Education Commons^™

Analyzing Latent State-Trait And Multiple-Indicator Latent Growth Curve Models As Multilevel Structural Equation Models, Christian Geiser, Jacob Bishop, Ginger Lockhart, Saul Shiffman, Jerry L. Grenard

Psychology Faculty Publications

Latent state-trait (LST) and latent growth curve (LGC) models are frequently used in the analysis of longitudinal data. Although it is well-known that standard single-indicator LGC models can be analyzed within either the structural equation modeling (SEM) or multilevel (ML; hierarchical linear modeling) frameworks, few researchers realize that LST and multivariate LGC models, which use multiple indicators at each time point, can also be specified as ML models. In the present paper, we demonstrate that using the ML-SEM rather than the SL-SEM framework to estimate the parameters of these models can be practical when the study involves (1) a large …

Protecting Youth From Health Risk Behaviors, Alina Baltazar, Kathryn Conopio, Jacqueline Moreno, Larry Ulery, Gary L. Hopkins

Faculty Publications

Between the ages of 13 and 25, youth go through major psychosocial changes—forming their own identity, becoming independent of their parents, establishing intimate friendships and relationships, struggling with academic goals, and eventually starting a career and even a family. During this time, they can experience difficulties adjusting to these changes and the stresses that ac - company them, and as a result, make behavioral choices that are dangerous and even life destroying. To avoid destructive choices, young people need support from significant others throughout this stage of their lives. What can educators, parents, and church and community leaders do to …

The Influence Of Incomer Status: The Role Of Rural Background, Knowledge Of Mental Health Services, Stigma, And Cultural Beliefs On Help-Seeking Attitudes, Sarah E. Herzberg

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of incomer status, rural background, knowledge and familiarity with mental health services, rural cultural beliefs about mental health and perceived stigma on help-seeking attitudes in a rural Southwest Iowa area. Participants were 106 rural residents over the age of 18 recruited from a rural health clinic. A multiple regression analysis was performed resulting in rural cultural beliefs about mental health being the only statistically significant predictor of help-seeking in the model. Individuals who indicated identifying with rural cultural beliefs were less likely to report positive help-seeking attitudes. Implications of the …

Peer Victimization, Social Support, And Internalizing Symptoms: The Role Of Organized Out-Of-School Activity Participation, Scott R. Frohn

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Peer victimization is associated with and predictive of internalizing symptoms, such as loneliness and depression. Social support has been found to moderate the relationship between victimization and internalizing symptoms, with increased levels of support related to lower levels of internalizing symptoms for victims of peer abuse. The current study examined if organized out-of-school activity participation was associated with lower levels of internalizing symptoms for adolescents in general and for those victimized by peers. Possible gender differences were also explored. Results indicated that participating in a broader range of activities (breadth of participation) was generally associated with higher levels of internalizing …

Perceptions Of Student-Teacher Relationships And Ged Completion: A Correlational Study, Melissa Hairston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study took an in depth look at student-teacher relationships as one institutional barrier affecting GED completion among adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of student-instructor relationships, specifically Instructor Connectedness and Instructor Anxiety, and its effects on adults seeking GED completion. Data from approximately 120 students who attended classes for at least 20 hours at the Regional Learning Center were surveyed using the Student-Instructor Relationship Survey in Portsmouth, Virginia. A quantitative design utilizing correlational statistics to produce Pearson's r was used to determine if correlations existed among Instructor Connectedness and Instructor Anxiety with the following …

Instructor Interaction As It Relates To Facilitation Of Spiritual Development Within An Evangelical Institution: A Case Study, Joseph Butler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the impact of instructor interaction on the facilitation of spiritual development in an online environment for undergraduate non-religion majors attending a distinctively evangelical university. The qualitative case study shadows and evaluates three sections of a required introductory religion course. Over the period of one academic term, the following online interactions were observed in order to gauge potential facilitation of spiritual development: announcements, emails, forums, assignment feedback, and course content. An interview was conducted with the instructor following the course to understand how they engaged the course and their perspective in …

Program Evaluation Of Behavior Management Training For Preschool Teachers: Child Outcomes, Erika Nicole Christianson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Due to the immense challenges faced by young children who exhibit emotion regulation problems, prevention programs have been designed to train teachers on strategies useful for improving classroom behavior. The current study examines the effects of a prevention program implemented in a blended Head Start/daycare setting and evaluates the outcomes of the training on children’s cognitive/preliteracy skills, selfregulation, and social competence in the fall and spring following teacher training. The intervention group (Western Kentucky University Child Care Center) and control group (Bryant Way Child Care Center) were part of a blended Head Start/child care preschool program. Children’s self-regulation, social competence, …

An Investigation Of Practices And Tools That Enabled Technology-Mediated Caring In An Online High School, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

The ethic of care has been an important part of the dialogue related to learning in traditional K-12 learning environments particularly because emotional relationships and caring pedagogies have been shown to be particularly important for adolescent learners. However, as online learning has become increasingly popular, there are concerns about the perceived impersonal nature of the online medium, and how this might particularly affect adolescent learners. The purpose of this study was to examine technology choices when experiencing caring interactions in the online schooling context of Mountain Heights Academy (formerly Open High School of Utah). The caring experience of two teacher …

Brain-Compatible Study Strategies, Lori Desautels

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Driving my 15-year-old daughter home from cross country, I asked her where she learned to study. She replied, "Mom, I have never been taught how to study, we just do it because teachers have way too much to teach! They assume we know, and Cornell Notes are their idea of teaching us how to study!" I thought about this conversation and began to create a template that can hopefully assist students to organize, plan and create capacity in their working memories to learn content for the long term.

Below is a brief, simply-stated template on study skills for fifth grade …

Testing The Validity Of Gre Scores On Predicting Graduate Performance For Engineering Students, Wei Wang

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE), a set of standardized tests designed to determine the scholastic potential of graduate students, is widely used in graduate admissions in the United States. How GRE can predict graduate students’ performance has crucial importance both for universities and for students. Numerous of research studies have examined the validity of GRE scores in predicting graduate success, however, some limitations and gaps still existed in previous studies. This study targeted a specific discipline of engineering, and investigated the validity of GRE scores in predicting graduate performance, as measured by graduate GPA (GGPA) for engineering students. The differences …

Lutheran Adolescent Spiritual Development: The Effect Of School Attendance On Spiritual Transformation Inventory Test Scores, Michael Weider

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Lutheran schools have been established to nurture and disciple children into the Christian faith. However, empirical evidence is lacking that Lutheran schools are accomplishing this goal. The purpose of this Causal comparative and Correlational study was to determine whether attendance at Lutheran or Public schools made a statistically significant difference on Spiritual Transformation Inventory 2.0 test scores among Lutheran adolescents. Participants (N=129) took the Spiritual Transformation Inventory 2.0 (STI) test which measures spiritual development from an attachment to God perspective. Data was analyzed using a t-test to examine between group differences as well as Spearman's rho to examine the relationship …

Examining The Relationships Between Secondary General Education Teachers' Attitudes Toward Inclusion, Professional Development, And Support From Special Education Personnel, Lynn Wogamon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This correlational research study examined the relationships between secondary general education teachers' attitudes toward inclusion, hours of professional development in topics related to special education and hours of support from special education personnel addressing the needs of students with disabilities received weekly. The research also investigated whether this information could be used to predict secondary general education teachers' attitudes towards inclusion. General education teachers in six South Carolina high schools completed the Scale of Teacher Attitudes Toward Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC) and a demographic survey that asked about hours of professional development in special education topics and hours of support received …

Teaching Behaviour And Well-Being In Students : Development And Concurrent Validity Of An Instrument To Measure Student-Reported Teaching Behaviour., Patrick Possel, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Jill L. Adelson, Annie C. Bjerg, Don T. Wooldridge, Stephanie Winkeljohn Black

Faculty Scholarship

Teaching behavior has important implications for students’ emotional well-being. Multiple models suggest students’ perceptions of teaching behaviors are more critical than other measures for predicting well-being, yet student-report instruments that measure concrete and specific teaching behavior are limited. The purpose of the present studies is to develop an instrument to assess students’ perceptions of concrete and specific teaching behavior and to test which teaching behavior is associated students’ well-being. Construct validity and internal consistency for the 37-item Teaching Behavior Questionnaire (TBQ-S), composed of instructional, negative teaching, socioemotional, and organizational behavior were examined using data from two independent samples (Study 1: …

Enhancing The Academic And Social Learning Of Irish Undergraduates Through Emotional And Social Skills Development., Aiden Carthy, Celesta Mccann, Sinead Mcgilloway, Colm Mcguinness

Articles

This paper considers the potential merits of emotional competency coaching for undergraduate students. We outline the findings from our previous work which showed, for example, that a sample of First Year undergraduate students failed to engage with coaching primarily because it was not a mandatory aspect of the curricula. An analysis of the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) - which details the specific learning outcomes that must be achieved by all Irish academic syllabi found that this framework makes scant reference to the development of social and emotional skills. Therefore, a revised working model of the NFQ is proposed, which …

Walking The Walk: An Educator's Perspective From All Views, Lori Desautels

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

As an education professor, I recently decided it was time to walk the walk of my graduate and undergraduate students. I was ready to experience what happens when the educational neuroscience and the social and emotional disciplines meet head-on with real-life challenges and opportunities. So, while continuing with my courses at the University, I became a fifth grade co-teacher, joining an incredible group of educators from Washington Township, a large public school district in Indianapolis.

Self-Efficacy For Metalinguistic Control And Its Relationship To Writing Quality, Michael S. Dempsey

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Currently influential models of writing processes, such as Flower and Hayes (1980) and Hayes (1996) do not attend explicitly to metalinguistics—writers’ ability to monitor and control linguistic skills. Dimensions of metalinguistic ability—metaphonology, metasyntax, metasemantics, metapragmatics, and metatext—arguably are central to the writing process and to writers’ success as they compose. The purpose of this study was to discover if a relationship existed between metalinguistic self-efficacy and (1) ratings on essays written by participants and (2) participants’ self-reported average grade on college papers. Essays were rated using two rubrics, one analytic and the other holistic, which were developed from metalinguistic constructs. …

Academic Self-Efficacy, Coping, And Academic Performance In College, Mehjabeen Khan

Student Published Works

This study serves as a pilot study for a possible future study including the same variables. The purpose of the pilot study was to find a relationship in the college academic setting between academic self-efficacy, stress coping skills, and academic performance. Sixty-six undergraduate students, 17 male and 49 female, from a university in northwestern United States participated in the study. Stress was measured using the COPE Inventory (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989). Self-efficacy was measured using the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (Chemers, Hu, & Garcia, 2001). Academic performance was measured using the participants’ college GPA. Academic Self-Efficacy and the Planning subscale …

Do Interactions Between Motor And Visual Codes Facilitate Visuospatial Memory?: The Influence Of Action On Memory Performance: When Does It Help You, When Does It Hurt You, Michael Dodd

DBER Speaker Series

One of the hallmarks of human cognition is that we have a limited number of cognitive resources available and successful performance in the environment requires an appropriate number of these resources to be directed towards one's primary task. As such, it is unsurprising that when attention is divided between two tasks simultaneously, performance on each task suffers relative to if each task was done in isolation. At the same time, however, it has also been shown that when individuals process information in multiple ways (e.g. across more than one modality) that performance is enhanced. In the present talk I will …

The World Needs All Kinds Of Minds: Ted Talk Annotated Resource List, Brooke Cooper

Undergraduate Research Award

Undergraduate research award given by WKU Libraries and University Experience, Library Skills, for best annotated resource, December 3, 2013

Conference On The Future Of School Psychology, Susan C. Davies, Brooke Gosser

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

The University of Dayton School Psychology Program recently participated in the 2012 Conference on the Future of School Psychology. This conference provided students and faculty at The University of Dayton the opportunity to participate in a national dialogue on the future of our field. This multi-site conference was jointly sponsored by the National Association of School Psychologists, Division 16 of the American Psychological Association, the Society for the Study of School Psychology, the Council of Directors of School Psychology Programs, Trainers of School Psychologists, the American Academy of School Psychology, the American Board of School Psychology, and the International School …

From The Inside Looking Out: Andragogically Buidling A Doctor Of Andragogy Program, John A. Henschke Edd, Susan K. Isenberg Phd, Kathy Petroff

IACE Hall of Fame Repository

Developing and Implementing a Doctor of Andragogy Program andragogically provides an opportunity to 'think outside the box.' It requires congruency between talking and action, and active involvement of the learners. With many successes in the first two years, a concern emerged over the lack of interest and attendance in the initiative. Using andragogy to investigate the concern, opportunities emerged for improvement.

Building Blocks For The Adult Learning Experience, John A. Henschke Edd

IACE Hall of Fame Repository

The author is seeking to improve the process of building and conducting active adult learning experiences by considering and implementing the various elements that need to be included. After reflecting on his 22 years of experience in the adult education field and immersing himself in the literature of adult education, he concluded that there were five major elements (which he called building blocks) for conducting and engaging participants in an Adult Learning Experience, which are: beliefs and notions about adult learners; perceptions concerning qualities of effective teachers; phases and sequences of the learning process; teaching tips and learning techniques; and, …

From History To Practice: How Trust, Empathy, Reciprocity And Sensitivity In Relationships Create The Foundation Of Learning, John A. Henschke Edd

IACE Hall of Fame Repository

Focus of this study is on the extent of trust, empathy, and reciprocity in relationships combine to create a solid foundation of adult learning. Sensitivity may enhance learning, but insensitivity may destroy it.

The Four Forces Behind Knowles' Andragogy, John A. Henschke Edd

IACE Hall of Fame Repository

The career of "the father of adult education" in the U.S., Malcolm S. Knowles, was a phenomenon in itself. Although Knowles is the most referenced adult educator of his time (Sopher, 2003a), he has, at times, also been the most misunderstood adult educator in the U.S. Knowles' (1989b) autobiography provided some in sights into his writing styles, his highly successful career, and his theory of adult education -- the introduction of "andragogy" in the U.S. -- nor did it provide context for a deeper understanding of the times, what influenced his thinking and his contribution major forces that influenced Knowles, …

What Would My Avatar Do? Gaming, Pathology, And Risky Decision Making, Kira Bailey, Robert West, Judson Kuffel

Faculty Publications

Recent work has revealed a relationship between pathological video game use and increased impulsivity among children and adolescents. A few studies have also demonstrated increased risk-taking outside of the video game environment following game play, but this work has largely focused on one genre of video games (i.e., racing). Motivated by these findings, the aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between pathological and non-pathological video game use, impulsivity, and risky decision making. The current study also investigated the relationship between experience with two of the most popular genres of video games [i.e., first-person shooter (FPS) and …

Temporal Contingency, C. R. Gallistel, Andrew R. Craig, Timothy A. Shahan

Psychology Faculty Publications

Contingency, and more particularly temporal contingency, has often figured in thinking about the nature of learning. However, it has never been formally defined in such a way as to make it a measure that can be applied to most animal learning protocols. We use elementary information theory to define contingency in such a way as to make it a measurable property of almost any conditioning protocol. We discuss how making it a measurable construct enables the exploration of the role of different contingencies in the acquisition and performance of classically and operantly conditioned behavior.

A Longitudinal Study Investigating The Effects Of The Pbl Approach In Secondary Mathematics Education, Yooyeun Hwang

Faculty Presentations

This longitudinal study investigated the effect of Project Based Learning (PBL) on secondary-mathematics students in order to determine both academic-skill development and motivational factors associated with learning. Results showed that secondary students not only benefited from PBL in learning mathematics content, but exhibited improved self-efficacy and self-regulation in learning mathematics.

Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For The Treatment Of Posttraumatic Stress Among Adolescents, Michelle R. Woidneck, Kate L. Morrison, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

The number of individuals who meet diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a small percentage of those exposed to trauma; many youth who do not meet criteria for PTSD continue to experience problematic posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptomology. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has shown preliminary effectiveness in the treatment of adult PTSD, but its effectiveness in treating PTS in youth is unknown. Using a multiple-baseline design, this study investigated the effectiveness of 10-weeks of ACT to treat PTS in youth. Four adolescents from a community sample and three adolescents from a residential sample participated. The Clinician Administered PTSD …

Effects Of Single-Gender Education On The Reading Achievement Of Third Through Fifth Grade Boys, Michael Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

It is said repeatedly, boys can't read. However, the statement should be boys can read they just don't. Understanding there is a need for action is the first step educators must take in helping boys emerge as confident and successful readers. Single-gender classrooms can be successful tools when seeking new ways in which to engage boys in reading. This is a step towards creating atmospheres where boys are encouraged to read and where reading is tailored to their interests. The purpose of this causal comparative study was to examine the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) reading achievement scores of third …

Advance Organizers In Secondary Special Education Resource Classrooms: Effects On Student Engagement Behaviors, Lisa King

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Student engagement and appropriate behaviors are essential for effective instruction in secondary special education classrooms. Research suggests that proactive engagement strategies and interventions can have a greater effect on overall classroom behaviors than negative consequences. A single case experiment measured the effects of expository advance organizers on academically engaged behavior, respectful behavior, and disruptive behavior in the special education self-contained resource classroom. The single-case A-B-A-B design for this study evaluates these components of student engagement during academic instruction over a four-week period. Three secondary special education small-group resource Language Arts classes from a Northeast Georgia high school comprised the subject …