Digital Commons Network^™

Optimizing The Use Of Digitization Technologies In Museums, Emma Gunst

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Digital technologies are used mostly for artifact preservation, but they can also be used for educating people about those artifacts in a museum context. This paper investigates the way various age groups react differently to distinct kinds of digitization technology. By using different technologies with certain age groups, adolescents can learn more from the artifacts or objects they are interacting with. This project aims to explore which technologies work with what age group in order to optimize adolescent education and artifact accessibility in museums. Accessibility for this study is defined as a museum making their collections available to a variety …

A Changing Landscape: Teachers' Perceptions Of The Urban Public High School Student Experience, Colleen Wellford Morrison

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Through qualitative interviews, this study examines the perceived role of teachers on the educational experiences and outcomes of students at majority-minority urban public high schools This research is situated in the historical context of unequal resources in education, applies the theories of Bourdieu’s social and cultural capital, and examines teachers’ positionality. Using the life stories narrative approach, teachers discuss how their life experiences and teaching practices are central in developing positive relationships with students. These teacher’s narratives affirm the importance of cultivating positive relationships with students and creating educational environments that foster academic growth and cultural awareness. Furthermore, the narratives …

Development And Evaluation Of A Diabetes Themed Escape Room For Students Completing An Ambulatory Care Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience, Katherine Frances Brown

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Introduction: Escape rooms are a novel form of entertainment that have become increasingly popular in the United States. The idea of an escape room has great potential for educational purposes as well. In professional healthcare schooling, they have been used to supplement what students learn in the classroom. Interactive learning through the use of an escape room has been studied in the setting of pharmacy students completing their third year of traditional didactic learning. As of yet, there is no published literature that analyzes the use of escape rooms in the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) setting.

Objectives: The primary …

Examining The Benefits Of A Sustained Balance And Fall Prevention Programming For Independent Older Adults Living In A Community Setting, Noah Davis

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Falls have been an identified public health and social problem since the 1980’s and now recognized as a global health problem in many of the developed nations. The National Council on Aging and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledge many evidence-based fall prevention programs. However, there are identified concerns to the programs; for example, a lack of sustained programming for older adults in the community setting. The literature review on fall prevention interventions identifies that few programs are sustained after two years, primarily due to a lack of funding and a lack of interest by older adults. However, …

Impact Of Communicative Activities On Improving Students’ Speaking Skills In English As Second Language, Ozlem Guler

International Graduate Program for Educators Master's Projects

This research is conducted to see the impact of communicative activities in students speaking skills in English as second language. And it is reached to a conclusion that communicative activities cause longer student speaking time in class. Moreover, the students mostly state that they learn better through communicative activities. Using language as a tool for communication rather than an aspect to learn will serve better. Language isn’t learnt but acquired such as the mother tongue. That’s why it should be done naturally just like a baby making baby steps to start uttering first words.

Expectedly, singing a memorized song is …

Using Scrum To Teach Standards-Based K-12 Computer Science: A Prosepectus For A Master’S Level Methods Class At Buffalo State, Noah M. Pierce

Career & Technical Education Theses

Computer Science has been increasingly prevalent in K-12 education in recent decades. Most Americans believe that Computer Science is as important as other skills taught in school; further, parents are putting pressure on districts to offer Computer Science programs (1.1). To meet this demand, many teacher preparation programs are adding Computer Science Education to their offering of degrees. This thesis investigates Agile and Scrum product development as a potential method of Computer Science instruction, explores the standards relevant to a Computer Science teacher, and offers a prospectus for a new Graduate Level Methods class to prepare Computer Science teachers to …

Restoring The Public In Public Policy: Lessons From Lasch, Arendt, And Rawls, Anthony M. Barr

Pepperdine Policy Review

Contemporary political debates on the Left about equality tend to emphasize either equality of opportunity or equality of outcome. Neoliberals focus on market-based interventions that can increase individual upward mobility while Social Democrats call for state-based interventions that result in equitable distribution of resources. In this article, I challenge both of these conceptions, arguing that an overreliance on both the free market and the administrative state can undermine individual agency and exclude everyday citizens from political deliberation and decision-making. I argue that a better aspirational model is equality of participation in political deliberations and processes. Drawing on Christopher Lasch, Hannah …

Considerations For Science Communications In A Changing Media Landscape, Emily Stine

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

Technology development has radically shaped science communication techniques. Science communicators should be prepared to face these changes as they provide valuable new methods for increased engagement. Currently, communicators rely on deficit models (top-down transmission) and dialogic models (bottom-up transmission) to present information. The decision on which model to use is reliant upon the communicator’s skill level and impression of the relationship between scientists and the general public. Developing effective communication relies on communicators determining goals (long-term aspirations) and objectives (short-term aspirations) while maintaining a clear view of the public’s attitudes and evaluation frames. The tools available to science communicators and …

An Analysis Of The Factors That Influence Success Rates Of Honors College Students, Braden Bateman

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

University honors programs provide students with challenging yet rewarding opportunities. Pursuing honors often offers students opportunities (such as access to uique coursework or specialized mentorship) that are not available to the general student popultion. However, honors programs also hold students to more or higher educational milestones in order to graduate with honors. Data from the University of Araksas Fayetteville (UAF) suggest students who start in honors as new freshmen typically graduate at rates much higher than students who were not honors freshmen. However, the percentage of those honors freshmen who complete their honors requirements is much lower than those who …

Learning About Healthy Relationships And Sexuality For Adults With Disabilities, Vanessa Karjack

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities receive little to no sex education; as a result, they often struggle to have fulfilling and healthy relationships, experience limitations in physical interactions, and are at risk of being taken advantage of by others. Sommaro et al. (2019) explained that individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) and developmental disabilities (DD) are often placed into one of two categories: they are treated as either eternal children or sexual deviants. These ideas are based on old knowledge and are known to be inaccurate. However, current systems of care struggle to move forward from these notions. A …

Pedagogy Or Andragogy?: Which Teaching Method Produces Successful Esl Tutoring That Involves Musical Activities?, Julia Cormack

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Considering the connections between music and language, as well as Chi et al.’s (2001) theory, this thesis introduces an original case study investigation: which teaching method, pedagogy or andragogy, will be most effective in one-on-one ESL tutoring sessions that use music as source material? The term pedagogy often describes the art and science of teaching. However, its Greek roots refer to the method of the teacher leading the classroom. Meanwhile, andragogy describes a teaching method where the teacher engages with the students in the learning and leading; Greek for “leader of man,” andragogy most often refers to teaching adults. To …

Creativity Through Arts: Expanding Creativity For A New Fluency In Imaginative Thinking, Tanya M. Knudsen

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The Torrance Incubation Model beckons creativity into education. That was in 1961. Like the subconscious automatic and multidimensional act of breathing, and formulating language, creativity is within us, materializing on a Mobius Loop structure continually moving in and out of incubation, creation, and the shaping of outcome. Creativity is unique in that is both a verb and noun adding weight and value to its illusive form and potential. Creativity Through Arts expands the Torrance Incubation Model of Creative Teaching and Learning in an expressed combination of creativity and arts to immerse creativity into curricula, cracking a new code for finding …

Improving Student Success And Engagement In Virtual And Hybrid Classrooms., Sydney Fogo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following thesis examines virtual classes from the University of Louisville in the Fall 2020 semester to discover points of weakness relative to keeping students engaged in online courses. Three surveys were taken by a select group of participants over the course of the fall semester in order to collect student opinion on specific classes. Interviews were held with a subset of students from the group of participants and also with professors who taught the study’s participants in the fall of 2020. Their responses and conversations were used to determine possible areas of improvement for virtual classes. This information was …

Heteronormativity And Teacher Effectiveness: Parent’S Perspectives Of Importance, Ryan Marcus Asprion

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Heteronormativity is the presumed acceptance of culturally determined gender roles about heterosexuality and what expectations society considers as “natural” or “normal” (Habarth, 2015). United States schools are primarily heteronormative (Dinkins & Englert, 2015). The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 required school districts to employ “highly qualified” teachers in all core subject areas by the 2005-06 school year. Defining “highly qualified” relates to the quality of the teachers training and certifications, never mentioning sexuality or lifestyle as a component. Using a critical queer theory approach and narrative research study analysis, this study sought perspective from parents of K-12 students …

Increasing Post-Incarceration Education Within Juvenile Detention Centers, Michela M. Peterson

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Juvenile offenders often lack support for developing post-incarceration plans such as college or career options, which can lead to higher recidivism and escalation to becoming long-term, adult offenders. While some juvenile detention centers have on site schools, the curriculum neglects discussing future goals and career planning. In order to address this problem, I created a three day presentation for incarcerated youth at the Napa County Juvenile Detention Center in Napa, California about college majors and careers that do not require higher education.

Recognizing Child Abuse In The Classroom, Carolina Cervantes, Nancy Garcia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify educators’ perceptions of Mandated Reporting Training. This study used a quantitative design with 88 participants from Southern California. Child abuse can impact a child’s life severely and may even cause death in extreme situations. Child Protection Services receives millions of child abuse allegations every year. Abuse continues to be underreported despite state regulations that require teachers to complete the Mandated Reporter Training. Professionals in the educational field believe this training is insufficient as it is only taken once a year and does not provide enough information to report and identify abuse. This …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Exploring Parental Involvement At Alternative Schools In Eastern North Carolina, Irv Glenn Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover the perceptions of caregivers and teachers regarding parental involvement at alternative schools in Eastern North Carolina. The lack of parental involvement at some schools is a systemic issue that involves continued efforts by school staff to include caregivers in promoting student success. The difficulties of engaging parents of alternative students result in little interaction between caregivers and educators. It is essential to understand how caregivers and educators perceive parental involvement and assess the quality of parental participation in an alternative educational setting. A qualitative research method was chosen to comprehensively examine …

The Root Of The Problem: Mississippi And The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Matthew Brennan Hendley

Honors Theses

The Root of the Problem: Mississippi and the School-to-Prison Pipeline is a solutions journalism piece about the “schoolhouse to jailhouse” theory, which represents a phenomenon in which grade school students, the majority of which are minority youth, are funneled into the criminal justice system via schools through policies and procedures that criminalize student misbehavior. The piece is an in-depth analysis of the arrival, history, and current state of the school-to-prison pipeline in Mississippi, featuring one specific effort to dismantle the phenomenon in the Sunflower County Consolidated School District in the Mississippi Delta. In addition to this analysis, the piece explores …

Symptoms Of Trauma Related To The Covid-19 Pandemic In Educators And Students, Leanne S. Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

In the United States, a nationwide shutdown began in mid-March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the shutdown began, many people faced financial insecurity, health insecurity, and food insecurity. When the shutdown began, most schools broke for spring break and did not reconvene for the remainder of the school year. This created huge gaps in necessary services and resources for students and families including academics, mental health services, social supports, food resources, and connection to the community. This study explores trauma and stress symptoms educators and students have experienced in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study …

The Principal’S Leadership Impact Utilizing Distributed Leadership Practices That Drive School Improvement, Dr. Holly Grubbs

Education Policy and Leadership Theses and Dissertations

Educational leadership is a major factor in achieving the goals of state and federal policymakers centered on raising student achievement for all students. Before, the focus was on how the principal is managing the school, and now it is about the process, procedures and structures, and systems in place that drive instructional improvement. With the increase of federal legislation, a principal's instructional leadership is measured by student academic achievement (Van Roekel, 2008). The assumption of the federal, state, and local policies is that instructional leadership is evident on the campus to improve schools. Consequently, there is a problem in American …

The Community Of Inquiry Effect On Learning For An Online Course, Robert Dawson Coffey

All Dissertations

Technology is transforming higher education by removing geographic constraints for both students and instructors and increasing learning and cooperation with internet-based applications. Bloom’s taxonomy continues to play a significant role in instructional design for both the classroom and online, but other theories that address the challenges of designing and teaching effective online courses have emerged. Also, classroom techniques, many learned as a teaching assistant in graduate school, may not transfer to an online environment. The Community of Inquiry framework (CoI), which originated in 1999 in response to online education, emphasizes the importance of teaching, social, and cognitive presences as necessary …

Roboethics In Covid-19: A Case Study In Dentistry, Wendy C. Birmingham, Yaser Maddahi, Maryam Kalvandi, Sofya Langman, Nicole Capicotto, Kourosh Zareinia

Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused dramatic effects on the healthcare system, businesses, and education. In many countries, businesses were shut down, universities and schools had to cancel in-person classes, and many workers had to work remotely and socially distance in order to prevent the spread of the virus. These measures opened the door for technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence to play an important role in minimizing the negative effects of such closures. There have been many efforts in the design and development of robotic systems for applications such as disinfection and eldercare. Healthcare education has seen a lot …

Teaching Elementary School Children About Nutritionn, Dana Mastro

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Elementary school curriculum often lacks focus on nutrition education. Without nutrition education, children may develop poor eating habits, poor physical health, and lower quality of life. In order to address this issue, I have developed a three-day lesson for four 1st and four 2nd graders at Sheldon Acres Child Development Center in Elk Grove, California.

Improving Learning Skills For Preschoolers With Developmental Delays, Elena Corona

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Preschool children with developmental delays need more social skill's education, which is often not offered in general classes. Although children with developmental delays can take longer to develop the skills appropriate to their age, they need more opportunities to learn about social interactions to maximize their learning environment and interact with peers.

Increasing Science Education During Preschool, Guillermina Rodriguez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Preschool children who don't have access to science education and don't have the opportunity to explore their environment are lack of (STEM) skill. To help children with their learning environment I have created a two day lesson about the four different seasons of the year at Boronda Meadow school in Salinas, California.

Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Knowledge Of Endometriosis: A Pilot Study, Stephanie Schlorke

Honors Theses

This descriptive post-test design study was conducted to assess knowledge level of undergraduate nursing students regarding risk factors, clinical manifestations, age of diagnosis, common psychiatric co-morbidities, treatment methods, and pathophysiology of endometriosis. An author-created 8 question multichoice and select all that apply questionnaire was used to collect the data. Twenty-eight students responded to the questionnaire. The results were divided to compare knowledge differences between second-semester and fifth-semester students.

It was determined that the undergraduate nursing students have a working knowledge of endometriosis, but there are knowledge gaps that need to be addressed. Fifth-semester participants scored higher than the second-semester participants …

Knowledge And Beliefs Of Adolescents About Acne: Baseline And Post-Intervention Assessments Using An Interactive Educational Tool, Mohammed Mehanna, May Saab

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Acne vulgaris is a common inflammatory skin condition affecting teenagers around the globe. Lack of knowledge and false beliefs about acne are factors contributing to non-adherence to acne treatment that would result in treatment failure. Since acne is a highly prevalent skin condition in Lebanon, educating Lebanese adolescents about acne is vital to achieve a better treatment outcome. The aim of the present study is to assess the baseline knowledge of a sample of Lebanese adolescents using a self-administered questionnaire, and increase the level through an educational intervention (interactive audio-visual presentation). The knowledge score was assessed before and after the …

The Effects Of Fictional Literature On Real-World Perceptions Of Students, Dylan Dowty

Honors Theses

The ways in which fiction affect the perceptions of high school students’ realities are many, and they vary widely depending on the book read. While lessons can be learned from every fictional book, certain types of books are more beneficial and relevant for students. Young adult literature, while often overlooked, is a significant source of students’ perspective shifts and metacognition. Every book has a lesson that it can teach students, but contemporary young adult literature deserves to be taught in schools alongside the classics in order for students to make personal connections with the texts they read and take an …

Determinants Of Sexual Literacy Of Senior High School Students In De La Salle University-Manila, Nigiel T. Aral, Maxene Alexandra M. De Castro, Karuna May T. Mansukhani, Ayeesha Heather M. Sara

DLSU Senior High School Research Congress

Sexual literacy is an important aspect of the formative development of individuals as it influences their capacity to think about and act upon factors affecting the sexual aspect of their lives. However, achieving a certain level of sexual literacy is still a complex path in society, especially in prestigious schools in the Philippines such as De La Salle University Manila (DLSU-M). This study aims to assess DLSU-M Senior High School (SHS) students’ level of sexual literacy, determine factors significantly explaining it, and form statistical models based on the significant factors. Both Poisson regression models and Logistic regression models revealed significantly …

More Than Brides Alliance: Endline Evaluation Report, Andrea J. Melnikas, Grace Saul, Michelle Chau, Neelanjana Pandey, James Mkandawire, Mouhamadou Gueye, Aissa Diarra, Sajeda Amin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This endline report presents findings from the More Than Brides Alliance’s (MTBA) project “Marriage: No Child’s Play” (MNCP) carried out in four countries: India, Malawi, Mali, and Niger. The MTBA project sought to empower girls, raise awareness about the risks of child marriage, improve girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health services, and support social norms favorable to girls’ education, economic engagement, and agency in marital decision-making. Results are presented from the MNCP evaluation, including over the final year, which was characterized by significant adaptations in programming and research due to Covid-19. This report explores behavioral outcomes related to child …