Digital Commons Network^™

Trauma-Informed Practices In Education, Ashley Winfield

Honors Projects and Presentations: Undergraduate

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has a set of guidelines regarding trauma-informed practices in the medical field. When working with individuals who have experienced trauma, the way in which we interact with them matters. What is less standard than these CDC guidelines, though, is how to best support students who have experienced some level of trauma or adverse childhood experiences (ACES) in the classroom. How can we equip educators with the tools needed to support students in their classrooms who have experienced trauma? Transforming Education created a list of five key trauma-informed social-emotional learning principles to guide teachers …

Physical Educators’ Self-Efficacy To Teach Students With Disabilities Across Instructional Placements, Lindsey Ann Nowland

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Although there are several well used self-efficacy instruments designed to measure PE teachers’ self-efficacy to teach students with disabilities, limitations to these scales exits, such as a narrow focus on integrated instructional placements and an absence of theoretically relevant sources of self-efficacy information built within the scales. These limitations translate to a significant gap in the literature between measuring PE teachers’ self-efficacy and understanding how sources of self-efficacy information interact to shape PE teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, as well as understanding how different instructional placements may inform efficacy. This dissertation was structured in a two-manuscript approach. The purpose of the first …

Preschool Children Learn About Regulating Emotions, Elisa Camacho

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This project was done to teach preschool children how to self-regulate, as well as see what they know about self-regulation.

Burnout And Depression In Teachers And Members Of Other Occupational Groups: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analyses On Potentially Overlapping Conditions, Gail Swingler

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Burnout has long been recognized as a workplace issue among teachers, and other occupational groups. Burnout has potentially been increasing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Researchers tend to regard burnout as a distinct syndrome comprising emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and reduced personal accomplishment (rPA). Recent evidence suggests that burnout (as a tripartite syndrome) lacks discriminant validity vis-à-vis depression. The overlap between burnout and depression was examined through two meta-analytic studies.

The first study (K = 13) examined the relationship between burnout and depression in teachers with burnout assessed using the MBI. The findings indicated that exhaustion (EE), and depression …

Re-Storying Teaching: Using Narradrama To Address Burnout In Public School Teachers, Heather Carroll

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The public school system in the United States is experiencing an increasing crisis in teacher retention and effectiveness due, in part, to the effects of burnout on teaching staff. Teachers often face significant stressors such as tense parent-teacher relationships, state and federal mandates on testing, low financial compensation and limited benefits, and negative sociocultural stereotypes about their roles and responsibilities as educators (Westervelt, 2016; von der Embse et al., 2019). These stressors, if not managed effectively on an individual and systemic level, can lead to burnout (Maslach, 2001). This condition involves symptoms such as emotional and physical exhaustion, disinvestment from …

Investigating Correlations Among A Growth-Mindset Intervention, Students’ Math Anxiety, And Students’ Math Self-Efficacy, Anna Grace Chamberlain

Honors Projects

This paper details the methodology, data, and conclusions of a research study investigating the correlations among a growth-mindset intervention, math anxiety, and math self-efficacy. The study found that teaching students about mindset through an intervention approach did not make a significant difference in students’ math anxiety or math self-efficacy. Teacher-centered factors are discussed as having a greater impact on students’ math anxiety and math self-efficacy.

Disruption, Dissent, And Dialogue: Ypar As A Pedagogical And Institutional Tool, Charlene E. Holkenbrink-Monk

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Education reform has been at the forefront of educational research for decades, depicted by government initiatives and policy, research, and pedagogical changes and recommendations. When considering elements of educational change, policy, best practices, and individual merit and retention have also been heavily in the spotlight, such as A Nation at Risk, No Child Left Behind , and other policies that have been put forward. What is often left out is student voice, both within policy as well as ideas around what should be changed. Based on my pilot study, I found that students also did not feel adequately represented in …

"Everything Is Political Now": Teaching Politics In The Age Of Trump, John G. Lund

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Many American high school government and history teachers aim to convey curriculum content without bringing in their own personal political beliefs or biases. However, in the hyperpolarized political climate of the past decade, teachers have grappled with teaching their courses when potentially controversial political or cultural issues come up in class conversations or lessons. Their teaching decisions and the classroom environment can have an impact on students’ learning, mental health, and their own views on American politics, history, and culture. This qualitative, narrative inquiry study examined ten high school teachers’ practice of teaching politics in the age of Trump. Findings …

Perceived Levels Of Teaching Self-Efficacy Among Advanced Ces Doctoral Students Engaging In External Pedagogical Experiences, Erika Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study examined factors of internal preparation practices (i.e., coursework in college teaching, fieldwork in college teaching, and frequency of supervision) and external pedagogical experiences (i.e., holding a bachelor’s or master’s degree in teaching and adjunct faculty experiences in higher education) and their potential effects on teaching self-efficacy among counselor education and supervision doctoral students. This study identified both significant and non-significant relationships between the stated variables. Contrary to previous research (Suddeath et al., 2020), internal preparation practices did not significantly predict scores of teaching self-efficacy among this population. However, the findings suggest that participants holding a bachelor’s or …

Teacher Growth In Knowledge Of Conservation Of Energy And In Self-Efficacy, Paul H. Wilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines a conversation between a group of three in-service teachers during a professional development workshop. During the workshop, the teachers collaborated to answer a set of survey questions pertaining to energy concepts in physical science. The teachers began the survey expressing low self-efficacy in their knowledge of energy. Through this study, we were able to observe teachers as they learned new concepts. This study used a narrative analysis of their conversation. The analysis centers on changes in the teachers’ common content knowledge of conservation of energy and their expressed self-efficacy regarding that knowledge. Their knowledge was evaluated from …

Encouraging Activism In Secondary English: Reading And Writing For Social Justice, Elisabeth Spinner

Dissertations

This dissertation presents researched backed, social justice oriented teaching strategies secondary English teachers can implement to encourage their students to think critically and take action on issues that matter to them. Foundational to this research is critical inquiry which encourages students to not read or listen to information passively, but rather to investigate, critique, explore, and ask questions of what they are reading. This approach is necessary when encouraging students to dispel myths and stereotypes, understand questions of rights and justice, and find the right way to be involved. The English classroom is an ideal place for students to do …

It’S A Bleed: Pediatric Hemophilia And Length Of Stay, Rural Vs Urban Hospitals, Daniel G. Liedl

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Hemophilia is a rare genetic disorder that requires specialty care and treatment. Pediatric patients with hemophilia have unique medical issues that may lead to permanent disability or death if not properly diagnosed and treated in a timely manner. Due to lack of resources and proper training of staff, rural hospitals are not equipped to properly treat pediatric hemophilia patients. Utilizing the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Kids´ Inpatient Database (KID) of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. I have found, across all hospital types, pediatric hemophilia patients have longer lengths of stay, 2.7 days for rural hospitals, 4.6 …

Best Practices Of Teaching Public Speaking Online, Sally Dufner

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Teaching public speaking online has been highly contested by communication studies instructors. The need for having a live audience has been a staple in public speaking from its inception. The COVID 19 pandemic forced many reluctant public speaking faculty members to teach this pivotal course online. Communication studies departments were required to examine their stance of offering it online or not. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to answer the following three questions: (1) Is there validity in teaching public speaking online? (2) What are best practices in teaching public speaking courses online? and (3) How do best …

Exploring Educators’ Perceptions Of Legislation About Discrimination, Archer Brooke Miller

Honors Theses and Capstones

Across the nation, there have been efforts in “36 states to restrict education on racism, bias, the contributions of specific racial or ethnic groups to U.S. history, or related topics” (Stout). These laws essentially banned the teaching of critical race theory and systemic racism in all public K-12 classrooms. This study is pertinent because teaching about systemic racism is important. It was critical to shed light on this topic and show people why Sections 297 and 298 of House Bill 2 were salient and what impact it was having.

Perceptions Of High Achieving High School Students Regarding The Professionalization Of Teaching And Their Interest In Becoming Teachers, Jonathan Crossley

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

This study was designed to highlight the factors that contribute to high-achieving high school students not deciding to join the teaching profession. There is growing evidence to indicate that the teaching profession is comprised mostly of educators in their first five years in the profession and educators with more than 25 years of teaching experience. Increasing numbers of educators are leaving the profession within their first five years in a classroom. On the other end of the spectrum, as teachers with more than 25 years of experience ultimately retire, the question remains about the viability of the profession for younger …

Bringing Up Buddhas: How Mindfulness Can Impact The Next Generation, Alex Tzelnic

Mindfulness Studies Theses

The following presents both a rationale paper and a creative thesis on the topic of how mindfulness can meaningfully impact the next generation. Given the daunting issues faced by Generation Alpha (those born after 2010), including climate change, social justice, and mental health, understanding how the tool of mindfulness can best support children, as well as inform the caretakers most influential to them such as parents and educators, is crucial.

The following rationale paper outlines how mindfulness can make an impact in the fields of parenting and education, as well as in addressing the pertinent issues mentioned above. In surveying …

The Development Of Teacher Identity In Counselor Education Doctoral Students, Wesley Allen

Doctoral Dissertations

Moving forward, the field of counseling needs to continue to be concerned about strengthening its identity (Kaplan et al., 2014). Part of this process concerns the training of competent and effective professional counselors. It is important that consideration be given to how the individuals preparing these counselors are trained. Counselor education doctoral students, as part of their training to become counselor educators, are prepared to work as counselors, scholars, leaders, supervisors, and teachers. While we have a firm understanding of how these students develop in general (Limberg et al., 2014; Moss et al., 2014), there is little known about how …

Supporting Teachers During Restorative Justice Implementation : The Role Of Silence, Reflection, And Dialogue, Nicole E. Menting-Wilson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

ABSTRACTAcross the United States, Restorative Justice (RJ) practices are adopted with the intent to transform zero-tolerant and neoliberal school environments into cultures of care. RJ utilizes dialogue, reflection, and silence as tools to honor human relationships, build community, and respect diversity. Although it is known that school change is intricately connected to teacher change, there has been little attention given on how to best support teachers during RJ implementation. This study engaged seven teachers and one school psychologist in bi-weekly circles over a period of three months around the topic of creating a culture of care. The study inquired how …

Principals’ Perception On Teacher Evaluations During The 2020-2021 School Year, Luke Mosiman

Leadership Education Capstones

The reason for this qualitative study was to understand principal’s perspective of their teacher evaluation tool effectiveness during the 2020-2021 school year. Schools in this study were all from the same upper Midwestern state. The districts these schools were in had learning models range from full in person to full distance learning for most of the 2020-2021 school year. The participants were asked through surveys and an interview how they felt their evaluation tool was able to measure teacher performance in the areas of class atmosphere, classroom management, content delivery, and student engagement. Results indicate the evaluation tool was able …

Development And Testing Of The Performance Diagnostic Checklist For Instructors, Jesse Depaolo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Behavior analysts have been studying behavior related to academic instruction for decades (Dunlap et al., 2001). Instruction has focused primarily on K-12 teachers with much less emphasis on college level instructors (Baum & McPherson, 2019). Additionally, studies related to improving instruction often lack information related to why a particular intervention was chosen. Creating an assessment tool to assist in determining interventions that would be most effective for improving classroom or virtual instruction could be beneficial. Therefore, the purpose of study one was to develop the Performance Diagnostic Checklist for Instructors (PDC-I) which will help guide supervisors of college instructors into …

Lolita In The Contemporary American Classroom: Pedagogical And Learning Approaches, Jasmine Revels

Master’s Theses and Projects

The purpose of this study is to discover effective collegiate-level teaching and learning strategies for Vladimir Nabokov’s 1958 novel Lolita in the midst of the current American political and social climate. Some of the factors of the current political and social climate in the United States thought to have an effect on the teaching of Lolita, and were thus considered for further inquiry, were cancel culture, the Me Too Movement, and trigger warnings. Primary research was collected from college students and English college professors. To obtain this research and the opinions of respondents regarding this topic, a combination of both …

Pedagogic Recontextualization In Health Science Education During A Global Pandemic: Faculty Perspectives On Instructional Adaptations, Kara R. De La Fosse

Education Doctorate Dissertations

This qualitative study explored Health Science faculty navigating learning during a global pandemic. Data collection sources for the study comprised individual interviews, individual online questionnaires, and a focus group. The study produced four emergent themes from data analysis of individual interviews, online questionnaires, and the focus group: Faculty Flexibility with Responding to Virtual Instructional Delivery, Shift from Didactic to Conceptual Contextual Learning, Shift in Assessment of Skills and Competency, and Faculty Creativity in Changing the State of Practice Through Course Design. Conclusions from the study established changing pedagogy from a teacher-focused to student-focused approach and employing creativity were paramount with …

Hope In A Time Of Global Unrest: An Ethnographic Study, Sabrina Hanson

Claremont Graduate University School of Education Teacher Education

This paper documents the observations, struggles, and insights of a first year teacher. It is a year-long documentation of the search for hope during a global pandemic that affected the way schools functioned and how students learned. This work is in three distinct sections. The first section is a self-reflection of identity and why this teacher chose teaching as a profession. The second section is focused on two of their students, one who is immunocompromised, and one who has significant learning challenges, and how they navigated the quarantine during the pandemic through their expression of learning. The third section reflects …

Journalism Through Learning Design, Geoff Decker

Capstones

Abstract

At its core, journalism is a civic enterprise with a mission to help citizens better understand their world and communities. Fulfilling this lofty mission in today’s digital media landscape poses new and evolving challenges, but it also presents a unique opportunity to reexamine the relationship between storytellers and their audiences. Advancements in the learning sciences in recent decades offer important insights into how the mind works. In teaching and learning, pedagogical experts and practitioners increasingly utilize these insights to refine and implement instructional strategies that increase student engagement, motivation, and learning. This capstone project aims to establish a framework …

New Perspectives On Promoting Efl Teaching And Learning In Oman, Jihan Sulaiman Al Naabi

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is an accumulation of work that the author accomplished during her study in the program of Master of Second Language Teaching at Utah State University. It is an outcome of the author’s personal teaching experiences, insights gained from her master’s study, and several class observations as well.

The portfolio comprises three primary portions: (1) teaching perspectives, (2) research perspectives, and (3) an annotated bibliography. The teaching perspectives revolve around the author’s beliefs on the role of both teachers and students in L2 classrooms, the communicative teaching of grammar, and the value of a positive learning environment. The research …

Student-Centered, Interaction-Based, Community-Driven Language Teaching, Sharon Lyman

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is a compilation that highlights some of the author’s accomplished work while in the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program at Utah State University (USU). Organized into sections that reflect the author’s teaching and research perspectives as a MSLT graduate student and instructor, who taught intensive English reading, writing, and conversation courses for the Intensive English Language Institute (IELI).

In the first section, teaching perspectives, the author describes her desired professional environment, shares her personal teaching philosophy statement, and accounts for her professional development through classroom observations. In the second section, research perspectives, two research papers and …

Physical Education Teachers' Attitudes Towards Teaching Zumba To Children With Disabilities, Evelina C. Brandon

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of physical education teachers toward teaching Zumba to children with disabilities during physical education classes. Sixty-two physical education (PE) teachers (Mean Age = 42.13, 15 males, 47 females) participated in this cross-sectional survey design study. The survey data was analyzed using Pearson correlation methods, independent t tests, and the Cronbach’s coefficient technique to measure correlation, variance between participants, and the reliability and validity of the survey. Findings indicated that physical education teachers believed that teaching students Zumba in PE class would be beneficial and effective for students with disabilities. This …

Wood Or Steel? Six Practices For An Effective Learning Relationship From Martial Arts To Psychology, Jessica Luginbuhl

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Becoming a psychologist is founded on supervision, the practice of learning the craft by doing the craft under the watchful eye of an expert. Becoming a black belt in martial arts is based on a similar principle of endless practice with the guidance of a master. How a teacher, supervisor, or sensei navigates the relationship with their student is crucial to the student’s ability to arrive at mastery of the craft. Methods for creating an appropriate and effective teacher/student relationship are explored by examining parallels between teaching practices used by karate teachers, and teaching practices used by graduate-level supervisors. Relevant …

Evaluación Del Impacto De Los Programas De Alfabetización Informacional De La Biblioteca La Victoria, Ronald Alfonso Villalba Paramo

Sistemas de Información, Bibliotecología y Archivística

La presente Investigación muestra el impacto de la Alfabetización Informacional en el adulto mayor de la Biblioteca la Victoria Ubicada en Bogotá zona San Cristóbal, respondiendo a la pregunta ¿Cuál es el impacto de los programas de Alfabetización Informacional de la Biblioteca la Victoria? y como los contenidos de enseñanza de la biblioteca pública son relevantes para que el adulto mayor sea incluido en una sociedad abordada por la tecnología, donde la Biblioteca Pública tiene un papel crucial para que el adulto mayor sea una persona, Alfabetizada en tecnología y temas de actualidad académica. Los programas de Alfabetización Informacional, el …

Methods Of Teaching Latin: Theory, Practice, Application, Morgan A. Nicoulin

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this project, I present a way to effectively blend modern theories of language acquisition and the contemporary practice of teaching Latin. I intend to demonstrate that a curriculum is able to balance both traditional and innovative philosophies by adapting Second Language Acquisition Theory’s idealized way to learn a language to fit the realistic limitations of the classroom. I begin with a discussion of the history of language pedagogy, focusing on Latin’s influence on the study of language learning from antiquity to present. Next, I present the key topics in SLA and the practical implications of this research for today’s …