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Fostering Self-Efficacy For Biblical Learning And Doctrinal Awareness With Micro-Teaching In A Brief Course On Bible Study, Robin K. Henson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Self-efficacy for biblical learning was explored in the context of a small group experience focused on how to study the Bible. After first developing a new instrument to measure self-efficacy for biblical learning in a pilot study, ten church attendees participated in a seven-week course designed around the hermeneutical principles of understanding a Scripture passage in textual and historical context, placing the passage in the grand story of God, and relating it to relevant doctrine. The small group process employed micro-teaching as a mechanism to facilitate challenge and mastery experience in learning. Micro-teaching places the student in the role of …

Googly Eyes And Yard Signs: Deconstructing One Professor’S Successful Rebuffing Of A Right-Wing Attack On An Academic Institution, Theresa Catalano, Ari Kohen

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Right-wing populism is on the rise worldwide, and political attacks against universities have increased in the United States since the election of Donald Trump. In 2017, an incident occurred at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln which resulted in accusations of hostility toward conservative students. Just over a year later, political forces again attempted to denigrate the university’s reputation, but this time they did not succeed. This (multimodal) positive discourse analysis/ generative critique combines collaborative auto-ethnography to describe the way these events were represented in the media, deconstructing a professor’s methods of countering a right-wing attack on an academic institution. Findings demonstrate …

Crispr/Cas9-Mediated Single And Biallelic Knockout Of Poplar Sterile Apetala (Popsap) Leads To Complete Reproductive Sterility, Abdul Azeez, Victor Busov

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

No abstract provided.

Micromechanical Prediction Model Of Viscoelastic Properties For Asphalt Mastic Based On Morphologically Representative Pattern Approach, Zhichen Wang, Naisheng Guo, Xu Yang, Shuang Wang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

This paper is devoted to the introduction of physicochemical, filler size, and distribution effect in micromechanical predictions of the overall viscoelastic properties of asphalt mastic. In order to account for the three effects, the morphologically representative pattern (MRP) approach was employed. The MRP model was improved due to the arduous practical use of equivalent modulus formula solution. Then, a homogeneous morphologically representative model (H-MRP) with the explicit solution was established based on the homogenization theory. Asphalt mastic is regarded as a composite material consisting of filler particles coated structural asphalt and free asphalt considering the physicochemical effect. An additional interphase …

Navigating Multiple Worlds Of Ghanaian-Born Immigrant Adolescent Girls In Us Urban Schools, Lydiah Kananu Kiramba, Adaurennaya C. Onyewuenyi, Alex Kumi-Yeboah, Anthony Mawuli Sallar

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

African immigrant populations are among the fastest growing immigrant populations in the United States, yet they are understudied and are invisible immigrant group in the educational literature, particularly, in the context of educational discourses in the United States urban schools. Drawing on Phelan et al.’s multiple worlds model, we analyzed individual and focus group interviews of forty students, thirty-six parents, and twelve teachers from two schools. Findings showed that Ghanaian-born immigrant students undergo several complex transitional paradigms combining two worlds (school and home) of Ghanaian culture, past educational experiences, family values, and adapting to new school environments to achieve success …

Examining Glocal Scales And Mapping Literacy Landscapes: What We Can Learn As Ethnographers Through Geospatial Analyses, Loukia K. Sarroub, William R. England

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Operationalizing space is challenging because the factors impacting education are often located at different scales. Combining Geographic Information Systems and ethnographic analyses allows researchers to conduct studies at both micro- and macro-scales, thus illuminating the connections between local and global phenomena. In our first case, we analyze refugee migration at multiple scales in order to better understand and contextualize refugee mobility. In case two we measure ‘literacy landscapes’ at the state- and district-level by mapping clusters of high/low standardized reading scores. Hot spot and cold spot analyses show that standardized reading scores are implicitly connected to socioeconomic status and are …

Identity Negotiation In Multilingual Contexts: A Narrative Inquiry Into Experiences Of An African Immigrant High School Student, Lydiah Kananu Kiramba, James Oloo

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Background/Context: Inclusion of African immigrant youth voices in educational and research discourses remains rare despite the steady growth of this population in the United States over the past four decades. Consequently, the multilingual abilities of these youth remain typically unnoticed or ignored in the classroom, and little is specifically known about their histories, cultures, expectations, and achievements.

Purpose: Using the narrative inquiry approach and the Natural, Institutional, Discursive, Affinity, Learner, and Solidarity (NIDALS) theoretical lens, we explore the lived experiences of one African immigrant high school student in the midwestern United States.

Research Design: Using narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, …

Reflection And Inquiry-Based Teaching: Exploring Reflective Practices In Beginning Secondary Science Teachers, Ana Rivero, Elizabeth B. Lewis

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Science teachers’ reflections can be used as an opportunity to improve teaching through inquiry-based instruction (White, Frederiksen, & Collins, 2009), especially during their first years as teachers. Yet more work is still needed to support the development of beginning teachers’ reflective practices (Russell & Martin, 2014). The purpose of this exploratory multi-methods study was to describe: (a) beginning secondary science teachers’ reflective practices up to 4 years after completing their teacher education program, (b) the factors that might have an effect on these practices for participants, and (c) the connection (if any) between their inquiry-based instruction and reflective practices. We …

Intercultural Competence In Pre-Service Teacher Candidates, Joan Barnatt, Lisa Andries D’Souza, Ann Marie Gleeson, Kara Mitchell Viesca, Jessica Wery

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This mixed-method study utilizes survey and interview data reflecting teacher candidates’ beliefs about intercultural competence to identify areas of targeted support in teacher preparation. Intercultural competence is operationalized by performance on the Cultural Intelligence Survey (CQS) identifying relative areas of strength and weakness in four dimensions. Participants reported awareness of cultural differences and motivation to interact with those from other cultures, with less confidence in their knowledge base and ability to adapt behavior in intercultural interactions. Qualitative data provided explanatory support for understanding how program elements influenced intercultural competence along a developmental trajectory of learning.

Selfies As Postfeminist Pedagogy: The Production Of Traditional Femininity In The Us South, Mardi Schmeichel, Stacey Kerr, Chris Linder

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This article describes a study of selfies posted on Instagram by a group of predominantly white, college women at a large public university in the US South. Selfies are used as data to explore how performances of traditional femininity are legitimated, authorized, and reinscribed through photo-posting practices. The authors argue that these performances circulate a public pedagogy of femininity and contribute to notions of traditional gender roles and physical attractiveness that reinforce classed and raced norms of beauty. The selfies, which idealize the southern lady [McPherson, Tara. 2003. Reconstructing Dixie: Race, Gender, and Nostalgia in the Imagined South. Durham: …

Impact Of Mobile Technology‐Based Physics Curriculum On Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Technology Self‐Efficacy, Deepika Menon, Meera Chandrasekhar, Dorina Kosztin, Douglas Steinhoff

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

The growing popularity of mobile technologies in educational settings, from grade schools through college, has prompted science educators to prepare preservice teachers to successfully integrate technology into science teaching. This mixed‐methods study explores the effectiveness of a mobile technology‐based physics curriculum, Exploring Physics, on preservice elementary teachers’ technology self‐efficacy. Participants included 67 preservice elementary teachers enrolled in a specialized physics content course at a large public university in the United States. The experimental group (N = 34) used the Exploring Physics curriculum on iPads, and the comparison group (N = 33) used a hardcopy version of a similar …

Influence Of The Sources Of Science Teaching Self-Efficacy In Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Identity Development, Deepika Menon

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this mixed-methods research was to investigate changes in preservice elementary teachers’ science teacher identities and self-efficacy beliefs as they participate in a field-based science methods course. A total of 121 preservice teachers participated, four of which were purposefully selected who held varied initial levels of science content preparedness and confidence to teach. Data sources included pre- and post-course administrations of the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-B, an open-ended questionnaire, two semi-structured interviews with selected participants, written teaching reflections, classroom observations, and artifacts. Data analyses included a pre-post repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) design, and the case …

Improving The Patient Experience With Communication, Pauline Adora Salmon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A quality patient experience is one of the highest priorities for hospitals as patients and families are looking to healthcare providers to meet their demands for quality service. The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey measures the extent to which providers effectively communicate pertinent information such as communication about medications. On a 20-bed intermediate care unit, the HCAHPS item scores relating to nurse communication and communication about medicine were inconsistent and, on most occasions, were below the comparison benchmark of the 50th percentile when compared to other like hospitals. The purpose of this quality improvement project …

Pertussis Resurgence In Europe: Incidence And Epidemiologic Cycles In Immunization Required And Non-Required Countries, Sheryl Ann Duquet

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although pertussis vaccines have been available for over 7 decades, countries are experiencing a pertussis resurgence. This study sought to establish a relationship between the European pertussis immunization schedule designs (with and without the inclusion of adolescent boosters) and the immunization requirement (recommended or required), which potentially influences immunity waning, and thus the incidence rate and epidemiologic cycles of pertussis. The theoretical foundation for this study was the theory of herd immunity. A quantitative research method was used, supported by a secondary data source. The statistical analysis included the use of linear regression to evaluate the relationship between the requirement …

The Caregiver Advise Record And Enable (Care) Act And Compassion Fatigue In The United States, Karen Marie Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The transition from hospital to home can be complicated, leaving family caregivers in stressful situations that they may not know how to handle. The burden that is placed on these individuals has led researchers to focus on the public health implications of caregiving in hopes of identifying at-risk caregivers. This quantitative analysis identified what relationships exist between caregiver compassion fatigue among family caregivers and training or education received per the Caregiver Advise Record and Enable (CARE) Act and if education influences readmission rates. A purposive sample of 385 family caregivers participated in this study. The Care Transitions Measure (CTM-15), the …

Community-Based Counselors’ Experiences Counseling Female Adjudicated Youth: A Basic Qualitative Study, Ericka Pinckney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Licensed professional counselors (LPCs) have encountered difficulties engaging at-risk youth in meaningful treatment. Youth who faced great stress such as abuse, neglect, truancy, family problems, homelessness, and traumatic events have presented with challenging behaviors. Literature suggested adjudicated youth engaged in relational and physical aggression; these behaviors increased the risk for out-of-home placement. Research on community based LPCs’ professional experiences in working with adjudicated female youth is scarce. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore community-based counselors' experiences treating female adjudicated youth. Professional counselors' techniques and strategies were explored. The relational-cultural theory provided the conceptual lens through which …

Probation And Parole Officers’ Experiences Addressing Criminogenic Needs Of Adult Felony Offenders, Maria L. Stephenson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Probation and parole officers (PPOs) deviate from evidence-based practices implemented to reduce recidivism among adult felony offenders. PPOs fail to adhere to risk-need assessment results during case management, but prior research has not established the reasons for this deviation. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of PPOs implementing the risk needs responsivity (RNR) model by addressing the criminogenic needs of adult felony offenders. The theoretical framework for this study was based on Lipsky’s street-level bureaucracy theory, Becker’s labeling theory, and Andrews and Bonta’s RNR theory. This study involved in-depth, individual, semistructured interviews with 6 participants. The data were …

Content Area Teachers’ Perspectives And Practices In Reading Instruction In Grades 9-12, Nedgra Abbs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A rural school district identified a problem among high school content classrooms of insufficient attention to instruction aimed at enabling students to comprehend content area text material. Concerns about attention to reading instruction in content classrooms are also evident on the national level. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the perspectives and reading instructional practices of secondary content area teachers in math, science, and history. The conceptual framework of self-efficacy guided the study, as the perspectives of the teachers revealed what motivated them to move beyond their pedagogical comfort zone to meet the needs all students. …

Information Security Ambassadors’ Perceptions Of Peer-Led Motivation In Phishing Detection, Kingkane Malmquist

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Phishing rates are increasing yearly and continue to compromise data integrity. The need to guard business information is vital for organizations to meet their business objectives and legal obligations. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore security ambassadors’ perceptions of motivating their peers to adopt safe internet behaviors in a large medical campus in Minnesota. Hackman and Oldham’s job characteristic motivation theory was used to frame the study. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 20 security ambassadors. Data coding and analysis yielded 7 themes: rewarding, value, personal interest, limited information security knowledge, increased interest, communication, and topics …

Obesity, Physical Activity, And The Place Of Residence Among Latinos, Chanda Mcneal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity is one of the most costly chronic, but preventable, diseases that has increased in prevalence in the United States. Obesity is known to be related to a lack of physical activity and the conditions in which people are born and live. Although adult Latino men and women have the second highest obesity rate in the United States, researchers have not explored place of residence as a factor in understanding Latinos’ health status. Therefore, the purpose of this correlational quantitative study was to determine if there is a relationship between obesity and Latinos’ place of residence and physical activity, and …

Breast Cancer Knowledge, Attitude, And Screening Practices Among Hispanic/Latino Women, Harrindra Seepersaud

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nearly 1 out of every 8 women will develop breast cancer during her lifetime, making breast cancer the most common noncutaneous malignancy in women, particularly among the Hispanic/Latino population. Hispanic/Latino women are more likely than non-Hispanic/Latino women to be diagnosed with breast cancer after the disease has progressed to a fatal stage. This quantitative study measured how knowledge, attitude, and screening practices affect the prevalence and outcomes of breast cancer cases among Hispanic/Latino women while controlling for socioeconomic status factors, using social cognitive theory as a framework. This research uses secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional survey study, the 2014 …

Laughter Therapy And Coping Strategies For Dementia Patient Caregivers, Edith Ugwu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this research was to address a gap in the literature concerning the experiences of dementia caregivers who use laughter therapy as a coping strategy to manage their caregiving stress. Dementia caregiving involves high levels of stress, depression, and anxiety, which can cause both psychological and physical health problems for caregivers. It is, therefore, critical to identify effective coping strategies to mitigate caregiving stress. Laughter therapy is an inexpensive and readily available coping strategy that can help manage this stress. The current study used a phenomenological qualitative approach to address the research question. The transactional model of stress …

Black Women Nonprofit Executives’ Use Of Sustainable Funding Strategies In Marginalized Communities, Asakuia Ayoka Wiles-Abel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of funding resources, inadequate staffing, poor capacity building, and difficulties in attracting individual donors are problems for small Black-led nonprofit organizations. Black women lead a majority of nonprofits in low socioeconomic and under resourced neighborhoods and have deep connections with and cultural awareness of community needs. However, little is known about how Black women leaders of nonprofits employ effective strategies to overcome funding and staff capacity challenges. The purpose of this study, which had resource dependency theory as its foundation, was to examine Black women nonprofit executives’ perceptions of obstacles in securing organizational funding and strategies for overcoming them. …

Hiv-Positive Kenyan Women With A Disability: Social Support's Role In Treatment Seeking, Evelyn Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Understanding social support from the context of disabled women living in conditions of extreme poverty may be useful in the development of effective interventions to advocate for and improve their likelihood of engagement in HIV-related treatment services. Thus, the purpose of this cross-sectional survey study was to examine the relationship between social support and treatment seeking among a sample of HIV-positive Kenyan women with physical disabilities. Correlations were examined between an individual’s source of social support (family, friend, significant other), type of social support (appraisal, tangible, self-esteem, belonging), and HIV-related treatment seeking. Age, marital status, income availability, and disability type, …

Collaboration In Corporate Social Responsibility Programs In Nigeria’S Oil Industry, Amuzie Ernest Akpaka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The inability of some corporate social responsibility (CSR) managers to satisfy stakeholders’ expectations to deliver on corporate social responsibility outcomes has led to protests, unrest, threats, and shutdowns of operations of companies in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. CSR program managers who do not establish strategies to improve stakeholder engagement may experience business failure. Grounded in stakeholder theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies CSR managers use to improve CSR outcomes. Participants for the study were 8 CSR managers who formulate policy, initiate and implement CSR programs in companies operating in Nigeria’s oil and …

Tailored Information Security Strategies For Financial Services Companies In Nigeria, Kayode Alawonde

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some financial institutions in Nigeria have not deployed strategies that mitigate cyber exploitation risks in the financial services industry. Financial institution leaders are concerned because cyber exploitation contributed to the reduction in the adult banking population to a low 38%. Grounded in the integrated systems theory of information security management, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies some financial institution leaders in Nigeria use to prevent cyber exploitations. The participants included 6 chief information security officers of 6 financial institutions. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and company and public documents. A thematic analysis identified themes …

Effects Of Emotional Labor On Philippine Tourism Staff’S Job Burnout, Maria Paz Rosales Alberto

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The tourism industry in the Philippines is a significant contributor to the country’s gross domestic product. As members of the service sector, its employees use their labor and skills to yield positive experiences by understanding their target customers so that they can offer them what they need quickly while incurring minimal cost. It is common for service-sector employees to expend emotional labor by hiding their emotions to meet a company’s standards. Unfortunately, the pressure experienced by these employees leads to a higher risk of burnout. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to assess the impact of emotional labor …

The Influence Of Professional Development As Perceived By In-Service Military Instructors, Blaise Cornell-D'Echert, Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a new military school, leaders worried that professional development (PD) for their novel curriculum did not induce consistent changes in their military instructors. Transformative learning theory suggested reconstructing frames of reference could help inform practices for military instructors. To fulfill the purpose of the study, current research provided a conceptual framework to assess the effectiveness of the PD effort. The research questions examined instructor perceptions of the school’s instructional strategy, their willingness to modify lessons, and to conduct assessments of learning outcomes. School leaders proffered 18 of their most effective instructors as a sample population for a case study. …

Nonprofit Leaders’ Strategies For Retaining Donors, Robert Enchil

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit leaders who fail to maintain donors negatively impact business operations.

Maintaining a stable donor base is crucial for nonprofit leaders to build a secure foundation for their organizations that supports future growth. Grounded in the transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies that 3 leaders of a nonprofit organization located in the Northeast United States used to retain donors for their organizations. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and an analysis of both internal and external organizational documents. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis; 3 themes emerged to include leaders …

Strategies Business Managers Use To Improve Employee Performance, Moustaph Boubacar Fall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Poor employee performance is detrimental to an organization’s success and may dictate a company’s failure. Therefore, business managers are concerned with developing employee performance because poor employee performance may dictate a company’s collapse. Grounded in Vroom’s expectancy theory, the purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to identify strategies business managers use to improve employee performance. Participants included 3 central Massachusetts business managers who have used successful strategies to improve employee performance. Data were collected through semistructured face-to-face interviews and review of company documents. Yin’s 5-step approach was used for data analysis, and 3 themes were identified: setting clear expectations …