Education Commons^™

Interval Sprinting: Impact On Reading Fluency And Self-Efficacy, Laura C. Duncan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Reading fluency is the ability to decode connected text with accuracy and speed (Archer, Gleason, & Vachon, 2003; Daly, Neugebauer, Chafouleas, & Skinner, 2015), and is generally measured by how many words a student can read in a minute. Selfefficacy is the judgment people make about their own performance levels for specific abilities, which affects their motivation and behaviors concerning those abilities (Bandura, 1977). It is unknown if repeated reading or interval sprinting reading interventions have an effect on reading self-efficacy. Two third-grade students with low reading fluency participated in an alternate treatment design, using repeated reading and interval sprinting …

What Happens During Language And Literacy Coaching? Coaches’ Reports Of Their Interactions With Educators, Rachel E. Schachter, Melissa M. Weber-Mayrer, Shayne B. Piasta, Ann A. O’Connell

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Research Findings: This study investigated coaches’ interactions with educators in the context of a large-scale, state-implemented literacy professional development (PD). We examined log data and open-comment reports to understand what coaches found salient about their interactions with educators as well as how those reports aligned with the initial design of the PD. Coaches reported spending a large proportion of their interactions with educators completing administrative tasks. Our findings also indicate that coaches disproportionally targeted instructional content from the PD while also adding unrelated instructional content to their coaching. Although coaches reported focusing on relationship building, they reported using less efficacious …

Enhancing A Middle School Student's Self-Management Skills In The Classroom, Lanie Jean Rudisill

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Self-regulation (SR) and executive functioning (EF) are important factors for successful student outcomes. Research suggests that executive skills facilitate the process of behavioral self-regulation. Well-developed SR and EF skills make learning more likely. Proper SR has the ability to improve attention levels and EF includes the use of working memory, both of which are essential components of the information processing system that students use continuously. One type of SR, referred to as self-management, involves a cycle of observing and recording one’s own behavior, then evaluating one’s self-assessments against those of an external observer. Self-management interventions have previously been found to …

Prediction Of Children's Early Academic Adjustment From Their Temperament: The Moderating Role Of Peer Temperament, Sarah K. Johns, Carlos Valiente, Nancy Eisenberg, Tracy L. Spinrad, Maciel M. Hernández, Jody Southworth, Rebecca H. Berger, Marilyn Thompson, Kassondra M. Silva, Armando A. Pina

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The goal of the study was to examine whether target children’s temperamental negative emotional expressivity (NEE) and effortful control in the fall of kindergarten predicted academic adjustment in the spring and whether a classmate’s NEE and effortful control moderated these relations. Target children’s NEE and effortful control were measured in the fall via multiple methods, academic adjustment was measured via reading and math standardized tests in the spring, and observations of engagement in the classroom were conducted throughout the year. In the fall, teachers nominated a peer with whom each target child spent the most time and rated that peer’s …

School Psychologists And Suicide Risk Assessment: Role Perception And Competency, Kristen Herner Erps

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

As the second leading cause of death for adolescents, suicide has become one of the biggest concerns for school personnel. School psychologists are often expected to be the most competent and able to lead in suicide prevention efforts, however, studies have shown a lack of preparedness in crisis intervention and, more specifically, suicide risk assessment. This study surveyed practicing school psychologists (N = 92) to explore their perception of both their role and competency in suicide risk assessment. While school psychologists reported having varying roles within their district related to suicide risk assessment, the majority endorsed having a role at …

The Effects Of Teacher Demographics, Self-Efficacy, And Student Gender On Behavioral Referrals, Morgan E. Hestand

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study examined the most common reason for behavioral referrals and the effects of student gender, teacher age, teacher experience, and school setting on reasons for behavioral referrals to the schools intervention team or the Individual Education Plan (IEP) team. Additionally, it examined the self-efficacy of teachers and compared the self-perceptions of teaching general education students with behavior problems with perceptions of teaching students identified as having an Emotional Disturbance (ED). Participants included 179 general education teachers, grades K-12, from the state of Kentucky and additional teachers recruited from Facebook from across the U.S. Participants completed a survey about …

Effect Of Bullying On Emotional Distress In A Fourth And Fifth Grade Sample, Katherine Koper Marcum

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the difference of self-reported emotional problems between low levels and high levels of victimization. Participants included 214 fourth and fifth grade students from a southcentral county in Kentucky. Students answered demographic questions and completed a series of surveys including the Personal Experiences Checklist and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The study was completed via computer-based questionnaire and focused on victimization within the last month. Results show that students who reported higher levels of victimization reported higher levels of emotional problems when compared to students who reported lower levels of victimization. The current …

Inactivation Of The Medial-Prefrontal Cortex Impairs Interval Timing Precision, But Not Timing Accuracy Or Scalar Timing In A Peak-Interval Procedure In Rats, Catalin V. Buhusi, Marcelo B. Reyes, Cody-Aaron Gathers, Sorinel A. Oprisan, Mona Buhusi

Psychology Faculty Publications

Motor sequence learning, planning and execution of goal-directed behaviors, and decision making rely on accurate time estimation and production of durations in the seconds-to-minutes range. The pathways involved in planning and execution of goal-directed behaviors include cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuitry modulated by dopaminergic inputs. A critical feature of interval timing is its scalar property, by which the precision of timing is proportional to the timed duration. We examined the role of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in timing by evaluating the effect of its reversible inactivation on timing accuracy, timing precision and scalar timing. Rats were trained to time two durations in a …

Adding Acceptance And Commitment Therapy To Exposure And Response Prevention For Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Michael P. Twohig, Jonathan S. Abramowitz, Brooke M. Smith, Laura E. Fabricant, Ryan J. Jacoby, Kate L. Morrison, Ellen J. Bluett, Lillian Reuman, Shannon M. Blakey, Thomas Ledermann

Psychology Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to test whether treatment acceptability, exposure engagement, and completion rates could be increased by integrating acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) with traditional exposure and response prevention (ERP). 58 adults (68% female) diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; M age = 27, 80% white) engaged in a multisite randomized controlled trial of 16 individual twice-weekly sessions of either ERP or ACT + ERP. Assessors unaware of treatment condition administered assessments of OCD, depression, psychological flexibility, and obsessional beliefs at pretreatment, posttreatment, and six-month follow-up. Treatment acceptability, credibility/expectancy, and exposure engagement were also assessed. Exposure engagement was …

The Influence Of A Personal Values Intervention On Cold Pressor-Induced Distress Tolerance, Brooke M. Smith, Jennifer L. Villatte, Clarissa W. Ong, Grayson M. Butcher, Michael P. Twohig, Michael E. Levin, Steven C. Hayes

Psychology Faculty Publications

Research has demonstrated that values and acceptance interventions can increase distress tolerance, but the individual contribution of each remains unclear. The current study examined the isolated effect of a values intervention on immersion time in a cold pressor. Participants randomized to Values (n = 18) and Control (n = 14) conditions completed two cold pressor tasks, separated by a 30-minute values or control intervention. Immersion time increased 51.06 seconds for participants in the Values condition and decreased by 10.79 seconds for those in the Control condition. Increases in self-reported pain and distress predicted decreases in immersion time for Control, but …

Using A Model To Design Activity-Based Educational Experiences To Improve Cultural Competency Among Graduate Students, Yeon Bai, Kathleen D. Bauer

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Scholarship and Creative Works

To improve the cultural competency of 34 students participating in graduate nutrition counseling classes, the Campinha-Bacote Model of Cultural Competence in the Delivery of Health Care Services was used to design, implement, and evaluate counseling classes. Each assignment and activity addressed one or more of the five constructs of the model, i.e., knowledge, skill, desire, encounters, and awareness. A repeated measure ANOVA evaluated pre- and post-test cultural competence scores (Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence among Healthcare Professionals). The overall cultural competence score significantly improved (p < 0.001) from “culturally aware” (68.7 at pre-test) to “culturally competent” (78.7 at post-test). Students significantly improved (p < 0.001) in four constructs of the model including awareness, knowledge, skill, and encounter. Factor analysis indicated that course activities accounted for 83.2% and course assignments accounted for 74.6% of the total variance of cultural competence. An activity-based counseling course encouraging self-evaluation and reflection and addressing Model constructs significantly improved the cultural competence of students. As class activities and assignments aligned well with the Campinha-Bacote Model constructs, the findings of this study can help guide health educators to design effective cultural competence training and education programs.

Parents Supporting Their Adolescents’ Independent Remedial Math Practice: The Effects Of A Multi-Component Intervention Package On Math Academic Performance, Mackenzie Sommerhalder

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

This dissertation examined the effects of high school students’ independent, remedial, home-based math practice while receiving parent support on math computation fluency. The multi-component intervention package encompassed both home-based remedial practice and parent support. Teacher interviews, normative assessments, and a performance-deficit analysis were conducted to identify high-school students who displayed math academic skill deficits. Next, identification and analysis of individual skills (e.g., multiplication, division) to be targeted for intervention occurred for each participant included in the study. A multiple-baseline across participants design was used to examine teaching high school students to choose effective instructional components for math computation and subsequently …

On Campus Social Support And Hope As Unique Predictors Of Perceived Ability To Persist In College, Deanna D'Amico, Veronica Fruiht

Psychology | Faculty Scholarship

The psychological construct of hope, characterized by goal-directed thinking rooted in personal agency and the ability to develop pathways to achieve goals, has long been demonstrated to predict academic success. A sample of 994 undergraduates participated in this study to better understand the role of hope and on-campus social support in predicting students’ perceived ability to persist and succeed in college. Results demonstrated that on-campus support, particularly from teachers and professors, significantly predicted academic outcomes and hope. In addition, we found evidence of a support gap in which students from underrepresented ethnic minorities were far more likely to report that …

Open Ears, Open Mind, Open Heart: Active Listening, Mia Nguyen

Service-Learning | Student Scholarship

Active listening is the act of listening with all senses– the body, the mind, and the soul. It means empathizing with another person and finding that place within ourselves where we can listen beyond our initial judgements and personal feelings. It is listening beyond words and allowing our souls to understand, connect, and accept one another. Active listening sparks internal purity eliminating all types of judgement and allowing us to truly take in what another person has to offer. It is “an experience of language as a bodily felt process” in which we have a felt understanding rather than a …

Community Adventure Play Experience (Cape) Toolkit, Sarah Lawrence College Child Development Institute

CAPE Toolkit

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Traditional And Cyberbullying Victimization In Predicting Emotional Difficulties In Elementary Schools, Sarah Bleam

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Bullying victimization is a pressing concern in schools across the United States. Victimization to bullying has been associated with various negative outcomes in a child’s life. Of concern, victims can experience emotional difficulties, such as anxiety and depression, that can have lifelong implications for a child. For this reason, identifying victimization as a contributing factor is imperative for successful intervention in schools. We measured traditional and cyberbullying victimization experiences and emotional difficulties in 214 fourth and fifth grade students in the Southeastern United States. A multiple linear regression and sequential regression analysis identified that traditional and cyber victimization contributed to …

Parental Involvement Among Low-Income Filipinos: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Aileen S. Garcia

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

Parental involvement in children’s education is an integral component of young children’s academic achievement. In the Philippines, a developing country with high rates of poverty and input deficit in basic education, school dropout rates are high especially among the poor. Given that many children from disadvantaged backgrounds do not get enough support (PIDS, 2012) and many parents are not equipped with skills to support their children’s education, it is essential to investigate how Filipino parents can help and contribute to their children’s academic success. In response to the lack of parental involvement literature situated in the Philippine context, the present …

Ethnographic Insight Into The Developmentally Diverse Worlds Of Twins: “L & J”, Allison Gallant

Senior Honors Projects

According to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (2016), approximately 3 of every 1000 infants are born with a detectable level of hearing loss in one or both ears: with 90% of these infants being born to hearing parents. Immediately following the birth of a deaf child, parents are often bombarded with decisions regarding interventions to “fix” their child’s “disability”. This decision can impact how their child will experience the world and others. The situation is a very different stressor when a hearing child is born to deaf parents. Embracing one’s deaf identity and engaging in “deaf …

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 …

The Greatest Basketball Player Of All Time: Lebron Vs. Jordan, Austin Jacobson

Senior Honors Theses

LeBron James is one of the greatest athletes of this generation. I am seeking to determine what he needs to do to surpass Michael Jordan as the greatest of all time. Considering individual statistics, team success, and personal achievements as well as factors such as political and racial activism and involvement, media coverage (including social media), and generational difference, I am hoping to show what is left to accomplish for LeBron to reach and surpass Jordan.

Examining Generativity Development Among College Student Leaders Who Mentor, Hannah M. Sunderman

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the influence, if any, of age cohort on generativity among college student leaders who mentor. While previous research has revealed that college student leaders who mentor tend to demonstrate higher levels of generativity than other college student leaders and general college students (Hastings, Griesen, Hoover, Creswell, & Dlugosh, 2015), research as to the development of generativity among college student leaders who mentor has not been determined. Additionally, a need exists for further research on the antecedents of generativity (McAdams, 2001, p. 434). The current study sought to fill these gaps in …

Advocacy For Students With Autism: How To Best Engage And Equip Students With Autism To Excel In The Music Classroom, Mackenzie C. Kastelein

B.A. in Music Senior Capstone Projects

Within the educational system, students with autism are often misunderstood or overlooked, resulting in an inadequate educational experience. This research was conducted in pursuit of collecting information on students with autism so that current music educators might be better equipped to engage these students effectively within their classroom. Six current music educators were interviewed with a series of nine questions in order to gather a small sample of what is currently occurring in American school systems when it comes to the music education of students with autism. These educators discussed the inclusion of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) within …

A Pathway To Psychological Difficulty: Perceived Chronic Social Adversity And Its Symptomatic Reactions, Cody Ding, Jingqiu Zhang, Dong Yang

Education Sciences and Professional Programs Faculty Works

In this paper, we attempt to predict and explain psychological maladjustment or difficulty. Specifically, we discuss the concept of perceived chronic social adversity, and we expect that such perceived chronic social adversity may potentially lead to chronic stress responses. Accordingly, we propose the symptomatic reactions of perceived chronic social adversity. We put forward a set of hypotheses regarding the relationships between perceived chronic social adversity and those chronic stress responses, and we further hypothesize a mediating role of individualized negative essentialism brought by perceived chronical social adversity. Resilience and individual differences in the ability to cope with perceived adversity are …

Definition Of Intercultural Competence (Ic) In Undergraduate Students At A Private University In The Usa: A Mixed-Methods Study., Lioba Gierke, Nadine Binder, Mark Heckmann, Özen Odağ, Anne Leiser, Karina K. Kedzior

Touro College Berlin

Introduction

Intercultural competence (IC) is an important skill to be gained from higher education. However, it remains unclear what IC means to students and what factors might influence their definitions of IC. The aim of the current study was to qualitatively assess how students at one higher education institution in the USA define IC and to quantitatively test for relationships among IC components and various demographic characteristics, including intercultural experience and study context. A further aim was to descriptively compare the IC definitions from the US sample with the definitions obtained from another sample of university students in Germany.

Materials …

How To Be The Perfect Asian Wife!, Sophia Hill

Art and Art History Honors Projects

“How to be the Perfect Asian Wife” critiques exploitative power systems that assault female bodies of color in intersectional ways. This work explores strategies of healing and resistance through inserting one’s own narrative of flourishing rather than surviving, while reflecting violent realities. Three large drawings mimic pervasive advertisement language and presentation reflecting the oppressive strategies used to contain women of color. Created with charcoal, watercolor, and ink, these 'advertisements' contrast with an interactive rice bag filled with comics of my everyday experiences. These documentations compel viewers to reflect on their own participation in systems of power.

Why Do You Go To College? Shaping Student Beliefs And Success. A Dissertation Summary., Mitchell Colver

Publications

Students enter the realm of higher education with a wide variety of beliefs about the purposes of attending university, which often relate to or reveal their various motivations for pursuing a post-secondary education. Research demonstrates that some student motivations align more fully with intrinsic factors, such as the love of learning or quest for excellence, while other student motivations align with extrinsic factors, such as vocational preparedness and monetary incentives (Vallerand et al., 1989). Using a Bourdieusienne lens, this study sought to place these student motivations in the larger sociocultural context and argue for greater opportunities for democratic equity in …

Summer Camp As A Force For 21st Century Learning: Exploring Divergent Thinking And Activity Selection In A Residential Camp Setting, Myles Lynch, Jonathan A. Plucker, C Boyd Hegarty, Nate Trauntvein

Education

This study investigated change in divergent thinking (DT), an indicator of creative potential, at two gender-specific residential summer camps. Additionally, this study examined whether the change in DT varied by gender and by the type of activities campers self-select. Quantitative methods, using a quasi-experimental design was used in order to understand differences in camper scores. A total of 189 youth, 100 girls, 89 boys, between the ages of 9 and 14 years participated in the current study. Participants were administered a modified version of Guilford's (1967) alternate uses task, a measure of DT, in which respondents were asked questions such …

Differences In Retention-Related Risk Factors And Potential Resources Across First-Generation And Non-First-Generation College Students, Taylor Lofdahl

Honors Theses

This study was completed to examine the differences in experience of first-generation and non-first-generation college students both before and during college. The purpose focused on retention-related risk factors as well as potential resources. The study was conducted through an online survey system called Qualtrics. There were 246 participants from the psychology department of the University of Nebraska- Lincoln, and participants received research credits for completing the survey. The study included measures for stress, depression symptoms, anxiety, perceived support as well as questions regarding academic practices and biographical information. The results of the study were analyzed using SPSS software, and they …

Psychology 101: Introduction To Psychology Syllabus Spring 2018, Sarah Grison

Psychology Courses

This is the syllabus for the Spring 2018 session of Psychology 101, submitted as evidence for the Global Studies Initiative with annotations related to the project.

College Students’ Personality Traits In Relation To Career Readiness, Shelby R. Overacker, Carly E. Kalis, Francesca Coppola

Student Publications

This study examined sixty-one Gettysburg College juniors and seniors (31 males, 30 females) to measure how the Big Five personality traits, and whether a student has Type D characteristics, determines if a student is career ready. We collected data through an in-person survey, with questions about personality traits, ambition, career readiness, and demographics. Regression was used to statistically analyze our first hypothesis. The results found that there is a significant positive association between conscientiousness and career readiness, but there is no significant association between extraversion and career readiness. For the second hypothesis, a mediation model was used. We found that …