Digital Commons Network^™

Integrated Coastal Science And Dune Management: A South Carolina Perspective, Michelle Harris

Theses and Dissertations

Historically, coastal dunes have been poorly understood from a societal perspective despite their protective role in attenuating incoming waves to reduce onshore flood risk. As developed coastlines promote strategies to design and maintain managed dune systems, it is necessary to ensure these strategies are optimized for dune health and resilience, particularly given the increasing threat of natural and anthropogenic stressors. This dissertation work aims to identify strategies that influence coastal dune management in South Carolina (SC), USA from an integrated approach, including a current use assessment, a mesoscale field-based study on strategy efficacy, and by incorporating a societal assessment and …

Keep Your Head Up: An Examination Of Out-Of-School Literacy Practices In An Intergenerational Family System, Johnnie D. Bryant-Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The asset-based qualitative study used a phenomenological approach within a Community Cultural Wealth framework to question the practices of an intergenerational family system in the Southeastern United States. The study investigated the family system’s out-of-school literacy practices and the exposure to culturally relevant literature. The study revealed that an elder who actively participated in rearing school-aged children intentionally introduced culturally relevant literature. Similarly, the study revealed that the primary caregivers did engage their school-aged children in conversations related to social justice and introduced them to culturally relevant texts. However, a child's inquiry into the topic initiated primary caregivers’ introduction to …

The Benefits Of Authentic Learning In English Language Arts Classes, Karissa Marie Connors

Theses and Dissertations

In education, it is important that teaching and learning evolve alongside an ever-changing world. Educators must teach 21^st century skills such as inquiry, independence, flexible and persistent thinking, and student motivation and engagement to help students prepare for the real world after graduation. It is imperative that educators begin to challenge students to learn within class settings that offer opportunities for real-world learning, even if confined to the physical classroom setting. The purpose of this action research study was to examine the benefits of authentic learning opportunities in English Language Arts classrooms while exploring the need for teaching life-long …

The Effects Of Implementing A Project Based Learning Framework Into A 5th Grade Science Unit On Force And Motion In A Population Of Disadvantaged Students, Kristy Martin

Theses and Dissertations

Providing quality education that meets the needs of diverse populations and economically disadvantaged students is imperative in today’s educational environments. This research study investigates the effects of implementing a project-based learning (PBL) teaching approach as part of a fifth-grade science unit on force and motion. The implications on engagement, motivation, and student achievement on standardized tests were analyzed through a mixed-methods research approach. This study is grounded in the theoretical approaches of Constructivism and Social Interdependence Theory. Both concepts support PBL and explain the positive impacts noted by the research. The participants included 56 fifth-grade students, that were primarily African …

Image-Based Sexual Abuse Victimization: Causes, Consequences, And Seeking Justice, Albina Laskovtsov

Theses and Dissertations

As technological advances and innovative communication methods are integrated into everyday life, concerns over the misuse and abuse of such technologies has warranted further interrogation. The particular act of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) or nonconsensual pornography, has garnered much media and academic attention. IBSA is understood as the creation, dissemination, and/or threatening to create or disseminate illicit sexual images or videos of someone without their explicit consent. This three-article dissertation employs a three-fold approach in exploring the phenomenon of IBSA.

First, it applies a cyber theory of victimization, routine activity theory (RAT), in order to assess the risk of and …

Cultivating Cultural Competence To Inspire Social Responsibility In Middle School Students, Jamie Shapiro Blau

Theses and Dissertations

In World Language education, teachers pair linguistic and cultural instruction to prepare students to engage effectively with speakers of the target language. In my French classes, where most students enjoyed dominant racial and socioeconomic identities, I noticed limited cultural competency skills in students, as well as a lack of readiness to engage with diverse cultures. This was unsurprising, as pervasive White eurocentrism permeates American schools, covertly impacting students' social and curricular experiences. Specifically, curricula of World Language courses where the language of study originates in a country with colonial history, such as French, cloud and ignore the linguistic and cultural …

Co-Teaching As A Transformative Tool: Enhancing Cultural Competence, Linguistic Responsiveness, And Pedagogical Practices Of Veteran Teachers, Jennifer Cárdenas

Theses and Dissertations

Guided by the Vygotskian (1978) principles inherent in co-teaching and Lucas and Villegas’s (2013) culturally and linguistically responsive framework, this qualitative, action research study investigated the impact of implementing a co-teaching model between a multilingual learner program specialist and a veteran general classroom teacher for the purpose of enhancing the veteran teacher’s pedagogical practices related to multilingual students. Data from professional development, interview, and conversation transcripts, in addition to observations, revealed the impact of the intervention. This study covered 3 years of a co-teaching partnership in a southeastern U.S. state. The data indicated teacher growth in cultural and linguistic knowledge …

Understanding The Instructional Decisions Of Middle-School Mathematics Teachers: Three Case Studies, Alissa Lockwood

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study aimed to explore how middle-school mathematics teachers make instructional decisions in the absence of a required curriculum. While the school site has an adopted textbook, many of the mathematics teachers view this resource as invaluable. Better understanding the decision-making process of mathematics teachers at the school site can provide critical information to better support the teachers. The research question that guided this action research was: How does it seem that middle-school mathematics teachers make instructional decisions? This sequential two-phase qualitative study examined decision-making from a 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade mathematics …

Who Am I As A Learner? The Effects Of A Self-Regulated Learning Intervention On Ninth Graders’ Academic Self-Concepts And Intrinsic Motivation, Kaitlyn Elizabeth Bailey

Theses and Dissertations

The transition from middle school to high school is a notoriously difficult one, and a student’s success in ninth grade is typically a predictor of future success in high school. Unfortunately, many ninth graders struggle to engage in school. Despite their capability to complete the work, these students appear unmotivated and simply disengaged from school. In this action research case study, three students had the opportunity to share their education stories and the experiences that have shaped their academic self-concepts. These students also participated in a self-regulated learning intervention to determine if students’ feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness could …

Symmetries Of Del Pezzo Surfaces, Jonathan Smith

Theses and Dissertations

For each del Pezzo surface X of degree d, the action of the automorphism group Aut(X) on the exceptional curves of X induces a map ρ : Aut(X) → W(R_d), where W(R_d) is the Weyl group of a root system R_d dependent on the degree of X. The image of ρ is well defined up to conjugacy in W(R_d), so we say that a group G acts by automorphisms on a del Pezzo surface X of degree d if a representative of the …

Bayesian Joint Modeling Of Longitudinal Data And Interval-Censored Failure Time Data, Yuchen Mao

Theses and Dissertations

Longitudinal data are a collection of repeated observations of the same subjects at different points in time. Interval-censored data arise when the time to the event of interest for each subject is never exactly observed but known to fall between two consecutive points in time. Joint analysis of longitudinal data and interval-censored failure time data can lead to more accurate estimates compared to separate modeling when the correlation among events of interest or intracluster correlation is present. The aim of this dissertation is to develop efficient and reliable joint analyses of longitudinal and interval-censored failure time data using Bayesian methods. …

Targeting The Country: Exploring The Technology Integration Practices Of World Language Teachers In Rural Georgia, Shannon Borum

Theses and Dissertations

Technology integration affords World Language teachers opportunities to engage with the target language and cultures in a way previously unknown, yet world language teachers in Georgia’s rural high schools have inconsistent integration of technology into their teaching practices. The study was guided by two research questions regarding (1) the current technology integration practices of world language teachers in rural Georgia high schools for communicative language teaching, and (2) the influences the decisions of world language teachers in rural Georgia high schools to integrate technology in their communicative language teaching. The purpose of this action research was to describe how high …

Building A Framework For Analyzing Non-Linear And Multidimensional Kinetics, Mainak Dhar

Theses and Dissertations

Many materials exhibit multiple rates of molecular relaxation due to structural complexities. Standard linear and one-dimensional kinetic cannot extract all the necessary dynamic information about these systems. This dissertation contributes to an overarching scheme to develop new non-linear and multidimensional kinetic experiments to obtain this information. The studies span computation and experiments, picosecond to second timescales, and both single-molecule and pulsed-laser kinetics

Single-molecule kinetics experiments yield time series that contain information about unique structural and dynamic properties of materials. However, these time series are noisy, and data analysis is challenging. Parametric methods are computationally intensive and require strong, unverifiable assumptions …

“A Threat To The Family”: Phyllis Schlafly And The Construction Of Negative Group Identity, Christopher Howell

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I argue that Phyllis Schlafly’s fight against the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) from 1972 to 1976 helped construct the “pro-family” political identity that opposed the ERA and came to define social conservatism in American politics. She did this through the creation and elaboration of a negative group identity: individuals defined by their desire for an imagined past of traditional, stable hierarchies. By taking an anodyne piece of legislation and framing its supporters as direct threats to the status quo, Schlafly effectively mobilized a group of previously apolitical actors towards political activism. In the process, she helped …

Creating Systems Of Professional Learning To Encourage Deep Thinking In Social Studies: A Qualitative Study, Elizabeth Poda King

Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes a problem that developed due to a lack of systems in place to provide professional learning for teachers in social studies. This problem was ignited when revised standards were adopted which shifted from heavy content focus to skills and content. Standards requiring both skills and content encourage student inquiry and promote deep thinking by students through the use of historical evidence. Therefore, the purpose of the improvement science plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles was to develop a system of job-embedded professional learning to assist teachers with teaching strategies that use historical evidence to promote deep thinking in social studies …

The Impact Of Equity Literacy In Understanding, Creating, And Sustaining An Equitable School Climate, Kristen M. Ewing

Theses and Dissertations

There is an extraordinary culturally and linguistically diverse student population in America today; however, there is an overwhelmingly homogenous representation in educators, being predominantly White, middle-class, female, and monolingual (Howard, 2020; Tanase, 2020). The racial disparity between educators and students has serious consequences for marginalized students leaving many students undereducated and unprepared to compete in the world today (Howard, 2020). hooks (1994) claimed that educators are poorly prepared to confront diversity and we must focus on diversity and inclusion if we want to be more equitable and close the achievement gap. This qualitative action research study was centered around the …

Merit, Equity And Intersectionality: Autoethnographic Examination Of Perceived Race And Gender-Based Discrimination In The Workplace, Shavanna Henry

Theses and Dissertations

This autoethnographic action research dissertation uses intersectionality, critical race theory, and racial battle fatigue theoretical lenses to examine my mental health as I experienced perceived race-based and gender-based discrimination at a public high school on the West Coast of the United States. The goal was to examine how my mental health was impacted during the development and attempted implementation of a DEI plan, and how my mental health was affected by the intersectionality of race and gender. I used journal entries and digital artifacts to craft seven vignettes that captured my experience. The findings from coding and analyzing data showed …

Investigating The Use Of Socio-Scientific Issues As Phenomena Through A Storyline Framework In A High School Biology Course, Dana Marie Delpha

Theses and Dissertations

This action research dissertation investigates the efficacy of a socio-scientific phenomena-driven biology curriculum in a Title 1 Massachusetts High School. Grounded in social constructivism, culturally relevant pedagogy, and self-determination theories, the study explores the impact of socio-scientific phenomena on students’ perceived importance of science education, motivation, engagement, and achievement. A mixed-methods approach was used, and data was collected through student engagement reflection, Science Motivation Questionnaire, and pre- and post-assessments to holistically evaluate the efficacy of the curriculum. The findings include increased student engagement, motivation, and achievement after participating in the intervention, which supports the motivation-engagement-achievement feedback loop. Student agency was …

The Influence Of Instruction On Underrepresented Stem Leaders On Elementary Students’ Stem Identity And Perceptions Of Stem, Megan Elizabeth Willson

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study explored the influence of exposure to underrepresented STEM leaders on third-grade students’ STEM identity and their interest in STEM careers. Using an integrative STEM approach and guided by both Constructivist Learning Theory and Social Cognitive Career Theory, this convergent mixed methods study consisted of an eight-week intervention with lessons based on different STEM leaders and related activities each week. This eight-week period collected data through weekly researcher field notes, exit tickets and was prefaced and followed by a pre- and post-survey and pre- and post-interviews. Findings from the quantitative data, the Role Identity Survey in STEM …

The Impact Of Microlearning Professional Development On Educator Social And Emotional Competencies And Beliefs About Middle School Students’ Social And Emotional Learning, Kelly M. Abbott

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted educational experiences for students with extended school closures and social distancing during the 2020-2021 school year and beyond. School closures, social isolation, and societal issues impacted students and caused mental health challenges as well as behavioral issues in the classroom. This study explored the impact of educator social and emotional competencies (SEC) on social and emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom. Previous research on SEL has found benefits to student’s relationship skills, emotional regulation abilities, and increases in academic achievement. This action research study used a mixed method design to gather data from surveys, interviews, classroom …

How Exposure To Professional Development Affects Teachers’ Use Of Tier One Behavior Interventions, Taurean Jarquise Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that ongoing professional development is most beneficial for teachers. However, many schools cannot provide the time teachers need to participate in the frequent meetings, discussions, and reflections needed to cause professional growth. Student behavior continues to be an area in which teachers need support. Many teachers report that student behavior is one reason they often become unhappy with their jobs and leave their education career altogether. The qualitative action research study used strategies aligned with Culturally Relevant Pedagogy to offer six teachers professional development in Tier 1 behavior interventions. The data gathered measured how much Tier 1 behavior …

The Design And Optimization Of Optical Systems For The Detection And Characterization Of Phytoplankton, Caitlyn M. English

Theses and Dissertations

Phytoplankton are among the smallest organisms found in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Despite their small size, phytoplankton play a vital role in sustaining life on Earth as primary producers. Through oxygenic photosynthesis phytoplankton are also responsible for large scale carbon fixation and oxygen production. The distribution of phytoplankton in a given water resource can exhibit a high degree of variability across time and space, and this is in large part due to their varying sensitivities to environmental conditions such as resource availability and grazing by predator organisms. As such, phytoplankton community structure is widely used as an investigative tool for …

Gateways To Reading: Action Research With At-Risk Students At An Alternative School, David Sean Goff

Theses and Dissertations

There is no shortage of research on how low levels of literacy disproportionately affect students of color, but this research was interested in how three theoretical models may impact this trend. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the reading experiences and engagement levels of students in an alternative school English class, applying culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP), self-determination theory (SPD), and zone of proximal development (ZPD). CRP is a theoretical model that upholds students’ cultural identities, while pursuing academic success. ZPD is a theoretical model that suggests learning occurs when content is within students’ ability. SDT is …

Systems Check: A Qualitative Case Study Of Educators And Parent-Educators Supporting Adolescent Readers From An Ecological Systems Perspective, Kristi Nicole Grooms

Theses and Dissertations

In spite of decades of research and an abundance of well-intentioned intervention efforts, supporting adolescent readers, particularly at the middle level, remains a significant area of concern for educators in the United States. The struggles are present for educators working to help underperforming readers reach grade-level and keep advanced readers motivated and engaged. At home, parents and guardians experience similar challenges. Data on adolescent comprehension performance continues to be frustrating in terms of producing consistent positive results. This qualitative action research study investigated the ongoing challenge of supporting adolescent readers, specifically within the context of 7th grade, through a systems …

Ai-Advanced Optimal Operation And Management For Distributed Energy Resource Dominated Energy Systems, Patrick Mark Wilk

Theses and Dissertations

Electric power systems are undergoing a major transition from a centralized to a decentralized operation paradigm, driven by the rapid adoption of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). While increased DER penetration contributes to consumer empowerment, energy security, and system flexibility, it also introduces challenges involving grid stability, load variability, and infrastructure constraints. This dissertation addresses these challenges by exploring advanced Energy Management System (EMS) solutions including model-based and model-free optimization methodologies: first, a model-based optimization strategy is proposed to coordinate multi-energy sources, while balancing economic, emission, and operational goals for sustainable campus microgrid operations; second, a distributed multi-agent deep reinforcement learning …

Assessment Of Entrepreneurial Mindset In Undergraduate Engineering Students Using Quantiative, Qualitative, And Multi-Methods Approaches, Alexandra Mary Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

The Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) has been acknowledged as beneficial for engineers entering the workforce in a constantly advancing society. With an EM, professional engineers are better equipped to be innovative, creative, and translate ideas into reality. However, assessing how students develop an EM has been plagued with difficulties, mainly due to the discrepancy in EM definitions between different fields. This dissertation applies three EM assessment methods guided by one theoretical framework: the Triad of EM, which contextualizes EM into cognitive, behavioral, and emotional dimensions. Chapter 3 of this work analyzes EM across multiple years of an undergraduate engineering curriculum using …

The Effect Of Lexical Characteristics On Speech Pausing For People With Broca's Aphasia, Anna Kathryn Walker Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the connection between speech pause patterns and the lexical characteristics of the words that follow. Speech samples of 16 people with moderate Broca's aphasia and 16 age-matched neurologically healthy controls were evaluated in terms of word length, word frequency in the English language, syntactic category, and articulatory complexity. In general, people with aphasia (PWA) produced pauses more frequently before monosyllabic, very high frequency words with lower articulatory complexity, most of which were content words. The length of these pauses did not significantly correlate with any of the lexical factors examined in this study. The control group had …

Relationship Between Speaking Proficiency And Cultural Identity Of Korean Heritage Language Speakers, Minha Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Heritage language speakers from immigrant families often navigate between two languages and cultures as they form their personal identities. In this process, some develop their identity through their personal choices and external pressures, while others remain in a state of identity confusion. Although many factors contribute to the formation of their identity, the field of language education has continued to focus on the relationship between language proficiency and identity, assuming language ability could be one of the key influences. This study investigated the relationship between Korean speaking proficiency and cultural identity among Korean heritage language speakers born in the United …

Hybrid Bermudagrass Drought Tolerance In A Cool-Season Climate, Ashley J. Beazer

Theses and Dissertations

Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) (KBG) is the most commonly grown cool-season C3 turfgrass. However, as global temperatures rise, KBG struggles to tolerate higher temperatures, leading to increased irrigation demands--a growing concern in arid and semi-arid regions facing escalating drought conditions. In contrast, hybrid bermudagrass (HBG; Cynodon dactylon [L.] Pers. x Cynodon transvaalensis Burtt Davy), a warm-season C4 grass, has demonstrated promising adaptability in traditionally cool-season climates. Since 2008, HBG has been successfully grown with minimal winterkill in Provo, UT, USA, and is now being considered for broader adoption in similar climates. Two separate studies were conducted to evaluate the …

Bridging The Language Proficiency Gap: Seeking Strategies For High Language Proficiency, Maria Isabelle Lyon

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores factors contributing to high proficiency in German speakers, focusing on university graduates who achieved Advanced High or Superior ratings on the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) at the end of their university studies. The nine participants, all of whom had significant exposure to German during and/or before their undergraduate studies at Brigham Young University (BYU), shared insights into their language learning experiences. The study uses interviews and surveys to examine key characteristics, strategies, and experiences that influenced participant proficiency. The findings highlight motivation, consistency, and humility as key factors contributing to learners. Participants emphasize intrinsic motivation, consistent …