Digital Commons Network^™

An Integrated Framework For Food-Energy-Water-Nexus Education And Educational Research, Hannah Scherer, Doug Lombardi

National Collaborative for Research on Food, Energy, and Water Education (NC-FEW)

Our study centers the perspective of practitioners to define and describe FEW-Nexus-based education, identify and describe challenges with FEW-Nexus-based education, and ideate how education research can generate new knowledge to address these challenges. Using artifacts from FEW-Nexus education workshops and existing literature, we developed an integrated framework that can inform both educational practice and educational research. The framework includes ontological (thoughts about the socio-ecological systems aspects of the FEW-Nexus) and epistemological (thoughts about education and educational research of the FEW-Nexus) dimensions. We will next use this framework to probe more deeply into participants’ responses using thematic content analysis.

Addressing Local Food Insecurity Through A Problem-Based Learning Classroom, Kaley Mumma, Aimable Mugabo

National Collaborative for Research on Food, Energy, and Water Education (NC-FEW)

Through the frame of Problem-Based Learning (PBL), a curriculum is proposed to engage students in addressing local food insecurity. Students collaboratively define the problem, explore underlying issues, establish goals, design solutions, and implement their chosen solution to address food insecurity within their community. The importance of community engagement and utilizing local resources are highlighted in advising the implementation of this program.

2025-March-14-Etsu Administrator Earns State Pharmacy Award For Student Advocacy, Bill Gatton College Of Pharmacy, East Tennessee State University, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 14, 2025)—Steve Ellis, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, is the first non-pharmacist ever to earn the Tennessee Society of Student Pharmacists Student Advocacy Award from the Tennessee Pharmacists Association (TPA). Ellis was honored with the award on Tuesday, Feb. 25, in Nashville during TPA’s Pharmacy Day on the Hill.
 

The TSSP Student Advocacy Award is traditionally been presented annually to a professor, preceptor, or pharmacist who has demonstrated devotion to the success of student pharmacists through a commitment of life-long leadership which directly encouraged, inspired and …

Classroom Teachers' Approaches To Values Education: Exploring Explicit And Implicit Strategies For Teaching And Modeling Values, Maria Ukamaka Clare Okeke

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Abstract This study explores the approaches Nigerian secondary school teachers in Anambra State use to teach values through explicit and implicit methods. Recognizing the need to understand how values are effectively communicated in the classroom, this research delves into the dual strategies employed by educators and their impacts on student moral development. The research used a qualitative interview study approach, which included semi-structured interviews with ten experienced secondary school teachers and a document analysis of teaching resources. This method allows one to investigate the explicit instruction and implicit modeling strategies applied in values education in depth. Findings reveal that teachers …

Investigating Racial Attitudes In Higher Education Student Affairs Professionals Using The Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (Cobras), Cindy Boe

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

Abstract

While the literature has documented the existence of colorblind racism in college students and faculty members, data about student affairs professionals (SAPs) are not yet clear. The purpose of this quasi-experimental interventional single group research was to assess SAPs using the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS) to investigate whether colorblind racism is present within the culture of the student affairs profession. A pretest involved survey questions about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) statements and actions within higher education and reactions to quotations from public figures about race and society. Following a brief self-reflection about racial identity and related access …

‘You're Panicking, I'M Panicking, Let's Do It Together!’ Special Educators' Views On Family Involvement During Covid-19, Diana L. Cruz, Tracy Gershwin, Guofeng Shen, Silvia Correa-Torres

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

Communication and family engagement in education shifted significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study explored these changes by conducting ten focus groups with 43 PK-12 special educators from one school district, examining their experiences with family involvement during the first two years of the pandemic. Educators employed various innovative strategies to foster communication and maintain family involvement, including using technology, conducting home visits, offering open communication channels, and creating personal connections through interactive activities. Participants noted that decreased family involvement in the first year was primarily due to technological barriers, childcare challenges, and linguistic or communication differences. The study …

High School Students' Mathematics Experiences And Mathematics Learner Identities In A Rural Georgia Town: A Qualitative Study Using Autophotography With Photo-Elicitation, Wesley Cooper

Dissertations

This study examines the mathematics experiences (MEs) and mathematics learner identities (MLIs) of high school students in a rural Georgia town, addressing the underrepresentation of rural perspectives in mathematics education through an asset-based lens. Using autophotography with photo-elicitation, ten participants captured images reflecting their MEs, MLIs, and recommendations for improvement. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups along with two mini-cases amplified participant voices, guided by the frameworks of Four Faces of Mathematics Learner Identity (4F), Content Learning and Identity Construction (CLIC), and Critical Rural Theory (CRuT). Findings highlight how rural students’ MEs and MLIs are shaped by both the strengths of …

Re-Member The Time: Informed Engagement Through Embodied Memory Among Queer Black Greek Letter Organization Members, Shawna Patterson-Stephens, Antron Mahoney, Charles Stephens

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This study examines the reflexivity of queer BGLO members after graduation and how they made meaning of their involvement when considering encounters with past critical incidents. The authors observed how queer-identified members of Black Greek-lettered organizations navigated opportunities for campus engagement in spaces prone to present heteronormative attitudes. The authors explored how queer-identified members of Black Greek-lettered organizations navigated the processes of identity development and meaning making in spaces prone to presenting heteronormative attitudes. This work is salient because it illustrates the development of subcultures within Black counterspaces in the postsecondary sector. These analyses explicate Black queer folx’s capacity to …

Take A Risk Or Play It Safe? Views Held By Student-Athletes, Russell D. Ravert, Marissa K. Turner, Wenting Sun

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

Because assessing and managing risks is an integral part of sports, athletes may develop general beliefs regarding taking and avoiding risks that they draw upon. This qualitative study used inductive content analysis of survey responses to examine risk-related experiences and attitudes in sample of U.S. NCAA Division I college student-athletes (N = 101) from a variety of sports. Participants were asked to describe situations they experienced that required deciding whether or not to take risks, and to describe their “personal philosophy” on taking risks and playing it safe. Thematic analysis identified five situational contexts in which the student-athletes said …

The Dual Demands Of College Student-Athletes: A Qualitative Exploration Of Contributors And Barriers To Academic And Athletic Success, Kayleigh Hart, Leilani Madrigal, Alison Ede, Janaina Fogaca

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

College student-athletes perform at high levels in school and sport. Previous studies have found academic barriers (e.g., time management) and contributors (e.g., academic center supports; Hardin & Pate, 2013), but there is a need to investigate factors that impact success for athletic and academic pursuits in tandem. In the present study 176 college student-athletes across nine institutions and 18 sports answered the following: What do you feel contributes to your success (1) in school? (2) in your sport(s)? What do you feel is a barrier to your success (3) in school? (4) in your sport(s)? Themes were categorized as intrinsic …

A Qualitative Exploration Of The Robert Smith Gift At Morehouse College, Kinnis Gosha, Nina Gilbert, Whitney Nelson, Kaylah Mackroy, Mi'kayla Newell, Amber Reid, Kaela S. Jackson

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Previous scholars investigating the effects of student loan debt have conducted survey analyses involving large samples to examine the relationships among debt forgiveness, loan repayment behavior, income earnings, and returning home. Fewer works have explored the outcomes of student loan elimination in a qualitative study. In 2019, Robert Smith donated a Gift (RSGift) to the graduating class of Morehouse College, which eliminated the new graduates’ student loan debt, inviting further inquiry into their developments since receiving the gift. This study employs a qualitative investigation to examine how student loan elimination influenced the graduating classes. This study also applies Yosso’s Community …

Ai-Powered Education: Innovative Teaching Strategies To Elevate Student Learning, Karen J. Magruder, Ann M.L. Cavallo, Andrew M. Clark

Mavs Open Press Open Educational Resources - Archive

AI-Powered Education is a practical teaching resource crafted by educators, for educators, focusing on the integration of AI to enhance student learning. The book provides a collection of practical, step-by-step activities from a variety of disciplines in higher education. Each activity integrates AI tools and technologies into the classroom in innovative ways, with detailed guidance for instructors to seamlessly adopt these ideas.

2025 March 5 - Undergraduate Curriculum Council Minutes, Undergraduate Curriculum Council, East Tennessee State University

Undergraduate Curriculum Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

Digital Multimodal Composing In An L2 Italian Classroom: The Effects Of Digital Video Projects On Students’ Development And Investment, Francesca Marino

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the calls for integrating digital multimodal composing (DMC) into second language (L2) pedagogy, learners’ gains in terms of L2 development beyond writing remain largely unexplored. Additionally, while research points to the potential of DMC to promote students’ engagement and motivation in the L2 classroom (e.g., Hava, 2021; Hull & Nelson, 2005; Shin & Cimasko, 2008), learners’ investment (Darvin & Norton, 2015, 2023; Norton, 1995) in L2 learning through DMC has been underrepresented in previous literature. In addition, DMC research on investment until now has almost exclusively focused on the learning of English as a foreign or second language (e.g., …

Practice Implications For Supporting International Students’ Racial Learning In The Us, Mianmian Fei

Critical Internationalization Studies Review

No abstract provided.

The Masters Program: A Model For Teaching Adolescents Soft Skills For Career Readiness, Jewrell Rivers

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This workshop will introduce conference participants to the MASTERS Program, a model for teaching adolescents soft skills for career readiness. Participants will engage in small group discussions, simulation activities and interactive exercises to fulfill learning objectives. Participants will be provided with guidance on how to implement the MASTERS Program at their school for preparing students for success in the workplace.

Integrating Information And Communication Technologies To Enhance High School Students’ Research Capabilities, Kareen Marie E. Palines, Jenie Mary U. Moreno, Aron G. Tatlonghari, Ruth Ortega-Dela Cruz

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Integrating information and communication technologies into research curricula can help students become more proficient researchers. Students need strong research capabilities in the modern educational environment to handle the challenges of information access and analysis. This article reveals the results of a study that explored the use of Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly Operated Kiosk Stations (STARBOOKS), a program developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for use in public schools in the Philippines. The study investigated the effect of this technology on 36 purposefully selected Grade 9 students working on science investigatory projects in the Science, …

The Heart Of Higher Education: Rediscovering Meditation From The Margins Of Learning To A Liberatory Pedagogy In The Post-Pandemic University, Jinting Wu, Yuejia Wang, Yu Wu, Qi Zhang

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

On May 14^th, 2022, a racially motivated mass shooting occurred in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Western New York. The trauma brought fresh anguish to a fraught social landscape already shaken by COVID-19 and resurgent racism. This paper explores the formation of a campus meditation group that emerged in light of the shooting tragedy and prolonged pandemic suffering, and its members’ journeys of healing, self-discovery, and transformation. While scholars have critiqued the neoliberal higher education for producing self-enterprising individuals motivated by economic rationality, this paper offers our humble attempt to re-center meditation as a liberatory pedagogy in fostering …

Oer Learning In Disguise Toolkit, Alessandra Early, Nicole Mckenna

Open Educational Resources

The OER Learning in Disguise Toolkit, created by Doctors Alessandra Early and Nicole McKenna, is a series of learning materials that ask students to apply key criminal justice concepts to arenas like social media or popular culture, emphasizing media literacy, active reading, and creative thinking. The toolkit includes an introduction; five assignment descriptions (each divided into an instructor-facing section with notes on how to explain the assignment, and a student-facing section with the sample assignment description); one in-class activity; and an appendix with additional readings and materials.

Digital Inequalities And U.S. Undergraduate Outcomes Over The First Two Years Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Vikki Katz, Amy B. Jordan, Katherine Ognyanova

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated major and rapid changes to undergraduate student learning conditions, but the longer-term consequences of those changes have yet to be fully understood. We assess how digital inequality—defined as challenges in accessing or maintaining a broadband internet connection and functional digital devices—affected undergraduates’ advancement toward on-time graduation over the first two years of the pandemic (2020-2022). We utilize survey data from a representative sample of 1,106 undergraduates at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, a public, 4-year university located in New Jersey, USA. Respondents were undergraduates who had been enrolled in full-time student status throughout the first two years …

Values Of Oral Literature In African Society: A Case Of YorùBá Folksongs And Traditional Festivals, Surajudeen Adewale Badru, Victoria Oludunni Ogunniran, Saudat Adebisi Hamzat

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Folksongs and traditional festivals are central to almost every activity of the Yoruba people. The contemporary world is full of pains, worries, sufferings and despair and various anti-social activities, in spite of pompous claims and glaring efforts of science and technology in solving old problems to create many new ones. Hence, every individual needs to relax, amuse, and get his or her mind off the dull struggles, worries and sorrows of life through folksongs and festivals. The Yoruba folksongs and festivals as soul-searchers and soul-menders therefore, serve the aesthetic, therapeutic and communicative purposes as tension relievers as well as elixir …

Enhancing University Retention Through Faculty/Staff Mentor-Mentee Relationships: An Interpersonal Communication Approach, Emma Catherine Richardson

Master's Theses

This study investigates the role of interpersonal communication in faculty and staff mentorship and its impact on undergraduate student retention, focusing on struggling students at Louisiana Tech University. With a national retention rate of 68.2% and persistent disparities among underrepresented groups, improving student retention remains a critical issue in higher education. The research addresses a gap in understanding how communication practices, such as active listening, empathy, and constructive feedback, influence mentorship effectiveness. Guided by Interpersonal Communication Theory and Social Support Theory, this qualitative study utilized semi-structured interviews with 12 undergraduate students. Thematic analysis revealed key findings: mentors who demonstrated empathy, …

2024-2025 Lindenwood University Honors Convocation, Lindenwood University

Honors Convocation Programs

2024-2025 Lindenwood University Honors Convocation

Accessibility Disclosure Statements: Best Practices For Documenting Inclusive And Accessible Web-Based Research Design, Alicia Mason, Elizabeth Spencer, Pan Liu, Kristen Livingston, Sakshi Bhati, Angela Ashmore, Tristan A. Spencer, Lauren Shepard

Faculty Submissions

Accessibility disclosure is a core principle of the Project IRIS Best Practice Framework. This instructional resource-- Accessibility Disclosure Statements: Best Practices for Documenting Inclusive Web-Based Research Design-introduces options for reporting accessible web-based research design efforts in scholarly and professional publications. The three forms of accessibility disclosure statements are introduced: summary statements, reports of analysis--both general and specific-, and detailed process descriptions. Each of these strategies including terms, conceptual definitions, and examples are provided. The instructional resource may be of interest to undergraduate and graduate course instructors teaching research methods courses in a variety of social science disciplines.

Journal Of Educational Leadership In Action, Volume 9, Issue 3, Full Issue

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Psyche And Into The Social: How Educational Leaders Embrace Sociological Resilience To Disrupt Systems And Advance Equity, Jason Le-Reselosa, Anindya Kundu

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

Oftentimes, educational leaders and stakeholders are encouraged to be “resilient” in an unfair and inequitable education system that is entrenched within our social contexts and spaces. This meaning of resilience is manifested by “pushing” oneself through adversity and the status quo by employing adaptive coping strategies and measures to sustain mental health capacities, even if one could be on the brink of losing control of their sense of self. In this article, we reimagine resilience on how educational leaders from different socioeconomic backgrounds adopt a revolutionary approach to resilience that works in tandem with disrupting systemic issues, rather than remaining …

African American Women Faculty Experiences And Perceived Organizational Culture At Community Colleges: A Qualitative Study, Deliah Brown

The Journal of the Research Association of Minority Professors

This qualitative study examined experiences and perceptions of African American women faculty at two community colleges in the Southern United States. Ten African American women faculty members who met the study's criteria were interviewed. Six key themes emerged related to their experiences within the organizational culture at these community colleges: (1) African American women faculty described diversity as not being a genuine organizational goal; (2) African American women described social networks as essential for employment; (3) African American women adjuncts described their part-time status as permanent; (4) African American women faculty described racism as pervasive; (5) African American women faculty …

No. 15, March 2025: California’S Treasures: Supporting Superdiverse Youth Through Research, Policy And Practice, Magaly Lavadenz Ph.D., Linda R. G. Kaminski Ed.D, Elvira G. Armas Ed.D., Dayna Mitchell Ed.D.

Education and Policy Briefs

This research and policy brief provides an overview of the Center for Equity for English Learner’s Superdiverse Adolescent Multilingual Learners Resource Guide. The publication follows the Global California 2030 call to recognize and promote the home languages and cultures of English Learners as valuable resources to increase multilingualism within the state. The term “Superdiverse” is used to acknowledge the many facets of diversity that make up the identities of English/Multilingual Learners in addition to the breadth of linguistic diversity encompassed within their language journeys. Twenty-six English/Multilingual Learners between grades seven and twelve were interviewed about their school experiences as culturally …

“The Only Ones I Could Rely On”: An Exploration Of The International Athlete Experience At Ncaa Division I Institutions, Chris Corr, Nicole Sellars, Christopher Atwater, Charles Macaulay, Karina Jolly, Sarah Stokowski, Marek Taškár

Journal of Applied Sport Management

International athletes constitute a significant demographic within NCAA Division I athletics, offering diverse cultural perspectives and often enhancing team performance. Despite the documented importance of social support structures in facilitating their socio-cultural adaptation, the role of institutional and organizational support remains underexplored. This study aims to bridge this gap by examining the experiential satisfaction of international athletes competing in NCAA Division I sports, with a particular focus on their perceptions of institutional and organizational support. Utilizing a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 international athletes across multiple NCAA Division I institutions. The findings reveal varying degrees of dissatisfaction, …

A Review Of The Ripple Effect Of Parental Incarceration: Suggestions For System Improvement From Neonatal Development Through Adolescence, Karen Thew, April Terry

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

Parental incarceration has the potential to drastically affect the social, behavioral, and physical lives of children. Such negative impacts include prenatal and chronic health conditions, behavioral and mental health issues, developmental delays, juvenile and criminal legal system involvement, and overall declines in well-being. These damaging outcomes occur for babies delivered during their mothers’ incarceration with negative lingering effects seen throughout the lifespan. Due to the stigmatization of incarceration, these children may experience bullying, engage in isolating behaviors, and struggle within the school, which may lead to the school-to-prison pipeline. While prevention and intervention services directed at these youth could not …