Digital Commons Network^™

Tackling Math Anxiety Through Photography While Using Geogebra, Joseph M. Furner

Transformations

Math teachers can insert photographs into GeoGebra software then explore various math objectives related to the Common Core Math Standards, the paper shows how to motivate students to learn math and minimize math anxiety while doing it. While covering the new Common Core State Standards, the topics will explore the math that surrounds us in the real world thus creating a connection between the abstract math and the life experiences. When math has a purpose, then students are willing to spend time in exploring and understanding new concepts. Real-life photographs that are inserted into GeoGebra will provide the basis to …

Kindergarten Parent Engagement And Student Reading Literacy In Title I Schools: A Systematic Literature Review And Meta-Synthesis, Stacy L. M. Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to systematically review research on the relationship between parent engagement and student reading outcomes in Title I schools at Kindergarten level. The following research questions guided this study:

1. What is the relationship between parent engagement and student reading literacy outcomes in low socioeconomic students in kindergarten? Findings show that parent engagement brings parents together with the school staff working with one another to promote a child’s reading literacy. Parent engagement includes the parent as an active member who shares responsibility for a child’s achievement. A need for teacher professional development for teachers on building …

A Data Mining Framework For Improving Student Outcomes On Step 1 Of The United States Medical Licensing Examination, James Clark

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Identifying the factors associated with medical students who fail Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) has been a focus of investigation for many years. Some researchers believe lower scores on the Medical Colleges Admissions Test (MCAT) are the sole factor used to identify failure. Other researchers believe lower course outcomes during the first two years of medical training are better indicators of failure. Yet, there are medical students who fail Step 1 of the USMLE who enter medical school with high MCAT scores, and conversely medical students with lower academic credentials who are expected to have …

Effects Of Generic Group-Based Versus Personalized Individual-Based Exercise Programs On Balance, Gait, And Functional Performance Of Older Adults With Mild Balance Dysfunction And Living In Residential Care Facilities - A Randomized Controlled Trial, Varatharajan Lingam

Department of Physical Therapy Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Background and Purpose: To investigate the effect of an individualized exercise program versus a generic group-based exercise program on balance, gait, and functional performance of older adults categorized as having mild balance dysfunction and living in residential care facilities. Methods: Single blind randomized control design. One hundred-twenty residents fulfilled screening criteria for mild balance dysfunction based on the BioSwayTM balance and the Multi-Directional Reach Test (MDRT) primary outcome measures. Secondary assessment was completed using the Modified Physical Performance Test (PPT), hand-held dynamometer (lower-limb muscle strength testing), and gait speed analysis. Sixty subjects received individualized treatment from physical therapists (8 weeks). …

The Prism Model: Increasing Graduate Teaching Assistants’ Self-Perceptions Of Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Catharine Mattox

Theses and Dissertations

While graduate teaching assistants teach the majority of introductory lab and discussion sections at colleges and universities across the United States, there is a lack of empirical evidence on how to adequately prepare graduate teaching assistants for faculty roles and responsibilities outside of research. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to address a gap in the literature by examining a professional development activity that encouraged pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) development in conjunction with experiential learning for biology graduate teaching assistants. Specifically, this study sought to understand how: (a) the Teaching Triangles professional development activity supported biology graduate teaching …

Stakeholders’ Perceptions Of An Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program In Special Education In Jamaica, Keitha Ava Marie Osborne

Theses and Dissertations

The problem addressed in this study was that stakeholders (i.e., graduates, cooperating teachers, principals, and heads of special education departments) of a teacher preparation program in special education at a teachers’ college in western Jamaica had not been asked their perceptions of the effectiveness of the undergraduate program that was started in 2011.

The purpose of the study was to determine stakeholders’ perceptions of the preparedness and effectiveness of graduates of a teacher preparation program in special education at a teachers’ college in western Jamaica. The stakeholders were the recent fulltime graduates of the program, cooperating teachers, principals, and heads …

Teacher Perspectives On Performance Pay In One Southeastern State, Wendy B. Firtell

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated teachers’ perceptions of a teacher performance-pay initiative. Despite implementing a performance pay initiative at the beginning of the 2015-16 school year, the target school district had not investigated teachers’ perceptions of the initiative. The researcher included a convenience sample of 54 teachers who worked at a Title 1 elementary school located in the southeastern United States.

This applied dissertation used a descriptive survey research design. The researcher found Pre-K, kindergarten, and Grade 1 teachers were slightly more supportive of performance pay initiatives than Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, and Grade 5 teachers (TPPP difference of 0.17 …

Implementing A Research-Based Reading Intervention Focused Upon Increasing Reading Comprehension Amongst Third-Grade Students, Kamaria Dalila Mcnair

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the qualitative study was to determine if and how the strategy instruction model Reciprocal Teaching helped low-level readers comprehend what they read. The study also was conducted to measure if and how the Reciprocal Teaching strategies motivated the participants to read and if and how they used the strategies after their exposure to them. Lastly, the study measured the instructional strategies that were currently being used to help third-grade participants. The subjects involved in this study were 10 third-grade students who displayed a need for comprehension development. The sample size was determined by the reading benchmark test …

Effects Of A Sensory Diet On Attention And Participation In Children With Autism, Leighanne Smith-Mrkaja

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide initial knowledge regarding sensory diets and sensory-based interventions. The need for classroom-based sensory interventions are not always considered, especially with the high number of students diagnosed with ASD at the researcher’s school. Often sensory intervention may not be considered educationally relevant, especially in the prekindergarten level. With the proper training and materials, as well as the guidance of the school-based occupational therapist, teachers, other therapists, classroom assistants, parents, and school-based staff might be able to utilize sensory-based activities like sensory diets to increase participation, positive behaviors, and attention. The following applied research study …

Acceptability And Usability Of E-Books For Digital Immigrant Teachers In A Title I Elementary School, Allatesha Denise Cain

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to discover the factors that affect digital immigrant teachers’ acceptance and usability of e-books in a Title I elementary school. The term digital immigrant describes individuals born before the adoption of digital technology in 1980. The participant teachers will be interviewed to identify their perception of usefulness of the e-book to improve the reading skills of their students. Data from the interviews will be analyzed to identify the relationship between teachers’ perception of usefulness and ease of use of e-books and their intention to use e-books in a Title I elementary school.

This study …

Investigating The Improvement In Science Achievement Among Fifth Grade Science Students When Using The Instructional Design Model, Kisha J. Jarrett

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine if the Instructional Design Model will improve science achievement. The study addressed the problem of low science achievement among 93 Grade 5 students. The theoretical framework that was applied to this study was developed by Ralph Tyler in 1949. The researcher believed that Tyler’s four-process curriculum planning approach guided teachers to look differently at teaching and learning. This model assisted teachers in developing lessons that used the Instructional Design Model and produced objectives that reflect their classroom goals, impacted curriculum, and increased the understanding of science concepts. The school administered a multiple …

Bachelor Of Science-Sociology 2019-2020, Nova Southeastern University

Undergraduate Programs Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Bachelor Of Arts-History 2019-2020, Nova Southeastern University

Undergraduate Programs Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Bachelor Of Arts-Dance 2019-2020, Nova Southeastern University

Undergraduate Programs Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Critical Appraisal Of “Immediate Changes In Spinal Heights And Pain After Aquatic Vertical Traction In Patients With Persistent Low Back Symptoms: A Crossover Clinical Trial” By Simmerman Et Al -- An Opinion Piece, David C. Berry, Nicole Miela

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to critically review the article, Immediate changes in spinal height and pain after aquatic vertical traction in patients with persistent low back symptoms: a crossover clinical trial. PM R.2011 May;3(5):447-57. [PMID: 21570033] doi: 10.1016/j.pmrj.2011.01.010. Methods: Study, key evidence including study design, sample population, procedure, outcome measures, and results were summarized. Critical appraisal of the study's internal, external, and statistical validity followed. Results: In a crossover study of 61 total subjects, mean age 59.6 years, fifteen minutes of supine land-based flexion and weighted aquatic vertical traction were applied in both groups preceded by …

Vegf Induced Differentiation Of Gingival Stem Cells To Endothelial Cells In Vitro, Garima Gupta

Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Background: Birth defects that result in structural malformation of major organs are one of the major causes of mortality in children. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) strategies are particularly beneficial for the pediatric patients to correct these defects owing to their greater regenerative capacity compared to the adult population. Limited availability of pediatric patient’s auto-transplantation of organs makes TERM strategies as a promising alternative toconventional clinical procedures that utilize the grafts. Recent developments in stem cells technologies, there is an enormous potential for TERM in correcting birth defects and enhancing the life span in young population. However, the major …

Grado De Satisfacción De Estudiantes Con El Uso De Simulaciones Clínicas Y Su Percepción Sobre El Aprendizaje Logrado En Una Universidad Al Norte De Puerto Rico, Mónica Cerejido Ruiz

Theses and Dissertations

Esta investigación fue diseñada para medir el grado de satisfacción de estudiantes con el uso de simulaciones clínicas en una universidad al norte de Puerto Rico. Esta universidad adquirió dos tipos de simulaciones para los programas que ofrece de Sonografía Médica y Tecnología Radiológica. Sin embargo, hasta el momento que se hizo la investigación, no se conocía la opinión de los estudiantes usuarios sobre la utilización de estas tecnologías de enseñanza. El marco teórico de esta investigación fue la Teoría del aprendizaje experiencial de Kolb (1984) y la teoría de la Difusión de Innovaciones de Rogers (1983). Se plantearon tres …

Improving Student Achievement Through The Implementation Of A Classroom Performance System, Stacy Maria Artis

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to implement and examine the impact of a classroom performance system (CPS) on student achievement for Grade 9 mathematics students. Seventy-five students in 4 Coordinate Algebra classes were observed during the regular school day for 9 weeks. The treatment group received CPS-based instruction, and the control group received traditional mathematics instruction without the use of a CPS. The teacher was the same for all classes.

Data from benchmark assessments as well as quarterly grade reports were compared for both groups. The findings of this study showed mixed results in relation to the impact of CPS-based …

Early Childhood Educators’ Perceptions Of Using Conscious Discipline To Promote Executive Function Development In Preschool Students: A Case Study, Annette C. Oswald-Hunt

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to explore teacher perceptions of the use of Conscious Discipline in the classroom to promote desirable behaviors and influence the development of EF skills in children. Using self-assessment surveys, qualitative interviews, and direct observations, the researcher explored teacher perceptions of the use of Conscious Discipline as a behavioral management system to develop EF in preschool children.

Conscious Discipline is an emotional intelligence behavior-management system that promotes desirable behaviors in children, embracing those skills found in the prefrontal lobes of the brain, which control the mechanism for self-regulation and problem-solving skills. Conscious Discipline promotes the development …

Implementing Edward De Bono’S Six Thinking Hats Intervention For Improving Reading Comprehension Skills For Students With Learning Disabilities (Sld), Annaliese Rosalie Hightower (Rollins)

Theses and Dissertations

This study proposed Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats as an intervention to enhance SLD students’ reading comprehension skills. The study described the Six Thinking Hats intervention as a method that used six diverse thought processes. A narrative review further discussed how the compilation of strategies is needed to help improve reading development skills for SLD students. Additionally, the study described several theoretical frameworks for the study: construction-integration model, event index model, and the metacognitive theory.

The study used a quantitative approach to answer the research questions that focused on comparing statistical differences between an experimental group and a control …

Assessment Technologies Institute Test Results And Blended Experiences For Senior Community Health Nursing Students, Linda Lou Lacomb-Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between senior community health nursing students’ ATI test scores and their clinical community health nursing experiences, either in-country or out-of-country. The ATI test results are a reliable predictor of whether the student will pass their nursing board exams (NCLEX-RN). The study also examined whether the two groups of students reported any similarities and differences in their sense of confidence or transcultural self-efficacy and conceptual knowledge and their clinical experiences. ATI test scores were reviewed for the two groups. Focus groups were held to discuss any similarities or differences in the …

Measuring Employee Job Satisfaction During Workplace Downsizing, Trina Sanders

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to examine the effects of workplace downsizing on employee job satisfaction among men and women and employees of different age groups. Results from an employee survey conducted annually by the organizational site indicated that employees had high stress levels, low employee satisfaction and morale, negative attitudes, and a lack of trust of leadership following employee downsizing at the company. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the effects of workplace downsizing on employee job satisfaction to determine any differences by gender or age group.

The study utilized a quantitative, descriptive, comparative methodology using …

Interaction Between Students’ Motivation And Physics Teachers’ Characteristics: Multiple Case Study, Fikret Korur, Ali Eryilmaz

The Qualitative Report

This study identified the process of interaction between students’ motivation and characteristics of two physics teachers: one who exhibited effective physics teacher characteristics frequently and one who exhibited the characteristics rarely. The two case teachers were selected to predict contrasting and comparable results. The data gathered from the semi-structured interviews, follow-up interviews, direct observation, video recordings, and field notes were analyzed both by single case and by cross-case analysis to strengthen the findings from two case teachers. Findings indicated that teachers’ characteristics like enthusiasm and giving examples from daily life increased students’ motivation by increasing their attention and willingness to …

An Autoethnography Of Culturally Relevant Leadership As Moral Practice: Lived Experiences Through A Scholar-Practitioner Lens, Charles L. Lowery

The Qualitative Report

In this autoethnography, I am concerned with cultural relevance as an experience of a scholar-practitioner educational leader. I question my own cultural competence as a teacher and school principal. Turning a reflective gaze on my lived experiences as an educator creates a space in which I attempt to make meaning of the phenomenon of culturally relevant practices in the field of education. As an act of pedagogical and personal meaning-making, this autoethnographic work centers on the value of cultural relevance as informed by scholarly practice.

Making The Invisible Visible: Affordances And Hindrances Of Using Tangible Objects In Identity Research, Amber Simpson

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this manuscript is to highlight the role of tangible objects (i.e., rings) in understanding individual’s STEM identity, which in this study is defined as an interdisciplinary belief that an individual has about her or himself regarding science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The rings allowed participants to position themselves within STEM disciplines and to further illustrate and narrate this position through the various ring sizes, and for some, the spatial arrangement of the rings. However, the use of the rings seemed to limit participants to describing who they are within STEM in the moment, as well as not …

Species Richness, Diversity, And Abundance Of Sponge Communities In Broward County, Florida, 2000-2015, Jessica Price

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Sponges (Porifera) are a major component of coral reef ecosystems. They outnumber coral species on the Florida Reef Tract, and in places, account for more living cover. Because coral reefs are a vital part of Florida’s economy, it is important to understand how local sponge assemblages vary spatially and temporally, especially as corals continue to decline. However, long-term observations of sponge assemblages (species richness, diversity and abundance) are lacking. To address this, annual photoquadrats were analyzed from a series of 25 sites off Broward County between 2000 and 2015. Variations in sponge assemblages were then compared to several natural and …

Peruvian Pinnipeds As Archivists Of Enso Effects, Mickie Rae Edwards

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Environmental fluctuations in the eastern Pacific Ocean are reflected in the tissues of some of its most vulnerable apex predators, the Peruvian fur seal (PFS) Arctocephalus australis ssp.and the South American sea lion (SASL) Otaria byronia.These large pinnipeds live in sympatry along the Pacific coastline of South America and forage within the neritic waters over the continental shelf. The coastal waters off Peru are a region of great environmental fluctuations due to periodic, oscillating El Niño- La Niña- Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, which result in ecosystem-wide food web changes. Pinniped vibrissae (whiskers) are continuously growing keratinous tissues and …

Ecophysiology Of Lionfish Metabolic And Visual Systems: Are There Physiological Limits To Inshore Invasion?, Aaron Hasenei

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Lionfish (Pterois spp.), an invasive species native to the Indo-Pacific, have permanently established themselves throughout the greater Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and regions of the Western Atlantic ranging from as far north as North Carolina to central Brazil. As their fundamental range expands, lionfish threaten to migrate into estuarine environments as they have been found to tolerate low salinities and an eclectic range of temperatures. The physiological capacity of invasion was assessed by quantifying the visual ecology of lionfish utilizing corneal electroretinography (ERG) as well as their metabolic scope and hypoxia tolerances under various temperature-oxygen-regimes utilizing intermittent-flow respirometry. Seasonal …

Turbulent And Electromagnetic Signature Of Small- And Fine-Scale Biological And Oceanographic Processes, Cayla Whitney Dean

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Small- and fine-scale biological and oceanographic processes may have a measurable electromagnetic signature. These types of processes inherently involve turbulence and three-dimensional dynamics. Traditional models of the electromagnetic signature of oceanographic processes are of an analytical nature, do not account for three-dimensional boundary layer dynamics or turbulence, self-inductance, and may not describe the variety of the environmental conditions occurring in the ocean. In order to address this problem, I have implemented magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools, which has allowed for the evaluation of the electromagnetic signature of a number of small- and fine-scale biological and oceanographic processes in …

Indirect Effects Of Ocean Warming And Acidification On The Realized Recruitment Of Agaricia Agaricites, Allan Anderson

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Over the past few decades, coral cover has declined worldwide due to overfishing, disease, and storms, and these effects have been exacerbated by ocean warming and acidification. Corals are extremely susceptible to these changes because they are already living close to their thermal and aragonite saturation thresholds. Ocean warming and acidification (OAW) may also impact coral survival and growth by impacting their settlement cues. Coral larvae use crustose coralline algae (CCA) and their associated biofilms as cues for settlement, i.e., habitat selection. Settlement cues can also be negatively affected by increased water temperature and acidity. It was hypothesized that the …