescents With Williams Syndrome., Caroline Greiner De Magalhaes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation I report findings from two studies of the literacy abilities of children with Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic disorder associated with intellectual disability. I had two overarching goals: 1) evaluate the applicability of theories of reading and spelling acquisition developed based on typically developing children to children with WS; and 2) provide results that would inform the development of targeted assessments and interventions. In Study 1, individual differences in phonological awareness, visual spatial perception, vocabulary, overall intellectual abilities, and reading instruction approach (systematic phonics vs. other approaches) for sixty-nine 6 – 7-year-olds (most of whom were in …

Financial Knowledge Or Financial Situations? Toward Understanding Why Some College Students Use Credit Cards To Pay For College Tuition, Benjamin D. Andrews

Journal of Student Financial Aid

While the majority of college students use credit cards for educational expenses like textbooks, recent data reports that college students also use credit cards to directly fund their schooling by charging for at least some part of their tuition (Sallie Mae, 2009). Because credit cards carry a higher interest rate than student loans, and because they do not have a period of deferred payment while a student is enrolled in school, credit cards are a particularly risky method of payment that students resort to in order to attend college. Why do college students participate in such risky spending behavior to …

Shifting Sands., Rachid Tagoulla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Shifting Sands is a re-exploration of the presentation of North Africans in colonial postcards, an examination of identity, and a critique of the modern Western museum. Since the inception of photography, colonizers used this medium- especially in the form of postcards- to categorize and exoticize Eastern peoples in order to more easily subjugate them. Shifting Sands is a series of reconstructed colonial postcards which challenges colonial-era stereotypes of North African peoples. The colonial gaze, represented by the camera lens, is subverted through a lensless image-making process in which sand is used to remove the subject from the colonial gaze and …

Black Men Wanted: An Instrumental Case Study Exploring The Situational Factors Related To The Retention Of African American Male High School Teachers., Christopher Kevin Flores

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the nation’s high school student population becomes increasingly diverse, the declining number of minority teachers, particularly African American male teachers is becoming an area of concern. This instrumental case study of African American male high school teachers in the Fayette County Public School system in Lexington, Kentucky sought to identify the motivations for teaching, the barriers prior to and during teaching, as well as the roles these individuals are asked to fulfill in their schools. Using purposeful sampling, 10 individuals participated in semi-structured interviews aimed at providing insight to the three research questions related to motivations, barriers, and roles. …

Re-Visiting The Flutie Effect: An Exploration Of Athletic Success' Impact On Student Enrollment Decisions., Addison Pond

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With each passing year, FBS collegiate athletic departments are faced with increased expenditures (Huml et al., 2019). Subsequently, institutional funding has become an increasingly common and controversial method of athletic department funding (Jewell, 2020). These spending and subsidization patterns are commonly met with controversy, causing the need to further unpack the benefits that schools receive from these behaviors. One anticipated benefit of athletic success is increased numbers of student applications. While the impact of football and basketball success on student interest (the “Flutie Effect) has been a popular topic in sport management literature, there is a lack of primary data …

On The Lookout For Lizards: Online Tools For Informed Democratic Citizenship, Robert Detmering, Terri Holtze, Amber Willenborg

Faculty Scholarship

In her recent essay,“Lizard People in the Library,” Barbara Fister argues that “systems designed to share information virally pose a serious threat to democracy.” As librarians and educators, we have an obligation to help students understand and navigate online platforms that spread misinformation at alarming rates and, in the process, contribute to the erosion of democratic norms and values. Unfortunately, research suggests we might be failing in this regard (Head, Fister, and MacMillan, 2020;Wineburg, Breakstone, Ziv, and Smith, 2020). In this talk, we will describe the development and implementation of the University of Louisville’s Citizen …

The Health Of Haitian Schoolchildren: Longitudinal Effect Of Annual Visits On Growth, Jamarie Geller, Mary Starrs, Andrew Bartholomew, Sara Kaliszak, Jeri Kessenich

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

Objectives: Haiti has one of the highest rates of childhood undernutrition in the world, devastating overall health. This study focuses on the growth of children offered longitudinal healthcare by Kids Health for Haiti, using BMI to indicate developmental and nutritional status. Objectives include collecting baseline prevalence data, examining the longitudinal impact of longitudinal interventions, and discussing future investigation and programming areas.

Methods: A retrospective longitudinal observational chart review on 245 students over a six-year period analyzing height, weight, and BMI. All data was collected as part of routine health provision and underwent statistical analysis using a single-subject design.

Results:46.3%, …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Knowledge And Stigmatizing Attitude Of Ghanaians And Nigerians Towards Covid-19 Survivors, Emmanuel Lamptey, Dorcas Serwaa, Maxwell Hubert Antwi, Theckla Ikome Ms, Nkechi Odogwu

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

Introduction: In Africa, COVID-19 associated stigmatization still remains the contextual factor that poses a challenge for the mitigation and suppression of COVID-19 spread, especially among the illiterate populations. This comparative study was therefore conducted to assess the knowledge and willingness of Ghanaians and Nigerians to associate with COVID-19 survivors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect information from 290 Ghanaian and 220 Nigerian nationals aged 18 years and above between 11th July-30th October 2020. An electronic-based questionnaire was developed to collect information on the public. The data were analyzed with SPSS v 22 and factors influencing knowledge and willingness …

Completion Grants: A Multi-Method Examination Of Institutional Practice, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Travis York, Clare Cady, Christy Baker-Smith

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Public universities are intent on increasing degree completion for many reasons. A stronger policy focus on completion and interest in removing students’ financial hurdles has led to a rapid proliferation of completion grant programs. This paper reports on a mixed method implementation study of completion grant programs at seven broad- and open-access universities. Drawing on case studies of completion grant programs and student surveys, we examine the work of the administrators and professionals who create and implement these programs. As it can diminish program efficacy and increase inequality, we pay particular attention to administrative burden for staff and students. We …

The History Of Denying Federal Financial Aid To System-Impacted Students, Bradley D. Custer

Journal of Student Financial Aid

People who are impacted by the criminal justice system (“system-impacted”) face barriers when seeking financial aid to pay for college. Between the late 1960s and the early 2000s, Congress created laws that prohibited incarcerated students and students with certain criminal convictions from receiving federal grants and loans. This paper offers a comprehensive review of the history of those laws, which provides context for current debates on restoring Pell Grants to students in prison. Legislative documents, scholarly sources, and news reports were studied to build this historical review. Key lessons from history are discussed as to how Congress might treat system-impacted …

Does The House Always Win? An Analysis Of Barriers To Wealth Building And College Borrowing, Katherine E. Fletcher, Matthew B. Fuller

Journal of Student Financial Aid

The racial differences in student loan debt must be interpreted through a lens of wealth building inequality. Black individuals in particular are negatively affected by official and unofficial policies that create barriers to building wealth. Financial aid policies then exacerbate this inequality with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) formula that protects the majority of family assets from being used as required educational contributions. Using the 2011-12 National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey (NPSAS:12) , we examined differences in student loan debt based on wealth building barriers (students’ access to banks, father’s education, and mother’s education). Our ANOVA models show cumulative loan …

A Community Academic Partnership Approach To Addressing Health Needs Of The Local Refugees: Participants’ Perspectives And Recommendations For Developing New Partnerships, Melissa D. Warne-Griggs, Nicolin Thaler, Kristin Koehn, Kristin Sohl

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

Community-academic partnerships have demonstrated how collaboration can provide academic healthcare workers and non-medical community providers such as educators and social services with a comprehensive view of issues affecting refugee populations. The ICIH (Interagency Council on Immigrant Health) is a physician-community partnership consisting of healthcare professionals, non-medical educators, social workers, early childhood services and other community agencies. It was formed to address the well-being of a local immigrant population, strengthen bonds between the community and healthcare system, and educate and empower pediatricians to provide culturally aware services. The collaboration has been very successful as demonstrated by the production of multiple collaborative …

Supporting Academic Primary Care Teams Serving Refugees: A Qualitative Study, Gabrielle Waclawik Md Mph, Fabiana Kotovicz, Devin Walsh-Felz Md Mph, Savitri Tsering Mssw, Nancy Pandhi Md Mph Phd

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

Introduction: Primary care providers continue to experience significant challenges when caring for refugee patients, yet they are often refugees’ initial point of contact with the U.S. health care system. The purpose of this qualitative study is to expand our understanding of the experiences of academic primary care team members during clinical encounters with refugee patients.

Methods: This multi-perspective, qualitative study included physicians (faculty and residents), nurse practitioners, pharmacists, nurses, and medical assistants (n=10), who have been working with refugee patients for at least one year at two family medicine residency clinics and/or a community health center. Semi-structured in-person interviews were …

From The Democratic Republic Of The Congo To North Carolina: An Examination Of Chronic Disease Risk, Lauren R. Sastre Dr.

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

Refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are one of the largest refugee groups globally and in the US, however, there is limited research with this group. Therefore, objectives of this study were to examine: 1) obesity and hypertension rates, 2) diet and lifestyle behavior changes, and 3) diet, lifestyle and social factors of obesity and hypertension risk of Congolese refugees in the US. This cross-sectional data collection utilized a survey developed specifically for this project. Clinical and anthropometric measures including height, weight and blood pressure were also obtained. Data analysis included descriptive and regression analysis. Participants (n=48, >18 …

Missed Opportunities For Hpv Vaccination Discussion Among Medical Trainees, Jahnavi Sunkara, Emily Noonan, Laura Weingartner

Undergraduate Research Events

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES FOR HPV VACCINATION DISCUSSION AMONG MEDICAL TRAINEES

Jahnavi Sunkara, BA Candidate; Emily J Noonan, Ph.D., M.A; Laura A. Weingartner, Ph.D., M.S.Abstract

BACKGROUND

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and can cause serious health problems like genital warts and cancer. However, vaccination can prevent some of these issues. Although the CDC recommends that individuals between 9-26 years old should receive the HPV vaccine, catch-up vaccination until 45 years old is available upon further guidance from healthcare providers.

METHODS

Standardized patient (SP) encounters (n=28) were randomly sampled from 134 video recordings of …

Doc’Apella: A Vocal Performance Group Designed To Reduce Stress And Prevent Burnout Among Medical And Health Sciences Students, Kristy J. Carlson, Laura E. Newton, Paul J. Brosnihan, Steven P. Wengel, Jayme R. Dowdall

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: Burnout is common among health professions trainees characterized by emotional exhaustion induced by repeated stressors. Although traditional stress management activities to promote wellness are effective in reducing stress short-term, alternative approaches are needed with the potential for long-term impact. To address burnout among students at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), a vocal group was formed to provide a creative outlet. The purpose of this study was to determine the students’ motivation for joining Doc’Apella and assess the impact on burnout.

Methods: Students enrolled in a health sciences program were invited to participate during the 2018-19 academic year …