Digital Commons Network^™

Shattering The Glass Slipper: An Investigation Into Nontraditional Gender Roles And Norms In The Elementary Classroom, Sara Mclean Suber

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative, action research study investigated the ways that third grade students reacted when their worldviews concerning traditional gender roles and norms were challenged through classroom discourse, children’s literature, integrated art projects, and other writing and reading activities. The questions guiding this study were: (1) What is the impact of an English Language Arts unit involving texts and activities that depict nontraditional gender roles and norms on third grade students in a Southern, working class, elementary school?, (2) How are students’ preconceived notions in relation to gender roles and norms challenged over the course of the implemented curricular unit?, and …

The Development Of A Tractable System To Assess Caulobacter-Plant Interactions, Louis Berrios

Theses and Dissertations

Bacteria play an integral role in regulating plant growth and development. However, many of the mechanisms encompassing bacteria-plant interactions are poorly understood and thus require detailed assessments (see CHAPTER 1). To this end, I coupled bacterial (Caulobacter sp.) and plant model organisms (Arabidopsis) to determine 1) the degree to which select bacteria can enhance the growth and development of plants, and 2) what functions these bacteria possess that enable them to aid plant development. Employing bacterial isolation techniques, monoculture inoculum-based plant growth assays, biochemical assays, comparative genomics, functional genetics, and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), I determined that …

An Analysis Of Mental State Verbs In Children With Hearing Loss, Morgan Vachio

Theses and Dissertations

Mental state verbs (MSV) require unique cognitive and linguistic knowledge compared to lower level function words (Shatz et al., 1983). These cognitive and linguistic demands are thought to be difficult for children with hearing loss (CHL) due to deficits in word learning (Werfel, 2017; Lund, 2016), limited depth of vocabulary knowledge (Walker et al., 2018) and deficits in complex syntax (Werfel et al., 2021). The present study recruited 73 preschool children (23 CHLCI, 22 CHL-HA and 28 CNH) to participate. Our analysis examined the frequency, lexical diversity and use of MSV within required complex syntax structures.

Exploring Students’ Cosmopolitan Perspectives In An Undergraduate, Intermediate Spanish-Language Class, Erin Carlson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how SPAN 121 might be designed to foster and support students’ development of cosmopolitan perspectives. Specifically, it explored how English-speaking students might demonstrate cosmopolitan perspectives in response to activities engaging them in Spanish with global Spanish speakers as part of their undergraduate, intermediate Spanish-language class. Theories of cosmopolitanism value responsible, global citizens engaged in open and respectful dialogue across geographic boundaries to learn about themselves and the world and may guide undergraduate college students in intercultural interactions. Through teacher action research utilizing qualitative case study, this study explored which activities might foster …

The Effects Of A Dialogic Pedagogy In A Hybrid Advanced Placement Environmental Science Course On Students’ Learning Experience, Blake Alspach

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study evolved from the sudden shift in schools and districts in response to the COVID 19 pandemic. Shifting from a traditional face-to-face AP Environmental Science classroom to a hybrid classroom required evaluating and revising the pedagogical choices made to create a positive learning experience. A hybrid classroom consists of face-to-face students in the classroom and online students attending the class simultaneously through video conferencing software. Teachers and students had little to no experience engaging in a hybrid learning model, thus creating a need to develop and implement effective instructional practices to support student learning. This qualitative action …

Towards Understanding Therapy Response In Chronic Aphasia, Sigfus Kristinsson

Theses and Dissertations

It remains largely unclear what factors determine who responds to aphasia therapy and to what degree. The current study sought to ameliorate this issue by addressing three aims: 1) To identify baseline predictors that dissociate between therapy responders and nonresponders, 2) to identify predictors of degree of treated recovery in therapy responders, and 3) to examine the generalizability of predictors identified under Aims 1 and 2 in randomly selected subsamples of study participants.

Method: Stroke survivors (N = 102; 43 females; age = 60.5y +/- 11.0y) with chronic aphasia (>12m post-stroke) were recruited as part of a multisite trial. …

Preliminary Outcomes And Feasibility Of A Brief Online Teacher Training In Culturally Responsive Practices (Crp) To Reduce Disproportionate Discipline In Prek-3rd Grade Classrooms, Samantha Noelle Hartley

Theses and Dissertations

School discipline policies that rely on exclusionary discipline practices, such as office discipline referrals, suspensions, and expulsions, negatively and disproportionately impact racial minority students, beginning in preschool. Disproportionate discipline persists even when schools implement schoolwide interventions that reduce overall rates of exclusionary discipline, suggesting that schools must do more to address other likely causes of the discipline gap, including implicit racial bias, insufficient teacher training in classroom management, and a cultural mismatch between schools and minority students. There has been an increased call for teacher professional development in culturally responsive behavior management practices, but such interventions are often poorly evaluated …

Animacy And Intransitivity In Sentence Processing, Peter Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

The distinction between animate and inanimate objects is essential to many cognitive tasks. Research has shown distinct patterns of memory, attention, and language response to animate and inanimate objects. This dissertation examines the effects of noun animacy on sentence processing. I report three psycholinguistic experiments on intransitive constructions, testing how animate and inanimate nouns influence expectations for an intransitive clause. Intransitive verbs fall into types based on thematic role. Unergative verbs assign an Agent role. Unaccusative verbs assign a Theme/Patient role, although a subclass of unaccusative verbs can alternate between intransitive constructions with a Theme/Patient subject and transitive constructions with …

The Impact Of A Four-Station Blended Learning Model Of Differentiating Instruction On Student Engagement In A Middle School Chinese I Class In A Southeastern State, Junlan Li

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to examine the impact of the proposed Four-Station Blended Learning Model (FSBLM) on the engagement level of four middle school students in a Chinese as a foreign language class. For the purposes of the study, student engagement is defined by three aspects: (1) participation in class activities, (2) classwork completion, and (3) student perceptions of Chinese class. Incorporating an action research design, data was collected through utilizing Likert-scale pre- and post-surveys, pre- and post-interviews, observations and the taking of field notes, students’ work samples, and classwork grades. Both qualitative and quantitative data were …

Investigating The Influence Of Mentors With National Board Certification On Mentees’ Perceptions Of Their Own Teaching Practice And Attitudes Of Remaining A Teacher, Joshua Michael Mcgoun

Theses and Dissertations

In Maryland, 47% of new teachers do not see a third year of teaching. Maryland also imports more teachers from neighboring states than it produces on its own (Kirwan & Hise, 2020). In order to improve new teachers’ skills and hopefully retain them, The Maryland Commission on Innovation and Excellence has proposed creating the position of “Master Teacher” to mentor new teachers. The “Master Teachers” need to earn National Board Certification (NBC) to be considered for the position. This research study examined mentees’ reflections and analyzed the presence of themes relating to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards’ Five …

The Impact Of Using An Online Learning Management System On Student Biology Achievement In A Hispanic Rural High School, Brent J. Burkott

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for this study was to determine the effect of using online Learning Management Systems with a Blended Learning pedagogy on state assessment achievement of high school biology students with interactions analyzed based on teaching method (Face-to-Face/Blended Learning), course type (Honors/Regular) biological sex (Male/Female), risk factor (At-Risk/Not At-Risk), and socioeconomic status (High/Low). The research questions were: (1) What is the difference in achievement scores between students taught in a Blended Learning environment with a Learning Management System verses a traditional Face-to-Face learning environment, and (2) What differences in achievement exist on the Texas assessment based on teaching method, course …

An Exploration Of Teacher Language Ideologies Around Linguistic Diversity In Adolescent Writing, Cody Fernandez

Theses and Dissertations

Emergent bilinguals that make up 19.5% of the student population in Texas (Texas Education Agency, 2019) are often placed in courses that instruct restrictive and formulaic ways as determined by their writing (Harklau, 2011). These restrictions can further limit opportunities for development of positive literate identities for bilingual writers. Research has demonstrated that language ideologies play a significant role in instruction particularly in linguistically diverse classrooms (Weaver, 2019).

This explorative study investigates the language ideologies of secondary writing teachers and the influence they play on instruction as teachers respond to linguistic diversity. The participants in this study are teachers …

Exploring Teacher Agency And Literacy Practices In A Border-Region Secondary English Language Arts Classroom, Monica Sifuentes

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers in the 21st century public school classroom are often faced with systemic pressures—from the state and district level—that may influence their instructional practice. With the increasingly globalized country and exponential increase in emergent bilingual students, it has become imperative that teachers reflect on the types of literacy pedagogy employed with their students, especially those teaching in border regions. Teachers must begin to view themselves as agents of change and as facilitators of learning.

This case study takes place in two high school settings that are in the same district and are located roughly 10 minutes from the US Mexico …

The Implementation Of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy And Socratic Seminar: The Effect On African American Students’ Reading And Their Critical Thinking, Amy Christina Waddell

Theses and Dissertations

Achievement gaps have been an ongoing issue among African American students for years. The continuation of low achievement scores has been the downfall of African American student success throughout their educational history (Royle & Brown, 2014). So much time has been spent helping students achieve grade-level mastery, while little was being done to ensure continuous academic growth for students that were already reading on-grade level. Over time, these on-grade level students remained stagnant or tended to regress. This research study presented two instructional intervention strategies that demonstrated how critical thinking could improve the growth in reading, among rising sixth-grade on-grade …

Verbal Fluency In Women With The Fmr1 Premutation And The Broad Autism Phenotype, Emily Szabo

Theses and Dissertations

Women who carry a premutation allele on the FMR1 gene can experience limitations due to their genetic status, including executive function deficits. These subtle deficits are often shared by women who possess the broad autism phenotype (BAP). Poor understanding and limited research on the extent of these executive functioning deficits has led to limited clinical management of these two groups. The current study aimed to clarity whether there is a difference in verbal fluency abilities in mothers that possess the FMR1 premutation, mothers of children with autism who are at risk for the BAP, and mothers of typically developing children, …

Neural Synchrony During Naturalistic Language Perception In Listeners With Aphasia, Lisa Johnson Norris

Theses and Dissertations

Neural synchrony across listeners during language processing has been found to be associated with successful comprehension in neurotypical adults. At initial presentation of auditory-visual stimuli, neural responses appear to oscillate in different rhythms across brain regions. As the stimulus progresses, the time course of neural activity synchronizes across listeners, particularly in primary auditory and visual processing regions. This phenomenon, which we refer to as ‘neural entrainment,’ has been observed in neurotypical individuals attending to the same stimulus. Neural synchrony occurs due to the inherent neural response elicited by a stimulus and has been shown to be consistent across participants in …

Lexical Properties Of Perceptual Errors Made By Younger And Older Adults Listening To Speech In Multitalker Babble, Hannah Blythe Vickery

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this error analysis was to analyze the lexical properties of misperceptions made when listening to speech in multitalker babble.

Methods: Twenty young adults with normal hearing (YNH), 20 older adults with normal hearing (ONH), and 22 older adults with hearing impairment (OHI) completed a speech-in-babble task. Participants were asked to repeat the final word in 25 high and 25 low context sentences. On each trial, participants either responded with the correct target word, a misperception error, or skipped the trial response. Misperceptions were compiled and analyzed according to their lexical properties.

Results: Results of this study …

Evaluation And Implementation Of The C-Pen On The Reading Level, Comprehension, And Oral Reading Fluency Of Third-Grade Students With Learning Disabilities: An Action Research Study, Kawanna Mckenzie

Theses and Dissertations

Third-grade students with learning disabilities struggle to meet reading proficiency levels at both the national and local levels. The appropriate support, services, and instruction of students with learning disabilities can help them achieve reading proficiency. Specific educational laws have been implemented to enable students with learning disabilities to use assistive technologies such as text-to-speech tools to support their reading. The purpose of this action research study was to evaluate the impact of a text-to-speech tool—the C-Pen—on the reading skills of third-grade students with learning disabilities at an elementary/middle school. The focus of this study was on three main research questions …

The Impact Of Reading Intervention Supports On Adolescent Reader Identity, Erin Christine Doty

Theses and Dissertations

This case study research aimed to uncover how adolescent students describe their experiences with reading intervention and what aspects of their school experiences they see as contributing to their reader identity. Previous research done with or about adolescent students in reading intervention programs has demonstrated a need for a deeper understanding of students’ perspectives of reading intervention and its impact on reader identity as well as an understanding of how these interventions position students as learners. Using a case study approach, data was collected with three eighth grade students who have participated in reading intervention programs for more than three …

Postcolonial Narrative And The Dialogic ImaginatioN: An Analysis Of Early Francophone West African Fiction And Cinema, Seydina Mouhamed Diouf

Theses and Dissertations

Francophone West Africa, in the aftermath of colonization, found itself at a crossroads between the necessity to address the problems of neo-colonialism while affirming its cultural identity and the need to embrace a universal message. That dilemma is not shared by literary critics who regard the work of early generation writers merely as an “empire writing back.” In the many classifications of West African literature, the emphasis is oftentimes put either on the importance of a counter-discourse that also rejects Western aesthetics or on the effects of post-independence disillusionment. This study argues that early francophone West African literary productions took …

On Displacement And Music: Embodiments Of Contemporary Nubian Music In The Nubian Resettlements, Fayrouz Kaddal

Theses and Dissertations

Between 1961-1964, an estimated number of 113’000 Nubians, who were living south of the site of the Aswan High Dam, the area now beneath Lake Nasser, and Wadi Halfa, north of Sudan, were displaced to an area near Kom Ombo, 20 kilometres away from the Nile and 50 kilometres north of Aswan. This major project of resettlement occurred for the construction of the Aswan High Dam, Nasser’s signature mega-project. The 1961-1964 displacement was the culmination of earlier waves of relocation that Nubians witnessed during their recent history. In 1902 the British constructed the Aswan (lower) Dam by the first cataract …

Evaluating Matrix Training To Teach Children With Autism To Tact Private Events, Abbi Dell Lee

Theses and Dissertations

The research on teaching tacts has primarily focus on visual stimuli, with relatively little attention to teaching tacts of nonvisual stimuli. The present study extended the literature to different types of tactile stimulation by teaching 2-component tacts of body-part sensation combinations in the presence of tactile stimulation. Multiple objects were used to produce the sensations to encourage generalization. Two additional exemplars for each sensation were probed for generalization to novel objects. The experimenters used matrix training, in which target responses were arranged in such a way as to facilitate recombinative generalization to untrained combinations. We arranged 6 body part targets …

The Work Of Their Hands: Black Women And Critical Visionary Pragmatism, Natoya D. Coleman

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the leadership principles, practices, and perspectives of Black women principals serving schools that are populated by primarily Black students. A portraiture of the participants' description of their racial and gender identities was conducted using kitchen table talks, to understand how identity development informed their leadership choices. Through the lens of Critical Race Feminism, Black Feminist Pedagogy, and Visionary Pragmatism, I highlight practices that lend to the development of a theoretical focus that speaks directly to the leadership practices of these Black women working in schools that serve Black student populations: Critical Visionary Pragmatism. Findings illuminate the ways …

The Experiences Of Women As Latinx Osteopathic Medical Students, Dana L. Weiss

Theses and Dissertations

In existing literature, researchers have predominantly examined issues related to minoritized groups by juxtaposing differences and outcomes among groups without attention to the diversity of experiences, challenges and strengths. This has had a limiting focus on the experiences specific to women as Latinx medical students, and has created a gap which restricts knowledge about experiences of perceived support and barriers within osteopathic medical school. This research provided an opportunity to think more deeply and critically about the experiences for women as Latinx osteopathic medical students. The data collected in this qualitative phenomenological study was gathered from participants as they narrated …

Investigating Intersubjectivity Between Preschool Teachers And Children During Instruction: A Case Study, Andrianna Eleni Smyrniotis

Theses and Dissertations

Early childhood teachers attend professional development sessions, take college-level courses, or read articles, and will, at some point, be exposed to some concepts found in Vygotsky’s (1986) cultural-historical theory of cognitive development as they are deeply embedded in education standards, professional standards, texts, and journals throughout the country. And yet, some concepts, including scaffolding (Wood et al., 1976), are the result of misinterpretations and the assignment of a label over the years (Gonzales Rey (2008). A largely overlooked concept accurately relating to Vygotsky’s work is intersubjectivity (Trevarthen, 2008), defined as mutual understanding, among teachers and children, for concept development. Intersubjectivity …

Limbic Morphometry In Individuals With Schizophrenia And Their Nonpsychotic Siblings, Rachael Olivia Slate

Theses and Dissertations

The limbic system is hypothesized to play a critical role in pathophysiology of schizophrenia, with abnormalities thought to contribute to the expression of various aspects of the cognitive deficits and clinical symptoms. Psychosis is understood as highly heritable and family members, specifically non-affected siblings, while not displaying overt signs of the disorder, often exhibit features similar to those observed in patients, though to a lesser degree. The overarching aim of this project was to investigate the integrity of limbic circuitry in a sample of patients with schizophrenia and their non-affected siblings and examine its potential relationship with various clinical features …

An Autoethnographic Study Of My Student And Teacher Experiences In First-Year Composition ( Fyc ) In Ghana: ( Re ) Developing More Inclusive Pedagogies In Fyc In The U.S., Eric Nuamah Korankye

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I discuss the importance of culturally-responsive pedagogies in writing programs in multicultural classrooms, especially in the United States (U.S.) where student demographics are gradually shifting from the former U.S. dominance to a more heterogeneous learning community. The study examines the ways teachers of first-year composition (FYC) in the U.S. can reimagine composition studies outside the U.S. and practice inclusivity through the design of internationalized inclusive pedagogies for first-year composition classrooms. I share stories of my experiences of first-year composition (also called Communication Skills) from my roles as a student and teaching assistant in KNUST-Ghana. Through this narration …

Parent Perceptions Of Literacy Development For Females Later Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Christine Marie Yaccarino

Theses and Dissertations

Little is known about the early literacy development of girls later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism traits. In this study, parents of 21 girls later diagnosed with ASD or as having significant ASD traits were each interviewed about their daughter's early literacy development. In general, findings indicated that parents reported their daughters' early success with word level reading. Initially, parents conflated that one area of reading success to also indicate an overall accomplishment in broad reading skills. Findings also indicated that parents simultaneously acknowledged successful word level reading, yet over time noted specific challenges in early literacy …

Effects Of Simultaneously Integrating Sel And Culturally Responsive Pedagogy On Students' Perceptions About Themselves And Their Abilities, Daniele J. Jacob

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to understand what happens to students' perceptions about themselves and their abilities when social and emotional learning (SEL) and culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) are simultaneously integrated into an elementary gifted and talented classroom setting. Prior to this research, a structured approach to addressing students' social and emotional learning needs did not exist. Additionally, culturally responsive practices were not being used purposefully or with intent. This left the researcher to wonder how the lack of these practices may be negatively impacting students. How SEL and CRP can positively affect students' perceptions about themselves …

The Use Of Nonword Repetition Tasks In The Assessment Of Developmental Language Disorder In Bilingual Children, Kirsten Kelly

Theses and Dissertations

To address the needs of the growing number of Spanish-English bilingual children in the United States, Nonword Repetition (NWR) tasks were created to reduce testing bias in the assessment and diagnosis of children with developmental language disorder (DLD). Several studies have shown promising results in the use of NWR tasks; however, fewer studies have addressed questions such as the use of different scoring methods or analyzing error patterns. Thus, this study was conducted to address these gaps in the research. An English and a Spanish NWR task were administered to 26 Spanish-English bilingual school aged children (6;0-9;4). Two different scoring …