Digital Commons Network^™

Diplomas Vs Incarceration: Does Intersectionality Affect Black Men And Women Differently?, Chelsie Burchett

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Racial minorities are disproportionately imprisoned or sent to jail for reasons including racial profiling, unfair drug laws, and a biased judicial system. Black men are often subject to unwarranted searches and stop-and-frisks. These are meant to protect neighborhoods from criminal activity, when in fact they are often used to target people of color in destitute neighborhoods. Some scholars argue that a lot of differential treatment towards Black men stems from automatic thought processes, or implicit biases on the part of law enforcement officers. These are seen as unconscious and instilled by societal stigmas, rather than the result of careful deliberations. …

Promoting Effective Assessment For Learning Methods To Increase Student Motivation In Schools In India, Sunddip Aguilar, Erick Aguilar

Education Collection

This qualitative study explored how using effective assessment can engage learners and motivate student learning in the Dehradun, Noida, Delhi, and Trivandrum regions in India. The study randomly sampled 26 teachers from six private schools. Private schools were used in this study since such schools allot substantial funds to support ongoing professional development. Four core themes were identified from this study. The implications derived from this study suggest that educational leaders, stakeholders, and teachers can help improve student motivation in the classroom if they involve students in assessment practices. This study provides a clear understanding of reasons why assessment can …

Confessional Technologies Of The Self: From Seneca To Social Media, Norm Friesen

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Foucault’s general notion of “technologies of the self” provides an invaluable starting point for investigating a range of broadly “confessional” practices and technologies over time — from medieval confession to contemporary forms of networked identity construction. Foucault defines technologies of the self as “reflected and voluntary practices by which men not only fix rules of conduct for themselves but seek to transform themselves, to change themselves in their particular being, and to make their life an oeuvre.” These are practices or techniques, in other words, that are both undertaken by the self and directed toward it. Specifically confessional technologies …

Logic Tiles, Andrew Wheeler, Tristan Lennertz

Computer Engineering

This project was originally conceived by Professor Andrew Danowitz as he considered the restructuring of the introductory digital design course at Cal Poly. As it stands now, students apply their knowledge of boolean algebra and combinatorial logic through the programming of a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) using a Hardware Descriptive Language (HDL). While this is the industry standard for designing large, complex digital circuits, and is an fundamental skill to learn, there is a lack of actual circuit building in the process that can cause a disconnect from theory to application for students who have little-to-no experience with digital …

The Effect Of Mode Of Education And Degree Level On Employer Perceptions Of Applicants' Hireability, Benjamin Safara

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Online education is becoming more prominent, but it has been found that employers are biased against hiring job applicants with online education. The influence of mode of education and degree level on employer perceptions of applicants’ hireability was investigated. It was hypothesized that employer perceptions would decrease as the education of an applicant moved to a category consisting of more online education. It was hypothesized that employers would be less likely to move forward with applicants in the hiring process (viability) as applicants’ education moved to a category consisting of more online education. It was hypothesized that degree level would …

Code Decomposition: A New Hope, Nupur Garg

Master's Theses

Code decomposition (also known as functional decomposition) is the process of breaking a larger problem into smaller subproblems so that each function implements only a single task. Although code decomposition is integral to computer science, it is often overlooked in introductory computer science education due to the challenges of teaching it given limited resources.

Earthworm is a tool that generates unique suggestions on how to improve the decomposition of provided Python source code. Given a program as input, Earthworm presents the user with a list of suggestions to improve the functional decomposition of the program. Each suggestion includes the lines …

Knowledge Versus Perception: Social Workers' View Of Sex Offenders, Terisa M. Berger

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Social workers comprise one of the leading professions who interact with sex offenders through means of treatment, as well as unexpected life events. The purpose of this study is to evaluate social workers’ knowledge of sex offender laws and how their knowledge impacts their thoughts and feelings about working with sex offenders. Through a survey, social workers registered with the National Association of Social Work (NASW) in Southern California were asked to complete a questionnaire, in which addressed laws and thoughts in regards to sex offenders. One hundred surveys at random were evaluated. The study findings show a relationship between …

The Influence Of Language Choice In Acceptable Use Polices On Students’ Locus Of Control, Stacy L. Lickteig

Student Work

One of the goals of education is for students to develop critical thinking skills. In order to build those skills, students must become critical and engaged users of information. Students become engaged and critical users of information when they have opportunities to explore and immerse themselves in information from different viewpoints and perspectives. Much of the information accessed by students today is located online. In many school districts, an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) details what type of access students have to information found online. Using Rotter’s Locus of Control Theory, this study seeks to answer the question of how language …

Increasing Parental Self-Efficacy Through Education To Impact Child Health Behavior, Calvin J. French

DNP and Student Works

Childhood obesity is a major public health crisis nationally and internationally (Karnik & Danekar, 2012). The prevalence of childhood obesity has continued to increase causing a rise in several comorbidities at an early age. These comorbidities include but are not limited to hypertension, diabetes mellitus type 2, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, and psychosocial problems. These chronic diseases will likely persist into adulthood.

The Use Of “Kakayu Dental Flipbook” In Oral Health Knowledge Improvement For Elementary School Students In Depok, Rikawarastuti Rikawarastuti, Eka Anggreni, Rahaju Budiarti, Nurlaila Ramadhan Suid

Kesmas

Perlu adanya edukasi untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan anak Indonesia tentang pentingnya memelihara kesehatan gigi dan mulut. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan hubungan antara faktor siswa sekolah dasar seperti kelas, usia, jenis kelamin dengan jumlah anak dalam keluarga atau faktor ekonomi seorang ibu rumah tangga atau berpenghasilan tetap, yang dipengaruhi oleh peningkatan pengetahuan dari edukasi kesehatan gigi dan mulut. Disain penelitian quasi experiment pre-test dan post-test tanpa desain grup kontrol melibatkan 141 siswa yang dipilih melalui purposive sampling. Sampel tersebar pada siswa kelas IV, V, dan VI sekolah dasar swasta di Depok, Jawa Barat, Indonesia pada April-Oktober 2016. Data penelitian diperoleh dari …

Scripting Allographs, June Shin

Masters Theses

Scripting Allographs* examines typographic principles and their pervasive impact on ways of seeing and making through design. This body of work demonstrates the many faces of typography and type design and the way they inform allographic thinking. It employs type as the primary tool and medium for scripting possibilities, embracing their differences, idiosyncrasies, and imperfections. Beginning with a focus on close observation of small details and ending with an approach that invites and celebrates variability, this thesis offers a glimpse into a design practice from the lens of a typographer, type designer, and educator.

Integrating Language And Content In Mainstream Biology Classrooms - The Experiences Of English Language Learners, Yasmeen Tawfik

Theses and Dissertations

Globalization has vastly enhanced the mobility of people and ideas, in turn changing the world’s educational landscape and increasing the proportion of nonnative English speakers within English learning environments. Although research exists on English Language Learner (ELL) pedagogies and on international education as two separate bodies, few studies have examined the experiences of ELLs learning science within the multicultural environment of international schools. The purpose of the study is to answer three questions: 1) ELLs experience the integration of language and content within mainstream science classes? 2) Which, if any, aspects of their classroom experience do they find problematic, and …

Life Beyond The Classroom: The Transition To Retirement By Long-Serving Educators, Catherine Renaud

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Using a qualitative, multiple case study research approach, the personal stories of eight K-12 educators who retired within the past six years were gathered and analyzed. The goal of the study was to understand how educators struggle, or do not struggle, with the life changing event of bringing closure to a career after spending decades in the classroom.

Upon analysis of the data, three key themes were identified:

1. The individuals had control over the timing of their retirement; all participants knew it was the right time to make the transition out of the classroom.

2. Each person is happy …

Beginning From The Border, Kip Austin Hinton

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

Abstract

In this essay, Educational Borderlands: A Bilingual Journal (EBBJ) is introduced in relation to borderlands, in South Texas and beyond. The journal’s purpose is explained, beginning with its inception as part of the bilingual mission at a majority Mexican American university, then placed within educational, political, and linguistic contexts. Each of EBBJ’s threads is situated in relation to hybridity, intersectionality, bilingualism, translanguaging, transnationalism, and the border itself. The journal seeks to apply these to the study of curriculum, instruction, special education, dual language bilingual education, and research across various interdisciplinary fields.

Resumen

En este ensayo, Educational Borderlands: A Bilingual …

Interdisciplinary Arts As An Agent For Community Building In A U.S. Public School, Ida Pappas

Educational Studies Dissertations

The aim of my dissertation research is to understand the relationship between interdisciplinary arts experiences and the establishment of a community culture in a mainstream public high school in northeast United States. With this research, I hope to provide evidence to support the inclusion of interdisciplinary arts projects in the fabric of students’ high school curricular and extra-curricular experiences. Through engagement in design, art, video, music, dance, theater and the close study of a minority culture, high school participants provided regular responses to planned survey questions and open-ended survey questions (Experience Sampling), as well as through interviews, written prompts and …

Codofil's Ally: Local French Teachers In Louisiana, Natalie Ducote

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In 1968, in the midst of the Civil Rights Era, the Louisiana government created the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL). During this period of heightened ethnic awareness, CODOFIL aimed to rectify the damage done by prior Louisiana legislation, which prohibited French language on public school grounds. In an effort to revitalize the French language in Louisiana, the organization hired teachers from foreign francophone countries and advocated for a curriculum rooted in Standard French. According to historians, many locals felt Louisiana-specific French dialects were once again rejected. Alongside these foreign teachers were teachers local to Louisiana. Utilizing …

Goal Effectiveness In Achieving Educational Outcomes: Experimental Evidence From 9th Graders In Medellin, Colombia, Daniel Salicath, Alessandra Cassar

Master's Theses

Does goal setting among low-income ninth graders leads to higher average goal achievements of educational outcomes? This question is explored by a field experiment motivated by the acknowledged California-based Family Independence Initiative (FII), to analyze the effectiveness of individual goal setting, incentives and self-help groups on the achievement of educational goals. By randomizing treatments and control with the cooperation of the Secretary of Education in Medellin, different classrooms were assigned to five different experimental groups that met systematically for five months. The results show that goal setting is a cost-effective method to help low-income students achieve educational outcomes. Setting a …

Teaching While White: White Identity Development And Antiracism For Educators, Amber Mackenzie Taylor

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project explores the use of mindfulness in antiracist professional development for educators, documenting the development and implementation of workshop curriculum across three conference settings. The purpose of the project was to engage White educators in the important inner work of understanding White racial conditioning and actively challenging the institutional and structural racism inherent in our education system. Beginning with an understanding of race, racism and Critical Race Theory, the curriculum was designed to support White educators in developing their own racial identities to further their own personal development. The workshop focuses on White Identity development (Helms, 1990) to support …

Integrating Idea Mapping Into Professional Development And Practice: A Guidebook For Educators, Sarah Rose Parsons

Master's Projects and Capstones

The daily metrics of the teaching profession can prove emotionally and physically taxing, especially when compared to the current rapidly growing veil of technological advancement and a lack of support from one’s community and administration in their field. The means of support for professional development, which are often presented in schools for educators, focus mostly on students and content delivery. These programs rarely pay attention to the personal growth of the individual educator. Educators can in turn help themselves if they are provided with the tools and time to do so. Thus, this project seeks to serve that purpose, founded …

Cooperating Teachers' Experiences Mentoring Preservice Teachers, David H. Lewis

Special Education ETDs

Abstract

Recent literature was reviewed to locate articles with perspectives and attitudes of cooperating teachers who work with preservice teachers at school sites in coordination with institutions that have teacher preparation programs in general and/or special education. The results showed an emphasis in reporting the external aspects of being a cooperating teacher such as the daily activities, and little was reported about the internal aspects of being a cooperating teacher such as personal experience and rationale for working a preservice teacher into a classroom. This led to the research question “What do cooperating teachers report as their experiences while mentoring …

Minimum Education Requirements For Crime Scene Investigators, Araseli Saldivar

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The initial crime scene investigation is critical since it is the primary step in the investigative process; therefore, individuals assigned to process a scene should be highly educated. Improperly educated (or uneducated) crime scene investigators (CSIs) can mishandle evidence during an investigation, affecting the outcome of cases. The minimum education requirement for CSIs should transition from a high school diploma—the current requirement—toward a bachelor’s degree. The importance of acquiring a college-level education is observed in a study conducted on crime scene examiners in Australia. To determine the educational requirement for CSIs in the United States, information was gathered electronically from …

How Does Child Participation In Early Head Start Programs Affect Their Mother’S Employment And Educational Attainment?, Pamela Barcelona

Theses and Dissertations

Early Head Start (EHS) was established in 1994 to provide assistance to families in need. Mothers receiving services are more likely to attend high school and job training than mothers who don't receive them. Mothers in EHS are also more likely to have part-time employment than mothers who are not.

Analysis Of Graded Gross Anatomy Dissections And Demonstrations As A Supplemental Educational Tool, Stephanie Leanne Cummings

Theses & Dissertations

Teaching and assessment modalities for human anatomy curriculums vary between schools. The University of Nebraska Medical Center utilizes an integrated gross anatomy lab curriculum including hands-on dissection, lecture, and 3-D models. The GCBA 909 course, Human Gross Anatomy Lab, just recently incorporated graded dissections and demonstrations into their master of medical anatomy (MMA) curriculum. Students were required to complete and demonstrate eight additional dissections compared to physician assistant (PA), physical therapy (PT) students. Upon completion of these dissections, students were assessed based on the quality of their dissections and were also required to demonstrate the cadaveric dissections to anatomy faculty …

Enhancing The Learning Experience- Use Of Video Game Technology For Teaching Japanese Language, Craig A. Decampli

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The Japanese language is challenging to learn, especially for native speakers of Indo- European languages. The three components of written Japanese -- Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji – include 2,136 Kanji characters, and 46 each for Katakana and Hiragana. Teaching Japanese – generally through repetition – can lead to student boredom and affect success. Research shows that video games can at least provide a more enjoyable learning experience. Despite this fact, there are a lack of video games for teaching Japanese characters. Using the Unity game engine and the C# programming language, a video game for enhancing the learning of students …

An Affordable Vr Environment, Matthew R. Petty

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Virtual Reality is a powerful technology with the ability to affect our senses in powerful ways. Traditionally used for entertainment, we argue that it can be used for educational purposes as well. In order to get virtual reality into the classroom, we must address its cost and portability, as well as improve the interaction that users experience with the virtual environment. Our solution, a Unity program installed on an iPhone and a Mac, attempts to solve these issues. A technical demo was created that functions and can be interfaced with. While this solution is a proof of concept, its consequences …

Integrating Non-Euclidean Geometry Into High School, John Buda

Honors Thesis

The purpose of this project is to provide the framework for integrating the study of non-Euclidean geometry into a high school math class in such a way that both aligns with the Common Core State Standards and makes use of research-based practices to enhance the learning of traditional geometry. Traditionally, Euclidean geometry has been the only strand of geometry taught in high schools, even though mathematicians have developed several other strands. The non-Euclidean geometry that I focus on in this project is what is known as taxicab geometry. With the Common Core Standards for Math Practice pushing students to “model …

Evaluating The Performance Of Propensity Score Matching Methods: A Simulation Study, Jessica N. Jacovidis

Dissertations, 2014-2019

In education, researchers and evaluators are interested in assessing the impact of programs or interventions. Unfortunately, most education programs do not lend themselves to random assignment; participants generally self-select into programs. Lack of random assignment limits the claims that researchers can make about the impact of the program because individuals who self-select into the program may be qualitatively different from individuals who do not self-select into the program. Propensity score matching allows researchers to mimic random assignment by creating a matched comparison group that is similar to the treatment group on researcher-identified variables.

There are a number of matching methods …

The Complex Reasons For Missing Spirituality. A Response To "Democratic Foundations For Spiritually Responsive Pedagogy", Marian De Souza Dr

Democracy & Education

This article is written in response to Lingley’s (2016) concept of spiritually responsive pedagogy. To begin with, the word spiritual, when applied to education, still attracts varied responses. Therefore, I have begun by examining contemporary understandings of spirituality as reflected in current research and literature, which provides an informed context for my response. I follow up by aligning some of the key features noted by Lingley in democratic education and spiritually responsive pedagogy to other perspectives that deal with the spiritual dimension in education; I do this in order to offer a supportive stance to Lingley’s assertion that, if …

The Critique Of Deliberative Discussion. A Response To “Education For Deliberative Democracy: A Typology Of Classroom Discussions", David I. Backer

Democracy & Education

My response to Samuelsson’s (2016) recent essay offers a different paradigm with which to think about education, deliberative discussion and democracy. I call this paradigm the critique of deliberative discussion. Following Ruitenberg’s application of Mouffe’s critiques of deliberative democracy to education, the critique of deliberative discussion focuses on what Jameson called the “political unconscious” of deliberative discussions like those presented by Samuelsson. There is literature that critique traditionally moderate-liberal notions of deliberative discussion, which Samuelsson defines his typology: reason, willingness to listen, and consensus. While others, like Ruitenberg, have developed this critique of deliberative-democratic citizenship education, the critique of deliberative …

From Deliberative Democracy To Communicative Democracy In The Classroom. A Response To “Education For Deliberative Democracy”, Lisa Weasel

Democracy & Education

This response to Samuelsson’s typology for assessing deliberative democracy in classroom discussions views his analysis through an equity lens. It offers Young’s model of communicative democracy as a resource and argues that incorporating that model's emphasis on greeting, rhetoric, and storytelling into the typology can help to promote more equitable deliberative communication in the classroom. It offers specific tools, based on the author’s development of deliberative pedagogy in a biology classroom, that teachers can use across disciplines and educational settings to help promote more equitable deliberative communication in classroom discussions.