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Full-Text Articles in Education

Success In Learning Groups: Where Have We Been? And Where Are We Going?, Tiffany Michelle Ackerman Jan 2017

Success In Learning Groups: Where Have We Been? And Where Are We Going?, Tiffany Michelle Ackerman

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Group discussion activities and collaborative projects for teams are some learning strategies widely used by instructors; however, limited research has examined comparative effects of these strategies. The present study examines collaborative learning activities, trust, the “bad apple” effect, and other variables that relate to learning effectiveness for teams. The paper summarizes several years of research on different collaborative activities across different team settings. It also presents an agenda for future research in team training and learning, and provides best practices and guidelines for both researchers and practitioners. With a growing focus on the importance of teamwork and collaboration in the …


Women’S Choice In College Stem Majors: Impact Of Ability Tilt On Women Students’ Educational Choice, Audie Jane Willis Jan 2017

Women’S Choice In College Stem Majors: Impact Of Ability Tilt On Women Students’ Educational Choice, Audie Jane Willis

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This quantitative study explored the impact of ability and ability tilt on the choice of an academic program in STEM majors for female college students who have not been identified as profoundly or highly gifted. A math tilt would be an ability tilt slanting toward math. The career development theory that provided a framework for this study was the Theory of Work Adjustment. Three bodies of literature were reviewed, (a) Self-efficacy as a variable in college major or career choice, (b) life-style preference, and (c) ability tilt and ability. A Chi Square Test of Independence determined that significantly more women …


Individual Differences As Predictors Of Success For Learning Community Students, Nicole Haffield Jan 2017

Individual Differences As Predictors Of Success For Learning Community Students, Nicole Haffield

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Learning communities have been receiving attention by the higher education community in recent years (Cross, 1998; Smith, 2001; Stassen 2003). The attention around learning communities seems to largely be centered around their apparent wide-ranging benefits for student outcomes, including improved student retention, achievement and engagement. This research focuses on which types of students may be most successful in learning community programs in a college setting. Specifically, we wanted to understand if and how the Hogan Personality Inventory, and other motivational factors predict learning community student outcomes such as GPA, retention, and program engagement. None of the original hypotheses were supported. …


Food Insecurity In Higher Education: Awareness And Response, Rudy Correa Jan 2017

Food Insecurity In Higher Education: Awareness And Response, Rudy Correa

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

How many college students are food insecure? Studies show a wide array of responses to that question, but some of the factors that are consistent are student characteristics, such as living arrangements, parental status, economic status, and racial or ethnic background. Students are impacted in several physical and emotional ways with food insecurity. Colleges and universities are studying food insecurity and responding with campus pantries, educational workshops, and increasing awareness of the issues. How should students learn about the issues and the resources they can access? This paper outlines the research findings and proposes a specific learning module for one …


Reflected Academic Self-Efficacy: How Teacher Behavior Influences Self-Efficacy In The Classroom, John Martin Wildauer Jan 2017

Reflected Academic Self-Efficacy: How Teacher Behavior Influences Self-Efficacy In The Classroom, John Martin Wildauer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Self-efficacy refers to an individual’s belief in their ability to complete tasks. The model social cognitive theory provides for studying self-efficacy shows that communicative sources of efficacy expectation yield self-efficacy in individuals by means of cognitive processing. The current study examines these communicative components of self-efficacy in the classroom more closely by marrying social cognitive theory and symbolic interactionism. Analysis of data from a sample of 69 college students found that student perceptions of their teacher’s beliefs about their ability in the classroom (reflected academic self-efficacy) have a direct relationship to their perceptions of their own abilities (academic self-efficacy). More …


Evaluating A Measure Of Student Effectiveness In An Undergraduate Psychology Program, Colin Omori Jan 2017

Evaluating A Measure Of Student Effectiveness In An Undergraduate Psychology Program, Colin Omori

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study evaluates the utility of a measure of student knowledge in various areas of psychology. The 40-item measure is a revision of a pilot test from last year, and was distributed to 90 undergraduate psychology students at a Midwestern university. The average score on the assessment was 19.87 (SD = 6.20), or 49.68%. Future directions for the assessment include validation by professors, leading to the revision and removal of items. An additional suggestion is increased enforcement in regard to student participation: The study's 90-student sample was obtained after omitting 173 students who did not finish the exam, did not …


Pedagogy, Partnership, And Practice: Challenges And Opportunities Through Service-Learning, Matthew Aaron Pajunen Jan 2017

Pedagogy, Partnership, And Practice: Challenges And Opportunities Through Service-Learning, Matthew Aaron Pajunen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Service-learning has been prominently featured as a best or high impact practice for education. Yet throughout its existence, this pedagogy has been troubled with questions regarding its effectiveness, controversy in its impact on communities, and even confusion surrounding what its definition is. Within the Anthropology Department at Minnesota State University, Mankato, the impact of service-learning has often been uncertain, with exemplary stories coming out as much as negative ones. This mixed success of service-learning's application throughout the years motivated Dr. Susan Schalge to commission a student research project in 2012 to interview service-learning stakeholders to obtain a more certain grasp …