Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring The Role Of Video Games In Civil Engineering Education And K-12 Stem Engagement, Jillian S. Codron

Architectural Engineering

Civil engineering education has traditionally emphasized a linear progression from theory to application, with foundational concepts introduced in lecture before being reinforced through laboratory or design experiences. While effective for advanced learners, this approach can limit early engagement for K–12 students who may struggle to connect abstract principles to realworld engineering practice. This project examines the use of video games as interactive, feedback-driven environments for introducing civil engineering concepts and practices to younger learners in more exploratory and accessible ways.

The study pursues four primary objectives: evaluating the educational affordances of selected video games; examining how gaming experiences have influenced …

A Qualitative Exploration Of The Military Veteran Teaching Experience In A Public High School Setting, Denise R. Embrey

Dissertations

This coded qualitative study examines whether military veterans as second career teachers can help address the ongoing shortage of qualified public high school teachers in the United States. Focusing on three Midwestern public high school systems with at least 10% of military veteran teachers employed in their high school. I explored veterans as second-career educators. I personally interviewed five public high school principals, to find that these five strongly favor hiring veterans, citing their discipline, teamwork, and willingness to engage with students and parents are outstanding character qualifications for the public high school to have on staff. I noted and …

Addressing Barriers To Online Distance Learning: Connecting Students In Rural Locations To Internet Resources – A Mixed Methods Study, Evan Johnston

Dissertations

As internet access became more widespread, the use of internet resources became a requirement for participation in various educational experiences. Equitable access to internet resources, however, had not been established in all geographic areas (Skinner et al., 2024). Utilizing the design-based thinking process, the researcher identified barriers to participation in online distance learning opportunities in a small, rural school district. The district, located in southeast Missouri, comprised 201 students, three buildings for elementary, middle, and high school students. A Superintendent and Principal provided leadership to the school district. Through a community-wide survey and informal conversations, the researcher and stakeholder team …

Practicing Conflict Transformation Skills Through Role-Playing Games For Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Higher Education, Alexandra Schreiber, Kjell H. Hugaas, Sarah L. Bowman

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

No abstract provided.

Dungeons & Dragons 5e En El Aula De Comunicación Audiovisual: Propuesta De Adaptación Pedagógica, Antonio Roda Martínez

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

Este artículo explora el proceso de adaptar Dungeons & Dragons Quinta edición versión 2024 a un contexto educativo dentro de sesiones únicas de menos de dos horas. Pese a que D&D es ampliamente reconocido como referente cultural y uno de los juegos de rol más influyentes, su complejo sistema de reglas y diseño para campañas de larga duración dificultan su implementación en contextos educativos formales con limitaciones temporales. Para abordar este desafío, se rediseñó la sesión para condensar las experiencias fundamentales del juego de rol de mesa—creación de personajes, interpretación, combate, construcción de mundo e investigación—en un formato breve y …

The Effects Of Poverty On Student Achievement And Behavior, Dwayne Lucas

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Poverty can have a devastating impact on the academic achievement of students and their potential for positive adult outcomes. One of the most impactful aspects in the fight against the impact of poverty is student engagement. There must be attention paid to how engagement impacts a student’s potential for success as well as what strategies can be employed to improve engagement. It was the goal of this study to determine how relationships and engagement impacted student outcomes and educational experience. This study attempted to determine what strategies educators utilize to increase student engagement. Using observations and semi-structured interviews, the researcher …

Piloting A Pediatric Screener For Assessing Emergent Literacy With Preschool Children, Nafia Sarhadi

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Program Factors Influencing Investment In Nhri Leadership Mentoring Relationships, Elizabeth A. Kenes

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

The purpose of this study was to examine how specific programmatic factors influence levels of investment within mentoring relationships in a collegiate leadership mentoring program. Previous research has demonstrated the benefits of mentoring; however, much of this work has relied on self-reported data and has not directly linked program factors to clearly defined mentoring outcomes. This study addresses this gap by examining how relationship duration, meeting consistency, and training and learning predict mentoring investment using observational program data.

Using the Investment Triangle framework and an integrative theoretical framework as guiding foundations, this study examined mentoring investment within NHRI Leadership Mentoring …

Understanding The Equestrian Learner: A Sociomaterial Analysis Of Equestrian Learners, Anna Lloyd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Limited research has been done on equestrian riders actively participating in training programs. To better understand these equestrians, this study examined how elements in their learning environments influenced their learning. Data was collected through interviews with two active, competing adult female members of the United States Hunter Jumper Association. Key findings from analyzing these equestrians’ relationships with different elements in their learning environment include the finding that equestrians shift between viewing horses as material objects or social partners, depending on the context. It was also seen that an equestrian’s skill is not dependent solely on the rider, but is influenced …

Assessing Young Children's Computational Thinking: Validation Of Items And Item Design Features, And Diagnostic Approaches, Chungsoo Na

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The goals of this multiple-paper dissertation are to evaluate the psychometric evidence of the Computational and Spatial Thinking Assessment (CaST), designed and developed by the Coding in Kindergarten (CiK) research team (supported by NSF #1842116). In Chapter 2 (Paper 1), I evaluate the psychometric quality of the CaST assessment at the item level. The CaST has moderate item difficulty and high item discrimination, on average, with high reliability and no gender- or age-related item bias. In Chapter 3 (Paper 2), I identify seven item design features from the CaST assessment and examine their impact on item difficulty. All item design …

Unpacking Science Achievement: Institutional Alignment And Mediating Conditions In A High-Performing Charter School, Brenda L. Bennett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This study examined how science instruction was sustained over time within a high-performing public elementary charter school. Rather than focusing on individual programs or teaching strategies, the research explored how schoolwide systems, relationships, and supports worked together to shape classroom practice.

The study focused on one public K–6 charter school in a western state with consistently strong science performance on state-reported measures and examined how institutional, organizational, and classroom conditions mediated the relationship between science instruction expectations articulated in state and charter policy and teachers’ enacted practice.

Results suggested that strong science instruction was not produced through strict mandates or …

Factors Affecting Mathematics Teachers’ Instructional Decision-Making: An Ecological Systems Theory Multiple-Case Study, Camille M. Lund

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Though research on effective mathematics instructional strategies is robust, there remains a gap between research and the instruction that takes place in mathematics classrooms. One such effective instructional practice—mathematical student discourse (MSD)—has been extensively researched, but little research has looked holistically at the ecological factors that interact to influence teacher decision-making for this practice. In this qualitative multiple-case dissertation study using Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory as a theoretical lens, I conducted semi-structured interviews with three elementary teachers who teach mathematics in districts across northern Utah. These interviews utilized the researcher-created Ecological Factors Map to explore how teachers described the …

Project Rise Final Report, Jennifer Sdunzik

Evaluation and Learning Research Center Reports

Project RISE aims to address civic opportunity and achievement gaps faced by underserved populations by integrating engineering design thinking with civic education in US middle and high schools. The curriculum uses a focus on community-based problem-solving as a mechanism for inspiring and empowering students – particularly those from traditionally underserved backgrounds – to engage in activities aimed at addressing systemic inequities in their communities. The inaugural group of RISE teachers participated in a week-long professional development (PD) in the summer of 2024 and implemented the RISE curriculum over the 2024-2025 school year. A second group of teachers participated in a …

Tau Beta Pi Engineering Mentorship Program, Tyler Black

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project is to design and implement a student-led engineering mentorship program directed by the members of the Utah Gamma Chapter of Tau Beta Pi on the Utah State University (USU) Logan campus. Retention data show that many undergraduate students who start engineering programs change their degree before graduation due to academic and social challenges that may be mitigated by the support of a peer mentor. The Tau Beta Pi Engineering Mentorship Program selects and trains upperclassman mentors to effectively mentor underclassman engineering students.

The design of the mentorship program is an application of backward design, where …

Host Families’ Perspectives Of The Impact Of The Commodification Of Education On The Student-Host Family Relationship In Study Abroad, Guadalupe Bustamante

Dissertations

The growing commodification of education has reshaped study abroad in ways that extend beyond marketing and program design. While homestays have traditionally been viewed as the ideal format for cultural immersion and language acquisition, research has largely overlooked how these trends affect the student-host family relationship from the family's perspective.

This study examines whether, and, if so, how Spanish host families perceive their roles and relationships with the American students they host have been impacted by these trends. Using a qualitative exploratory case study design, the research focused on representatives from eight families in Madrid, who have hosted U.S. students …

Bridging The Gap: Educating Students On The Neurodiverse Experience, Riley Axtell

Human Development and Family Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Neurodivergent students face misunderstanding, stigma, and systemic barriers that impact academic and emotional well-being. The purpose of this study was to develop and implement a curriculum-based project designed to educate college students about neurodiverse experiences and improve knowledge, empathy, and understanding. The curriculum was administered in two formats: an in-person format with pre- and post-survey measurements and an online “choose your own adventure” implementation utilizing post-survey measurements. Participants engaged in simulated cognitive and sensory activities that represented experiences associated with dyslexia, ADHD, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. Although limited by a small sample size, reliance on self-report measures, lack of a pre-survey …

Dfend: A Nutrition Education Intervention To Improve Food Budgeting, Shopping, And Meal Preparation Skills Among Adults In Arkansas, Samantha K. Edwards

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

Preventive strategies targeting modifiable lifestyle factors related to food, nutrition, and health are needed as chronic health conditions continue to rise. Nutrition literacy refers to having the knowledge and skills needed to obtain, understand, and apply nutrition information to make informed dietary decisions. Without adequate nutrition education and food security, vulnerable populations are at risk of malnutrition and poor dietary behaviors. Educational interventions that increase food literacy can help improve dietary choices and food selection skills.

The purpose of this creative project was to develop a nutrition education toolkit for Extension agents to implement among rural populations with low health …

Balancing Books And Bases: Performance And Burnout Among College Softball Athletes, Mckinzey M. Johnson

Leadership Education Capstones

This mixed-methods study explored the impact of academic demands and athletic participation on academic performance, time management, study habits, burnout among NCAA Division II women’s softball athletes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conferences (NSIC). The study was guided by three questions: (1) how participation in collegiate softball influences academic performance as measured by GPA, (2) how student athletes manage time and study habits during the. Competitive season, and (3) what factors contribute to burnout and how burnout affects emotional well-being and academic engagement. Data were collected through an anonymous online survey distributed to NSIC softball coaches who then shared the …

Exploring Student Sensemaking During A Collaborative Biology Lab, Rebecca Kollipara

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Collaborative learning environments offer valuable opportunities for students to construct scientific understanding through dialogue, yet the conditions that support sustained conceptual reasoning in group settings remain incompletely understood. While prior research has identified discourse moves associated with productive collaboration, less attention has been paid to how those moves function together across turns and conceptual boundaries, or how individual student characteristics shape their emergence. This thesis examines collaborative sensemaking in an undergraduate General Biology II course, drawing on two complementary analyses of student discourse during a bryophyte life-cycle modeling activity.

Chapter 1 investigates how student groups participated in sensemaking and how …

An Examination Of Single Mothers' Psychological Capital In Seeking Higher Education, Jennifer L. Stuart

Theses & Dissertations

AN EXAMINATION OF SINGLE MOTHER’S PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL IN SEEKING HIGHER EDUCATION

Jennifer Stuart

University of the Incarnate Word, 2025

Research Focus. In the United States, single mothers head nearly 80 percent of single-parent households, representing one of the most educationally vulnerable yet motivated populations. Despite increased visibility of single-parent families, limited research has examined the internal psychological factors that influence single mothers’ determination to pursue higher education. Much of the literature has emphasized external barriers—financial hardship, childcare demands, and social stigma—while overlooking internal strengths such as self-efficacy, resilience, optimism, and hope. These traits, conceptualized collectively as psychological capital (Luthans et …

Charting The Course: The Influence Of Mentorship On Women's Careers In Outdoor Education, Jessica M. Callahan

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

Mentorship is a significant contributor to women’s experiences working in outdoor education, yet it remains underresearched in a formal capacity. This study aims to answer the central research question of “What meanings do women give to mentorship experiences in relation to their career development, retention, and professional identity?” A qualitative, phenomenological approach was chosen to be most appropriate, and both synchronous interviews and an online survey were used to collect data. In total, data was collected from 24 participants, which was analyzed using thematic analysis. Identified themes were categorized by the topics of mentor qualities and impact on self, mentorship …

Critical Improvisation: Black Secondary Graduates’ Experiences Of Student Voice, Lauren Malara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe Black secondary graduates’ experience of improvisational comedy through the framework of Student Voice. Amid silencing legislative bans in education, the study aimed to critically make meaning of participants’ shared experiences of Theater Games and provide insight into the critical applications of improvisation as a tool to develop student leaders. The study employed a hermeneutical phenomenological design, sampling six Black graduates that participated in improvisational courses as part of the secondary curriculum. Data collection included a demographic questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and participant journals. The findings of a thematic analysis indicate that improvisation developed …

Listening To Those Who Stay: Support Systems Influencing Special Education Teacher Retention, Carol Jean Dawson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Retention among special education teachers is a constant challenge across the country. Educators in these positions often have heavy workloads, emotionally demanding responsibilities, and complex caseloads leading to burnout and high turnover rates. Despite these challenges, most of them persevere in the field for extended periods, which indicate that robust and effective support systems are essential to aiding their commitment. In examining this phenomenon, this qualitative study focused on the lived experiences of six special education teachers who worked in the same school setting for a minimum of five years with the aim of identifying support structures that affect motivation, …

The Impact Of Career And Technical Education Teacher Certification Preparation Programs On Student Industry-Based Certification Examinations, Kaneesha Chameka Celestin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are designed to prepare students for high-wage, high-demand industry jobs. However, there is limited research on Career and Technical Education teacher preparation programs (traditional, alternative, and industry-based) and the impact on student outcomes on industry-based examinations, such as ACT WorkKeys. This quantitative study analyzed Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher preparation programs (traditional, alternative, and industry-based) and 12th -grade students’ outcomes on the 2023-2024 ACT WorkKeys examination and whether relationships exist between the two. Additionally, the research examined each Career and Technical Education teacher certification preparation program individually to determine the differences among traditional, …

Why Do Teachers Leave? Investigating Teacher Attrition In A New Orleans Charter School: A Qualitative Phenomenological Case Study, Carlos J. Machuca Rivera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to investigate the lived experiences of former teachers who worked at Goodlife Academy (GLA), a charter school in New Orleans, Louisiana, between 2019 and 2025, with particular attention to how teachers experienced job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction and how those experiences influenced their decisions to leave Teacher attrition—defined as educators leaving their school or the profession—has been associated with factors such as burnout, inadequate support, low compensation, and persistent challenges in addressing achievement gaps. Although these factors are well documented in the literature, many existing studies rely on quantitative methods and focus …

2026 Commencement Program, Columbia College Chicago

Commencement Programs

The commencement program of the 2026 Columbia College Chicago graduation ceremonies.

“Oh, Hey, Miss, Why Am I Taking This Test?”: Amplifying The Critical Voices Of Long-Term Emergent Bilinguals From The Rgv On Telpas, Luisa Adriana Valdez

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative narrative study examines the lived experiences of seven Long-Term Emergent Bilinguals (LTEBs) in Texas public schools, with a particular focus on the TELPAS test and its role in shaping students’ academic trajectories. Grounded in decolonial theory and a raciolinguistic ideological perspective, the study investigates how state-mandated English proficiency assessments and identification practices reproduce inequities and racialized linguistic hierarchies. Using pláticas as a culturally sustaining methodological approach, narrative accounts were collected from seven U.S.-born, Spanish-English bilingual Latinx students from the Rio Grande Valley. Findings reveal that the home language survey and TELPAS language proficiency assessment function as colonial sorting …

From Homeland To The Foreign Classroom: The Salaysay Of Filipina Immigrant Teachers In Texas, Shanna Cui Miranda

Theses and Dissertations

Filipina immigrant teachers are a growing presence in Texas schools, especially as districts respond to teacher shortages by recruiting internationally trained educators. This narrative study explores the salaysay of Filipina immigrant teachers in Texas and examines how their funds of knowledge inform their teaching practice. Guided by the research question, What are the salaysay of Filipina immigrant teachers in Texas, and how do their funds of knowledge inform their teaching? The study uses Funds of Knowledge (Moll et al., 1992) as the central framework and resizes it to focus on teachers as holders of culturally developed knowledge. The resized framework …

Haciendo Caras Y Hablando Para Atrás: Conceptualizing Espacios Coyunturales/Bridged Spaces As Teachers Resistance To Contemporary Reactionary Legislative Initiatives In K-12 Social Studies, Brittney Louise Thornton-Guzman

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how teachers in the Rio Grande Valley engage in subversive resistance within the context of contemporary legislative constraints regulating discussions of race, identity, and history in K–12 classrooms. Grounded in Chicana Feminist Epistemology (Delgado Bernal, 1998) and informed by Aoki’s distinction between curriculum-as-plan and lived curriculum (Aoki, 2005), this qualitative study employs critical narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) and analysis of narrative to explore how educators navigate stateimposed restrictions. Drawing on teacher narratives, the study centers hablando para atrás (hooks, 1989) as a pedagogical stance through which educators sustain critical engagement under conditions of constraint. Findings …

“Now I Know The Kind Of Leader I Want To Become”: Leadership Development And Professional Growth Through The Lens Of Transformational Leadership Theory, Manuel Angel Saenz

Theses and Dissertations

Organizations increasingly rely on leadership development programs to strengthen succession planning and prepare middle managers for expanded responsibilities, yet limited research has explored how participants experience these initiatives in fast-paced, customer-centric environments. This qualitative descriptive case study examined the lived experiences of 11 middle managers and directors participating in the LEAD Forward program within a Government Contact Center. Guided by Transformational Leadership Theory, the study investigated (a) how participants perceived the program’s impact on their professional development and leadership skills and (b) the challenges and opportunities they encountered during participation. Data was collected through two written narrative reflections and 11 …