Digital Commons Network^™

Teaching Critical Thinking Skills In A Chinese Immersion School, Pui Hung Helen Wong

Doctoral Dissertations

As a frontline teacher and administrator, I received feedback consistently from parents and students asking for a fun and effective method of instruction for Chinese language development in the US. This study explored the micro-level of how teachers in Chinese immersion schools create an environment to support development of students’ critical thinking skills while learning Chinese. I applied a qualitative approach to the research and designed a case study focused on answering the following research questions: How do teachers help their students to develop critical thinking skills when teaching in a Chinese immersion program? What are the challenges teachers have …

Uncovering Examples Of Humanizing Praxis And Pathological Violence In Special Education: District, Parent, And Researcher Perspectives, Andy W. Chung

Doctoral Dissertations

Students of color continue to be labeled with dis/abilities and funneled into segregated settings by special education staff (Annamma, Connor, & Ferri, 2013; Leonardo & Broderick, 2011). The purpose of this study is to highlight the kinds of experiences students and their family’s experience in special education related to humanization and violence. In addition to gaining a better understanding of how special education district staff are working to both reproduce and disrupt the violent exclusion of students of color, this dissertation aimed to center the experiences of parents and students who are being impacted by the exclusionary policies and practices. …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Thompson’S (2105) Survey Of Language Usage And Spanish Of Heritage Learners Placement Program Exam At The High-School Level, Elizabeth Villanueva

Doctoral Dissertations

Language placement test serve with multiple purposes to measure the language abilities and performance of language learners to place them in the most appropriate language course with curriculum that best meets the language needs. There is the need to assess appropriately the Spanish heritage language learners’ (SHLLs) abilities at the high-school level. Therefore, this mixed-method study investigated how Thompson’s (2015) modified Yes or No 10-question Survey of Language Usage (Survey) and the three part Spanish for Heritage Language Learners Placement Program Exam (Placement Test) could be used effectively with three Spanish class levels of HLLs at the high-school level to …

Improving Sleep And Learning Motivation, And Decreasing Psychological Distress Through Different Modalities Of Written Expression: Controlling For Resilience And Hardiness, Samantha Aarstad Martin

Doctoral Dissertations

College is a time of increased risk for developing psychological distress, poor sleep, and poor academic motivation. Additionally, many students who need mental health services fail to engage in treatment due to perceived barriers. As a result, it is important to find creative ways to reach this group. Research has shown that emotional expression, as well as engaging in written and verbal expression, can be associated with physical, emotional, and cognitive benefits. Specifically, years of research indicate that emotional expression through journaling is highly effective with the college population. Additionally, most college students own a cell phone, typically spending an …

On The Semantics Of Evidentials In Southern Aymara, Gabriel A. Martinez Vera

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation addresses a number of phenomena in the semantics and syntax-semantics of evidentiality focusing on Southern Aymara within a cross-linguistic perspective. Traditionally, the literature has identified three evidentials in this language: the direct evidential enclitic =wa, the indirect evidential suffix -tay, and the reportative evidential free morpheme siwa. This dissertation concentrates on four issues in connection to these markers. The first issue I address is the association of evidentiality and focus in the same marker, namely, the direct evidential =wa. This is a topic that has been previously acknowledged (Muysken 1995; Faller 2002), but has remained unaccounted for. More …

The Intersection Of History And Trade: Essays In Trade And Trade Policy, David Travis Freidman

Doctoral Dissertations

In this research I examine the effects that past institutions have on current day economics. In chapters one and two I focus on empirically measuring the impact of past historical trade institutions on current day trade flows. In chapter three I turn my focus to understanding how implicit institutions impact the economic discipline.

My first chapter begins with examining the historical legacy of trading institutions of membership in the ex-Soviet Union and Comecon on current day Russia's bilateral trade flows. The use of long-term data from 1998 to 2016 allows for examination of changes in the legacy effects over time, …

Repairing The Teacher Pipeline For People Of Color: Three Essays On Minority Teacher Scholarships, Jeremy Landa

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite near consensus agreement about the importance of increasing the presence of teachers of color in schools, there is limited research on how public policy can solve this problem. Drawing on federal and one university’s teacher education data, this dissertation addresses whether a Minority Teacher Scholarship (MTS) can alter the labor supply of teachers of color. The first essay evaluates whether five states implementing MTS programs increase the proportion of candidates of color earning teacher education bachelor’s degrees. Using event study and difference-in-differences frameworks, I find that implementing states stabilized the share of Black candidates relative to non-implementing states, a …

Virtual Reality Self-Modeling As An Intervention For Stuttering, Johanna M. Deleyer-Tiarks

Doctoral Dissertations

Virtual Reality Self-Modeling (VRSM) is a new self-modeling intervention. It is the coming together of two well established interventions, Video Self-Modeling (VSM) and virtual reality (VR) and can be described as using 360 degree VR videos, viewed through a VR system headset or smartphone, to depict individuals self-modeling a desired behavior. By using 360-degree video, individuals who watch VRSM interventions will be able to view themselves eliciting a desired behavior while feeling as if they immersed within the environment being watched. The distinction between traditional VR treatments and traditional Video Self-Modeling (VSM) treatments is that VRSM delivers both self-modeling and …

Experiences Of Latinx's Adult Transition To The U.S. And The Clinical Implications That Arise In Acclimating Into The Dominant Culture: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, Gabriela Olavarrieta

Doctoral Dissertations

There has been a significant gap in the literature regarding the lived experience of the Latinx adult transition to the United States and the clinical implications that arise in acclimating to the dominant culture, particularly under the Trump Administration. The approach for the current research examined Latinxs’ adulthood transitions to the United States, experiences of acculturative stress, including instances of discrimination as well as their experiences acclimating or assimilating into the dominant culture. This study also examined what seeking, or being unable to seek, mental health services looked like in the current sociopolitical climate. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was utilized to …

Identifying Attentional Shifting Weaknesses And Attentional Tendencies In Children With Developmental Language Disorder: A Potential First Step To Promoting Word Learning, Yara Aljahlan

Doctoral Dissertations

Archival abstract submitted

An Experimental Study On The Acquisition Of Impersonals In Brazilian Portuguese, Karina Bertolino

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the acquisition of null impersonal structures in Brazilian Portuguese (BP), a partial null-subject language (PNSL). PNSLs allow definite null subjects under more restricted conditions than consistent null-subject languages (CNSLs). However, PNSLs are characterized by having impersonal constructions with generic null subjects which are absent in CNSLs.

Using the Truth Value Judgment Task, I investigated whether BP-speaking children know that they are acquiring a PNSL, in which null subjects should be understood as generic. The results show that children as young as 4-years-old correctly reject the definite reading of null subjects in impersonal structures and correctly accept …

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? Talker-Specific Influences On Distributional Learning For Speech, Nicholas Monto

Doctoral Dissertations

There is no one-to-one mapping between speech acoustics and individual speech sounds. The acoustic cues produced for individual speech sounds show wide variability both within and across talkers. Nonetheless, listeners perceive the speech of familiar and novel talkers with ease. It is theorized that listeners achieve this by maintaining a degree of flexibility in how acoustics are mapped to speech sound categories. Building on previous work demonstrating that listeners are sensitive to individual talker differences in speech production, we test the hypothesis that distributional learning for input statistics is contextually governed by talker identity. Listeners (n = 320) completed two …

Clinical Work With Adult Male Incest Survivors: Therapeutic Themes And Perspectives, Kathryn B. Rosenberg

Doctoral Dissertations

For psychotherapists, encountering clients who have experienced sexual trauma or abuse is inevitable, whether or not the abuse is disclosed to the therapist; however, mental health professionals receive extremely limited (if any) training on how to identify or effectively support adult clients who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Many people who experienced CSA, especially those who identify as male, remain isolated and invisible in their suffering as adults even within therapeutic spaces, facing what feel like insurmountable barriers – both internal and external – to getting help. When sexual abuse is intrafamilial, these barriers are both amplified and …

Perceptual Learning Of Noise-Vocoded Speech, Julia R. Drouin

Doctoral Dissertations

A challenge in the cochlear implant adaptation literature is accounting for wide variability in speech perception outcomes following implantation. While many preimplantation factors contribute to the variance observed in outcomes, formal auditory training has been proposed as a way to maximize speech comprehension benefits for cochlear implant users. However, there is currently no standardized set of recommendations as to how training should be implemented in the patient population. The goal of this dissertation was to examine two potential training variables of interest: time of day in which the training occurs and the task structure of training. This dissertation examined these …

Development Of A School Climate Walkthrough Assessment, Jesslynn Rocha Neves

Doctoral Dissertations

School climate measurement is an increasingly important component of data-driven school improvement efforts. The present study involved the development of the School Climate Walkthrough Assessment (SCWA), a measure for evaluating environmental indicators and oral student reports of school climate alongside the Georgia Elementary School Climate Survey (GESCS), a validated self-report survey of school climate. The SCWA is administered by an adult who rates features of the school environment and then selects a subset of students for a school climate interview. It is meant to provide a snapshot of the general school climate in conjunction with school climate data obtained via …

Persisting In Unfamiliar Grounds: A Study Of Black Males Living In A Learning Community While Attending A Predominantly White Institution, Ngozi Taffe

Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Black males encounter significant microaggressions and race related challenges as students in Predominantly White Institutions. These encounters negatively impact their college learning and social experiences. In the face of these challenges, college retention rate of Black males falls behind those of other racial and gender groups (Toldson, 2012). Notwithstanding, statistics point to the success and persistence of Black male students in such oppressive environments. Using an Anti-deficit lens and Community Cultural Wealthy framework, this qualitative study explores the learning and social experiences of eight Black males living in a same race same gender learning community while attending a PWI. …

Mdma-Assisted Psychotherapy For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Examining Ethnoracial Differences In Efficacy And Safety, And A Mixed-Methods Case Study Of A Participant Of Color, Terence Ching

Doctoral Dissertations

MDMA-assisted psychotherapy was shown in previous clinical trials to be efficacious and safe for alleviating treatment-resistant posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, due to low ethnoracial diversity, the question remains as to whether ethnoracial minority participants would benefit similarly. Thus, in Study 1, ethnoracial differences in PTSD symptoms, secondary outcomes, and suicidality were examined for a multisite, open-label trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. A total of 11 ethnoracial minority and 26 non-Hispanic White participants formed the modified intent-to-treat (ITT) set. General and generalized linear model analyses were used to test group differences. Correlational analyses were conducted to test relationships between changes in …

Frege's Conception Of Truth As An Object, Junyeol Kim

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation I explore Frege’s conception of truth. In particular I defend the thesis that Frege in his mature career takes truth to be an object, i.e., the True qua the reference of true sentences. In the literature on truth Frege has been usually taken to be a truth deflationist or a truth primitivist. Indeed Frege leaves a number of comments that sound like typical deflationist claims and his famous indefinability argument is the most discussed argument for primitivism. However, Frege is neither a deflationist nor a primitivist. His deflationist remarks and the indefinability argument are rather his arguments …

Mobility, Indigeneity, And The Creolizing Classroom, Josué R. López

Doctoral Dissertations

Archival Abstract Submitted

Preservice Mathematics Teachers’ Development Of Open-Mindedness And Cultural Competence During An Education Abroad Program: A Qualitative Case Study, Blair Izard

Doctoral Dissertations

There is a long-standing issue in mathematics education regarding the support of equitable learning outcomes. As there has been significant attention from professional organizations, including NCTM and others, to address issues of access and equity within mathematics education, there has been an emphasis on creating mathematics classrooms that are responsive to students’ backgrounds, experiences, cultural perspectives, and traditions. However, in order to best meet these needs, we must prepare teachers that have a deep understanding of self, society, culture, and equity, which is no small challenge as it’s essentially calling for shifts in mathematics teachers’ identities. Experiential learning, in particular, …

Indefinable Forces: How Teachers Negotiate Narratives Of Ability And Inclusivity While Applying Universal Design For Learning, Beth S. Fornauf

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite efforts of educators and advocates to include students with labeled disabilities in all aspects of public education, many are segregated, deprived of interactions with peers, and offered content lacking in rigor and relevance. In one New England state, public schools have the opportunity to participate in a statewide initiative that aims to combat such exclusion, and make learning more effective for all through Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL is a pedagogical framework focused on the design of instructional materials, methods, and environments to optimize teaching and learning for all students. This ethnographic case study explores how educators applying …

Ignoring Language Barriers: Romanian-Serbian Code-Switching, Vanessa Petroj

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the syntactic aspects of Romanian-Serbian code-switching (CS). It explores a number of issues concerning several domains and theoretical mechanisms, especially the structure of the nominal domain, the structure and derivation of coordinated structures, cliticization (both second-position and verbal clitics), the nature of affixal articles, phases, and the mechanisms of Agree and case-licensing. In addressing these questions, a fundamental assumption is Bošković’s (2008, 2012) dichotomy which divides languages into NP (languages without articles) and DP (languages with articles). This distinction is especially relevant here, as the languages involved differ in this respect – Romanian having, and Serbian …

Identifying Discourses About Gifted English Learners For Equitable Identification, Susan Langley

Doctoral Dissertations

In 2014, the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights reported that only 2% of English Learners (ELs) were enrolled in gifted programs compared to 7% of non-ELs. With ELs emerging as the fastest growing population of learners in the United States, it is of concern that EL representation in gifted and talented education continues to lag behind both traditional populations of learners and other underserved populations of learners. Therefore, the underidentification of gifted ELs constitutes a problem. Although “all gifted is local,” gifted identification is typically determined at the state level, which in turn informs what is …

Life After The El Label: Conversations About Identity, Language, And Race, Veronica Arizaga Aguayo

Doctoral Dissertations

Currently, the English Learner (EL) label is found in every facet of education concerning learners with home languages other than English. While the EL label is designated to objectively identify students who are indeed learning English, it also brings with it an unintentional, outward forced identity that institutes an unwillingness among peers and teachers to socially and academically engage with EL-labeled students. Not only has the label warranted inequitable academic opportunities, wide graduation gaps, and a consistently wide achievement gap, it has also perpetuated a deficit model and negative perceptions of the learners, especially with the racialized rhetoric that has …

The Effects Of Service-Learning On Writing And Rhetorical Development, Christopher Iverson

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores the effects of community engagement on college writers years after completing first-year composition courses with service-learning partnerships. Since the 1990’s, scholarship has connected service-learning pedagogy and the gains that student writers stand to enjoy when writing for audiences beyond the classroom and purposes beyond the grade (Bacon, Deans, Wurr), while others have warned of the consequences of hastily planned service-learning partnerships (Mathieu, Cushman). These predictions and cautions have guided the larger conversation of community engagement in writing studies to include community-academy partnerships that involve students to varying degrees or not at all while guiding academic stakeholders in …

Social Media Based Algorithmic Clinical Decision Support Learning From Behavioral Predispositions, Radhika V. Medury

Doctoral Dissertations

Behavioral disorders are disabilities characterized by an individual’s mood, thinking, and social interactions. The commonality of behavioral disorders amongst the United States population has increased in the last few years, with an estimated 50% of all Americans diagnosed with a behavioral disorder at some point in their lifetime. AttentionDeficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is one such behavioral disorder that is a severe public health concern because of its high prevalence, incurable nature, significant impact on domestic life, and peer relationships. Symptomatically, in theory, ADHD is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Access to providers who can offer diagnosis and treat the disorder varies …

“Maybe We Can Do This Too”: Multilingual Writers, Anti-Deficit Ideologies, Identity Formation And Student Agency Development, Marino Ivo Lopes Fernandes

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines identity formation and student agency development for international student writing tutors in HELP (Hi English Learning Partner), a writing center founded and staffed by international multilingual students. This study adopts a critical anti-deficit perspective to examine how these student tutors negotiated the deficit environments on their campus to create a writing center that expanded the roles and possibilities for multilingual students within writing centers and writing conferences. I discuss a series of case studies to trace identity formation and student agency development for seven multilingual, international student tutors at a research university in the northeastern United States. …

Becoming ‘We’: Disembodied Trauma And A Community Of Globalized Reading In Contemporary Asian American Novels And Graphic Narratives, Jin Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

Historical narratives often focus on the victors of major global conflicts and leave out the mention of the oppressed. But trauma theorists note that literary arts can effectively offer insight to unremarked histories. My dissertation examines how contemporary Asian American novels and graphic narratives represent underrepresented historical trauma, with a particular focus on Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior, Lois-Ann Yamanaka’s Blu’s Hanging, GB Tran’s Vietnamerica, Fred Chao’s Johnny Hiro, and Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese. I focus on what I call “disembodied trauma,” a phenomenon which encourages readers to recognize silenced histories in the texts. Specifically, “disembodied trauma,” …

From Believing To Doing: Teacher Ownership Of Inclusive Education Practices A Grounded Theory Case Study, Maria Agorastou

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the current qualitative study was to explore the in-depth experiences of school teachers in an urban public elementary school in Greece, looking at 1) their role as change agents, as it pertains to inclusive education practices, and 2) their conception of ownership toward this change

This case study utilized a Straussian grounded-theory design to guide the collecting and coding of interview data in order to identify emerging categories and generate substantive theory. The researcher collected data through interviews with 15 teachers, administrators and parents of the school community.

Adhering to a constant comparative analysis of the data, …

Sowing The Seeds Of Love: Dialogic And Collaborative Literacies For Social Change, Liz Murray

Doctoral Dissertations

This ethnographic case study explored the impact of community organizing on the literacy practices of elementary and middle school aged children and youth in a Bay Area intergenerational non-profit centered on education justice and equity. The participants in the study were part of a program that addressed the needs of children and youth aged four to fourteen. This study foregrounded collaborative critical literacy practices that promoted engagement with topics relevant to their lives. This study is informed by a belief in critical literacy and community organizing as tools to change the world. The children and the youth drew on a …