Digital Commons Network^™

Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used By Esl Saudi Students In The United States, Alya Abdullah K. Suliman

Dissertations

Problem

The purpose of this study was to discover the preferred and used English vocabulary learning strategies of Saudi Arabic-speaking English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. In the light insufficient empirical and theoretical studies exploring the complex structure of vocabulary learning by Arabic-speaking ESL learners, this study investigated which strategies students viewed as significant in assisting them in learning new English vocabulary. Finally, the study sought to identify Saudi Arabic-speaking student attitudes toward and motivations for learning English as a second language; and whether these attitudes influenced which vocabulary learning strategies they preferred and used commonly.

Method

The research …

The Effect Of The Vocabulary Spelling City App On Student Performance In Spelling, Vocabulary, And Reading Comprehension In Grades 5-8 At Glenview Adventist Academy, Fernando Oleynick Lista

Dissertations

Problem and Purpose

Students in fifth through eighth grades at Glenview Adventist Academy (GAA) presented difficulties in the subjects of spelling, vocabulary and reading comprehension. The school had not followed the previous 10-year trend of technology implementation in the classroom, in spite of conclusive research on its advantages. This study was conducted to determine to what extent teaching methodology and the use of technology could affect academic performance in the areas of spelling, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Research on the implementation of software and the use of tablets (iPad Minis) in the classroom has been scarce and contradictory in the …

An Analysis And Comparison Of The Missional Doctrine Hermeneutics Of Kevin J. Vanhoozer And Veli-Matti KäRkkäInen, With Emphasis On Their Notions Of God, Eschatology, And Mission, Elmer Arrais Guzman

Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen’s and Kevin J. Vanhoozer’s theological method, in order to understand its structural elements, and thereby to facilitate comprehension of their missional doctrinal hermeneutics, and the ramifications of those hermeneutics for the construction and development of Christian theology. Missional doctrinal hermeneutical models conceive the missional dimension of doctrine in various ways. Some privilege the maintenance of theological identity cohering with the foundational sources of theological authority. Others privilege theological constructions that assimilate the context and the missional situational framework of understanding. This dissertation strives to examine the diverging missional hermeneutics of Kärkkäinen and Vanhoozer, the foundational …

(Re)Imagining Community-Engaged Curriculum And Pedagogy: Shifting Subjectivities And Power/Knowledge Among Faculty/Doctoral Students, Anne Catherine Kelly

Dissertations

This dissertation explores new possibilities for researching and representing community-engaged curriculum and pedagogical practices among faculty and their doctoral students. Community-engagement is (re)imagined within nonfiction-fiction writing to provide a line of inquiry that integrates data and theory (Jackson & Mazzei, 2017). I probe, question, and disrupt stable notions of engaged teaching-learning and research. Foucauldian concept of power/knowledge is used to interrogate faculty/doctoral students’ shifting subjectivities and discursive construction of community-engagement. Post qualitative inquiry provides a methodological lens to (re)consider new ways of framing community-engagement and acknowledges the crisis of representing research as it is always partial and incomplete. Through the …

Dismantling Tools Of The Incompetent: Exploring Cultural Competence Training In Undergraduate Education Policy And Education Studies Programs, Ashley P. Allen

Dissertations

Cultural competence is described as a set of skills, values, and principles that acknowledge, respect, and work toward optimal interactions between the individual and the various cultural and ethnic groups with which an individual might come into contact. Scholars have been critical of cultural competence training because the three-dimensional approach which is its foundation fails to address institutional and systemic racism. I posit that undergraduate programs should provide training, so graduates are culturally competent entering their respective fields. I examined cultural competence training within education policy and studies undergraduate programs because these graduates will work within education at all levels …

Moving Beyond Recruitment And Hiring: Including And Actualizing The Voices Of Teachers Of Color In A Suburban School District, Jennifer Ann Rowe

Dissertations

Loyola University Chicago MOVING BEYOND RECRUITMENT AND HIRING: INCLUDING AND ACTUALIZING THE VOICES OF TEACHERS OF COLOR IN A SUBURBAN SCHOOL DISTRICT This capstone identifies, as a problem of educational practice in American secondary schools, the failure of our school systems to equally value and validate Black and brown educators as compared with their white counterparts, consequently preventing the cultivation of an environment that would encourage these educators to flourish in the profession rather than presenting barriers to their success. Calling upon the prevailing research, Ms. Rowe evaluates approaches that school districts can take to overcome these roadblocks and foster …

Promoting Early-Adolescent Dual Language Learners' Language Use & Reading Skills, Holly Griskell

Dissertations

Most studies of Dual Language Learners’ (DLLs’) literacy development focus on the early childhood years. As such, this three-study dissertation sought to advance our knowledge of DLLs’ English language and reading comprehension skills during early adolescence, a developmental stage when many students struggle with reading. Study 1, “Classroom Discussion and Early-Adolescent Dual Language Learners’ Motivation and Reading Comprehension”, considered how features of the classroom language environment promote DLLs’ reading comprehension skills. We examined relations between students’ (N = 413; M age = 11.66-years-old) engagement in high-quality classroom discussions and reading comprehension as a function of their motivation to participate in …

God And Rescuer, Clinton Neptune

Dissertations

I argue that the best concept of God, for the purposes of inquiring into God's existence and nature, is one derived from considering the human predicament and how to satisfy the existential yearning of human inquirers. Other popular methods of conceiving of God, such as some perfect being theologies and scriptural theologies, miss this vital motivational component in their God-concept construction. The concept of God on offer in this project, God as Rescuer, characterizes a being who is willing and able to rescue humanity from the predicament of the possibility of personal death, moral failure, and apparent gratuitous evil. It …

Al-Baghdadi And The Art Of Terrorist Persuasion, Bandar Dawshi

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the rhetoric used by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to persuade thousands of young Muslims around the world to join the organization and defend it until the end. The dissertation concerns the innovative methods used by the organization to reach thousands of young people around the world, and the role of misinterpretations of the Qur'an in supporting al-Baghdadi's rhetorical arguments. In order to provide a reasonable explanation for these speeches, the dissertation used Aristotle's rhetorical methodology, Gamal Abdel Nasser's rhetorical concept, Burke's concept of identity and social identity theory. The arguments focused on studying rhetoric within the …

Forming Institutional Values: An Exploratory Investigation Of The Interinstitutional Logics System And National Collegiate Athletic Association Embedded Agents, Jay Martyn

Dissertations

The institutional logics perspective is a metatheoretical framework utilized to examine the interrelationships between institutions, individuals, and organizations in a social system (Thornton et al., 2012). A developing thought in the institutional logics perspective is the concept of the interinstitutional system, which is a framework for understanding a levels metatheory of institutions. Undeniably, there has been a growing demand for literature in the sport management field pertaining to Institutional Theory and scholars have emphasized the necessity to examine institutional logics in the sport industry (Washington & Patterson, 2011). Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to evaluate the logics …

Rural Cochlear Implant Services: Reflections From Parents And (Re)Habilitation Professionals, Natalie J. Austin

Dissertations

Austin, Natalie J. Rural cochlear implant services: Reflections from parents and (re)habilitation professionals. Published Doctor of Philosophy dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2020. The idea of what “rural” means and the influence of this setting is very complex. The impact on the resources and services available to the family, school district, and community goes beyond geographic barriers. Despite there being known problems with service provision for children with hearing loss in rural areas, little is being done to improve the support offered to families and professionals working to meet the needs of children who have cochlear implants. The purpose of …

Impact Of Tier 2 Intervention Program On Student Achievement And Self-Efficacy, Barbara L. Georges

Dissertations

To address the challenges of drop-out rate and achievement gap, high schools have begun to implement intervention programs. Schools bear responsibility in addressing factors such as poor academic performance, lack of course credit, and low motivation to encourage post-secondary success. Intervention programs show promise in mitigating these factors despite variation due to lack of state or federal requirements. The most common frameworks used to address the skill gaps and deficiencies that prevent graduation are Response to Intervention (RtI) or Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of academic interventions on student achievement …

The Implementation Of A Two-Way Dual Language Program And The Impact On Teaching And Learning, Annetta Spychalski

Dissertations

Dual language programs satisfy the requirement of mandated bilingual programs for English Language Learners in the state of Illinois. This qualitative program evaluation focused on a school district that entered into an adaptive change process with respect to creating a two-way dual language immersion program that would increase student language acquisition in English and Spanish as well as increase cultural competency and professional development for teachers. The program evaluation provided the opportunity to diagnose the system through an examination of the challenges and the quality of the current state of the district leading to the identification of the 4c’s; context, …

A Narrative Inquiry Into The Experiences Of Alternatively Licensed Teachers, Courtney A. Berry

Dissertations

Berry, Courtney A. A narrative inquiry into the experiences of alternatively licensed teachers. Published Doctor of Education dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2020. This dissertation explored the lived stories of alternatively licensed teachers on their experiences of becoming a teacher. Field texts were captured through autobiographical writings and staged encounters that emphasized common perspectives in the field of teacher education including the participants’ experiences prior to teaching, their levels of preparedness, and their continued retention in the field. Participants included three alternatively licensed teachers who were three to six years into their careers. Data were analyzed through narrative analysis and …

Schools’ Civil Rights Obligations To English Learners: Leadership Perceptions On Key Issues, Pamela R. Schwallier

Dissertations

English Learners (ELs), who now represent nearly 10% of all K-12 public school students, 4.8 million of who speak over 400 different languages and dialects, continue to lack equitable educational opportunities as demonstrated through gaps in achievement outcomes, poor graduation rates, and identified systemic barriers related to the intersectionality of language, culture, race, and racism (Crump, 2014; DeMatthews & Izquierdo, 2017; Menken & Solorza, 2015; Morita-Mullaney, 2018; National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition [NCELA], 2015, 2018). This quantitative study captured over 800 K-12 educational leaders’ perspectives, via an anonymous electronic survey, on key issues regarding equitable programs for ELs that …

Performance Guide And Recording Of Three Twenty-First-Century Compositions For Solo Cello, Katarina Majcen Pliego

Dissertations

The twenty-first century boasts a vast repertoire of solo cello pieces. While many editions might feature phrase markings and other performance indications by the composer, they rarely include bowing indications, fingerings, and other practical advice. Due to the diversity and sometimes technical difficulty of the twenty-first-century solo cello repertoire, most new works now include guidelines or performance guides written by the composer or first performer. I have selected three pieces according to the following criteria: no performance guide is currently available; the published score lacks editorial guidance on performance issues such as bowing and fingering; and no commercially available recording …

Objectively Determining The Language-Related Communication Challenges For In-Flight Operations, Fehime Utkan

Dissertations

Communication breakdowns between pilots and air traffic controllers (ATCs) have been identified as primary factors in fatal airplane accidents (Wu et. al., 2019; Bauh & Stolzer, 2018; Ritter, 1996; Eurocontrol, 2011). Although there are various aspects that have affected communication efficiency, language-related issues have been mostly associated with transmissions involved in serious incidents, especially in multicultural flight environments (Sexton & Helmrich, 2000). More than 2,000 people have died in accidents where miscommunication was a primary factor (Bauh & Stolzer, 2018; Patty, 2016). By the year of 2025, the air transportation system is projected to become more complex, and the volume …

Hope, Acculturation, And English Language Proficiency In The Career Decision Self-Efficacy Of East Asian International Students, Yang Ai

Dissertations

The present study explored the predictive abilities of hope, acculturation to American culture, acculturation to the home culture, and English language proficiency to career decision self-efficacy for East Asian international students in the United States who are originally from China, South Korea, and Japan. A total of 167 international students from China, South Korea, or Japan participated in this study. This study used a correlational design to measure the relationship between four predictor variables, including hope, acculturation to American culture, acculturation to the home culture, and English language proficiency and an outcome variable, career decision self-efficacy, among East Asian international …

Elitnauristet Yuutllu Calillgutkut Elitnaurluki Elitnaurat: Yup’Ik Peoples And Public-School Principals In Southwestern Alaska, A Quantitative Survey Of Cultural Values, Anthony Graham

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the alignment between local school principals’ values and ideas about what should be taught in their public schools and the values of the local Yup’ik communities in which those principals serve. A review of scholarly literature served as a basis for identifying Yup’ik values and a survey which measured principals’ beliefs about the importance and priority of those values was used to collect a variety of data. Findings showed both differences and similarities between principals’ priorities and Yup’ik values and was clear that the similarities and differences were predominantly related to the number of years of a …

Nursing Students' Perceptions Regarding Faculty Feedback, Deborah Hartzog Chatham

Dissertations

Higher education researchers in a variety of disciplines have explored instructor and student perceptions of what constitutes feedback that is useful and timely. Researchers agree that students desire feedback but are often not sure of how to interpret or use faculty comments. Students vary in an understanding of what constitutes feedback. Nursing researchers have conducted fewer studies to determine student concerns regarding faculty feedback. Nursing faculty differ in perceptions of what constitutes effective feedback. Nursing faculty use various forms of feedback, such as written comments, audio recordings, and automatically generated feedback. These variations suggest nursing faculty do not always know …

Academic Success Factors Influencing Linguistically Diverse And Native English Speaking Associate Degree Nursing Students, Josie L. Veal

Dissertations

To address the healthcare needs of vulnerable populations, nursing educators should evaluate educational preparedness and identify which factors influence a successive academic trajectory in nursing school. A prospective design was used to determine the relationships and differences among the anatomy and physiology course grade, self-efficacy, linguistic diversity, language acculturation, and components of the National League for Nursing pre-admission exam for registered nurses and first semester nursing course grades of linguistically diverse and native English speaking associate degree nursing students. A relationship exists between the PAX-RN composite score, anatomy mean grade, language diversity, and general self-efficacy score, the Nursing Pharmacology and …

Racial/Ethnic Identity Modeling: An Exploration Of The Effects Of Bilingualism On Racial/Ethnic Identity Expression And Self-Esteem In Multiple-Race Black/African American Adults, Tritia Miyako Finley

Dissertations

The psychological well-being and racial/ethnic identity expression of bilingual multiple-race individuals mixed with Black/African American and another minority racial/ethnic category are largely underrepresented topics in current scholarly literature despite their growing population in the United States. In the current study, the sociohistorical and political processes of colonialism and coloniality were discussed to provide context for the critical examination of familial foreign language ability (FLA), self-esteem (SE), and Black/African American racial/ethnic identity (BRI) expression among multiple-race Black/African American adults (N = 204). Using structural equation modeling, results indicated that higher levels of FLA were related to higher levels of SE. …

An Examination Of Optimal Level Of Ceo Narcissism: Why, How, And When Narcissism Impacts Firm Performance, Scott Boswell

Dissertations

Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) may have narcissistic tendencies that impact the firm and its performance. We explore the definition of narcissism, how it is measured, and when it might be optimal or harmful to the firm’s performance. Leaders exhibiting higher scores on one or more Dark Triad traits often are viewed negatively both inside and outside the firm. Should such negative perceptions disqualify a leader who displays a measure of a Dark Triad trait? This research answers the primary question, is there an optimal level of CEO narcissistic traits and if so, are there moderating factors that impact the level? …

Development Of A Church-Based Educational Program To Increase Prostate Cancer Screening For Black Men 40 And Older, Dawn Marie Silvera-Ndure

Dissertations

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United States and is one of the leading causes of cancer death among men of all races. However, African-American men are at particularly high risk. These men are diagnosed more often with prostate cancer, are diagnosed later, and are more than twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than are Caucasian men. A strategy to address this inequity was to develop a community based program that would reach this at risk population. The goal of the project was to develop an evidence-based, theory-supported education and referral program to …

U.S. Higher Education In The Construction Of “Good” And “Bad” Immigrants: Foreign-Born Faculty’S Tales Of Sexism, Racism, And Xenophobia At Work, Debaleena Ghosh

Dissertations

In this dissertation, I explore the experiences of immigrant (i.e. foreign-born) faculty in the U.S. academy, especially during a trying period of time—Donald Trump’s presidency—when anti-immigrant sentiments and rhetoric have heightened in America. Specifically, I explore how in the Trump era, gender, race, ethnic (national) origin, cultural background, and foreign-born status intersect to shape immigrant faculty’s experiences at the individual, interpersonal, and organizational level, including the privileges they enjoy and/or the penalties they pay based on their multiple social locations and ethnic culture—a group occasionally studied. Finally, I explore how the organizational and departmental culture of diversity enables the faculty …

Accurately Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder Among A Comorbid Population, Michelle Okolita

Dissertations

Two of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are diagnosed in early childhood. The two disorders share similar impairments across domains, are highly comorbid, and have many overlapping symptoms. Studies have shown that among this comorbid population, children receive an ASD diagnosis a few years after their initial ADHD diagnosis, which leads to many negative consequences, including a delay in treatment. The focus in this study was on the early indicators of ASD that are present prior to the age of 3 years in order to educate others on these symptoms. In an …

Culturally Responsive Teaching And Learning For Success, Fred A. Hunter

Dissertations

The enduring gap between White and Black student achievement has challenged our educational systems for decades. This study evaluates an instructional pedagogy that values and embraces students’ culture and experiences. Participants in this study include one teacher trained to implement culturally relevant instruction, her middle school students, and teacher leaders at the school where I served as principal during the time of the study.

The results of this study reveal the positive impact that a culturally relevant teacher yields for students and teacher. Students receiving an affirming instructional pedagogy benefit from improved academic outcomes. Teachers embracing this method of teaching …

Enrichment Of Ontologies Using Machine Learning And Summarization, Hao Liu

Dissertations

Biomedical ontologies are structured knowledge systems in biomedicine. They play a major role in enabling precise communications in support of healthcare applications, e.g., Electronic Healthcare Records (EHR) systems. Biomedical ontologies are used in many different contexts to facilitate information and knowledge management. The most widely used clinical ontology is the SNOMED CT. Placing a new concept into its proper position in an ontology is a fundamental task in its lifecycle of curation and enrichment.

A large biomedical ontology, which typically consists of many tens of thousands of concepts and relationships, can be viewed as a complex network with concepts as …

An Automated Feedback System To Support Student Learning Of Conceptual Knowledge In Writing-To-Learn Activities, Ye Xiong

Dissertations

As a pedagogical strategy, Writing-to-Learn (WTL) intends to use writing to improve students’ understanding of course content. However, most of the existing feedback systems for writing are mainly focused on improving students’ writing skills rather than their conceptual development. In this dissertation, an automatic approach is proposed to generate timely, actionable, and individualized feedback based on comparing knowledge representations extracted from lecture slides and individual students’ writing assignments. The novelty of the proposed approach lies in the feedback generation: to help students assimilate new knowledge into their existing knowledge better, their current knowledge is modeled as a set of matching …

Analyzing And Assisting Patient Decision-Making In Online Health Communities, Mingda Li

Dissertations

In recent years, many users have joined online health communities (OHC) to seek information, suggestions and social support. However, little has been studied about the roles of OHCs in patients' decision-making processes. The aim of this research is to analyze OHC data to better understand patient decision-making processes, and to provide assistance to OHC users in their decision-making.

In order to analyze or assist patients in their decision-making, a novel classification model is designed to identify discussion threads in OHC that are related to decision making. This is achieved by building a two-step combined deep learning model. Empirical evaluation shows …