Digital Commons Network^™

Finding A Common Thread, Jacqueline Parkins

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio investigates how the author’s personality type influences her teaching and reveals a common thread amongst four written pieces. Two of the projects are research-based; BookTubing as a form of reader response theory is explored, while abuse in Sharp Objects is analyzed. The other two papers are teaching-based; the author describes how she uses The Five People You Meet in Heaven in her classroom, and select texts from Poe are incorporated using psychoanalytic criticism.

Mindset And Its Effect On Student Science Achievement, Ethan Peters

Honors Projects

The focus of this study is to assess student attitudes and beliefs about their abilities in the science classroom and whether those can be changed. In this study, surveys of students’ mindset were administered, a mindset intervention was implemented, student choice was observed, and standardized test scores were collected to study mindset and its influence on academic performance and behaviors, and whether a mindset intervention can influence student attitudes and beliefs. While no statistically significant findings were observed, important implications for supporting the mindset of students in the classroom are discussed.

Teaching By Number: Creating A Curricular Masterpiece, Amy Rousseau

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

Using color-by-number as a common thread, the author of this portfolio explores how teaching can be like painting. As a teacher/artist, she reflects how writing pedagogy informs her teaching, analyzing one unit as a reflection of pedagogical influences. One of the pieces critically examines Extremely Loud and Incredible Close through theories of Nietzsche and Baudelaire. The final two pieces provide teaching units. The first aids students in developing persuasive style by examining different grammatical choices. The second uses poetry and photography to create multimodal compositions about important places.

Ma Final Portfolio, Jessica Puder

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio features a revised syllabus for an online writing course, job application packet, and two researched papers.

The Ability Of Thaumoctopus Mimicus To Be Operantly Conditioned To A Sound Stimulus, Stephanie Wittman

Honors Projects

This paper focuses on the ability of the mimic octopus Thaumoctopus mimicus to be operantly conditioned to an auditory stimulus. The octopus is known to be the most advanced of the invertebrates and has learning abilities that are comparable to vertebrates in spite of their differences in brain structure. These animals have been shown to react to visual and tactile stimuli and can be operantly conditioned to perform behaviors to obtain a food reward. The goal of this experiment is to determine whether the octopus can be operantly conditioned to swim into a box on the side of its tank …

The Effects Of Problem-Based Learning On Student Engagement In My Mathematics Classroom, Sydney Mcquate

Honors Projects

The main purpose of this research is to see what effects problem-based learning has on student engagement cognitively, behaviorally, and emotionally. Some research has found that problem-based learning increases students' cognitive engagement in the classroom. This research will be conducted over a three week period and analyze student engagement during a traditional unit and a problem-based learning unit.

Teacher Passion: A Student Perspective, Rebecca Stetler

WRIT: Journal of First-Year Writing

Existing research explores teacher passion and its effects in student outcomes using teachers as participants. This paper examines teacher passion and student outcomes from the perspective of recent high school graduates. This broadens the scope of pedagogy regarding teacher passion and student outcomes. This study reveals some agreements as well as some discrepancies concerning teacher passion between the two perspectives.

Icebreakers And Anxiety, Sara Jurkiewicz

WRIT: Journal of First-Year Writing

This project is based on a personal experience of feeling anxious during icebreakers. It is also incorporated the idea of shyness and sociability and related these to anxiety in general and during icebreakers. A survey was created with questions based on a previous survey, common symptoms of anxiety, and other personal symptoms with anxiety during icebreakers. The survey was distributed among students at one college. The results of the survey were analyze using various functions on a spreadsheet to give each respondent an identity and to organize the data in a fashion suitable for graphs and charts. The result do …

Student Motivation And College Assignments: A Study Of The Relationship Between Academic Confidence And How Projects Are Assigned, Carollynn M. Judge

WRIT: Journal of First-Year Writing

Motivation is a universal internal force that propels people to complete tasks. Without motivation, an individual will not complete a task despite any external reward (Ngyuen, 2008). People contain both extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is caused by an outside force such as a deadline, while intrinsic motivation is the driving force to expand one’s horizons and increase knowledge on a topic (Singh, 2011). Motivation to complete a task can also be influenced by the goals presented by an educator or authority figure. Performance-based goals assess an individual’s ability to complete a task and align with extrinsic motivation; …

The Criterion Collection, Mackenna Finley

Honors Projects

The Criterion Collection is an examination of truth in fiction and poetry. The goal of this project is not to create truth that is absolute, but instead to allow for the experience of its subjectivity. The interplay between fiction and poetry, reader and author illuminates the subtle warping of truth through human experience.

College Students And Their Political Participation, Emily Williams

Honors Projects

Historically, college students have had a low voter turnout despite having particularly high political engagement. This is a problem because it is instilling a bad habit of not politically engaging to the extent that a productive United States citizen should. By not voting, Americans are losing their rights to representation that reflects their views and beliefs. In this paper I discuss why this low voter turnout is negative and what the United States can do, via the government and educational institutions, to increase voter turnout. In this research, the reader will discover the reasons for low voting rates among college …

Correcting Student Motivation In A Mathematics Classroom, Joshua Mcpheron

Honors Projects

The intentions of this action research study are to analyze the motivational components of students in a classroom and test which forms of encouragement will create the most motivation. Utilizing the Motivational Systems Theory of Martin E. Ford, students will be measured quantitatively and qualitatively for their classroom motivation and which component of the theory causes them to lack it. The results will reveal how each type of student responds to different teaching styles, and how they will be motivated as a result.

Wai Puna: An Indigenous Model Of Māori Water Safety And Health In Aotearoa, New Zealand, Chanel Phillips Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Māori (the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa, New Zealand) are intimately connected to wai (i.e., water) yet are overrepresented in New Zealand’s drowning statistics each year. On average Māori account for 20-24% of all preventable and non-preventable drowning fatalities, despite comprising only 15 percent of New Zealand’s population. Drowning remains a significant issue posing a threat to whānau (i.e., families) through premature death being imminent and whakapapa (i.e., genealogy) being interrupted. There is limited research that has examined Māori and indigenous understandings of water safety within the literature and limited studies that have investigated the issue of Māori drowning from a …

The Effect Of Mozart’S Music On Test Anxiety, Emma Blevins

Honors Projects

Test anxiety is a multitude of negative responses to evaluation, which can have an adverse effect on student performance on examinations and student health. Research has found that listening to slow or classical music can help reduce student test anxiety by improving spatial-temporal reasoning, improving student focus, and reducing the physiological effects of anxiety. In my classroom, listening to Mozart’s music was shown to have a positive effect on students’ emotional well-being. However, the students in my classroom did not have a significant change in performance on mathematics exams when listening to Mozart’s music.

Training Evaluation For Introductory Ocean Lifeguard Instruction: A Practical Example From California, William A. Koon, Ryan M. Gates, Jack Futoran

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Ocean lifeguards have several responsibilities that require precise training. California State Parks is one of the largest providers of open water lifeguard services in the United States, and trains approximately 200 new lifeguards per year. As part of our lifeguard training section’s quality improvement efforts, we conducted a training needs assessment to help determine how well our introductory ocean lifeguard training curriculum prepared lifeguards to perform job related tasks upon successful completion of the training program. We surveyed both first year and seasoned lead lifeguards on operational needs, training gaps, and specific subject areas. We identified several areas where our …

Drowning Of Pet Owners During Attempted Animal Rescues: The Avir-A Syndrome, John Pearn, Amy E. Peden, Richard Charles Franklin

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The rescuer who drowns can result from the attempted rescue of a human or an animal. We report here a total population analysis of all drowning fatalities for the 14-year period 1–July-2002 to 30-June-2016 which involved an attempted rescue of an animal. Cases were drawn from the Royal Life Saving National Fatal Drowning Database, which in turn, derived its data primarily from the National Coronial Information System (NCIS). Eight people drowned, all adults (ranging in age from 19-74 years), in the attempted rescue of an animal. Seven of the animals were domestic pet dogs, and in two cases farm animals. …

How About Leisurerising The Retail Experience, Jack Samuels

Visions in Leisure and Business

This article tries to characterize the fluid retail/merchandising environments that are becoming increasingly complex and driven often by not just material needs for products but also by experiences. The marketing of products and services often is not even fully related to the attributes of the entities being sold.

The Comparative Mall Shopping Behavior: Three Countries From The Middle East, Mehmet Hauk Koksal

Visions in Leisure and Business

Purpose: The main purpose of the current study is to investigate the consumers' mall shopping behaviour. The study examined the differences in terms of shopping motives, mall attributes, activities carried out, product purchased in malls, and visiting patterns among the consumers from three different countries in the Middle East.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The countries were selected on the basis of convenience sampling. When sampling individual respondents in the malls, however, systematic random sampling was employed. A total of 1084 mall customers were interviewed in the exits of the malls through a structured questionnaire. Of the 1084 respondents, 324 were collected from Lebanon, …

Lgbtq Training For Aquatic Employees: Impact On Attitudes And Professional Competencies, Austin R. Anderson, Eric Knee, William D. Ramos

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

This study examined the impact of a LGBTQ diversity training on the attitudes and professional competencies of aquatic employees within a campus recreational sports setting. While diversity training is often discussed as a key component of inclusive aquatic programming, little empirical research examining the outcomes associated with such trainings exists. As such, members of the research team developed, implemented, and evaluated a four-month long training program consisting of one in-person training session and monthly inclusion handouts discussing issues related to the inclusion of LGBTQ participants. A comparative quantitative research design was used to measure employee’s attitudes towards the LGBTQ population …

Aquatic Therapy Interventions And Disability: A Recreational Therapy Perspective, Jason Scott, Angela Wozencroft, Vincenzo Nocera, Kelsey Webb, Jodi Anderson, Avery Blankenburg, Darrien Watson, Sophie Lowe

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Aquatic therapy interventions are critical for individuals with disabilities and the role of the therapist is just as critical for successful and effective interventions. The field of therapeutic recreation trains students to develop and implement evidence-based facilitation techniques including the use of aquatic therapy to assist in helping clients achieve a change in functional status. This review of the literature examined the impact of aquatic therapy interventions on a variety of disabilities including osteoarthritis, multiple sclerosis, Cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, and mental health from a recreational therapy (RT) perspective. This review provides a variety of information on the positive …

Kanopy: Olivia Humphrey, Giang Nguyen

Media Company Leader Presentations

No abstract provided.

Racial-Ethnic Differences In Punitiveness Among American Adults, Helena Pittroff

Honors Projects

It is believed that the punitive values of the United States have had a direct positive correlation with the mass incarceration rates experienced in the United States. Many studies have attempted to understand variation in punitiveness across social groups, and have found that there are consistent racial differences that exist. Past research mostly focused on differences between Black and White individuals, but none has included the analysis of those of Hispanic origin. Using pooled data from the 2014, 2016, and 2018 General Social Survey (N = 7,753), the current project examines racial/ethnic differences in punitiveness for White, Black, and Hispanic …

General Education Teachers’ Perspectives On The Effectiveness Of Dyslexia Identification And The Potential Use Of Teacher Administered Screening Tests, Emily Ewry

Honors Projects

Dyslexia is a learning disorder with symptoms that greatly impact students in educational settings and these impacts can extend beyond the walls of school into everyday life. Progress has been made to identify and accommodate more students with dyslexia, but students still are diagnosed late into their schooling or go undiagnosed. To evaluate this problem, this study was designed to turn to general education teachers in Ohio with a survey. The survey looks at general education teachers’ knowledge on dyslexia and the dyslexia identification process, the impact undiagnosed dyslexia may or may not have in the classroom, and the teachers’ …

Quarantining And Dining, Madeline Flagg

Honors Projects

Quarantining and Dining captures and reflects the many ways in which comfort is provided through food. The project content was collected through food culture research, interviews, and observation and then mediated through Instagram. The Instagram feed has a designed aesthetic architecture and branding system that makes it distinct and identifiable. The Instagram account name can be found @Quarantininganddining. Although the project is rooted in Midwestern food culture, the perspectives provided are from across the United States, as well as from numerous occupations in order to express a diverse range of perspectives. The Instagram account encourages interaction and an exchange of …

Exploring How Media Portrayals Of Mental Health Affect Public Perceptions Through Devised Theatre, Lauren Lash

Honors Projects

A performance piece and this corresponding paper serve as my honors project, which has two main foci: devised theatre and how the media affects perceptions of mental health. This packet is a documentation of the rehearsal process and sources that influenced the piece and a link to the piece itself. Documenting the rehearsal process included a list of songs, rehearsal plans, rehearsal schedules, and my reflections on the process. Helpful sources included a photo release form, which allowed me to include a recording in this packet, and my annotated bibliography included sources about devising, portraying mental health in theatre, and …

Special Issue - Call For Papers: Understanding Effects Of Impression Management On Assessment Outcomes, Neil Christiansen, Chet Robie

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

No abstract provided.

The Playing Experiences Of Esport Participants: An Analysis Of Treatment Discrimination And Hostility In Esport Environments, Lindsey Darvin, Ryan Vooris, Tara Mahoney

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

The eSport industry has seen rapid growth over the previous decade with additional opportunities for participants to compete in competitive and casual environments. As such, the sport industry has taken notice of this increase in popularity and exposure for eSport. A recent call to arms by sport management scholars suggests that the field of sport management needs to broaden research endeavors to include analyses of eSport and eSport spaces. To that end, this investigation serves as one of the first that investigates the playing experiences of eSport participants with a particular focus on the presence of discrimination and hostility in …

The Perfect Game: An Ecological Systems Approach To The Influences Of Elite Youth And High School Baseball Socialization, Max Klein, Charles Macaulay, Joseph Cooper

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

The purpose of this study was to examine the elite youth and high school baseball socialization process as a whole and the role of professionalization and corporatization in this process. The unique nature of baseball’s development model in the United States (U.S.), through a dual-track feeder system (college or minor leagues) allows for a wide-range of challenges and sociological factors to influence elite youth and high school prospects. Understanding players’ experiences exposes these challenges and sociological factors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four former elite youth and high school baseball players, one parent of a player, two coaches, and two …

A Qualitative Examination Of Sport Retirement In Former Ncaa Division I Athletes, Kelly Barcza-Renner, Amber M. Shipherd, Itay Basevitch

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

Statistics indicate that the overwhelming majority of NCAA Division I college athletes will not continue in their sport professionally (NCAA, 2019). Therefore, there is a need to develop a deeper understanding of the variables that influence college athletes’ psychological health and well-being as they transition to retirement. The present study gathered detailed information about 15 former NCAA Division I college athletes’ retirement experiences four to five months post retirement. The findings suggested that the former college athletes had varied retirement experiences ranging from negative to positive. All college athletes who reported having a successful retirement transition described having at least …

Student Athlete Perceptions Of Athletic Trainers’ Competence Based On Appearance And Dress, Jennifer J. Rogers

Journal of Sports Medicine and Allied Health Sciences: Official Journal of the Ohio Athletic Trainers Association

Context: Physical appearance and dress attire may be a major influence on a person’s perception of an individual’s professional competence. Objective: To examine influence of Athletic Trainer (AT) physical appearance and dress attire on student-athletes’ perception of an AT’s competence. Design: Cross-Sectional Study Setting: NATA District 5 Participants: Student athletes (n=156; female: n=71; male: n=78) from NCAA Division III and NAIA institutions participated in the study. Interventions: Participants viewed one of four Body Mass Index (BMI) specific AT images [underweight BMI=18, normal weight BMI=24, overweight BMI=30, or an obese BMI=36] while answering 36 Student Athlete Response (SAR) Form survey questions …