Education Commons^™

History Lessons From Esther: The Leopold Von Ranke Lecture Delivered At The Phi Alpha Theta Induction Ceremony, Kent R. Olney

Scholarship – Academic Affairs Office

The German historian, Leopold Von Ranke, noted the following: “Every epoch is immediate to God, and its value is not based on what emerges from it, but on its very existence.” My assignment was to respond to Von Ranke’s thoughts. I have done so by drawing on four observations made from the OT book of Esther. These observations pertain to truth, years, obscurity, and heroes; all of them matter to God and all of them should matter to the historian. In a sense, these four elements are the raw materials, or building blocks, of history in any generation. I conclude …

2023: The President's Dinner For Faculty And Staff, Olivet Nazarene University

President's Dinner Programs

Tammy and I welcome work colleagues and their spouses to this 73rd President’s Dinner! That’s a long time. Our professional forefathers and mothers attended the original Dinner in the late 1940s, having just been introduced to the Polaroid camera and the 33 rpm vinyl record. Today, we awe over Artificial Intelligence. My, how things have changed. What remains constant, however, is a called, competent, caring workforce for this University community! Not all universities are communities — of sufficient unity around common belief and practice. Our theme tonight is that we are “A Sent and Scented People” — sent by God …

Commencement Program 2023, Olivet Nazarene University

Commencement Programs

The 110th annual commencement program of Olivet Nazarene College, Bourbonnais, IL, May 5 & 6, 2023.

2022: The President's Dinner For Faculty And Staff, Olivet Nazarene University

President's Dinner Programs

Tammy and I welcome you to this 72nd President’s Dinner! That’s a long tradition. Just think of how many professional forefathers and mothers held the position you now occupy. Think of their steadfast dedication to our great cause, their grit during challenge, their timely talent consecrated to God through this place and for these people. Thank you for carrying the torch forward, for our time. Tonight we enjoy the theme, “A Fruitful Community.” The tense and sour American culture makes this Olivet community, by contrast, quite life-giving! Yet imagine an even deeper joy as we become an especially fruitful community. …

A Curriculum Designed To Teach Elementary-Age Children In Diverse Settings The Kingdom Concept Of Loving One's Neighbor, Abigail J. Flood

Honors Program Projects

United States Census data from 2020 show that the country is becoming increasingly diverse and urbanized. Other research shows children are aware of race from an early age and can pick up biases and stereotypes by watching the adults around them. However, there are no children’s ministry curricula that specifically address how children should navigate differences from a biblical perspective. To fill this gap, a children’s ministry curriculum was written to model how children can love their neighbors like Jesus did, especially those who look different from themselves. The curriculum is comprised of an introduction for the ministry leader, five …

Student-Athletes’ Religious Beliefs, Religious Behaviors, And Religious Identity At A Christian University, Daniel M. Allen, Sean Strehlow, Audrey M. Chisum, Kevin D. Dougherty, Perry L. Glazner, Sarah A. Schnitker

Faculty Scholarship – Sociology

Athletics occupies an ambiguous place within the greater university mission, particularly at religious institutions. Intercollegiate sports programs may purport to reinforce the university’s aim to develop the whole person, but the nature of athletics can compromise student-athlete religiosity and well-being. Little research has focused on the religiosity of student-athletes and the potential implications for religious institutions. Our analysis features data from 884 senior students at a private, religiously affiliated, NCAA Division I university. Comparing student-athletes to non-athletes, we found that student-athletes scored higher than non-athletes on religious beliefs, religious behaviors, and sense of religious identity.

2021: The President's Dinner For Faculty And Staff, Olivet Nazarene University

President's Dinner Programs

GOOD EVENING, COLLEAGUES, SPOUSES AND FRIENDS! Tammy and I welcome you to the 71st Annual President’s Dinner, begun in 1950 by ONU President Harold Reed.

Few traditions last so long! Our forefathers and mothers drove to their version of this gathering listening to Elvis in the car, then sped home to watch Leave It to Beaver on black-and-white TVs.

More remarkable, few organizations last so long as Olivet. Since the 1950s, nearly 9 of 10 Fortune 500 companies are … gone! But this month, we welcome students for a 114th consecutive year. Not even the most severe challenges have interrupted …

Essential Or Optional? Effects Of Creative Writing On Expository Skills And Attitude In Middle School Students, Nicole Samuelson

Honors Program Projects

Creative writing's effectiveness has not been clearly established through research, especially in regards to expository writing skills. However, other benefits of creative writing have been shown such as emotional benefits and general writing improvement. This study was conducted with two groups of middle school students. One group received ten creative writing interventions over a month and the other group continued with normal instruction. The goal was to discover if these interventions would improve students' expository writing skills as well as their attitude towards and confidence in writing. Surprisingly, while the experimental group did not improve significantly in either area, the …

Embodying Integration: A Sociological Study Of Graduate Student Religiosity In Christian Higher Education, Daniel Allen

Faculty Scholarship – Sociology

Social science research has historically posited an inverse relationship between higher education levels and spirituality, but recent research has nuanced this assumption. Faith formation is a celebrated part of Christian higher education in particular, and graduate programs have grown among Protestant Christian institutions in recent years. However, little research addresses graduate student perceptions of the spiritual quality of their experience. This study asks what program-level features correlate with a high-quality spiritual experience for graduate students studying in a Protestant Christian context. Using data collected between 2014-2020 from 3,274 graduate students at a private, not-for-profit Christian university, we find that students …

The Impact Of Sports Nutrition Knowledge On The Physical Effects Of Low Energy Availability In Female Cross Country Runners., Abby Olcott, Catherine Anstrom

Student Scholarship – Family and Consumer Science

Learning Outcome

To understand the impact sports nutrition knowledge has on the risk for developing LEA in Female Cross Country Runners.

Background

The International Olympic Committee introduced the concept of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (RED-S) to accurately encompass the condition previously known as the Female Athlete Triad. LEA is the root cause of RED-S. (Mountjoy et al., 2014). The purpose of this study was to measure sports nutrition knowledge and the impact knowledge level has on the susceptibility to develop LEA in female cross country runners.

Methods

A quantitative design was used. Participants included the women’s cross country team …

2019: The President’S Dinner For Faculty And Staff, Olivet Nazarene University

President's Dinner Programs

The President’s Dinner for Faculty and Staff, which was established in the fall of 1950 by ONU President Harold Reed, has become a hallmark of the University annual calendar. Our time together this evening marks the official beginning of the new academic year and celebrates the shared life of the Olivet family. We are particularly pleased to welcome some new members of the faculty and staff and to recognize the varied achievements of many of our colleagues. Please take time to carefully review the dinner program, which highlights a number of those service and professional accomplishments. We hope you have …

The Use Of Diverse Young Adult Literature In High School Classrooms, Lauren Mohler

Student Scholarship – English

This departmental honors project outlined research that has been completed on the benefits of incorporating young adult literature in the secondary English Language Arts classroom and discussed the benefits of using young adult literature as a means of introducing students to various aspects of diversity. While young adult literature continues to grow in popularity among teen readers, there are many negative connotations associated with texts falling under this label and their merit within the classroom. Similarly, classroom dynamics are becoming more diverse each year through the number of students representing different races, ethnicities, ability levels, interests, socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, and …

Examining The Connections Between Target Community Exposure And Language-Related Motivations In University Spanish Students, Allison N. Beecher

Honors Program Projects

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2018: The President’S Dinner For Faculty And Staff, Olivet Nazarene University

President's Dinner Programs

The President’s Dinner for Faculty and Staff, which was established in the fall of 1950 by ONU President Harold Reed, has become a hallmark of the University annual calendar. Our time together this evening marks the official beginning of the new academic year and celebrates the shared life of the Olivet family.

We are particularly pleased to welcome some new members of the faculty and staff and to recognize the varied accomplishments of many of our colleagues. Please take time to carefully review the dinner program, which highlights a number of those service and professional accomplishments.

We hope you have …

The Relationship Between Musicianship, Academic Achievement, Academic Motivation, And Self-Esteem, Ellie Krumsieg

Honors Program Projects

Background

Past research suggests that students involved in music are intrinsically motivated. For example, Diaz (2010) showed that undergraduate musicians possessed high levels of academic intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is a predictor of high academic achievement as well. Additionally, past research indicates that music education is positively correlated with academic achievement and self-esteem. This study continues to investigate the relationships between musicianship and academic motivation, academic achievement, and self-esteem, but does so using a post-secondary sample and an expanded classification system for musicianship.

Methods and Procedures

A survey link was emailed to all undergraduate students at a small, Christian university …

Ranking Matthiessen State Park Trails By Hazard Rather Than Difficulty, Levi S. Gambill, Danielle N. Conrad, Joshua A. Woodard, Max Reams

Student Scholarship – Geology

Matthiessen State Park offers differing perspectives of the geology of the area, from the stunning views of bluffs and floodplain of the Vermilion River to the deep, winding canyons of the park’s Dells Area. A numerical system was used to rank the severity of hazards along the various park trails similar to the work of Ross, who pioneered the ranking of trails by hazard, specifically for Starved Rock State Park. Ross showed that ranking trails by hazard may be more useful for visitors than simply ranking trails by degree of difficulty. Ranking of trails for Matthiessen State Park proved somewhat …

Olivet Nazarene University Academic Advising Assessment: Phase One, Sue Rattin

Scholarship – Academic Affairs Office

Retaining college students has emerged as a top priority for colleges and university administrators; therefore, post-secondary institutions have invested heavily in student success initiatives. Unfortunately colleges and universities fail to view academic advising as key to student success. The comprehensive academic advising assessment at ONU identified key stakeholders and collected information related to the nature and scope of advising sessions, evaluations of academic advisors and student advisor satisfaction with advising activities. Results from the academic advising assessment suggested that Olivet administrators should develop a comprehensive advising program consistent with the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) …

2017: The President’S Dinner For Faculty And Staff, Olivet Nazarene University

President's Dinner Programs

One of the long-standing traditions at Olivet is the annual President’s Dinner for Faculty and Staff. It is a gathering of the family and an occasion to formally mark the beginning of a new academic year. This evening also underscores the breadth and depth of the Olivet faculty and staff. Some are here for the first time while others have been part of the University for decades. We have different gifts, experiences and expertise, but we are united by our mission to provide an “Education with a Christian Purpose.”

I encourage you to take a few moments to review the …

The Implications Of Action Research For Literacy Instruction, Kathi Lippert, Cassie Bailey

Faculty Scholarship – Education

Action research is an ongoing, cyclical process in which the teacher has the autonomy and authority to make significant change in his or her classroom. The word research, however, may intimidate the novice researcher. It is important to remember that action research is not as formal as traditional research as it is conducted for a shorter duration, allows for more flexibility, and usually includes qualitative and quantitative data. This type of research enables the practitioner to make effective changes in literacy instruction. In action research, reflections drive inquiry, and the results of which, positive or negative, fosters insight into the …

Trending Emotional Disturbance: Strategies Through The Years, Hannah M. Rattin

Student Scholarship – Education

Teaching strategies and supports provided for students with emotional disturbance have evolved over the years. These changes are observed throughout three descriptive studies focused on specific writing strategies spanning three decades from the 1970s until the 1990s. Multiple changes are observed. For instance, terms other than the current “emotional disturbance” have been used over the years. The approach to schooling children with emotional disturbance has also shifted, from an emphasis on functional goals to focusing on academic progress. Additional changes include a more practical approach to implementing these writing strategies and an increased involvement throughout for these students. These changes …

Before The Panic Sets In: The Impact Of A Social And Emotional Learning (Sel) Course For Pre-Service Teachers, Brian Stipp

Faculty Scholarship – Education

The following dissertation describes a significant problem that impacts a small, parochial university in the Illinois: beginning teachers are not prepared to meet the social emotional learning (SEL) needs of their students. A review of literature outlining the scope of the problem—including the neurophysiological, academic, and psychological impact of cumulative environmental risk, as well as the importance and lack of training typically received by pre-service teachers (PSTs) in the provision of SEL support—comprises the first chapter. The second chapter provides a description and results of a locally administered needs assessment that evaluate the work of the researcher’s university in preparing …

Withstand Or Succumb: Christian Universities And The Implications Of Obergefell V. Hodges, Jonathan Mark Pickering

Scholarship – Academic Affairs Office

Most Christian universities support a traditional view of human sexuality. It is uncertain if they can survive with their religious identity intact, given the rapid increase in societal acceptance of same-sex marriage. The 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalizing same-sex marriage increases pressure to be more affirming. Thirty-four presidents at universities in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) participated in a survey, and twelve were interviewed to explore their perceptions regarding that pressure and potential responses. The study was framed by institutional isomorphism theory, and data were analyzed using basic qualitative research methods. The results show that coercive …

The Experiences Of University Faculty Expected To Implement Edtpa Within A Teacher Preparation Program, Lance Kilpatrick

Faculty Scholarship – Education

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to examine the experiences of university faculty expected to implement a teacher performance assessment called edTPA within a teacher preparation program. This study synthesized the experiences university faculty members have when preparing and implementing the edTPA. A deep examination of 12 university faculty members who teach in teacher preparation programs in a Midwestern state where the edTPA is required for licensure offer their experience through a questionnaire, an individual interview, and a focus group interview. The data were collected, organized, and analyzed by employing transcendental phenomenological systematic data analysis procedures positioned to …

Gender Bias In It Hiring Practices: An Ethical Analysis, Harmony L. Alford

Student Scholarship – Computer Science

With the current movement to increase the number of women in STEM-related careers, modified IT hiring practices may be considered debatably unethical. Studies cited in this work have asserted that female representation in STEM fields is integral not only to encouraging continued progression toward gender equality in the workplace but also to creating more inclusive products. In turn, some argue that when faced with reasonably comparable female and male candidates, a hiring manager should select the female candidate in order to increase the female representation in the company and provide a female perspective. However, it is simultaneously debatably unethical and …

2016: The President's Dinner For Faculty And Staff, Olivet Nazarene University

President's Dinner Programs

One of the long-standing traditions at Olivet is this annual President’s Dinner for Faculty and Staff. It is a gathering of the family and an occasion to formally mark the beginning of a new academic year. This evening also underscores the breadth and depth of the Olivet faculty and staff. Some are here for the first time while others have been part of the University for decades. We have different gifts, experiences and expertise, but we are united by our mission to provide “Education with a Christian Purpose.”

I encourage you to take a few moments to review the dinner …

2015: The President's Dinner For Faculty And Staff, Olivet Nazarene University

President's Dinner Programs

The President’s Dinner for faculty and staff is one of the great traditions of Olivet. Our time together represents a gathering of “the family” and reminds us that the work of Olivet is the work of many hands. We have the rich privilege of blending our gifts and abilities together in a network of faith and learning. We touch the next generation in very significant ways in classrooms, laboratories, residence halls, athletic fields, rehearsal rooms and through a myriad of personal conversations and contacts.

I encourage you to carefully review the dinner program booklet which provides an overview of many …

Scholar Week, James Upchurch

Scholar Week Archives (2011-2015)

ONU's Scholar Week #5.

The Impact The Amount Of High School Physical Education Has On The Physical Activity Habits Of Traditional College Freshmen, Aaron Thompson

Faculty Scholarship – Exercise and Sports Science

Many states have reduced or eliminated high school physical education classes due to budget cuts and the passage of No Child Left Behind. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the number of years of physical education students received in high school and the traditional college freshmen’s current level of physical activities. The short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and additional demographic questions were used electronically to collect cross-sectional PA data from traditional college freshmen at a private Christian liberal arts university in the Midwest. After cleaning and processing the collected data, the …

Tutorials: Resource Instruction For Distance Learners, Pam Greenlee

Faculty Scholarship – Library Science

Academic librarians, devoted to providing resources and services for learners, find both opportunity and challenge in the continuing growth of online programs in higher education. The technology tools available for online courses are also available to librarians seeking to support those courses with research and information literacy skills instruction. Researchers have delineated factors necessary for achieving defined learning outcomes with online tutorials. These factors include assignment relevance, faculty collaboration, and student interaction. A fourth issue emerges as equally critical; there must be a single iteration of the tutorial, posted in an unique online location, and subject to dynamic revision. There …

Children's/Young Adult (Ya) Author Event: Tim Green Author Visit, Roxanne M. Forgrave

Grant Reports

The Children’s/Young Adult Author Committee at Olivet Nazarene University received a $2500 Community Engagement Grant from the university. Because of this grant, the university hosted Tim Green, a former NFL football player who is now authoring books of primary interest to fourth through eighth graders. The success of this grant is difficult to measure, but in numbers, more than 3200 4^th - 8^th grade students and their teachers attended his speaking events during his two day visit. Green autographed more than 400 books for the attendees. Regarding reading motivation, area teachers have and still are reporting students, boys …