Digital Commons Network^™

Analyzing Environmental Education In Northern Mississippi And Its Impact On Student Outcomes, Vishnu S. Gadepalli

Honors Theses

This thesis examines environmental education in public high schools in northern Mississippi, investigating how educators describe its presence, delivery, and institutional support in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harm. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with high school teachers across four northern Mississippi schools, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed through iterative thematic coding under Institutional Review Board approval. Five themes emerged: opportunistic curricular integration, time and standards as overriding structural constraints, passive institutional support, student receptivity tempered by limited awareness, and significant variation across school contexts with one magnet school as a clear outlier. The study concludes that environmental education in these …

Bridging Research And Practice: A Mixed Methods Study Of Principals' Use Of Implementation Driver Strategies To Support The Adoption Of Evidence-Based Literacy Practices In Minnesota K-12 Public Schools, Jamie L. Nord

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Despite a substantial research base identifying effective reading instruction, some schools continue to struggle to translate evidence-based literacy practices into consistent classroom use. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study examined the relationship between Minnesota K–12 public school principals’ self-reported use of implementation driver strategies and their self-reported adoption of evidence-based literacy practices, while also exploring how principals perceived implementation within their school contexts. Guided by the Implementation Drivers framework, the study included a statewide survey of 138 principals using the researcher-developed Leadership for Literacy Implementation Scale, followed by two focus groups with 10 participants. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive, …

Gimmick Leadership, George Padilla

Faculty Publications

In the 1960’s, “Gypsy,” a musical movie classic premiered about a domineering mother who sought self-glorification by pushing her young daughter into stripping. The young daughter, Gypsy, learned the trick of the trade from veteran strippers in a song—“You Gotta Have A Gimmick.”

While education has always been filled with fads and slogans, today, educational leaders loudly proclaim, “College Ready”/”College Started”/”College Complete”/Career Ready.” For many educational leaders, these are gimmick slogans because academic achievement remains low and many students are arriving at college academically unprepared—but, now, possibly with hollow college credits and at greater risk of failing. Our nation …

Southern Adventist University Undergraduate Catalog 2026-2027, Southern Adventist University

Catalog, Undergraduate

Southern Adventist University's undergraduate catalog for the academic year 2026-2027.

Kindergarten Teachers’ Perceptions Of Instructional Approaches For Teaching Sequencing Concepts: Worksheet, Hands-On, And Beebot-Integrated Lessons, Savannah P. Partin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of three instructional approaches for teaching sequencing concepts: worksheet-based instruction, hands-on manipulative instruction, and BeeBot-integrated instruction. Sequencing is a foundational early literacy skill that supports reading comprehension, story retelling, and understanding the order of events. Although sequencing is commonly taught through traditional instructional methods, limited research has examined how kindergarten teachers perceive the use of educational robotics as a tool for literacy instruction. The study was guided by constructivist theory, sociocultural theory, and developmental systems theory. Participants included six kindergarten teachers from a public elementary school in …

Understanding Chatbot-Assisted Collaborative Learning Among Female Undergraduate Students, Mohammad Amin Kuhail, Ahmed Shuhaiber, Sinan Salman, Nazik Alturki

All Works

Computer programming can be daunting for beginners due to complex concepts and syntax. Traditional teaching methods, while engaging through gamification and active learning, often lack personalized approaches. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly large language models (LLMs), present new possibilities for personalized and interactive learning environments. This study introduces a chatbot-assisted collaborative learning environment (CCLE) that leverages an LLM (GPT-4) to enhance collaborative programming education. The CCLE enables real-time guidance and collaboration through natural language interactions, allowing students to work together on programming tasks, edit code collaboratively, and engage with both peers and the educational chatbot. We conducted an …

The Impact Of Generative Ai Training On Teachers’ Curriculum Adaptation Using Reflective Practices, Areej Elsayary

All Works

Generative AI tools offer teachers opportunities to adapt curricula to meet diverse student needs. However, many educators lack the structured training and reflective frameworks necessary for effective and critical use of these tools. Numerous studies have examined the appropriate use of generative AI (GenAI) tools in facilitating differentiation, feedback, and personalized learning. However, teachers need to be trained on the “what” and “how” of integrating GenAI into curriculum adaptation to ensure a positive impact on student learning. This study evaluates the impact of training in-service teachers to use GenAI tools for curriculum adaptation. Specifically, the study investigates three research questions: …

Towards Promoting Innovation In Inclusive Education: Behavioural Intention Of Teachers Towards Adopting Ai To Teach Students With Learning Disabilities In The Uae, Fatima Zraydi, Maxwell Peprah Opoku, Bernadette M. Guirguis, Laurent Gabriel Ndijuye, Ebenezer Mensah Gyimah

All Works

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education offers significant potential for identifying and supporting all students, including those with learning difficulties. Although discussions on the potential of AI to advance the learning of students are ongoing, AI usage among teachers to leverage it in the teaching of students with learning disabilities in nonwestern contexts, such as the United Arab Emirates, is unresearched. The study was guided by a unified theory of acceptance and use of technology to examine teachers’ intentions toward adopting AI tools to enhance educational outcomes for students with learning disabilities in the UAE. Using a quantitative …

Anticipatory Governance And Leadership For Ai Implementation In Higher Education: A Scoping Review, Sandra Baroudi

All Works

As the education sector attempts to address rapid changes caused by Artificial Intelligence (AI), it becomes crucial to examine approaches to leadership at the organizational and system levels. This scoping review explores how anticipatory models of governance are conceptualised and operationalised globally within higher education settings in the context of AI-related transformations. Using a scoping review design, academic and grey literature published between 2020 and 2025 was searched across Scopus, EBSCOhost, ERIC, Google Scholar, and ProQuest. Nineteen sources were selected based on clear inclusion and exclusion criteria and analysed thematically. Findings revealed that while AI offers promising opportunities to transform …

Integrating Student-Mined Data In Youth Computer Science Learning: An Investigation Of Learning Outcomes And Educational Strategies, Alex Acquah

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As data increasingly shapes participation in society, there is growing emphasis on preparing youth to engage with data through computer science education. Existing K-12 computing and data science curricula have expanded opportunities for learners to analyze and interpret data; however, many learning experiences continue to rely on datasets and inquiry structures designed by others, limiting authentic engagement, personal relevance, and learner agency. This dissertation investigates the integration of student-mined data in youth computer science learning and examines its influence on computational thinking, epistemic agency, and learning experiences among high school students. Using a qualitative approach, data collected from youths of …

Enhancing Teachers’ Intercultural Literacy: Examining The Impact Of A Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program To Indonesia, Paul R. Wallace

Journal of Global Education and Research

The Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) Program offers institutional grants to support overseas experiences and curriculum development for educators. The study reported here focused on changes in the intercultural literacy of participants involved in a 4-week Fulbright-Hays GPA Program to Indonesia. Participants in this study included K-12 teachers from public schools and teacher education majors. Before and after traveling to Indonesia, eight participants completed a self-assessment of intercultural literacy, which measured competencies, understandings, attitudes, language proficiencies, participation, and identities deemed necessary for successful living and working in a cross-cultural environment. This article presents the results of the assessment survey, along …

Changing Expectations In Higher Education Post-Pandemic, Gregory R. Mackinnon, Tyler Maclean, Mohamad El Maouch, William Yuan, Zhao Kaibin, Bi Dandan, Marwa Saab

Journal of Global Education and Research

A sample of higher education students in Canada and China was surveyed and interviewed to ascertain any changes in their educational expectations given their experiences with emergency remote teaching during the pandemic. In addition, the instructors of these students were interviewed to corroborate student feedback. The research suggested that students in Canada and China expressed expectations of increased flexibility and improved pedagogy. Whereas Canadian students were overtly demanding of the instructor and the educational system, Chinese students were comparatively subtle in their expectation that the post-pandemic level of support be maintained. The primary concern of the Chinese cohort was a …

Advancing Blended Education: Caribbean Lecturers’ Reflective Narratives Of Caution, Creativity, And Change, Mia A. Jules, Donna-Maria B. Maynard, Grace A. Fayombo, Jason E. Marshall, Tanya Newton, Kamilah Hutson, Amanda Kellman, Cherise Bynoe, Mikaila Collymore, Jo-Ann Prosper-Chase, Laura Lee Foster, Adicia Clarke

Journal of Global Education and Research

Blended teaching requires lecturers to constantly self-reflect on their pedagogical practice to enhance student learning. However, there is yet to be a significant corpus of literature that highlights the cognitive resources that lecturers in higher education should possess to effectively use blended learning strategies. It is important to understand the intellectual resources required for blended pedagogy so that such capabilities can be fostered during faculty-training programs; ultimately resulting in innovative strategies to ensure quality learning outcomes and the advancement of university-level blended teaching mandates. This qualitative case study explored how twelve Caribbean lecturers experienced and navigated the teaching process in …

We All Read: Adapting An Early Literacy Program For Children With Developmental Differences And Their Families, Rachel Podl

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Children with developmental differences face elevated risk for early literacy delays, while their caregivers experience significant difficulty accessing appropriate and supportive resources. This paper describes an adaptation of WeRead, an existing story-time and psychoeducation program through the University of Denver's Baby S.T.E.P.S. Lab, for children ages 0–7 with developmental differences and their caregivers. The program integrated a neurodiversity-affirming read-aloud, a strengths-based art activity, movement and music, caregiver psychoeducation on visual schedules, and collaboration with four community partners. The event drew approximately 65 attendees. A post-program survey, though limited by few responses, indicated that caregivers valued the program's accessibility, community partnerships, …

20260717: Theatre & Fine Arts Publications, 1983-1992, College Of Arts And Media

Guides to University Archives

These items include materials from the College of Arts and Media at Marshall University from 1983-1992. Items were received in the early 1990s and include notable materials about the Proposal to Establish a Fine Arts College at Marshall in 1984; Theatre and Dance Dept Slides; and some Fine Arts packets. Please download the finding aid for a full list of contents.

Piloting Translation Earbuds With Newcomer Multilinguals: An Exploratory Case Study With Teachers In Michigan Public Schools, Robyn Edwards, Joe Terantino

MITESOL Journal: An Online Publication of MITESOL

This exploratory case study examines how in-service teachers (n = 6) piloted translation earbuds to support WIDA Level 1-2 newcomer multilinguals in Michigan K–12 public schools. Grounded in Sociocultural Theory, the study highlights teachers’ perceptions of how the earbuds mediated classroom participation and access to instruction. Teachers identified the earbuds as most effective during content-heavy teacher talk, where real-time interpreting supported newcomers’ comprehension of grade-level content and reduced communication barriers. Teachers also reported that the earbuds increased student participation, encouraged socioemotional engagement, and helped strengthen teacher-student relationships by enabling more immediate and meaningful interaction. At the same time, teachers emphasized …

Expanding Ai Literacy: The 5cs Of News Literacy In The Era Of Generative Ai, Seth Ashley, Adam Maksl, Paul Cook

Journal of Media Literacy Education Pre-Prints

This article adapts the 5Cs framework of news literacy—context, creation, content, circulation, and consumption—to media environments shaped by generative artificial intelligence. We argue that prevailing discussions of AI literacy overemphasize technical or functional competencies while underemphasizing the social, cultural, political, and communicative systems in which AI operates. Drawing on previous research, we define AI literacy as knowledge of the technical, social, and ethical dimensions of AI-mediated content production, distribution, and consumption, along with the critical capacities needed to exercise agency within those processes. We show how the 5Cs can be reinterpreted for generative AI environments and integrate pedagogical implications for …

Student Wellbeing: From Knowledge To Action, Dominique Russell

Teacher infographics

A survey of over 70,000 secondary school students across 313 schools in Australia has uncovered a gap between knowing what tools and skills can support their wellbeing, and taking action and using those skills in practice.

“Learning To Ask The Deeper Questions Behind The Image That Most People Don’T See:” Teaching Critical Visual Literacy To History Teacher Candidates Through Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Heather Koopmans, Richard Hughes

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Despite the ubiquitous role of images in teaching history, few teachers have formal training in how to help students critically read photographs, paintings, and other images. The essay centers on research on how Critical Visual Literacy, which focuses on how images reflect complex issues of power in society, can assist emerging teachers in helping students think historically and better engage visual evidence associated with curriculum mandates to broaden historical narratives

‘There Is No Continuity’: Assessment Of Pre-Service Teachers' Ability To Analyse Historical Sources In Two Ghanaian Public Universities, Anitha Oforiwah Adu-Boahen

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

The paper examined student-teachers’ understanding of change and continuity in History. Using a convergent parallel mixed method approach, one hundred and thirty-five (135) student-teachers from two public universities examined images depicting classroom settings in Ghana’s educational system from different periods. Respondents were expected to show and explain the continuities and changes in the different periods in Ghanaian history. They were to focus on the disparities in ‘change’ and ‘continuities’ in classroom settings in the Ghanaian educational system over time. Again, student-teachers were expected to transform their knowledge of these changes into historical understanding by writing an interpretation from the sources. …

Using The Past To Better Understand The Present: Contextualizing Today’S History Wars, For Ourselves And For Our Students, Bonnie Laughlin-Schultz

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This essay considers our contemporary moment in the context of the long history of the so-called "history wars" in the United States. It identifies four historical moments with ties to the present, and makes use of primary documents to discuss each time period. It also considers the ways in which historical activists such as Frederick Douglass and W. E. B. Du Bois advocated for honest history in the past, and the ways in which we might argue for nuanced historical thinking in the present. Teachers may find the documents of use for their own classrooms, and a brief appendix at …

The Grizzly, October 8, 2026, Sidney Belleroche, Adam Denn, Saniya Jeter, Laela Stackhouse, Cora Johnson, Samantha Zwergel, Caitlin Cunnane, Erik Groff

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Ursinus Launches "Go Global" Program • Myrin Renovations Finally Complete • Myrin Wasps Exterminated, Identified • The Lantern is Inevitable • Ursinus Graduate Program • Opinion: The Printing Situation • What's Behind Ursinus Football's Hot Start? • Ursinus Opens New Outdoor Gym

Striking A Balance With Social Media Use On An Uneven Playing Field, Stacey F. Stearns, Jennifer E. Cushman

Journal of Extension

Social media is now an integral part of Extension's communications and marketing strategies; however, it is an uneven playing field. While social media allows greater access to audiences and introduces Extension programs to new audiences, the social media companies also control the platforms and algorithms. The challenge is balancing the need to engage our audiences where they are with the lack of control Extension professionals have over the platform and how audiences access and use our content. This commentary includes a case study of an Extension Facebook page that Meta inadvertently deleted, and the repercussions the organization faced in rebuilding.

Again And Again Of “Never Again”: Teaching Holocaust And Genocide Literature In Ela, Sarah J. Donovan

Virginia English Journal

This article explores the evolution of genocide education in the secondary ELA classroom, tracing how foundational Holocaust literature has expanded into a broader, transnational framework of global witness. Drawing on two decades of teaching experience, the author argues that while the Holocaust canon remains essential to genocide education, contemporary classrooms also require literature that helps students engage ongoing and intergenerational atrocities in places such as Rwanda, Ukraine, Sudan, and Gaza. The article examines how teachers can thoughtfully adapt established literacy structures—such as rhetorical reading, literature circles, and response journals—into practices of ethical witnessing that center critical empathy, harm, healing, and …

From Pack Horse Librarians To Large Language Models: Grounding Ai Literacy In Appalachian Place And Community, Amanda Biviano, Anna Marie Rayne, Paige Hubbard, Maya Alvarez, Brooke Stiles, Isabella Giocondo

Virginia English Journal

As artificial intelligence reshapes literacy education, teachers face the challenge of preparing students to engage critically with new technologies while honoring the cultural and community knowledge they bring to the classroom. This article proposes a critical, place-based pedagogical framework rooted in rural Appalachian literacy traditions as a means of guiding students toward reflective engagement with AI — particularly large language models (LLMs). Drawing on the theoretical foundations of Freire's critical pedagogy, Giroux's cultural literacy framework, and place-based education, we examine historical Appalachian literacy practices as models for resisting the standardizing and dehumanizing tendencies of AI-generated writing. We then outline a …

A Media Literacy Approach To Ai In Secondary Ela, Matthew Korona

Virginia English Journal

The rapid integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into academic, civic, and personal contexts requires students to develop the skills and dispositions necessary for ethical and critical engagement with AI‑mediated texts. While AI literacy is often framed as a technical competency associated with computer science, this paper argues that secondary English language arts (ELA) classrooms are uniquely positioned to support AI literacy through media literacy practices. Drawing on constructivist pedagogy, existing research on media literacy and AI literacy, and the Virginia English Standards of Learning, the article presents a framework that aligns core media literacy competencies with human–AI interaction. To …

Spectrum, Volume 57, Issue 4,, Sacred Heart University

Newspapers (Obelisk & Spectrum)

Highlights include: Writing History: Students Earn Journalism Awards -- Flossing into Fall 2028! -- Floods of Families -- It's Sweater Weather! -- Nobody Walks Alone -- Bump, Set, Spike: Women’s Volleyball Starts Strong -- What the Cornell Case asks of Catholic Students

Does Farm Size Matter In Agricultural Extension Programs? Insights From Us Agriculture Census Data, Pilja Vitale, Joshua Campbell, Jeffrey Vitale, Michael Patrick, John Garlisch

Journal of Extension

This commentary examines how farm size influences agricultural Extension programs in the United States, highlighting disparities between large and small farms. While large farms dominate production through advanced technologies and economies of scale, small farms are vital for food security, community well-being, and cultural preservation. Key differences include water use, labor, machinery, marketing, financial management, and food safety practices. Extension programs address these disparities through tailored initiatives such as financial literacy training for small farms and technology adoption workshops for large ones. This analysis emphasizes the need for targeted and inclusive Extension programming to enhance sustainability and equity across farm …

Academics’ Experiences Of Integrating Open Educational Resources Into Study Guides In Sri Lankan Distance Education, W.M.A.P. Sandamini Fernando, Fareed Mohamed Nawastheen

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

Open educational resources (OER) can provide additional learning materials for distance education students. However, limited research has examined academics’ experiences of using OER in distance teacher education study guides. This study examined academics’ perceptions and experiences of integrating OER into the study guides of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education programme at a university offering open and distance education in Sri Lanka. The study used a survey design with 30 purposively selected academics involved in developing courses for the programme. Data were collected through a questionnaire containing 25 items rated on a five-point scale and three open-ended questions. The responses were …

October 2026 Faculty Senate Packet, University Of Nebraska At Kearney Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Packets

No abstract provided.