Education Commons^™

Creating A Digital Escape Room To Increase Student Engagement In Cultural Literacy, Stacey Diliberto, Debra Luken, Amy Sugar

FDLA Journal

Teaching cultural literacy skills provides students an opportunity to develop capabilities to competently function in our current ever-changing global society. A digital escape room was created for a fully online Latin American Humanities course offered in the fall 2022 semester, after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This asynchronous activity was developed to increase engagement and teach cultural literacy to students who experienced a time of turmoil and upheaval and who might have experienced a lack of engagement in a fully online class. In this paper, we will discuss the pedagogical, content, logistical, technical, and accessibility considerations we applied to …

Bridging The Gap Between Neuroscience And Education: What Are Teachers’ Perceptions Of Applying “Neuropedagogy” To High School Classrooms?, Hanan Rashwan

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers can use neurobiological explanations to evaluate students' behavior and performance and create more supportive learning settings in their school environment. There is a growing interest among educators regarding the potential benefits of incorporating neuroscience into teaching practices. However, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of how to effectively integrate cognitive neuroscience into teacher education programs to maximize its impact on student learning and teacher development. This study focuses on understanding teachers' views on the integration of neuroscience principles in educational settings by utilizing a questionnaire and interviews to gather data from participating teachers. The findings reveal that the …

Leveraging Human-In-The-Loop Engagement Through Ai In Web Design Education: A Case Study On Adapting To Dynamic Client Requirements, Jason D. Lively

International Journal of Emerging and Disruptive Innovation in Education : VISIONARIUM

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within educational frameworks, particularly in disciplines such as web design and development, represents a significant evolution in pedagogical strategies. This article examines a unique educational setup where students, while engaging in a web design class, utilize AI tools for text, image, and code creation within a simulated real-world scenario involving a client—dubbed "Chef Cookie Cutter". This simulated client interaction introduces unpredictability through mid-assignment requirement changes, thereby mimicking the dynamic nature of real-world web development projects. The focus of this case study is the critical role of human-in-the-loop (HITL) engagement in AI-assisted assignments, where students' …

Classroom Technology Policies, Technology Usage, And Mind-Wandering, Halley Stecht

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Technology usage has been rapidly increasing in college classrooms since 2019. This has shown to be a challenge for educators in higher education due to the increase in off-task usage. Many educators try to combat technology usage in their classrooms through technology policies in their syllabus, in hopes of reducing off-task behaviors such as mind-wandering. The purpose of this study was twofold: first we determined whether classroom technology policies impacted students’ technology usage. Then, we investigated whether access to technology in the classroom was associated with more mind-wandering during class. Two hundred sixty-eight college students completed an online survey that …

The Effects Of Text-Based Gaming On Reading Comprehension For Students With Intellectual Disability, Faith Ihrig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, reading comprehension and reading engagement have decreased in the United States. Our world is also becoming increasingly technological, and a large percentage of individuals in the United States, specifically children, are playing video games. There are increasing amounts of video games that target educational skills, such as reading and math, and video games that have been created strictly for entertainment. This study examined the potential effects of playing text-based video games on the comprehension and engagement of 6-8 grade students with intellectual disabilities. A Multiple Baseline Across Participants single case design was used to measure the …

Improving Student Engagement Despite Lowering Attention Spans In The Classroom, Kaycee Lee

Senior Honors Theses

Attention spans have been decreasing throughout society for many years, partially due to the constant increase of technological advances. The average human attention span of eight seconds is particularly concerning to teachers and others in the classroom. It does not seem that the average attention span is ever going to increase, so teachers must implement intentional methods and strategies within their classroom to keep their students’ attention. Physical activities, technology and hands-on supports, small group instruction, shorter lessons, making intentional mistakes, flexible seating, and differentiated instruction are all strategies supported by research to improve student engagement within the classroom. Every …

Exploring The Role Of Curricular Engagement In The Secondary English Classroom: A Case Study, Kelsey Leah Baldwin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Educational engagement is an issue that has become problematic due to the many changes that have occurred since COVID, including technological dependency and teacher burnout. Teachers may need more skills to manage and implement engagement strategies in the classroom setting. Understanding educators’ experiences with classroom engagement in a variety of secondary English classrooms is the setting of this case study. The central research question explores how educators experience student engagement in their classrooms. The theory guiding this study is Bandura’s social cognitive theory, as I utilize the theory to examine behaviors affected by people and the classroom environment. This research …

Enhancing The First-Year Experience Program For Community College Students: Creating A Cohort Model To Encourage Success, Engagement, And Sense Of Belonging, Vicky Herbel, Christina Cox, Amy M. Koehler, Kim Mercurio, Barbara Stratman

Dissertations

Community Colleges are facing significant challenges to enrollment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impending enrollment cliff which will require higher education administration to adapt, get creative, and lead change in recruiting and retention strategies. Using the Sense of Community Theory (Serason, 1974) and the Involvement Theory (Astin, 1984), this study aims to evaluate student success, engagement, and sense of belonging. Through a qualitative comparative case study, students in a Men of Color (MOC) cohort, a pre nursing (NUR) cohort, and a baseline group of students in the standard college success seminar course enrollment were evaluated using in vivo, …

Predictors Of Adherence To A Publicly Available Self-Guided Digital Mental Health Intervention, Mercedes G. Woolley, Korena S. Klimczak, Carter H. Davis, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Low adherence to self-guided digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) have raised concerns about their real-world effectiveness. Naturalistic data from self-guided DMHIs are often not available, hindering our ability to assess adherence among real-world users. This study aimed to analyze 3 years of user data from the public launch of an empirically supported 12-session self-guided DMHI, to assess overall program adherence rates and explore predictors of adherence. Data from 984 registered users were analyzed. Results showed that only 14.8% of users completed all 12 modules and 68.6% completed less than half of the modules. Users who were younger, had milder depression, …

Returning To School After A Pandemic: K-6 Education Teachers Perspectives On Low- Income Students Returning To School With Regard To Academic Achievement, Behavior, Mindset, And Social Connections, Sarah Orendorff

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine K-6 educators’ perceptions of the impact on low-income students returning to school after the trauma of a pandemic for 2 years with regard to behavior, academic achievement, mindset, and social connections.

Methodology: This qualitative study interviewed 12 K6 teachers who taught before, during, and after the pandemic in Orange County, CA. Semi-structured open ended interview questions was the main source of data collection with other sources including observations, and artifacts. Data was coded and the researcher analyzed the data for themes and patterns.

Findings: After analyzing data, codes, and themes …

Ungrading’S Affect On Student Agency In The Education Classroom, Linda E. Feldstein, Robyn Hartman, Janet Stramel

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

This study investigates the impact of ungraded classroom evaluation structures on students' development of agency for learning. Through survey research comparing traditionally graded classes with those employing ungrading practices, student responses are analyzed. Results suggest potential increases in student agency among those in ungraded classes. This challenges prevailing education practices, highlighting the shift towards student-centered, formative learning experiences when agency is actively encouraged.

Trinity College Student Participation And Engagement During And After Online Learning, Peter D. Muise Ii

Senior Theses and Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic put professors and students in difficult positions of virtual learning, and students in the class of 2024 were put in a particularly difficult situation as their first experience of college was filled with isolation and fear. Since the pandemic happened so recently, there is limited research investigating the differences in student engagement and performance with online classes compared to in-person, however, those that have conducted research have found that online does not facilitate communication and engagement to the degree that in-person does. My research study aims to answer the question, how do Trinity College students and faculty …

Does Anyone Have Any Questions? Encouraging Question-Asking Behaviors In Online And In-Person Graduate Student & Faculty Workshops, Hannah Gascho Rempel, Adam Lindsley, Clara Llebot

Transforming Libraries for Graduate Students

Academic libraries frequently offer workshops to graduate students and faculty as a way to develop their information literacy skills, including building skills with citation managers, literature review searching, and data management. In many academic libraries in-person delivery of workshops was the norm prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic, but during the pandemic online workshops were the only option. Workshop participants now appreciate being able to choose between the modality that works for them. In our library, we now regularly offer most workshops in both in-person and synchronous online modalities. This change in how we offer workshops allows us the opportunity …

Engaging Latinx Students: A Path To Life-Long Learning, Paola Mendizabal

The William & Mary Educational Review

Although the Latino ethnic group is the largest minority and the fastest growing subgroup in the United States, they are one of the most underserved groups in public schools. This is due to many systemic issues; however, this paper focuses on student engagement. Increasing student engagement decreases student dropout rates. If we can foster high levels of engagement with Latinx students in K-12, they are more likely to graduate high school possibly with aspirations to further their education. This conceptual paper aims to answer the following questions: What factors inhibit and/or contribute to Latinx students' engagement? How do we engage …

A Case Study On The Lived Experiences Of Elementary Teachers Related To Positive Behavior And Intervention Supports (Pbis), Dellphine Sterling

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the lived experiences of elementary teachers related to PBIS in an elementary school in a mid-Atlantic state. More specifically, this study examined the lived experiences of elementary school teachers related to a reward system for improving academic achievement and student behavior. The theory guiding this study was Bandura’s theory on social learning as the theory assists in understanding the problem of poor behavior and poor academic performance among students as well as providing insights on intervention tools for improving students’ behavior and academic performances. The research wass qualitative and utilized …

Ethnographic Research Of The Impact Of Catalyst Strategies On The Engagement And Relationships Within The Classroom For 6th Graders Versus 2nd Graders In General Education, Casey Poland, Rene Beaird, Amber Keller, Sara Kubicek

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This 2023 study focused on the effectiveness of the Catalyst Approach to classroom management in a second-grade versus sixth-grade classrooms in the same district. The Catalyst Approach is a comprehensive classroom implementation model that includes strategies for getting attention, engaging students, setting up for success, and supporting success. Whole group strategies are emphasized in this approach to aid in building a productive classroom environment (Burns & Brinkman, 2018). Our focus with this study was threefold: to see how the Catalyst Approach affected classroom management, how the Catalyst Approach affected relationships within the classroom environment, and how the Catalyst Approach compared …

The Experience Of Teaching Disengaged Students In Stem: Examined Through The Lens Of The Abc Engagement Framework, William Randall Hjorth

Theses and Dissertations

Young people today are increasingly disengaged from their education. Studies indicate that of all school subjects, American students struggle to engage in STEM subjects more than others. For decades, we have known that student engagement/disengagement impacts teachers. Researchers have also claimed that engagement/disengagement can be described as a construct made up of affective, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions (ABC). However, we do not understand how teachers experience student disengagement in these three areas. At a crucial time in education, investigation into the experiences of teachers with disengaged students is needed to uncover insights which may help us understand how teachers interpret …

Twelfth-Grade English Teachers' Lived Experiences Of Engaging Struggling Adolescent Readers: A Phenomenological Study, Ruth Ugonna Ebinama

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore 12th-grade English teachers' lived experiences of engaging struggling adolescent readers at a large public school district in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area of the United States. The theory that guided this study was Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory as it relates to engaging struggling adolescent readers. The central research question was the following: How do 12th-grade English teachers describe their lived experiences engaging struggling adolescent readers? Criterion purposive sampling was used to recruit 12th-grade English teachers with struggling adolescent readers in their English classes. Data collection methods consisted of open-response questionnaires, …

Exploring College Student Experiences In A Kinesiology Course Using A Gamified Grading System, Rachel E. Williams, Jedediah E. Blanton, Christopher D. Kilgore, Matthew Jones

Educational Practices in Kinesiology

Past findings indicate mixed results on the effectiveness of gamification in college courses. The use of a gamified version of specifications-based grading (e.g., gamified grading) is not yet well understood. The purpose of this two-part study was to understand students’ perceptions of intrinsic motivation and engagement in a kinesiology course using gamified grading, facilitated by a gamified grading platform called GradeCraft©. We used qualitative inquiry to capture a robust description of the student experience across a semester, identifying themes describing the course management (e.g., comparison with traditional course, individual approach), and the psychological experience (e.g., autonomy, stress). The following semester, …

Harnessing Untapped Potential: A Theory For Engaging Recent Graduates In Alumni Advocacy To Support Institutional Advancement Goals, Erin M. Valencik

Doctoral Dissertations

At the same time institutions and advancement offices are struggling to effectively engage recent graduates who are essential to the health and longevity of the engagement and philanthropy pipeline, public institutions are attempting to constrain rising college costs that threaten quality and accessibility. A large and ongoing contributing factor to increased college costs is reduced state funding for higher education that remains below historic levels. Given the current environment of declining numbers of new donors, the funding challenges that face higher education, and recent graduate motivations to participate in cause-based philanthropy, political advocacy may be one approach that can effectively …

Engagement And A Sense Of Belonging In Kinesiology Undergraduate Students, Gema Arreguin, Evelyn Castellon, Sarah Dunn

International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings

A student's sense of belonging may promote success and retention during their undergraduate experience and could be influenced by co-curricular engagement (participation in community events organized by the home department). Even more important, an institution with a satellite “branch” campus offering less co-curricular events may see less sense of belonging in those particular students. PURPOSE: To assess undergraduate student sense of belonging based on co-curricular engagement and college campus and to investigate the findings in Kinesiology (KINE) students. METHODS: Public university students (18+ years) in California were recruited for an IRB approved Qualtrics survey in Spring 2023. Participants were asked …

Podcasting As A Pedagogy: Teacher Perceptions Of Podcast Use And Creation In The Classroom, Rebecca J. Hobby

Selected Honors Theses

Podcasting is an innovative technology medium that has impacted the world with its new ideas, perspectives, and connections between listeners and hosts. While this medium has grown exponentially in many spheres, it is relatively new in educational settings. This thesis seeks to determine whether educators are ready to implement podcast listening and producing in their classrooms. It also seeks to ascertain educators’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of podcasting. A survey was conducted asking teachers and college students preparing to become teachers about their observations and understandings of podcast use in classrooms. The findings indicated that access to professional …

Preparing Future Leaders In The Arts Through The Community Arts Engagement Certificate Program: What I Learned From Teaching The First Introductory Seminar, Sharon Davis Gratto

Research and Reflection on Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

The University of Dayton’s Community Arts Engagement certificate program was recently launched with the teaching of its first introductory seminar. The program and this course were conceived to be broader in scope for arts majors than the more familiar arts administration minor program. Several of the outcomes of the seminar—both those planned and those unforeseen—can be informative in thinking more expansively about experiential learning and community collaboration in arts education or other disciplines. This article represents a narrative description of the program and its introductory seminar and a personal reflection after teaching the seminar for the first time.

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of High School Seniors In Mathematics Classrooms: Analyzing Methodologies That Increase Engagement, Andrea L. Crews-Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the methods high school seniors found engaging in mathematics classrooms at a private high school in Northern Florida. This study focused on engagement theory, which explains processes that help students learn based on attentiveness to presented content. Data collection for the phenomenological study consisted of interviews, focus groups, and journal entries as students shared their perspectives on engagement in their mathematics courses throughout upper school at a private Florida high school. Data collection took place by interviewing 15 students with the intention of students following into the other phases allowing …

The Influence Of Extracurriculat Activities On Engagement And Environment Elements Of School Culture At Two Title I Middle Schools In Alabama, Jeremy Jones

Ed.D. Dissertations

Limited research had been conducted on the role extracurricular activities had on school culture. Even less was dedicated to how middle school educators perceived how extracurricular activities influenced school culture. Due to the lack of overall research, further research was necessary to develop a better understanding of the influence of extracurricular activities on school culture, more specifically the Safe Supportive Schools Model’s engagement and environment elements of school culture. The purpose of this basic interpretive qualitative study was to examine educators’ perceptions of the influence extracurricular activities had on the Safe Supportive Schools Model’s engagement and environment elements of school …

Instructors’ Experiences With Employing Kinesthetic Instructional Strategies In Gatekeeper Community College Courses: A Single Holistic Case Study, Jodie S. Hogan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative, single holistic case study was to understand how community college instructors use kinesthetic instructional strategies to engage students enrolled in gatekeeper college courses at a community college in the Northeastern United States. The theory guiding this study was domains of learning theory, as it explains how faculty approach instruction according to how students experience the six levels of the cognitive taxonomy and provides a foundation for the consideration of how the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains are intertwined. A qualitative methodology with a single case study design was used to address the central research question, …

Instructional Coaching: A Support For Increasing Engagement In Middle School Mathematics, Christi Ritchie Edwards

Theses and Dissertations

This observational case study employed a qualitative design to investigate the impact of student-centered instructional coaching and self-determined professional development on student engagement in middle school mathematics. Research demonstrates that engaging students in the learning process increases their attention and motivates them to engage in higher-level critical thinking. Teachers who adopt a student-centered approach to instruction increase opportunities for student engagement. Instructional coaches are used as a professional development tool to support teachers with student-centered instructional practices to engage students in their learning. This four-week study involved two sixth-grade mathematics teachers conducting Number Talks in one of their classes of …

Exploring The Impact Of Technology Implementation At The Elementary Level, Jayme Jakubek

M.Ed. Literature Reviews

This paper explores the impact of technology integration at the elementary level, focusing on measuring learning, benefits and challenges, attention, and technology. By examining existing research, this literature review highlights the importance of effective technology implementation in providing students with enhanced engagement, personalized learning, and the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It also addresses challenges such as access to technology, teacher training, and the need for digital citizenship education. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research from educators and policymakers and a discussion summarizing the key takeaways, and an action plan for future instruction.

Mental Health Applications As A Resource For Reducing Access Disparities? A Case Example From A Disaster Mental Health App, Laura Perez-Villagomez

Honors Theses

Past research indicates Latinx individuals underutilize mental health services when it comes to addressing their mental health concerns, but often fail to mention the barriers to underutilization. Systemic barriers to seeking care largely fall under two larger umbrellas: cost and availability. A focus on whether disparities observed in traditional mental health services persisted for a trauma-focused app that recruited participants from the 2017 Hurricane outbreak provides us a unique outlook on a comparative analysis of utilization and engagement between the applications, Bounce Back Now (BBN) and Enhanced Usual Care. BBN is made up of four major components including tracking, …

Building A Pedagogy Of Idea Generation And Embodied Inquiry, Kate Joranson

Art History Pedagogy & Practice

What futures become possible when we center questions, inquiry, and affective responses in research processes? What does it mean to support encounters with new ideas? In this article, I explore non-extractive models of teaching and learning, sharing ways of making space for idea generation, an under-described part of research and creative practice. The coming-up-with-ideas part of creative and scholarly work can be challenging to articulate, share, and teach. What if we paused and stretched this part out, making it more visible? By browsing physical collections of books in community with one another, during “curated browsing” experiences, we give ourselves — …