Education Commons^™

Exploring Experiential Education In The Online Learning Environment, Rhonda Sandberg

Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that experiential learning enhances learning and increases student engagement. As online education in higher education increases, incorporating experiential learning into the online experience has been occurring. For this case study, interviews with five online instructional designers and three online instructors examined answers to the questions of how online instructional designers and online instructors define, value, and design experiential learning in their online courses. Insights regarding the benefits and challenges of designing online experiential learning are discussed. Online instructional designers discussed coaching online instructors through the process of designing experiential learning for their online courses. Online instructors expressed that …

The Role Of Museums In Educational Pedagogy And Community Engagement, Katherine E. Weber

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Museums provide exceptional opportunity for experiential and social/emotional learning that often cannot be simulated elsewhere. Schools and communities, however, are not taking full advantage of what these spaces have to offer. Learning science has indicated the need for more progressive education initiatives, making stronger partnerships between museums, schools, and communities imperative. Data was collected through surveys and interviews with museum education departments and K-12 teachers in the Chicagoland area to discuss available programs, usage, outcomes, and feedback for improvement. Analysis of data reiterated the positive role museums play in creating well-rounded, critically-thinking, emotionally intelligent individuals, who are civically engaged and …

Effects Of Telesimulation On The Health Literacy Knowledge, Confidence And Application Of Nursing Students, Susan Patton

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Assessing and addressing health literacy (HL) in patients is an essential role of the nurse and a critical component of nursing student education. Yet, large gaps exist within nursing school curricula with regard to the development of HL knowledge and skills, and the confidence to implement practices that target HL. Furthermore, effective training modalities that examine the transformation of nursing students’ knowledge into practice through the development of confidence during experiential learning have not been well explored.

Purpose: Evaluate the effectiveness of a HL information and a HL telesimulation intervention on the HL Knowledge, Application and Confidence of first-semester …

Nature-Based Education For Elementary Students With Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder, Kayleigh Morrison

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

There are several advantages to including a nature-based curriculum and outdoor learning into state standards, and the consequences of students who do not have access to outside learning and activities can be severe. The term “Attention Restoration Theory” (ART) was coined by psychology professors Rachel and Stephen Kaplan in 1989 and claims that exposure to nature can improve mental fatigue and concentration. This senior capstone examines Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory and academic studies rooted in its philosophy as it applies to nature-based curriculum and outdoor learning. There are certain advantages for students who are exposed to a nature-based curriculum and …

Changing Perceptions Of Career And Technical Education (Cte): Bridging The Soft Skills Gap With High Quality Cte, Alison Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers’ perceptions of the role and application of soft skills content within CTE and students' career planning. This qualitative multiple case study utilized artifact collection, document analysis, and personal interviews of CTE teachers from three high schools in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. Participants had between ten to twenty-three years of teaching experience, either in Business or Technology Education. This study investigated CTE teachers’ perspectives regarding the importance of soft skills within CTE curricula, strategies for soft skills implementation, and examined any differences in the implementation of soft skills in different …

Intentional Undergraduate Leadership Development Through The Establishment Of A Center Of Excellence For Leadership At Gardner-Webb University, James Rennie

Education Projects

Similar to most universities in the United States, Gardner-Webb University lists leadership development in their students as a high priority. The first two sentences in the Gardner-Webb University strategic plan state,

The mission of Gardner-Webb University is to prepare graduates for leadership and service in their professional careers and in their personal lives. Rigorous and innovative degree programs, combined with distinctive experiential learning opportunities, shape students into thinkers, doers, and world-changers. (Gardner-Webb University, 2021a, p. 1)

There are several key words in these sentences that warrant further discussion. First, leadership development is an instrumental aspect of the core mission of …

Experiential Learning Versus Microcredentials: Educational Needs Of Undergraduate Students And Working Professionals, Hannah Wirth

Honors Theses and Capstones

This paper looks at the characteristic differences between undergraduate students and working professionals and whether experiential learning or microcredentials are more effective in satisfying the educational needs of either group of learners. The characteristics used to define undergraduate students, working professionals, experiential learning, and microcredentials are choices, needs, motivation, learning style, and self-awareness. Based on these characteristics, the study predicted that experiential learning would better suit the educational needs of undergraduate students and microcredentials would better suit the needs of working professionals. The study’s hypotheses were designed from observations of the Business in Practice program at the University of New …

Career Development And Employability Skill Integration Within The Equine Science And Management Undergraduate Program At The University Of Kentucky, Savannah Faye Robin

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

College graduates need to be equipped with career and employability skills that are necessary to be meaningfully and gainfully employed in their future. These skills consist of self-management, career-management, essential-employability, and discipline-specific skills. More responsibility is being placed on college and university academic programs to ensure that students are graduating with these skills when they enter the workforce. However, students are growing less likely to participate in out of course career development activities and resources. Integrating these skills into program curriculum can be an effective way to ensure that all students have the ability to develop these necessary skills.

While …

How And Why Design Education Instructors Use Place-Based Education In Their Courses, Michael Flynn

Online Theses and Dissertations

Place-based education (PBE) is a pedological approach that takes learning outside of the classroom into the local community. Allowing students to not only explore their physical environments but also the history, people, and culture of a place. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate the use of PBE by design education instructors in higher education. This focus on PBE in design education is significant because PBE has not been extensively examined in a design context. The results should extend knowledge about ways that local learning environments can create opportunities and experiences for design students that cannot be …