Digital Commons Network^™

Unleashing The Research Superpowers Of Ap Students, Lindsey Douglas, Suzanne Rook Schilf, Camille Cooper, Jennifer Groff

Presentations

No abstract provided.

A Staircase In A Small, Decorative Arts Museum Tells A Harrowing Story Of Terror, Abuse And Enslavement, Susanna Ashton, Mollie Barnes

Publications

No abstract provided.

Clemson University Board Of Trustees Minutes, Special Session, 2025 September 15, Clemson University Board Of Trustees

Minutes

No abstract provided.

Item 4: Assignment 1: Life In Puerto Rico Vs. The Mainland: Shopping At The Supermarket, Leila Rodriguez

Leila Rodriguez, Civic Engagement in/for Puerto Rico (English)

The Jones Act, a protectionist law which requires domestic water transport to be performed by vessels that are US-made, crewed, owned, and flagged, imposes inflated costs on consumers in Puerto Rico. To better understand how this translates into everyday impacts, in this assignment students compare the cost of a grocery run in Puerto Rico and the United States. To do this, they find the price of various products in two supermarkets: Pueblo, the largest grocery store chain in Puerto Rico, and Kroger, the second-largest grocery chain in the United States. Finally, they reflect on how their shopping habits might differ …

Item 2: Activity 1: Ethnocharette: The History And Imagined Futures Of Puerto Rico, Leila Rodriguez

Leila Rodriguez, Civic Engagement in/for Puerto Rico (English)

For this in-class activity, students work in small groups to conduct collaborative deep thinking on the history of Puerto Rico. To do this, they will first watch the Suncoast Emmy award-winning documentary, The Last Colony to learn about the history of Puerto Rico and its complex political relationship with the United States. Then, guided by the professor, they will use a modified version of the ethnocharette experimental pedagogy, developed by the University of California at Irvine’s Center for Ethnography, to understand, organize, and think more deeply about the themes of the documentary. Finally, they use this information to imagine possible …

Item 1: Syllabus: African American Literature, Scott Hicks

Scott Hicks, African American Literature

This syllabus surveys African American literature via the reading and discussion of canonical texts enriched by relevant documentaries. It is divided into a series of topics, organized thematically and roughly chronologically, that foreground consideration of core concepts (such as consciousness, freedom, love, and self-actualization) and tropes (such as tricksters, enslavement, vernacular, and double consciousness) and culminate in consideration of voting advocacy within the context of civil rights activism. Finally, the syllabus makes space for synchronous collaborative writing, in support of students’ development of skills of interpretation and critical thinking in relationship with each other.

Item 1: Syllabus: English 3xx: Argumentation: “The Ballot Of The Bullet”, Sarah Rudewalker

Sarah RudeWalker, The Ballot or the Bullet

This syllabus for an upper-level undergraduate course in argumentation, rhetoric, or communication contains a course concept, assignment descriptions, and a detailed course schedule with readings centering Malcolm X’s provocative ultimatum of “the ballot or the bullet” as the way forward for African American liberation and a functioning American democracy. The first half of the course provides students with a foundation in core theories and concepts of argumentation, and the second half of the course asks them to apply them by participating in public address, deliberation, and debate in the class and out in the world.

Item 1: Shakespeare For Civic Action Course Syllabus (Upper-Level Undergraduate Course), Molly Slavin

Molly Slavin, Shakespeare for Civic Action Course Syllabus (upper-level undergraduate course)

This syllabus sets out a general overview for an upper-level literature class titled “Shakespeare for Civic Action.” The syllabus contains readings, a course schedule, and brief sketches of assignments. This syllabus would be useful for English or other literature professors who would like anywhere from a full-fledged syllabus to ideas and inspiration for how to incorporate civic education into a class on a canonical author. Five other deliverables (three activities and two assignments) are also submitted as part of this class/syllabus.

Item 5: Assignment 2: The Social Media Posts Of Puerto Rico’S Main Political Parties, Leila Rodriguez

Leila Rodriguez, Civic Engagement in/for Puerto Rico (English)

The purpose of this assignment is for students to analyze the differences among Puerto Rico’s main political parties, and how they represent themselves on social media. Students work in small groups to conduct content analysis of the Facebook posts of Puerto Rico’s main five political parties. After reviewing a brief description and history of each political party, students access their Facebook accounts and review the last twenty-five posts that each party made. Then, using a guide included in this assignment, they analyze the content of those posts to determine: the main topics addressed through social media; the sentiment attached to …

Item 3: Service-Learning As Civic Engagement Project, Fatima Sattar

Fatima Sattar, Soc 1100 - Introduction to Sociology with a Civic Engagement Emphasis

Students will participate in an intercultural service-learning project as a form of civic engagement in collaboration with immigrant and refugee-serving organizations by volunteering with a partner organization weekly or biweekly throughout the semester. Students will write civic engagement reflections on their experiences.

F. Assignment Five: Scopes Trial Creative Assignment, Frankie Nicole Weaver

Frankie Nicole Weaver, Comparative Twentieth Century South African and United States Civil Rights and Voting Rights Histories

This creative assignment encourages students to reflect on independent exploration, class group learning, discussions, and to use research to think critically and to present their ideas in a 5-6-page essay. Students will also think like educators and create 8-10 PowerPoint slides.

Item 6: Activity 5: Quiz On Voting, Scott Hicks

Scott Hicks, African American Literature

This quiz is designed to ensure students’ understanding of how to register and vote in North Carolina and is adaptable for use by faculty in other states. It may be used as a standalone activity, either during class time or as homework, or in conjunction with a guest presentation by a state, county, parish, or tribal elections official; completed individually or in groups; and completed on paper or via a learning management system. In my course, the quiz will be completed during the final exam period, when a state elections official will present a voter education seminar titled “Voter Registration,” …

Clemson Commencement Program, August 2025, Clemson University

Clemson Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Beyond World War I: Post-War Trauma In Agatha Christie’S The Mysterious Affair At Styles, Alayna Puckett

All Theses

This thesis reexamines Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles as a literary response and representation to World War I, arguing that it deserves recognition as a novel of wartime trauma rather than being confined solely to the realm of popular detective fiction. Influenced by Christie’s firsthand experiences as a wartime nurse, the novel subtly weaves themes of personal wartime experience and trauma into its plot, characters, and setting. Christie’s protagonist, Mr. Hastings, represents the returning soldier attempting to reintegrate into society, while Hercule Poirot—a Belgian refugee—embodies the war’s broader displacement and disruption. Set during World War I in a …

Using Tier 1 Multi-Tiered Systems Of Support (Mtss) For Student Behavior To Decrease Discipline Referrals Among Black Ninth-Grade Students, Lauren L. Merck

All Dissertations

I begin this dissertation with an introduction to a problem of practice that affects many schools in America- inequity in school discipline. After reviewing literature that explains why this is an important research topic, I share information about the research site, Mountain View High School (MVHS). It was seen that majority of the discipline referrals written over the school year was from ninth-grade students. When looking closer at the ninth-grade students, it also was determined that Black/ African American students were also receiving a disproportionate amount of discipline referrals compared to their White peers. After introducing the problem of practice …

Do Themes Improve Visitor Outcomes In Interpretive Programs?, Amber K. Hawes

All Theses

Thematic interpretation is widely promoted as being integral to an effective interpretive program. Some studies have suggested that thematic interpretation may enhance visitor outcomes; however, park visitor demographics have changed over the last decade, and others have suggested alternative approaches. In this study, we systematically observed live interpretive programs at 330 programs at 52 National Parks across the United States, monitored the extent and characteristics of theme usage, and collected visitor surveys immediately following each program. We used these data to determine the influence of the presence and characteristics of themes and theme questions on visitor outcomes. The results suggest …

Parent Perception Of Preschool Programs: Improving Parent Knowledge Of Preschool Programs Through Targeted Recruitment, Meredith Lynn Drake

All Dissertations

Parent knowledge of preschool enrollment processes and the benefit of early education has been an issue at Mountain Elementary. Early childhood learning opportunities are a predictor of later academic success, and it is important that parents know about the available opportunities for early learning in public schools.

The purpose of this intervention is to create a targeted parent outreach program to recruit students to the four-year-old kindergarten programs at Mountain Elementary. This study attempts to answer whether targeted outreach increases enrollment numbers at Mountain Elementary.

After conducting two parent outreach events and creating two video-based social media posts, I analyzed …

The Shape Of Absence: Diaspora And Echoes Of Mother In Lucy, Zahra Ebrahimi

All Theses

This thesis examines the impact of the motherland and maternal figure in shaping Lucy’s character in exile and her journey of self-discovery in Jamaica Kincaid’s Lucy. It explores the role of the past in shaping Lucy’s present by focusing on colonialism and the influence of both the Antiguan and white maternal figures on her path toward independence and self-discovery. Throughout the narrative, Kincaid invites readers to follow the deep and complicated relationship between Lucy’s white mother, Mariah, and her mother in Antigua. These interactions shape Lucy’s character and encourage readers to view the story not just as the tale …

The Uses Of Dramaturgical Research In Cinematic Storytelling, Asset Design, And Adaptation In Animation, Delaney L. Walker

All Theses

“The Black Hair” is a creative project that explores the convergence of cinematic adaptation, dramaturgical research, and animation design in retelling a traditional Japanese short folktale from the Heian Era. Rooted in the practice of theatrical dramaturgy, this thesis advocates for a research-driven creative pipeline by developing a culturally respectful and historically grounded approach to developing cinematic storyboards. By thoroughly examining the chronicles of history and the sociocultural context, the project seeks to foster deeper cultural appreciation while reintroducing a lesser-known narrative to modern audiences through a visual medium. The project draws stylistic and narrative inspiration from iconic Japanese filmmakers …

“They’Re All Our Students!” Using Data-Based Individualization To Increase Reading Performance For Students With Disabilities In The Resource Setting, Jennifer J. Hill

All Dissertations

Students with Disabilities (SWDs) are not making progress in reading, and this is a problem that occurs across the nation. The National Assessment of Educational Progress scores showed that students without disabilities are increasing in reading growth, while SWDs showed a decrease in reading (Stevens et al., 2024; Vaughn & Wanzek, 2014). On average, SWDs are about three years behind their peers in reading (Gilmour et al., 2015). All students, including those with disabilities, need to learn how to read because it leads to success in academics and future careers as an adult (Sullivan et al., 2016). If SWDs do …

Alternative Therapeutics For Human Breast Cancer: Nutraceutical Underpinnings, In Vitro Metabolomic Profiling, Treatment Efficacy, And Contextual Ethical Implications, Aubrey A. Mattingly

All Dissertations

Breast cancer remains one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide, yet therapeutic equity is still lacking. Standard treatments including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and long-term hormone therapy. These approaches are often accompanied by significant side effects. While newer methods such as immunotherapy and targeted therapies have emerged, chemotherapy protocols and incorporation have remained largely unchanged in the past decades. In this context, nutraceuticals represent an alternative or adjuvant to therapy worthy of exploration. The reviewed literature highlights the anti-carcinogenic activity in selected nutraceuticals, marjoram, thyme and persimmon, considering their phytochemical constituents and secondary metabolites. Metabolomic profiling using the Biolog Phenotype Mammalian …

Autonomous, Yet Anchored: Exploring The Interplay Of Self-Reliance And Personal Spirituality On Employee Outcomes, Alexander Schad

All Dissertations

The modern workplace increasingly requires employees to function autonomously while managing limited psychological resources, presenting a tension between the benefits of self-reliance and its potential costs to well-being. This dissertation examined how self-reliance simultaneously influences task persistence and emotional exhaustion, and explores whether personal spirituality moderates these relationships. Drawing on the Strength Model of Self-Control (SMSC), I develop and test a theoretical framework investigating the relationships between self-reliance, work overload, task persistence, emotional exhaustion, and workplace spirituality.

Through a time-lagged field study with 453 working professionals across three measurement waves, I found that self-reliance positively predicted task persistence, supporting the …

Mathematics Achievement: The Impact Of Cooperative Learning Strategies On Math Anxiety And Self-Efficacy Among Adult Basic Education Students, Lacey H. Rogers

All Dissertations

Many adult basic education (ABE) students struggle to pass the mathematics portion of the GED, limiting their access to educational and employment opportunities. This Dissertation in Practice addressed the problem of low math achievement at the New Beginnings Adult Learning Center by implementing cooperative learning strategies aimed at reducing math anxiety, increasing self-efficacy, and promoting student engagement.

Grounded in the principles of improvement science, the eight-week intervention introduced daily Think-Pair-Share routines during math instruction. The goal was to create a more supportive classroom environment where students felt encouraged to participate and build confidence in their math skills. Data were collected …

How Do Homeschool Parents In South Carolina Select Curriculum And Make Pedagogical Choices To Support Their Children’S Early Reading Development?, Lauretta O. Osho

All Dissertations

Early Childhood Education (ECE) is a period of growth and development for young children as they begin their educational journey. The need for a high-quality early childhood learning experience is necessary for the child’s holistic development, without which children may grow up with learning challenges that could negatively impact their adult life. Each child's early learning experience must begin with a good and deliberate reading foundation. Therefore, understanding the best methods of instilling strong reading skills in children from an early age sets the foundation for lifelong learning and success.

Homeschooling is the practice of educating, instructing, and tutoring children …

Pre-Service Teacher Perceptions Of An Outdoor Learning Experience Within A Science Methods Course, Steph Dean, Summer Landreth

Publications

Given the challenges currently facing early childhood science education, this exploratory study investigates the advantages of outdoor learning as part of a teacher preparation program. A group of 49 pre-service early childhood education teachers participated in a day-long outdoor learning experience embedded within their science methods course. Guided by the theoretical lens of embodied cognition, we employed a case study approach to collect and analyze qualitative survey data, using both categorizing and connecting strategies to explore participants’ experiences. The findings reveal four key themes related to pre-service teacher perceptions, in that outdoor learning: (1) represented an engaging experience, (2) contributed …

An Exploration Of Elderly Representation & Stereotypes In Animation, Tyler Kidd

All Theses

In the world of animated features, supporting cast members are often reduced down to simple character traits in order to give the audience a simple idea of their personality or role in the story, or to support the creation of a work that is easier to understand for people of all ages. However, this can often result in the application of negative tropes that do not reflect kindly on those being depicted. The elderly are a group that often get caught in these stereotypes, being depicted as wrinkly, clumsy, overweight villains. While you can still find many positive portrayals in …

Designing Multilingual (Maker) Spaces: Exploring The Intersections Of Play, Posthumanism, And Pre-Kindergarten, Victoria G. Pennington

All Dissertations

In this dissertation, I explore the posthuman play literacies of multilingual makerspaces with four-year-olds, emphasizing the need for such a study while situating my arguments within the existing literature and outlining my methodological approach. Chapter One critiques the public 4-year-old kindergarten systems, arguing institutionalized cultural and linguistic ideologies restrict multilingual learners’ (MLs) opportunities for meaning-making. I draw on the raciolinguistic perspective (Flores & Rosa, 2015) and its intersection with a posthumanist paradigm (Braidotti, 2013), framing my research questions as lines of inquiry to guide the study. Key posthumanist literacies concepts are defined, highlighting the entanglement of literacies, discourses, materials, and …

Engaging Minds: Assessing The Impact Of Arts-Integration On Science Achievement And Engagement Using Planned Experimentation, Fonda G. Dupre

All Dissertations

Elementary science education is essential for fostering inquiry, critical thinking, and problem-solving, yet it is often reduced or deprioritized due to the pressures of high-stakes testing in reading and mathematics. Despite federal calls for a well-rounded education under the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015), instructional time for science remains limited in many schools, particularly in under-resourced and high-poverty contexts. This reduction of science instruction time exacerbates achievement gaps and limits student engagement and interest in STEM fields.

This planned experiment investigates whether Arts-Integrated science instruction can increase student engagement and improve academic achievement among fourth-grade students at Foothills Academy of …

More Than Numbers: Interrogating The Instructional Capacity Of Middle School Mathematics Teachers, Yashica R. Latimer

All Dissertations

This study examines how middle school mathematics teachers conceptualize and enact culturally responsive mathematics teaching (CRMT) within a district-supported professional learning initiative. Guided by the CRMT framework developed by Aguirre and Zavala (2013), the research explores how instructional decision-making intersects with equity-focused pedagogy.

Two central questions inform the study: (1) How do middle school mathematics teachers interpret and apply CRMT principles in their classroom practice? (2) What specific instructional strategies do teachers use to integrate cultural responsiveness into their instruction?

Using a qualitative multiple-case study design, data were collected from three teachers participating in a professional learning group called MORE …

Increasing Student Enrollment In The Dual-Language Mandarin Immersion Program: Leveraging Marketing And Outreach Within A Strategic Enrollment Management Framework, Na Zhang

All Dissertations

This study examines the impact of marketing and outreach strategies on enhancing family awareness and increasing enrollment in a Dual-Language Mandarin Immersion (DLMI) program in South Carolina. The history of bilingual education has shown an increased interest in recent decades. At the same time, Mandarin immersion programs continue to face challenges and under-enrollment. This study employs a mixed-methods design to collect data from surveys and interviews with parents of children entering kindergarten. The data collection also includes interviews with Mandarin Immersion teachers and attending community events. The purpose is to identify effective practices and ongoing barriers to enrollment. Informed by …