Digital Commons Network^™

Top For Teachers, University Of Dayton

News Releases

The University of Dayton’s undergraduate program preparing future high school teachers is among the best in the nation, ranked in the top 10 percent by the National Council on Teacher Quality.

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.

What Does Silence = Now? An Analysis Of Past And Present Discourse Surrounding Hiv/Aids, Emily A. Moner

Theses and Dissertations

This essay examines how the HIV/AIDS epidemic was first addressed in the context of politics, media and the general public and subsequently how that compares to the ways in which it’s currently being discussed using popular forms of communication such as Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media.

How Scholarship Programs Facilitate First-Generation College Students’ Involvement, Maria C. Restrepo Chavez

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

As a first-generation college student, I am interested in the on-campus involvement and experiences of other first-generation college students. First-generation college students are those whose parents did not receive a university degree and tend to come from low-income families. This project explores programs designed to support and enrich the experiences of such students. The Centennial Scholars Program at James Madison University and the Presidential Scholarship Initiative at Virginia Tech aim to increase the socio-economic diversity on each campus. These programs provide students with full funding for four years, mentorship, professional development and social benefits, among others. In turn, students become …

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 …

The Ne[X]T Generation Learning Environments: Influences On The Future Design Of Educational Spaces, Bryan Hill Perez

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Over the past 100 years, there have been significant changes in many aspects of our lives, from the way we communicate to the way we work. One aspect that has seen minimal change is the way we learn – In classrooms with rows of desks and chairs facing the front, where a sole instructor disseminates knowledge the class as a whole. As the next generation of students is entering college, it has become apparent that there is a disconnect in the way this generation behaves, interacts, and learns and the typical school infrastructure and pedagogy of today. The design of …

The Effect Of Education On Parental Attitudes And Beliefs Towards Vaccines, Alexandra Walsh, Rachel Quinn

Physician Assistant Capstones, 2016 to 2019

Introduction: The importance, safety, and efficacy of vaccines has been questioned more than ever despite the clear and significant effectiveness of vaccines to reduce the incidence of severe illnesses.¹ Currently, the only required education before administering vaccines is the Vaccine Information Statements (VIS), which is provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) at each vaccination visit. These statements outline benefits and risks of vaccines but are written at an above-average reading level and do not directly address specific vaccine concerns. Many vaccine concerns can be assuaged with proactive education by providers at early well-child visits.

Objective: To determine …

2017 Great Expectations Spring Faculty Conference: Discovering The Life-Long Benefits Of General Education, Academic Affairs

Spring Great Expectation Faculty Conference

The 2017 Great Expectations Spring Faculty Conference feature a keynote speech by Dr. Richard Detweiler.

Rick. Detweiler is the president of the Great Lakes Colleges Association and the founder of the Global Liberal Arts Alliance, a coalition of 29 universities from 16 countries working to strengthen education in the tradition of the liberal arts and sciences.

His formative professional experience was time as a Peace Corps Volunteer on a small Pacific island, which led him to study social and intercultural psychology at Princeton University where he earned his MA and PhD. He began a faculty career at Drew University where …

Intellectual Maintenance And Misguided Educational Reform. A Book Review Of What Philosophy Can Do, Nakia Pope

Democracy & Education

This is a book review of What Philosophy Can Do by Gary Gutting.

Race, Residential Segregation, And The Death Of Democracy: Education And Myth Of Postracialism, Lori Latrice Martin, Kenneth J. Varner

Democracy & Education

Since the 1930s, federal housing policies and individual practices increased the spatial separation of whites and blacks. Practices such as redlining, restrictive covenants, and discrimination in the rental and sale of housing not only led to residential segregation by race but also continue to shape Whiteness and frame narratives about what constitutes Blackness. Despite the judicial and legislative victories of the civil rights movement, including the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas decision, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, residential segregation persists and in …

Cook To Learn: A Food-Focused Curriculum For Grades 3-5, Ryan R. Cherecwich

Graduate Student Independent Studies

In this Integrated Master's project, I argue that a new curriculum is needed to address the following: (a) plant-based foods and from-scratch food preparation practices are strongly connected to positive outcomes for children, (b) diets high in processed foods can lead to negative health outcomes (c) students aged 8-10 are particularly well suited to learn more about food, (d) studying food offers many opportunities for interdisciplinary learning across many subjects (literacy, math, science and social studies) and (d) food-focused learning connects particularly well to common learning objectives for students in grades 3-5, yet (e) there is currently a dearth of …

Just-In-Time Education For Intensive Care Nurses, Rosemary D. Soriano

Nursing Masters

Background: Continuing education is fundamentally necessary to ensure ongoing competency of nurses in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). There are many effective methods of continuing education, but there is a gap in continuing education for ICU nurses for high-risk low-frequency therapies (HRLFT).

Objectives: The purpose of this project was to determine if the implementation of Just-in-Time Education (JITE) for HRLFT in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) improved nurses’ feelings of competence, comfort, and safety when utilizing these interventions.

Methods: JITE checklists for nurses were developed for HRLFT in the PICU. The checklists were reviewed by the staff …

Perceptions Of Arkansas School Counselors Regarding The Barriers Of Implementing The Asca National Model, Keri Ann Rathbun

Theses and Dissertations from 2017

Counselors are an important part of our schools and student development. According to the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) there are three domains of development in which school counselors have received specialized training: academic development, career development, and social/emotional development (ASCA, 2012). These domains, along with ASCA’s four themes (leadership, advocacy, collaboration and systemic change) make up the ASCA National Model framework for school counseling programs (ASCA, 2012). However, many counseling programs in the state of Arkansas do not implement this model as part of their program. This study investigated the lack of implementation of the ASCA model in Arkansas …

Conditional Cash Transfers For Education: A Comparative Analysis Between Funder And Country, Wesley Marcum-Mullins

Sustainability and Social Justice

Educational Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT) are market driven poverty alleviation interventions, which have been growing in popularity throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in the last 25 years. These are multilateral interventions with many different participants such as funders, national governments, municipal governments, school, teachers, students, and parents. This paper addresses the question: How are educational Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs discussed and rationalized by various state and funder participants? This paper compares funders, The World Bank and Inter-Americas Development Bank, and country CCT programs, Jamaica’s Program of Advancement through Health and Education and Brazils Bolsa Familia. The paper concludes …

Soil Science Lesson Plan For The Cal Poly Learn By Doing Lab, Kelsey Ormonde

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

To increase interest in soil science and other related sciences, educational materials need to be tailored to appeal to younger students. The purpose of this project was to create a soil science lesson plan that could be utilized by the Cal Poly Learn By Doing Lab. Information from several articles, textbooks, lesson plans, and websites was reviewed to create a soil science lesson plan for students in 5-8^th grade. The lesson plan focused on the three sub-disciplines of soil science; physical, chemical, and biological. Activities were created to correspond to the three sub-disciplines. Alternate activities were created to allow …

Contextualized Education In Global Schools: Conceptualizing School Systems In A Global World, Loren Guerin

Sustainability and Social Justice

Education has been prioritized by global agencies as a universal right and current trends in the United Nations global benchmarks and development agencies call for education for all and a set of global values to guide educational policy and practice. This paper aims to problematize the current understanding of schooling and educational systems in a globalized world while demonstrating the need to move away from a global curriculum based on homogenized values and towards a contextualized education system. By looking at the evolution of Western Education, the use of education by colonial powers, and an in depth case study of …

Empathy: Do Levels Vary By Years Of Service, Age Or Gender?, Josh Jessen

Student Work

Leadership in education requires empathy. Empathy is the conduit to engaging students and little is known about empathy in adults (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1990; Hoffman, 2000; ZahnWaxler, Radke-Yarrow, Wagner, & Chapman, 1992) and even less is known about empathy in teachers. This study seeks to measure objective quotients of empathy among educators for the purposes of recruiting and maintaining highly empathetic teachers who might realize greater learning gains.

Adolescent Relationship Concerns And Perceived Gains From A Relationship Education Course, Jenny Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was conducted with survey data drawn from a relationship education initiative in the state of Utah. Teenagers participated in the Premarital Interpersonal Choices and Knowledge (PICK) program (also known as How to Avoid Falling for a Jerk or Jerk-ette), a program designed for single individuals. They answered questions before and after the course, and I used their responses to answer two questions: (1) What concerns do middle-adolescents (ages 15-17) have about romantic relationships? (2) What do middle-adolescents gain from participation in PICK?

Data from 605 participants were combined and analyzed for themes. Teenage participants expressed concerns about …

Factors Impacting A Community Based Poverty Project: An Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Communication Through A Case Study Approach, Miranda Kay Wickam

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Parental involvement has been related to higher student achievement. While the professional literature provides exemplars of effective communication strategies between home and school, the impact of factors such as cultural and economic diversity and the efficacy of specific approaches remains an important area of inquiry. The purpose of this study was to investigate the various communication strategies used within a community driven development (CDD) project in an economically depressed zone in a metropolitan city in the Midwest. Focus groups, interviews, and a project report were the data points. An a priori coding system of two present themes, opportunities and barriers, …

Music Therapists' Self-Care: Examining The Effectiveness Of Educational Preparation For Clinical Practice, Maureen C. Hearns

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of undergraduate academic and clinical training programs for music therapy in addressing the subject of personal growth, as it relates to the development of critical self-awareness and self-care strategies. The study further attempted to identify which self-care strategies are being used by practicing music therapy clinicians and how a practice of self-care impacts their work with distressed and/or traumatized individuals. An electronic survey sent to all board-certified music therapists (MT-BCs) (N = 6369) generated a demographic profile of music therapy practitioners who identified their clientele as distressed and/or traumatized. The …

A Quality Improvement Project To Improve Blood Specimen Acceptance Rates In An Emergency Department, Christian Hankins

DNP Projects

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to implement a quality improvement project to improve blood specimen acceptance rates at a specific Emergency Department (ED) using strategies to enhance knowledge, improve motivation, and reinforce skill. Background: Specimen acceptance rates continue to fall outside of the recommended target rate of 98% or higher at a specific ED. In this particular ED, the responsibility for specimen collection has shifted away from phlebotomists and towards nurses, many of whom have received little to no phlebotomy training. Without proper blood collection techniques, specimens are more likely to be rejected, and re-collection of rejected blood …

A Gendered Approach To Security And Violence In Refugee Camps, Priya Sakaria

Honors College Theses

The purpose of this research is to explore the connection between the lack of security and increase of gender based violence in refugee camps. There are several factors that contribute to insecurity in refugee camps including but not limited to overcrowding, inadequate supplies of food and fuel sources, inadequate, ineffective, and under staffing and the physical layouts of camps. Many of these factors are the causes of the others and vice versa as well as have other consequences for refugees. All of these factors contribute to violence against refugees directly and indirectly. Furthermore, my research will illustrate how these factors …

Demography In America: Gifted Education For A Growing Population Of English Language Learners, Lisa P. Wiggin

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

Most states are experiencing growth in their numbers of public-school students with limited English proficiency. Although many of these students possess the cognitive abilities to warrant placement in gifted programs, they are frequently overlooked in the identification process. As the United States economy increasingly relies on highly-educated workers, it becomes imperative to give our brightest students opportunities to develop their true academic potential, despite the fact that their English-language fluency is still developing. Three states already recognize the need to identify English Language Learners for gifted-education programs, and their policies offer examples to other states hoping to address this challenge.

The Effects Of Gentrification: Inhabitants, Education, And Displacement, Marilyn Pineda

Honors College Theses

Locally and internationally, cities that face decades of disinvestment and neglect at one point experience a resurgence and revival in that location. A city’s resurgence and revival is seen in the form of new houses, businesses, and the migration of middle to upper middle class individuals is known as gentrification. Subjectively, gentrification is beneficial to those who are home owners because they can sell their houses for a higher price than what they bought it for; it is beneficial to the landlord who is able to increase the rents of units (Atkinson 2002). In light of all this, while the …

Posttraumatic Growth Development: Core Belief Disruption, Event Centrality, And Time Since Trauma, Christopher A. Cook

Theses and Dissertations

Posttraumatic growth describes positive changes that individuals may experience in the aftermath of traumatic events that have significantly disrupted their core beliefs about themselves and their understanding of the world. Alternate models of posttraumatic growth have challenged the conceptualization of posttraumatic growth as personality change, in part due to lack of research that supports a relationship between the development of posttraumatic growth and the amount of time since the traumatic experience, and factors related to the development of posttraumatic growth. Recent research on the role that event centrality plays in the development of posttraumatic growth is promising (e.g., Johnson & …

Genes, Education, And Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence From The Health And Retirement Study, Nicholas W. Papageorge, Kevin Thom

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Recent advances have led to the discovery of specific genetic variants that predict educational attainment. We study how these variants, summarized as a genetic score variable, are associated with human capital accumulation and labor market outcomes in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). We demonstrate that the same genetic score that predicts education is also associated with higher wages, but only among individuals with a college education. Moreover, the genetic gradient in wages has grown in more recent birth cohorts, consistent with interactions between technological change and labor market ability. We also show that individuals who grew up in economically …

Implementation Of A Standards-Based Grading Model: A Study Of Parent And Teacher Perceptions Of Success, Amber Dee Wheeler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of parents and teachers regarding the success of a standards-based grading initiative in meeting its goals. Furthermore, findings from this study will be used to inform decisions made in future grade level implementations. Standards-based grading meets all criteria for a problem of practice. The literature situates standards-based grading as a high impact strategy that can affect the entire system. This mixed-methods study will be used to determine practical changes for a school implementing standards-based grading. This study found parents positively responded to the change, and parents understood their child’s current …

Elementary Mathematics Teachers’ Beliefs And Practices: Understanding The Influence Of Teaching In A Steam Setting, Melissa Negreiros

Theses and Dissertations

Many elementary mathematics teachers hold beliefs about the teaching and learning of mathematics and enact practices that are not aligned with the recommendations of reform efforts in the field of mathematics education (Stigler & Hiebert, 2009). For standards-based reform to gain any significant success, many teachers will have to alter the deeply held beliefs that they have about mathematics teaching and learning (Ellis & Berry, 2005). Given the role that teachers’ beliefs about the nature of mathematics and mathematics teaching and learning play in their selection and enactment of instructional practices, it is essential to understand the influence that different …

Graduate Interprofessional Education And Collaborative Practice Experiences: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Jaime Sand

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare reform and the complexities of the healthcare system and chronic disease conditions call for collaborative interdisciplinary team-based care. To enhance these collaborative efforts, universities and facilities are promoting the need for students and professionals to learn and work with others from different healthcare disciplines in an interprofessional manner. Four graduates of undergraduate programs in health sciences, nursing, radiologic sciences, and respiratory care sat for multi-series interviews using a phenomenological approach to share their experiences in interprofessional education and collaborative practice. Participant responses were grouped into themes around the development of a professional identity through personal, educational, and professional healthcare …

A Critical Reflection Of The Self: An Autoethnography Of A Mexican American Educational Leader, Adriana Flores-Villarreal

Theses and Dissertations

This autoethnographic study seeks to explain how my "lived experiences" both personal and academic have had a profound effect on the course of my life. Autoethnography has allowed me to utilize "reflexivity, multiple voices, and introspection" to "invoke" readers to enter into my "emergent experience" of doing and writing research. As a first generation, Latina, migrant, high school dropout, I was destined to fail according to research. Through the use of testimonies, I have inscribed the struggles and understanding, creating new knowledge, and affirming my epistemology by writing about what I know best, "familia, barrio, life experiences." Through testimonio pedagogy, …