Education Commons^™

Sewing Technique: Flat-Felled Seam, Jen Giddens, Sarah Geer, Lindsey Shirley, Chanae Weller

All Current Publications

This is a how-to publication providing information on how to sew a flat-felled seam.

Sewing Glossary, Sarah Geer, Lindsey Shirley

All Current Publications

This publication includes a glossary of terms used in sewing.

Sewing Technique: Hand-Worked Keyhole Buttonhole, Jen Giddens, Sarah Geer, Lindsey Shirley, Chanae Weller

All Current Publications

This is a how-to publication providing information on how to make hand-worked keyhole buttonholes.

Integrating Physical Activity Data Technologies Into Elementary School Classrooms, Victor R. Lee, Jonathan M. Thomas

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper describes an iteration of a design-based research project that involved integrating commercial physical activity data (PAD) sensors, such as heart rate monitors and pedometers, as technologies that could be used in two fifth-grade classrooms. Design-based research involves the development, implementation and study of new learning interventions in real-world contexts with the goal of elaborating principles or guidelines relevant to the design of new technologies and learning experiences. The current project involved the implementation of PAD technology-supported learning activities in two fifth-grade classrooms where students pursued investigations related to the distances that they walk, the relationship between heights and ...

Class-Wide Respect And Social Support Skill Training To Increase Peer Interactions Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Melanie Orton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The demand for effective social skills interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders is a pertinent issue for school-based professionals. One approach to increase appropriate social skills is to involve peer support by training a few socially competent children to positively interact with a student with an ASD. Potentially, training larger groups of children could result in increasing the number of different peers who would actively support positive interactions with their classmates with ASD. Thus, the present study investigated the effect of a class-wide peer-training strategy on the percentage of positive social interaction and number of peer contacts for three ...

Effects Of High-Interest Writing Prompts On Performance Of Students With Learning Disabilities By, Kelsey J. Chlarson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Often described as passive learners, students with learning disabilities (LD) sometimes approach writing as a negative and burdensome task. Their reaction may imply that writing requires processes that they find difficult. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which high-interest narrative writing prompts for 12- to 13-year-old students in special education increase accuracy and total words written (TWW) in a 3-min timed writing sample compared to low-interest writing prompts. High-interest writing prompts are story starter topics chosen by each participant as preferred ones for writing tasks. Participants will be three individuals from a sixth- and seventh-grade ...

The Relationship Between Family Functioning, Family Resilience, And Quality Of Life Among Vocational Rehabilitation Clients, Kristi P. Openshaw

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While there has been extensive research on the quality of life for people with disabilities, very little research has been conducted on the way in which families impact the quality of life of these individuals. This study focused on how family dynamics impact the quality of life for people with disabilities who are clients of state vocational rehabilitation agencies. Specifically, family flexibility and cohesion, as well as family resilience, were the independent variables; quality of life was the dependent variable.

It was found that family functioning and family resilience play an important role in the quality of life for people ...

Homemade Laundry Detergents, Chanae Weller, Lindsey Shirley, Carolyn Washburn

All Current Publications

This publication provides recipes and instruction for making your own laundry detergents.

Evaluation Of The Usu Retirement And Savings Seminar, Diana Burk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Consumers need to acquire financial knowledge and confidence in order to take effectual actions to accumulate adequate retirement wealth and improve their overall financial well-being. Thus, quality financial education programs are needed to empower consumers to achieve these goals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Utah State University (USU) Retirement and Savings Seminar as measured by participant satisfaction and participants‘ financial knowledge, financial confidence, and financial behavior change compared to a similar group of non-participants. The program evaluation was guided by a logic model developed for the seminar.

Data for this study were collected ...

Measuring The Differences In Spatial Ability Between A Face-To-Face And A Synchronous Distance Education Undergraduate Engineering Graphics Course, Scott D. Greenhalgh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Distance education is growing at colleges and universities throughout the United States. Engineering graphics laboratory courses are unique in their focus on skills and design with an emphasis on a hands-on approach when compared to many subjects that focus on mastering information. Most studies in the literature focus on how distance learning has impacted traditionally lecture-based curricular approach and not on classrooms that are traditionally laboratory based as would be typically found in many engineering graphics courses. This study measured and compared spatial ability as it is an essential component to engineering graphics, and has a highly correlated measure of ...

Latency As A Dependent Variable In Trial-Based Functional Analysis, Elizabeth Dayton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Problem behavior can interfere with teaching and learning. Developing interventions for problem behavior may be more efficient when the function of problem behavior is known. A variety of functional analysis (FA) methods have been developed to provide information on the variables maintaining problem behavior. Unfortunately most of the current adaptations of the FA are not always feasible for classroom teachers, or suited to a typical school day. The trial-based FA is an adaptation that increases the accessibility of FA in educational settings, but typically relies on occurrence measures. The use of latency as a measure may improve the sensitivity of ...

An Investigation Of The Doctoral Dissertation Literature Review: From The Materials We Use To Prepare Students, To The Materials That Students Prepare, Melynda H. Fitt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Practically speaking, a well-conducted review of literature is central to a scholar’s ability to pose pertinent and timely questions within their field. As part of the culminating written assessment of a Ph.D. candidate, the dissertation literature review provides a unique vantage point to explore future scholars’ preparation. In spite of its central role within the research process, research about how future scholars are taught the doctoral competencies necessary to conduct a review of the literature for the dissertation or how the dissertation literature reviews are assessed is limited.

In two separate studies, this research uses the Boote and ...

The Effects Of Early Identification And Intervention On Language Outcomes Of Children Born With Hearing Loss, Catherine A. Callow-Heusser

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study adds to the existing body of research by (a) including a comprehensive analysis of published reviews and primary studies investigating the effects of early identification of hearing loss and intervention on language outcomes; and (b) using advanced statistical techniques to further examine existing data on nearly 5,200 children with hearing loss.

Analysis of reviews of primary studies showed these reviews exhibited severe sampling bias, lacked systematic methods for analyzing studies, and did not include a common metric for comparing results across studies nor a mechanism for analyzing how findings from primary studies covaried with other important factors ...

Sewing Technique: Centered Zipper, Sarah Geer, Jen Giddens, Chanae Weller, Lindsey Shirley

All Current Publications

This is a how-to publication on the techniques used to install centered zippers.

Development, Implementation, And Evaluation Of A Social Skills Training Intervention In A Rural Special-School Setting For Students With Mild/Moderate Disabilities, Sheree Duncan

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

Given the critical degree to which a person’s level of social competence influences one’s academic, mental, social, and interpersonal success, it is imperative that schools facilitate the learning of social skills. The purpose of this study was to design, implement and evaluate a social skills training intervention for students with mild disabilities (and behaviors that adversely affect their participation in a general curriculum or resource settings) in a rural special school setting. A review of literature guided the design and evaluation of the intervention. According to analysis of data on student behavior, the social skills training intervention did ...

Culture, Timothy B. Smith, Melanie M. Domenech Rodríguez, Guillermo Bernal

Psychology Faculty Publications

This article summarizes the definitions, means, and research of adapting psychotherapy to clients' cultural backgrounds. We begin by reviewing the prevailing definitions of cultural adaptation and providing a clinical example. We present an original meta-analysis of 65 experimental and quasi-experimental studies involving 8,620 participants. The omnibus effect size of d = .46 indicates that treatments specifically adapted for clients of color were moderately more effective with that clientele than traditional treatments. The most effective treatments tended to be those with greater numbers of cultural adaptations. Mental health services targeted to a specific cultural group were several times more effective than ...

Revising Our Curriculum/ Empowering Students: Teachers’ Preparation And Perceptions About Bilingual Writing, Maria Luisa Spicer-Escalante

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

While emphasis on writing instruction has been a main concern in teaching Spanish to bilingual students in the U. S., it is an area in which very few theoretical advances have been made; in Mexico’s case the situation is even more challenging. Therefore, based on classroom observations, and individual interviews with both teachers and students, and on the collection of class syllabi, this paper seeks to describe the current state of affairs regarding Spanish and English writing instruction for bilingual students in both countries. The main objectives are: 1) the analysis and comparison of the diverse teaching methodologies that ...

Oxygen Absorbers, Carolyn Washburn

All Current Publications

This publication defines oxygen absorbers and provides information on the different types and advantages of absorbers.

Paraprofessionals-To-Teacher: Toward Better Practice In Teacher Certification Programs, Laura S. Foley Edd

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

The retention of paraprofessionals in university teacher certification programs is crucial to solving teacher shortages. This two-year study assessed teacher motivation among 25 preservice teachers.

Net Operating Losses, Philip E. Harris

Rural Tax Education

Weather, disease and variable prices for inputs and commodities cause farmer’s income to fluctuate from one year to the next. Farmers can minimize their income tax liability by managing the timing of their income and deductions to keep their taxable income level. In some cases, the leveling technique is not enough to avoid a spike in taxable income or a dip that causes taxable income to go below zero. The tax effect of the spikes can be minimized with income averaging rules. The tax effect of the dips below zero can be managed with the net operating loss (NOL ...

Alternative Minimum Tax, Philip E. Harris

Rural Tax Education

Congress imposes the alternative minimum tax (AMT) on taxpayers to prevent them from combining several tax exclusions, deductions and credits to pay very little or no federal income tax even though they have significant income. When it was first enacted in 1969, the AMT affected only a few, very high-income taxpayers. Since it was first imposed, changes to the regular tax rules cause many more taxpayers to pay the AMT. This fact sheet gives a basic explanation of the AMT, some examples of situations that cause taxpayers to pay it, and some planning techniques to minimize the impact of the ...

Creating And Evaluating Teacher Training Modules In Applied Behavior Analysis, Summer Lynn Navarrete

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

The use of applied behavior analysis (ABA) in the treatment of young children with autism has been shown to be effective in increasing their developmental trajectory. Many teachers, however, are unfamiliar with these teaching techniques. In training individuals to implement ABA interventions, didactic training should be paired with activities such as supervised practice and immediate feedback. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness in the use of computerized training modules to teach specific information related to implement ABA programming with children with disabilities.

Guided Reading And Needs-Based Instruction: A Comparison Study, Brooke Marie Henriksen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

Small group instruction is an important part of elementary literacy programs. Methods for forming small groups have often centered on ability level. However, grouping students by ability can have negative effects on students most at risk for failure. It was proposed that a method for forming small groups based on skill or strategy needs rather than ability level may have positive effects on student learning. During this study reading growth data in one first grade teacher’s class was compared from 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years in which leveled ability groups was used to the 2010-11 school year when the ...

Proposal Project To Improve Greeting Skills Of An Adult With Disabilities Using Social Stories, Jamie Dawn Palmer-Ormsby

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

Mike is a 22 year-old adult with CHARGE Syndrome and autism spectrum conditions. Mike often struggles to greet and interact appropriately when people come to visit him and his family at his house. The purpose of this project was to help Mike improve his greeting and overall social skills. One event that seems to provoke problem behavior in people with autism is sudden unannounced schedule changes. Advanced warning of schedule changes have been used to prepare people with disabilities similar to Mike’s to teach social and behavioral skills. Social stories have also been used as an intervention to give ...

Incorporating Music, Literature, And Culture In Communities Of Second Language Learners, Michael Rhinehart

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

This portfolio is a collection of papers that relate to the field of second language teaching. The papers include the author’s teaching philosophy, three artifacts, and an annotated bibliography. The subjects covered include: the use of literature to teach a second language, the importance of having a community of learners in the classroom, and the incorporation of culture into the second language classroom. The author also includes an annotated bibliography of articles and books that shaped his teaching philosophy.

Read Naturall: Effect On Reading Fluency, Lola L. Stansfield

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

The current investigation explored the effects of the Read Naturally® program on the reading fluency of students with disabilities in an elementary school setting. Participants were eight students with disabilities grades three through six who were screened and found ready to receive a fluency intervention. Reading fluency pre-post measures were collected. Weekly progress monitoring was carried out and data was compared to national norms as described by the 2005 Hasbrouck-Tindal Table of Oral Reading Fluency Norms. All three female participants showed a downward trend in their progress monitoring data. In contrast, all male participants showed an upward trend. All except ...

Reflective Redo Within A Three-Dimensional Simulation And Its Influence On Student Metacognition, Reflection, And Learning, Jon M. Scoresby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects on a student’s metacognition, reflection, and learning in a specifically designed educational simulation supported by unique technology. The simulation allows players’ actions to be recorded for the purpose of review to identify mistakes. The simulation also allows students to start at and redo actions while fixing previous mistakes instead of starting over at the beginning of a new scenario. When starting at the mistake or point of failure, as identified by a facilitator, during the redo of the initial saved scenario, students reflect on the actions performed during the ...

A Functional Assessment Of The Use Of Virtual Simulations To Train Distance Preservice Special Education Teachers To Conduct Individualized Education Program Team Meetings, Lee Landrum Mason

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The individualized education program (IEP) is a critical component of providing special education services to children with disabilities, outlining the services and modifications that will be provided to help them make progress towards the general curriculum. While simulations have been shown to be an effective means of teaching special education policies and procedures, this can be challenging when working with distance students. The purpose of this study was to identify and examine how virtual simulations function to train preservice teachers learning to conduct IEP team meetings.

Seven preservice special education teachers enrolled in a mild/moderate distance degree and licensure ...

Social Factors That Influence Religious Motivation Of College-Age Lds Young Adults To Read Religious Texts: A Qualitative Study, Dustin R. West

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated the religious motivation of college-age LDS young single adults. In particular, this study sought to answer the following question: “What are the contexts and social factors that influence religious motivation of collegeage LDS young adults to study religious texts?” To examine this question, a phenomenological approach was used to explore what participants had in common with feeling motivated to read religious texts. The primary sources of data came from one-on-one interviews that describe the personal experiences and perspectives of 10 college-age LDS young single adults. Sociocultural theory guided the analysis and interpretation of data and findings ...

Recreation Patterns And Decision Drivers For Hispanics/Latinos In Cache Valley, Utah, Jodie J. Madsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the Hispanic/Latino population grows in the United States, increased attention is being given to how and why Hispanic/Latino recreation differs from Anglo recreation. Concerns over equal access to natural resources and recreation have led researchers to question the causes for the differences in recreation choices. The discussion has largely focused on the restrictive effects of ethnicity and the marginal position of minorities in society creating recreation patterns in which minorities are practically nonexistent in wildland recreation areas. Stepping away from the negative valuation about dissimilarities in Hispanic/Latino versus Anglo recreation, this study of Hispanics/Latinos in ...