Digital Commons Network^™

Influences On The Implementation Of Guided Play Practices In Kindergarten: A Grounded Theory Study, Amy Schmidtke

Student Work

The professional capacity of a kindergarten teacher is central to the implementation of developmentally appropriate practices that support children’s learning and development. Evidence indicates that a teacher’s professional capacity is influenced through experiences with leadership, professional learning, and collaboration. Although research clearly supports the positive impact of play experiences for young children, the current educational climate does not provide teachers with the confidence or the structural supports needed to actualize play in kindergarten classrooms. The findings demonstrate what influences kindergarten teachers to implement guided play practices in their classrooms. The implications provide insight as to which elements of leadership, professional …

Peer-Led Education Expedites De-Prescribing Proton Pump Inhibitors For Appropriate Veterans, Mary H. Bowman

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Costly proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have been widely prescribed since the 1990’s for prevention and treatment of ulcers and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Evidence published since 2012 demonstrates risks associated with taking PPIs longer than eight weeks. Primary care providers (PCPs) mostly de-prescribe PPIs for persons not meeting criteria for long term use. Many patients resist discontinuation.

A three-month evidenced based practice (EBP) education project was conducted by a nurse practitioner to improve PCP peer de-prescribing successes with appropriate patients in an outpatient California based veteran Primary Care Clinic. Fifteen PCPs were pretested about usual care practices between two comparable …

Healthcare Systems In Ethiopia, Hawarit Mohammed

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

No abstract provided.

Interagency Collaboration In Local Partnership Agreements: A Qualitative Case Study Identifying And Describing The Perception Of Preparedness Of Transition Specialists Working In Workability I Projects, Barbara Boyd

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify and describe the preparedness of transition specialists working in WorkAbility I (WAI) projects as perceived by transition specialists using Kohler’s Taxonomy for Collaborative Transition Programming. In addition, its purpose is to explore the perceptions of transition specialists regarding interagency collaboration in local partnership agreements (LPAs).

Methodology: This qualitative case study identified and described WAI transition specialists’ perception of transition programming and interagency collaboration. It employed the use of semi-structured interview questions consisting of open-ended questions. Using this methodology promoted the extraction of high quality information from the transition specialists. …

The Ocean Lifeguard Intervention Continuum: A Cognitive Aid For Surf Lifeguard Education, William A. Koon, Ryan M. Gates, Shane Scoggins, Paul Andrus, Jack A. Futoran

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Ocean lifeguards are constantly engaged in beach risk analysis, required to efficiently evaluate a variety of environmental and other factors quickly in order to triage and prioritize who needs help. Teaching these skills is a challenge for introductory training programs. We sought to improve new lifeguards’ understanding of the interaction of various risk components in the beach environment and aid decision-making related to when a lifeguard should intervene in a situation. We developed a two-part cognitive aid for introductory ocean lifeguard education depicting individual and interacting elements of a beach goer’s risk of drowning or injury and the process by …

A Follow-Up Phone Call To Post-Operative Patients Using The Five A’S, Brittney Ochs

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Abstract

Background: The 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 53 percent of people that misused pain relievers in the past year received them from a friend or relative. The NIDA describes that from 2002 to 2008 that drug abuse in service members went from 2% to 11%. Often patients are initially prescribed and introduced to opioid medication for acute pain. One such circumstance is in the perioperative period that could provide an opportunity to promote opioid-sparing techniques to reduce the exposure to opioids.

Purpose of Project: To assess discharge medication characteristics and reinforce discharge medication instructions …

Black Women Survive Breast Cancer With Community-Based Care, Shelley I. White-Means, Jill Dapremont, Barbara D. Davis, Tronlyn Thompson

Faculty Presentations

PURPOSE Community-based breast cancer support agencies who address non-medical, social determinants of health needs that serve as barriers to maximizing breast health outcomes may play a vital role in mitigating breast cancer mortality. They share a common emphasis on addressing social, economic, and psychological needs of breast cancer survivors and those at risk of breast cancer. This paper is third in a series of papers exploring why the rate of breast cancer mortality is two times higher for African American women than white women in Memphis. We sought insights from community-based breast cancer support agencies because they have a close-up …

Expanding And Improving High-Quality Early Care And Education In California: Is There Alignment Between Policymakers And The Public?, Heidi Schmidt Emberling

Dissertations

Although there is widespread agreement about the life-long benefits of high-quality childcare and preschool, access for all children in California is limited. The negative effects of this inadequate landscape are borne predominantly by children living in poverty, and middle-income families who do not qualify for subsidies and cannot afford full-fee care. This mixed-methods study examines specific factors that impede expansion and improvement of childcare/preschool in California, from the perspective of five diverse policymakers. Findings reveal a variety of policy solutions in the areas of funding, teacher workforce, quality of care, policy development, and public perception of the importance of high-quality …

Fall Prevention Assessment In The Intermediate Care Patient Population, Dawn Rose

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Fall Prevention Assessment in the Intermediate Care Patient Population

Falls cause greater than 600,000 deaths per year and are the most common injury in people over 65 years of age. Fall prevention in the acute care setting has been identified as key goal in the most recent JCAHO review process. Falls on an intermediary care unit lead to an increased rate of morbidity, delayed discharge, and excess cost expenditure.

Even with appropriate evidence-based tools in place, Hospital A’s intermediate care unit, recorded an increased rate of falls; the highest rate in its health care system. An investigation identified factors contributing …

Midline Movement: The Positive Effects On Student Behavior In A Kindergarten Classroom, Ashley Ludlow

Education | Master's Theses

Educators are realizing the unrealistic expectations on students to be quiet and sit still for extended periods of their day (Donnelly & Lambourne, 2011). Some educational advocates have been reintroducing movement into the school day in response to research that indicates the importance of extracurricular activities on developing the whole child (Hannaford, 1995). Movement, connection, touch, play, and creative endeavors have been shown to be critical components to teaching students to be well-rounded individuals (Hannaford, 1995). This study explores how movements and activities that cross the midline affect a student's focus and ability to learn in the classroom. Cultivating an …

The Impact Of Social Inclusion From The Perspective Of The Neurotypical Peer, Alexandra Corinne Gopar Zavaleta

Education | Master's Theses

This research aims to understand the benefits and overall impact of social inclusion from the perspective of the neurotypical peer. My research analyzes three strategies that are widely used to promote the acquisition of social skills for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders; Social Skills Training, Peer-Network Implementation, and Pivotal Response Training. Currently, existing research fails to thoroughly investigate how social inclusion impacts the neurotypical peer, but rather focuses on the impact that social inclusion has on the individual with ASD. While this is vital information, it is also crucial to understand from the perspective of the neurotypical peer, as they …

Education As Commons, Children As Commoners: The Case Study Of The Little Tree Community, Yannis Pechtelidis, Alexandros Kioupkiolis

Democracy & Education

This paper presents the emergent paradigm of the "commons" as an alternative value and action system in the field of education, and it critically draws out the implications of the commons for refiguring education and its potential contribution to democratic transformation. The paper delves into an independent pedagogical community, Little Tree, which is active in early childhood education and care, aiming to explore the ways in which children conduct themselves in accordance with the ethics and the logics of the commons and to show how they thereby unsettle the conventional meaning of citizenship. Proceeding from an enlarged notion of the …

Negating Amy Gutmann: Deliberative Democracy, Business Influence, And Segmentation Strategies In Education, Brian Ford

Democracy & Education

The task of creating a public will is daunting in any political system, but a democracy dedicated to the principles of participation and public deliberation faces specific challenges, including overcoming organized opposition that may not accept democratic tenets. In the sphere of education (and social reproduction more generally), business-influenced movements to reform public education question many of the established goals and norms of democratic education and thus may be the vanguard of such opposition. In order to interpret and explore these movements, this article enlists Amy Gutmann's work as a heuristic device. In so doing, it looks at the task …

The Value Of Conflict And Disagreement In Democratic Teacher Education, Kiel F. Harell

Democracy & Education

Deliberative democracy surfaces disagreements so that people holding conflicting stances understand each other’s reasons for the purpose of decision-making. Democratic education approaches should provide students with the opportunity to learn and practice how to address conflict in the collective decision-making process. In this paper, I examine the Foxfire Course for Teachers, a professional development retreat in which teachers learn to practice democratic teaching by themselves experiencing democratic decision-making. In particular, a series of disagreements among course participants is analyzed in detail to understand the learning that resulted and the conditions that supported that learning. As a result of this experiential …

The Foot And The Flag: Patriotism, Place, And The Teaching Of War In A Military Town, Brian Gibbs

Democracy & Education

This manuscript describes the patriotism taught and not taught by nine teachers to the children of soldiers near a military base in the American South. The nine teachers, all participants in a qualitative study, detail the pressures endured and the pedagogical and curricular decisions made as result. The teachers experienced social and political pressure from the broader community to avoid controversial or complex issues, fear that complicated teaching troubling more simple notions of patriotism would stress or possibly traumatize their students (the children of soldiers), and pressure to teach within the district-assigned curriculum map. The teachers responded in different ways. …

Dialectic Of Empathy. A Book Review Of Educating For Empathy: Literacy Learning And Civic Engagement, Dan Deweese

Democracy & Education

In Educating for Empathy: Literacy Learning and Civic Engagement, Mirra describes the value of teaching “critical civic empathy” in K–12 literacy classrooms. Distinguished from standard curricular uses of empathy that stress politeness at the level of the individual, critical civic empathy challenges students to take active steps toward questioning how imbalances of power and privilege arise and what assumptions should be questioned in order to address those imbalances. Mirra examines various teachers who center social issues in their literacy classrooms through the use of literature, the techniques of high school debate, research methodologies that see students as knowledge producers, …

Media Literacy As An Internal And External Process. A Response To “Red States, Blue States, And Media Literacy: Political Context And Media Literacy”, Jolie C. Matthews

Democracy & Education

Curry and Cherner’s article, “Red States, Blue States, and Media Literacy: Political Context and Media Literacy,” discusses preservice teachers’ perspectives of teaching media literacy skills in politically opposite “Red” and “Blue” States. In this response, I argue the inclusion of additional demographic information about participants might open up new avenues for which to analyze the data. I also address how the article theoretically takes up media literacy as well what other definitions exist, with suggestions for how the term might be expanded to include internal (self-reflective) and external (outside sources) processes for students and educators to consider.

Beyond The Invisible Barriers Of The Classroom: Iengage And Civic Praxis, Kevin Russel Magill, Victoria Davis Smith, Brooke Blevins, Karon N. Lecompte

Democracy & Education

Research literature suggests students need to engage in actual civic experiences; however, in most cases, teachers feel unwilling or unable to facilitate experiences beyond the formal classroom setting. In this project, we sought to understand the relationship between social studies teachers’ civic ideology, pedagogical approaches, and instructional decision-making through their engagement in an action civics camp. The project is part of a more significant effort to help critically minded teachers engage in more activist praxis by moving past the often-limiting ideological barriers of the classroom. By activist praxis, we refer to the ways a teacher’s ideology informs pedagogy related to …

What Are Stakeholders' Perceptions Of Rural School District Needs To Effectively Educate Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Kari Lyn Pugh

Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has continued to rise each year. This fact has significance in the area of education. The rise in prevalence of autism means an increase of students with autism in schools. Educators have the need to be prepared to provide an appropriate education for these students but may not have training or resources to be effective. Rural communities may have even more concerns about education for students with ASD due to geographic isolation and the lack of available educators in their area trained to support the specific needs of these students. To determine the …

"Child Marriage Across Cultural Contexts: A Comparative Analysis Between South Asia And Sub-Saharan Africa", Farhana Hussain

Senior Theses

Child marriage is a major social issue that occurs around the globe to this present day, particularly within South Asian and Sub-Saharan African nations. This paper discusses the underlying factors perpetuating child marriage that are shared in common between these two distinct regions. Through exploring such factors from two countries in each respective region as case studies, the paper also enlightens readers about current initiatives being undertaken to address child marriage and further suggests other social, economic, and policy oriented measures that can be taken to ensure young girls are protected from this ongoing practice within their communities and can …

Can Expressive Arts Therapy Help Caregivers Of Persons With Asd?: A Community Engagement Project Capstone Thesis, Chie Mitsui

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Taking care of persons with autism spectrum disorder is not easy, especially in a school setting where there are more rules and cultures to follow. There is high turnover among our staff. I have witnessed several staff leave our school because of the burden of the work. The experience made me disappointed. I am sure that our students feel the same way as I do; they just don’t know how to express their feelings when they realize staff is no longer with them. They trust the staff and the staff leave, sometimes even without saying goodbye. I was sad each …

Increased Knowledge Of Autism Spectrum Disorders Reduces Stress Levels In Staff Caring Directly For Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder., Katelyn E. Triplett

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a group of disorders that affects approximately 1 in 59 children (Autism Spectrum Disorder, 2019). This group of disorders can cause deficits in communication, social relationships, and those with the diagnosis may exhibit undesirable behaviors as well as restrictive and repetitive behaviors (RRBs). There is limited education given to healthcare providers on this group of disorders, making it difficult to care for these patients. This study was conducted to determine if the stress level of staff that directly care for patients with ASD, at a pediatric behavioral health hospital, decreased following an educational presentation over …

Finding Hope: Student Empowerment In A Segregated School District, Rachel Leigh Russell

Education | Master's Theses

This study seeks to understand how students are self-empowered in a racially and economically diverse school. A literature review revealed a body of peer reviewed research in relation to student empowerment through educational, sociological, and psychological theories. Within the literature review, the need for restructure of teacher/student relationships became apparent across a range of theories and frameworks. Yet, insufficient studies have been conducted to understand student empowerment and identity from a student perspective, or to what extent they are able to empower themselves and what methods or support they seek to feel more empowered. Through collecting and coding in-depth writing …

Stem Education In The Elementary School Classroom, Kendal C. Carter

Education | Master's Theses

There is a disparity in research conducted for STEM education across elementary, middle, high school, and college. STEM learning teaches students to ask questions, look at a problem through multiple lenses, work collaboratively with others, plan carefully, become flexible, embrace change, improve upon their idea, persevere through challenges, and open themselves up to discussing new ideas and differing points of view. The literature review revealed the differing schools of thought regarding STEM education, a variety of implementation methods, and the changes seen in classrooms detailing how students connect in class curricula to real world examples. The literature also highlighted a …

Establishing And Promoting An Institutional Repository And Research Information Management System, Darren Sweeper, Karen Ramsden

University Libraries Scholarship and Creative Works

The purpose of this paper is to share the experiences and to highlight lessons learned from the establishment of the institutional repository (IR) while collaborating in a state-wide initiative to showcase the scholarly output of New Jersey researchers.

Roger Williams University School Of Law Commencement, May 15, 2020, Bristol, Rhode Island, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Commencement (1996- )

No abstract provided.

Documenting Desire: Addressing The Educational Needs Of Undocumented English Learners, Alejandra Sofia Torres

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

While research on motivation in second language acquisition is copious and the interest in undocumented youth within the education field is growing, there is a need to closely examine the intersection of being both undocumented and an English Learner (EL) and how this intersection often limits ELs, especially those in underserved schools. Using ethnographic methods, this dissertation documents the educational experiences of thirty-one Spanish-speaking ELs in a predominately of color, urban, working-class high school in the southeastern United States. EL participants were ages fourteen through twenty with varying non-citizen immigrant statuses. Semi-structured interviews and field notes were collected during the …

Residence Life As Learning Organizations: An Inquiry Into Organizational Elements That Support Integration Of The Residential Curriculum, Heather Kropf

Dissertations and Theses

Student learning and success is tied to the learning goals and mission of each institution, including environments outside of the classroom. Students are more diverse than ever in terms of their lived experience and their culture, identity, and how they engage in learning. Research has indicated that students spend the majority of their time outside the classroom, where they are learning through informal and formal environments. This has significance and opportunities for student affairs practitioners who desire to create student learning environments. In fact, residence life curricular approaches have demonstrated positive learning experiences for students.

However, implementing a learning-based curricular …

Usage And Effects Of Video Games In Education, Kevin Sagara

ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies

In modern society, the act of playing games entices certain prejudices towards those who decide to participate in such activities. Those prejudices normally revolve around negative stereotypes where games are meant for non-social adults and are seen as something akin to addiction if gone too far. But how much gaming is needed to be considered as an addiction and what actual effects does it have on mental growth, social capabilities and academics? As a community revolving around technology as much as we are, understanding how video games play a role in our social space is an important aspect to growth. …

Strategies And Algorithms Of Sudoku, Callie Weaver

Mathematics Senior Capstone Papers

This paper discusses different strategies for the game of Sudoku and how those strategies relate to other problem solving techniques while also attempting to use those other techniques in a way that improves the strategies for Sudoku. This includes a thorough analysis of the general algorithm and an algorithm that is formed by the Occupancy Theorem and Preemptive Sets. This paper also compares these algorithms that directly relate to Sudoku with algorithms to similar combinatorial problems such as the Traveling Salesman problem and more. With the study of game theory becoming more popular, these strategies have also been shown to …