Educational Psychology Commons^™

How Students Experience Teach-One-Another Activities In Online Courses At Brigham Young University-Idaho, Joshua Alan Holt

Theses and Dissertations

As online learning enrollments rapidly increase, it is vital to explore effective course designs that deepen students' learning experiences. This multiple-case study explores four online courses at Brigham Young University–Idaho that include learning activities where students learned through Teach One Another activities. Teach One Another is similar to Reciprocal Peer Learning where students simultaneously learn and contribute to their peers' learning. Findings across the cases of this study show that Teach One Another activities in online courses encourage students to be accountable and motivated to complete individual course work as well as group assignments. As students learn to build trusting …

The Effects Of A Brief Mindfulness Intervention On Impulsivity In College Students, Myles Elgin Trapp

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This study investigated the impact of a brief, introductory mindfulness intervention on attention, executive control, and impulsivity. I randomly assigned forty-seven undergraduate students to a treatment group (TG) receiving mindfulness training and a waiting list control group (WLG). Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires and standardized neuropsychological tests before and after the intervention. Participants high in trait mindfulness suffered less interference on a Stroop task, were less impulsive on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task, but also evidenced less cognitive flexibility on a dual fluency test at baseline. The TG demonstrated greater improvement than the WLG from baseline to re-test …

Teacher Self-Efficacy And Student Achievement As Measured By North Carolina Reading And Math End-Of-Grade Tests., Wayne M. Eberle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers continue to experience an increased sense of responsibility as it relates to job performance while still being required to produce at the same level with relation to student performance. This can cause an increase in personal stress and result in lowered feelings of self- worth, having a negative impact on service delivery to children and overall job performance.

Bandura (1997) defined self-efficacy as a judgment of one's ability to organize and execute given types of performances. Furthermore, he suggests that the outcomes people anticipate depend largely upon their judgments of how well they will be able to perform in …

Alternative Scheduling In The Middle School: Considering Circadian Rhythms., James Edward Carter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The passage of No Child Left Behind has increased the level of accountability for all educators. There are many factors that affect student achievement. One factor that may be overlooked is the schedule configuration of schools. Addressing student needs through scheduling options may assist school systems and students in performing at the level they are being held accountable.

The population for this study was students from a rural East Tennessee middle school with a population of approximately 700 students. The low socioeconomic students represent 68% of the school total enrollment while 18% of the students have an individual education plan …

Exploring The Relation Between Office Discipline Referrals And Reinforcement Rates In Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support Programs, Michelle Woidneck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The implementation of schoolwide positive behavioral support (SWPBS) programs is becoming increasingly common in schools across the nation. Although a primary assumption of SWPBS is that schoolwide administration of positive supports to students who meet behavioral expectations will result in fewer behavior problems, surprisingly few studies have investigated the effects of various positive reinforcement rates (RR) on office discipline referral rates (ODR). This study investigated the relationship between RRs and ODRs among schools (N = 44) implementing SWPBS programs with high fidelity. Results revealed no significant differences in RRs or ODRs between Title I and non-Title I schools but …

Determining The Longitudinal Effects Of Acculturation Orientation On Elementary-Aged Spanish-Speaking English Language Learner Students' Reading Progress, Courtney M. Leclair

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

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the reading progress of Spanish-speaking English Language Learner students differed depending on their acculturation orientation. Participants included 85 students in 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade in two school districts in the rural Midwest. All participants were Latino and qualified as “English Language Learner” students. Measures included the Brief Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican-Americans II (B-ARSMA-II), the easyCBM Passage Reading Fluency (PRF) scale, and an author-created Parent Demographic Form. In addition, the participants’ teacher’s adherence to the core reading program (Reading Mastery) was monitored by staff from the National Institute …

Alumni Participation: An Investigation Using Relationship Marketing Principles, Lisa Ann Kelleher

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study investigated in what ways alumni relations officers use relationship marketing principles, concepts, and bonding levels to strengthen the ties between alumni and their alma maters. Alumni programs and services at select high intensive research institutions of higher education were explored and an explanation was offered for how using relationship marketing in alumni relations might be beneficial. A literature synthesis, drawn from an extensive examination, evaluation, and interpretation of alumni relations and relationship marketing literature, helped to inform this exploratory study. Using a qualitative method of study, data was gathered through interviews with senior alumni relations officers, by observing …

The Relationship Between Participation In Extracurricular Activities And Utah's Proficiency Assessments Of Students In A Suburban School District, Everett N. Kelepolo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to discover whether a relationship exists between participation in extracurricular activities and meeting Utah proficiency assessment standards. This study took place in a suburban school district in the state of Utah.

Throughout the history of public education, economic hardships have wreaked havoc on school systems that depend on public sources of income. Schools today are managing these budget restraints by reducing or eliminating extracurricular programs.

The relationship between academic success and participating in extracurricular activities is found concretely in the research data. However, schools must make budget decisions which place activities and academics in …

An Exploratory Investigation On The Effects Of An Electronic Recording System For Repeated Reading, Seajae Calvin Hartness

Dissertations

Repeated Reading is a common reading intervention that has been used to help students read fluently since 1979. There are many variations of Repeated Reading that have been investigated and found to be effective. However, there is a relative research deficit on the effectiveness of software programs for administering Repeated Reading. This exploratory research project examined the effectiveness of Repeated Reading with an electronic recording system. The performance of the electronic Repeated Reading group was compared to the performance of participants who received traditionally administered Early Intervention Program services. The results suggest that electronically scored Repeated Reading is as effective …

How Do Millennial Engineering And Technology Students Experience Learning Through Traditional Teaching Methods Employed In The University Setting?, Elizabeth A. Howard

Department of Computer Graphics Technology Degree Theses

The purpose of the study was to document and analyze how Millennial engineering and technology students experience learning in large lecture classrooms. To help achieve this purpose, perceptions Millennials have toward traditional teaching methods employed in large lecture classes were analyzed and discussed. Additionally, this study documented how Millennials experienced technology within large lecture classrooms. A learning model depicting how Millennials experience learning within the large lecture classroom was created based on the results of this study. This model employed three separate tools utilized within the large lecture classroom. These tools: Lecture, Technology, and Homework, work together to synthesize learning …

The Impact Of Study Skills Courses On Academic Self-Efficacy In College Students, Brenna M. Wernersbach

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Colleges across the nation are increasingly interested in improving retention of students. Many universities have begun offering workshops and courses targeted at improving study skills in academically underprepared students with the goal of helping students succeed in higher education and continue enrollment. The impact of such courses on study skills themselves has been supported, but prior research has not examined the courses impact on students' beliefs about their ability to succeed in college–that is, their levels of academic self-efficacy. This study examined pre- and post-test levels of academic self-efficacy in college students enrolled in a study skills course in comparison …

Set In Stone: Legends, Traditions, And Symbols Influencing Place Attachment For Southern Utah University Students, Claudine Nielsen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study explored the influence of campus legends, traditions, and symbols on the development of place attachment in students at Southern Utah University. An examination of organizational theory, including universities as cultures, student development theory, alumni participation, and place attachment revealed no cross-disciplinary research into how place attachment to a university campus may be influenced by intentional attempts to instill a sense of collective identity through the stories and rituals that occur on campus, hence the need to address this void. Unlike many organizations, colleges have a vested interest in maintaining a connection with students beyond the point of separation. …

Assisting The Accompanying Partner: A Dramaturgical Explanatory Study Of Dual Career Couples Offices, Christine Promin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study is a mixed methods explanatory sequential design framed in resource dependency theory that uses Goffman's dramaturgical analysis to explore how the dual career couples offices address issues, serve constituencies, and relate to the broader institution. The researcher examined schools with dual career offices by using the Higher Education Dual Couple Network [HEDCN]. In Phase I of the study, the researcher surveyed HEDCN affiliates regarding their dual career offices. In Phase II of the study, three schools from the HEDCN sample were selected through purposeful sampling for site visits which included in-depth, one-on-one interviews, observations, and artifact analysis.

The …

International Study Program For Indoor Environmental Research, Stoil Pamoukov

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined the effect on student performance, perception and mood caused by different physical classroom environmental conditions. Three classroom physical environmental conditions were investigated; room temperature, light intensity and sound level. A two phase pilot study was performed where these conditions were compounded into one and two levels were selected in such a way to create a normal and extreme classroom physical environment. A total of 154 undergraduate UNLV students participated in the two phase pilot laboratory study in which they completed tasks related to reading and listening to an oral presentation of a passage of high density technical …

Resilient Leadership In High Poverty Schools, Edward P. San Nicolas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children in high poverty schools often receive inadequate services in dilapidated facilities while enduring inexperienced and unprepared educators (Darling-Hammond, 2004). Communities with a dense impoverished population in turn create school wide poverty, which is ultimately more detrimental than individual family poverty (Books, 2004). With most teachers leaving impoverished urban schools within the first five years, it is no surprise of the difficulty to retain qualified and professional school leaders. As suggested by Haberman (2005), attracting educators with specific qualities to fill these critical roles may be the best route to lasting success. Equally important is the possibility to transform existing …

The Diffusion Of Environmental Literacy In An American Urban Community Through Children, Kelley Phillips

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Environmental literacy is a contentious issue in the United States of America because citizens feel it is forced upon them and interferes with our materialistic culture. Also, many Americans have limited access to green space and little time to devote to increasing their environmental mindset. This project documents a technique to introduce environmental literacy to American citizens by working with single communities in a common subset of American culture. Based on a model used by anthropologists in third world countries, the goal was to diffuse environmental literacy into a community by only instructing the children of that community in environmental …

Designing A School Garden Space That Emphasizes Children's Wants And Uses Permaculture Design Methods, Mikhaela Mullins

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

A case study was organized at Saratoga Elementary school in Lincoln, Nebraska to obtain data on what children desire in a garden space. To collect this data a school garden space was constructed and an after school garden club was implemented. Students who participated in the after school garden club partook in the study by drawing their ideal garden. Elements that the subjects drew were identified and categorized into ‘highly desired’ and ‘somewhat desired’.

These elements were then incorporated into a proposed garden design plan for Saratoga. The proposal plan uses Permaculture design methods to emphasize sustainability.

Does A Co-Learner Delivery Model In A Mathematics Methods Course Affect Pre-Service Teacher Candidates’ Self-Efficacy In Teaching Mathematics?,, John J. Ribeiro, Denise Demagistris

Teacher Education

This study is related to a previous study (Ribeiro, 2009) that examined teachers’ perceptions of teaching self-efficacy. In the first study the sample consisted of two groups of teachers that took the same professional development course in mathematics. The comparison group took the course in their school district with other teachers and the experimental group took the course with pre-service teachers in a university classroom. After completing the course, both groups were measured in three dimensions of teaching self-efficacy: student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom climate. Findings indicated that although both groups had significant gains in self-efficacy toward teaching mathematics …

An Investigation Of The Potential Use Of Advanced Placement Examination Scores In The College Admission Of Transfer Students, Andrew Callahan Dwyer

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

Faced with making college admission decisions on an increasingly large number of applicants, many higher education institutions have begun to consider using additional information to assist with those decisions. Unlike college admissions practices for the population of first-time freshmen, however, admission practices for the population of transfer students have been largely ignored in the literature. There is evidence that the transfer student population is growing and will likely continue to grow for the foreseeable future, which emphasizes the need for colleges and universities to find additional suitable information to use in transfer student admission. Using data from the University of …

High Priority Design Values Used By Successful Children's Museum Exhibit Developers: A Multiple Case Study Analysis Of Expert Opinions, Stephen D. Ashton

Theses and Dissertations

The following qualitative study sought to answer three questions: (1) What are the high priority design values used by expert exhibit developers to create meaningful exhibits at children's museums? (2) How do exhibit developers prioritize these design values? (3) What are the desirable outcomes that exhibit developers seek to achieve with the guests who interact with the exhibits? These questions were answered through interviews with children's museum exhibit developers, personal observations, and artifact analysis. The data collected was organized into four cases, each representing a different children's museum and corresponding exhibit developer. The cases were then compared against each other …