Education Commons^™

Holistic Assessment Of Narrative Discourse: A Progress Monitoring Tool, Teigan Beck

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate the validity, developmental sensitivity, and scoring reliability of a rubric for measuring the holistic quality of stories for preschool and school age children.

Method: 224 children, ages 4-7, told stories in a single structured context which were then scored by a group of trained raters using the Holistic Assessment of Narrative Discourse (HAND) to evaluate aspects of its psychometric adequacy, specifically validity, developmental sensitivity, and inter-rater reliability.

Results: The results showed that the scores on the HAND were a valid measure of narrative quality that were sensitive to developmental ...

Exploring The Impact Of Positive Peer Views Of Girls On School Engagement In Middle School Girls, Christine E. Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the types of messages female middle school students receive about their gender from their peers. Specifically, it looked at microaggressions, which are sexist messages from peers, and microaffirmations, which are positive and affirming messages from peers. There were four goals of this study. First, to check if the Students Affirming Girls in Middle School scale (SAG-MS), a scale created for this study, could consistently measure microaggressions and microaffirmations. Second, to look at the relationship between when girls experience puberty and microaggressions and microaffirmations. Third, to measure any differences in the number of microaggressions and microaffirmations girls ...

Do Booster Emails Improve Learning Transfer Among Parenting Professionals?, Benjamin C. Stout

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parenting professionals play a key role in helping parents have a positive influence on their children, which is why it is important to ensure that professionals have and use research-based information and materials. Using data from 96 parenting professionals from Utah and Missouri, who completed a 4-hour Strong Parents, Stable Children training, we examined the effects (at 2-months post training) of reflective reminder emails on parenting professionals’ utilization and learning transfer of training materials. Results from independent samples t tests show that participants who received “booster” emails at 1-week and 1-month post training shared some information and some materials with ...

Empathy In The Middle-School History Classroom: The Effects Of Reading Different Historical Texts On Theory Of Mind, Empathetic Concern, And Historical Perspective-Taking, Jared P. Collette

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Theoretical and empirical evidence indicate a possibility that reading certain types of historical texts could improve different constructs of empathy that include theory of mind (ToM), empathic concern (EC), and historical perspective-taking (HPT).The objective of this study was to compare the effect of reading a collection of primary documents in comparison to a historical narrative on ToM, HPT, and EC for adolescents in an eighth-grade history class. Students were randomly assigned to read either a historical narrative or a collection of adapted historical documents with approximately the same length, and reading level. This researcher controlled for student comprehension scores ...

Standards-Based Grading: A Correlational Study Between Grades And End-Of-Level Test Scores, Tyler R. Poll

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As students move from grade level to grade level and onto college, their grades have an impact on the number of opportunities available to students. The competition for entering college and earning a scholarship are at an all-time high and the grades students earn have a direct impact on future opportunities. Grading practices vary by teacher causing students’ grades to mean different things.

Standards-based grading practices focus on removing teacher bias and puts emphasis on the learning students can demonstrate. Students are given assessments to determine learning and are given multiple opportunities to show what they have learned. Emphasis is ...

Psychological Inflexibility Predicts Suicidality Over Time In College Students, Jennifer Krafft, E. Tish Hicks, Sallie A. Mack, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective:

It is essential to identify modifiable risk factors that can be targeted to reduce suicidal ideation (SI) and behavior in college students. Psychological inflexibility, a pattern of responding to internal experiences in a literal and rigid way, and attempting to control those experiences even when it interferes with valued living, could theoretically lead to SI or increase its intensity.

Method:

Psychological inflexibility and its component processes were tested as a predictor of SI in a longitudinal survey of college students (n = 603, age M = 20.62, 68.9% female, and 94.0% White) in a series of cross-sectional and ...

Starting Off On The Right Foot In Acceptance And Commitment Therapy, Michael P. Twohig, Clarissa W. Ong, Jennifer Krafft, Jennifer L. Barney, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper describes the initial phase of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). The paper begins with a review of ACT’s theoretical orientation. Basic empirical support for ACT and its model is covered. A case description follows that highlights the initial phases of ACT. The paper concludes with practical recommendations for starting therapy using ACT.

Clinical impact statement:

Question: The goal of this paper is to present the manner in which ACT is initiated. Findings: There are specific theoretical elements of ACT that suggest certain approaches be taken at the beginning of therapy. Meaning: Before starting ACT with a new ...

Assessing The Effects Of Motivative Augmentals, Pay-For-Performance, And Implicit Verbal Responding On Cooperation, Sharlet D. Rafacz, Ramona A. Houmanfar, Gregory S. Smith, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Motivative augmentals are rules or statements that temporarily change the effectiveness of a consequence, similar to establishing operations for nonverbal consequences (Hayes, Barnes-Holmes, & Roche, 2001). Many communications by an organization's leadership may function as such and alter the function of stimuli in the workplace, which in turn may influence employee behaviors (Houmanfar & Rodrigues, 2012). There is a lack of experimental research regarding this, however, particularly under different organizational pay systems (i.e., financial contingencies), which have been repeatedly shown to influence performance (e.g., Gupta & Shaw, 1998; Locke, Feren, McCaleb, Shaw, & Denny, 1980). The current study sought to compare the two by measuring the effect of motivational statements on individual versus cooperative responding under two different pay-for-performance contingencies in an organizational analogue. Stimuli for the motivational statements were selected utilizing an Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) with one group of participants, and these statements were then tested under piece-rate and profit-share conditions with a second group of participants in a counterbalanced reversal design. Results ...

Counseling Competencies In Audiology: A Modified Delphi Study, Alex Meibos, Karen F. Muñoz, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose: Counseling practices in audiology play a critical role in helping patients and families understand, accept, and adjust to the dynamic impacts ear related disorders have on their lives. The purpose of this study was to identify what competencies (i.e., knowledge, skills, and attitudes) are important for audiologists to possess to provide effective counseling in practice.

Method: A modified Delphi study design was used to survey a panel of thirty-three professionals with expertise in audiologic counseling from five different countries. In the first survey round, experts were asked to respond to three open-ended prompts. Responses were condensed and revised ...

Design And Development Of An Mph Program For Online Delivery, Steven R. Hawks, Julie A. Gast

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The Master of Public Health (MPH) degree is growing in popularity and is now delivered fully online by a large number of highly respected, fully accredited universities. This paper offers an overview of program design and development strategies that promote successful online delivery of MPH programs. Design and development challenges are discussed in terms of new accreditation standards, student demand, faculty development, user needs, course content, and plan of study. The development of an online MPH program at Utah State University with a concentration in health education and promotion is used to highlight and consider various aspects of this important ...

The Relative Influence Of Instructor Training On Student Perceptions Of Online Courses And Instruction, Mary Bowne, Melissa Wuellner, Lisa Madsen, Jessica R. Meendering, John Howard

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Online learning opportunities have greatly increased in past years. Various studies have examined online courses and instructor practices but have not examined students’ perceptions of their online courses and online instructors who were offered a voluntary online certification program. Students who took online courses at a Midwestern university completed a survey related to their perceptions of their individual online course and instructor. Results showed that instructors who were certified received higher, positive ratings than instructors who were not certified. The certification program utilizes a “faculty as student’ model, where faculty take courses from a student learner perspective, to provide experiential ...

Empowering Faculty Using Distance Learning Mentoring Programs, Nicole Luongo, Sara T. O'Brien

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

This article discusses the value of developing mentoring programs for the empowerment of distance learning faculty. The paper describes various ways mentoring relationships enhance the development and teaching of distance learning courses. Distance learning faculty mentoring programs consist of a process where a more experienced faculty member assists a newer faculty member in developing a distance learning course. By creating and supporting distance learning faculty mentoring programs, higher education institutions can provide an efficient and valuable way for new distance learning faculty to gain empowerment as well as the skills and knowledge they need to teach online. This article asserts ...

Classrooms On The Frontier: Integrating Original Research Into Lectures, Matthew D. Meng, Lucas Rentschler

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The role of an academic is often spread across two main areas: researching and teaching. Although some argue that the scarcity of time, energy, and commitment precludes the ability to do both well, and are therefore substitutes, we argue that these roles can be complementary. That is, by incorporating original research into the classroom, several benefits can be gleaned by both faculty and students. We feel that if done correctly, a professor’s research and teaching can mutually benefit, as well. To illustrate and support this argument, we have included two specific examples of using original research to teach relevant ...

Educators, Question Your Level Of Cultural Responsiveness, China M. Jenkins

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Institutions of higher education are becoming increasingly diverse, while faculty of these institutions generally lack the diversity of the student population they teach. This imbalance necessitates educators implement culturally responsive teaching within their classrooms. The intent of this article is to guide educators in determining whether they practice and implement culturally responsive teaching within their classrooms. To make this examination, I present questions that educators should ask themselves to determine their level of cultural responsiveness. In response, educators should look to investigate their level of cultural competency, analyze social constructions that reflects growth in cultural responsiveness, and verify their transformation ...

Five Instructional Practices To Optimize Peer Feedback Activities Among Adult Learners, Regina C. Rodriguez, Laurie A. Sharp

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

There is a significant need for adult learners to improve their writing proficiency within a variety of contexts. Thus, postsecondary instructors require effective research-based teaching strategies to support adult learners hone their writing skills. While studies on peer feedback abound, little has been done to date to consider ways in which postsecondary instructors design quality peer feedback activities within their courses. The purpose of this article was to describe five instructional practices to optimize peer feedback activities among adult learners.

About This Issue

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The Fall 2018 issue of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence focuses on the development of teaching and learning communities. Topics include peer feedback, cultural responsiveness, bringing research into the classroom, and training faculty through mentorship and online certification programs. The issue finishes off with a review of the design and development of an online Master's of Public Health degree.

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 2, Issue 2, Fall 2018

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full Spring 2018 issue (Volume 2, Issue 2) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence, Fall 2018

Exploring Warmth And Conflict In Parent-Adolescent Relationships, Hailey Bowler, Rebecca Harvey

Fall Student Research Symposium 2018

Family systems theory (Cox & Paley, 1997) is a framework that can be used to understand the quality of parent-adolescent relationships and the interrelatedness of relationships within a family system.

Talking In Math Class? Encouraging Engagement And Achievement Through The Use Of Talk Moves, Monika Burnside, Jessica King

Fall Student Research Symposium 2018

Purpose of the Study: Investigate the variations in three second-grade teachers' implementation of a number sense curriculum, in particular the variations in the ways they used Talk Moves to encourage students' engagement in classroom discussions. Long Term Goal: To improve number sense instruction in early elementary grades.

Supporting English Language Learners Through Collaboration, Compassion, And Engagement, Lora Ann Stead

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

This portfolio illustrates the student’s academic work completed while in the Master of Second Language Teaching program at Utah State University. The project is centered around the student’s philosophy on teaching English language learners (ELLs) as drawn from personal experience and second language acquisition research. The author seeks to provide awareness into best practices for teaching ELLs.

The portfolio is divided into three sections: 1) teaching perspectives, 2) research perspectives, and 3) annotated bibliographies. Within these sections, the author explores themes related to ELL teaching that highlight the importance of collaboration, compassion, and engagement. These topics include politely ...

Using An Engineering Design Process To Bring The Local Community Into The Technology And Engineering Education Classroom, James M. Baker

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

This plan B project documents the practice of using an authentic project to teach an engineering design process to high school pre-engineering students and documenting the project preparing a manuscript for journal publication.

The manuscript prepared for publication explores the details of working with local business owners and teachers from different departments and curricular foci to design, fabricate, and install an illuminated sign for a local business. This sign project was presented by an alum of the school to provide an authentic project for multiple courses to collaboratively create a solution for a local community business. Twenty-five students in two ...

Relationships Between Teachers' Past Experiences Learning Mathematics And Their Pedagogical Practices And Beliefs, Caci M. Jensen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

This creative project centered around the cyclical pattern of mathematics anxiety currently prevalent in our schools. A high percentage of elementary teachers carry mathematics anxiety and beliefs around mathematics that effect their pedagogical practices day-to-day. This anxiety transfers to their students effecting their future choices in mathematics. This project was conducted in case studies with six teachers from a rural charter school. Journey maps, semi-structured interviews, surveys, and observations were used to collect the data.

A Qualitative Study On Perceptions Of Parents And Their Young Adults With Disabilities Regarding Postsecondary Education, Kelli Summers

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

Postsecondary education (PSE) participation is a predictor for positive employment outcomes for students with or without disabilities (Newman et al., 2011; Test et al., 2009). In recent years, there has been an increase of students with disabilities participating in PSE. Students with intellectual disabilities (ID) have had the lowest enrollment rate of all the disability categories in PSE programs (Newman et al. (2010). This project examined the perceptions of parents and their young adults with ID regarding PSE. Participants included parents of young adults with ID and their young adults who were attending a PSE program on a college campus ...

An Evaluation Of The Social Validity Of The Center For Advanced Professional Studies (Caps) Program, Jason L. Watt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) programs are emerging high school programs emphasizing immersive, real-life professional experiences for students. CAPS programs endeavor to facilitate student-centered partnerships between business and public education to produce personalized learning experiences for students centered around the completion of real-world industry projects.

To ensure successful educational programs, leaders must consider more than simple outcome data or statistical descriptions of the program’s reliability and validity. Successful leaders of schools must also determine the program’s value from the perspective of the stakeholders it purports to serve—that is, by its social validity. Understanding what consumers ...

The Use Of Explicit Comprehension Strategies During Oral Instruction Of Informational Text Structures And The Effect On First-Graders' Listening Comprehension, Noelle E. Converse

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the effect of an explicit comprehension read-aloud routine of science content on first grade students’ listening comprehension.The read-aloud routine taught the structures common in the informational text (compare, contrast, and compare-contrast) and found in first grade science big books with the goal of improving understanding of the science content. Students who received the intervention showed improvements in their ability to understand the compare-contrast text structures compared to students who were taught the same content without the routine or students who were taught typical science read-aloud content without the routine. Observations revealed that teachers who were most ...

An Investigation Of Educators' Perceptions Of The Influence Of A Teacher Evaluation System On Student Learning, Bryon Nielsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the researcher explored the views and opinions held by teachers and administrators toward a teacher evaluation system. The purpose was to learn how educators’ opinions and views might impact how school leaders administer the evaluation system and how teachers receive it. Knowledge gained from this study may provide understanding for district and school-level leaders as they develop training and implementation strategies. Teachers and administrators were interviewed, and district-provided documents were reviewed, to gather data that was analyzed using qualitative research methods. Based on the data analysis, recommendations are made regarding implementation strategies that may improve the evaluation ...

Predicting U.S. Adolescents’ Purchasing Of Denim Jeans Using Quality Attributes, Behavioral Characteristics, And Sociodemographics, Michelle Clouse

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to establish a predictive model of the factors that contribute to the decision-making process when purchasing denim by 13- to 19-year-old adolescents living in the U.S. The researcher created an online survey through Qualtrics and administered it to an opt-in panel of adolescents, through Centiment. There were 460 survey responses collected.

Important denim attributes to respondents included comfort and fit, price, durability, and body perception. Significant predictors that increased respondents’ intention to purchase denim jeans included intrinsic attributes-appearance of fabric on the body, cognitive attributes, tighter fit, and purchased denim in the last ...

Supporting Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Post-Secondary Education Settings: Common Barriers And Needed Accommodations And Supports, Ryan T. Paskins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are enrolling in colleges and universities at an increasing rate. Although there is greater attendance in PSE settings, the graduation rate of this population is below the standard average. Improved services to help these students achieve their college and university goals are needed. Disability service professionals provide services to these students, yet oftentimes are not prepared to do so. In an effort to take a step toward addressing this concern, the current study began the exploratory process of identifying whether services provided by campus disability resources centers (DRC) align with the best practices that ...

The Effects Of Didactic Training & Behavioral Skills Training On Staff Implementation Of A Stimulus Preference Assessment With Adults With Disabilities, Sandra G. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed the effects of BST and DT on the treatment integrity scores of four direct care staff (DCS) conducting a multiple stimulus without replacement assessment with confederates. A concurrent multiple baseline design showed that BST was effective in achieving mastery level treatment integrity scores for all participants and that these scores generalized to adults with disabilities and remained at mastery levels after a 2-week generalization phase.

A Case Study On How Meeting The Academic Needs Of Students Substantially Below Grade Level In Mathematics Affects Their Self-Efficacy Beliefs And Engagement, Lauren K. M. Burton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This researcher examined an alternative classroom structure for ninth-grade students substantially below grade level (SBGL) in mathematics. This researcher considered whether targeting the academic and social needs of students SBGL in mathematics in a ninth-grade class would increase their self-efficacy and engagement with the mathematics by studying four teaching effects: teacher, teacher-curriculum, peer-curriculum, and peer.

The researcher used interviews, observations, and surveys to collect qualitative and quantitative data. The case study (n = 19) employed a QUAL + quan convergent parallel mixed methods case study. Meta-inferences from the analyses of qualitative and quantitative data indicate that the structure of the observed class ...