Digital Commons Network^™

Secondary Data Analysis Project, Jonathan M. Gallimore

SF 420 PR - Gallimore - Fall 2018

This activity is designed to give students an opportunity to apply what they have learned in statistics to a real dataset.

This activity will help students apply what they have learned in statistics to real world data and answer their own research questions. Students will also practice reporting their results in a paper using APA format.

Quantitative Jeopardy Feud, Jonathan M. Gallimore

MSF 600 PR - Gallimore - Fall 2018

This activity - Quantitative Jeopardy Feud - is a method for using a game as a final exam.

2018 Fall Faculty Conference: Our Place In A Global Society, Academic Affairs

Fall Faculty Conference

The 2018 Fall Faculty Conference features teaching showcases by Gwendolyn DeRosa (ESL), Erin Johnson (ESL), Jonathan Jonson (Art), Amanda Kline (Art), Chaz O'Neil (Art), Diane Ross (Education), Suzanne Schier-Happell (Religion & Philosophy), Kevin Svitana (Biology and Earth Science), and John Tansey (Chemistry).

Breakout sessions were led by Ryan Brechbill (Center for Career and Professional Development), Kristy Drobney (Academic Support Center) with Tahsha Harmon (Information and Technology Services) and Kera Manley (Disability Services) and Sarah Whybrew (Courtright Memorial Library), and Joan Monahan Watson (Director of Education, Digication).

Racing On Two Different Tracks: Using Substantive Due Process To Challenge Tracking In Schools, Katarina Wong

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

Tracking is a widespread educational practice where secondary schools divide students into different classes or “tracks” based on their previous achievements and perceived abilities. Tracking produces different levels of classes, from low ability to high ability, based on the theory that students learn better when grouped with others at their own level. However, tracking often segregates students of color and low socioeconomic status into low-tracked classes and these students do not receive the same educational opportunities as white and/or wealthier students. Students and parents have historically challenged tracking structures in their schools using an Equal Protection Clause framework. However, this …

Action To Awareness: Surfacing Dysconscious Racism Through Focused Professional Development, Dorry Altman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing critical race theory (Ladson-Billings and Tate, 1995) and King’s (1991) theory of dysconscious racism, this dissertation aims to explore the beliefs and actions of teachers operating within an inherently racist society. Teachers struggle with many disadvantages from inadequate funding to lacking support structures. Yet these teachers continue to work hard to support their students. One external disadvantage these teachers may face and not even be aware of is dysconscious racism. Through a qualitative pilot study of journals and discussions of two middle school English Language Arts teachers, this research intends to explore how intentional classroom changes to encourage and …

At The Intersection Of Critical Thinking And Economics Education: Exploring Whether Learning Economics Aids In The Development Of Critical Thinking In Undergraduate Students, Jack Reynolds

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Teaching students to think critically is the fundamental aim and overriding ideal of education. It has become increasingly clear that today’s high-tech, knowledge-based economy demands excellent critical thinking skills. The challenge as educators is to determine whether there are disciplines, subdisciplines, or courses within disciplines or subdisciplines that are better at aiding student development of critical thinking skills. Using human capital theory as the theoretical framework, this study seeks to address whether students will have statistically significantly higher critical thinking test scores after taking a Principles of Macroeconomics or Principles of Microeconomics course. Results show after analysis of the test …

2018 Learning How To Think Like An Engineer: A Design-Based Research Study Of Kid Spark Education’S Curriculum In Kindergarten, Tessa Tinkler, Megan Kelly, Ida Rose Florez

Youth, Education, and Literacy

This report, prepared by the Nonprofit Institute's Caster Center, documents the findings from a design-based research study of Kid Spark Education's early childhood engineering curriculum.

Creating And Sustaining Vision, Mission, And Culture In A Time Of Significant Growth And Complexity, Teri Lynn Schrag

Student Work

This exploratory mixed methods study evaluates the process of a Christian school’s expansion and development within the complexity of the school’s culture. The study describes the transition of a non-public school from a K-8 school to a complete K12 program at Cornerstone Christian School, Bellevue, Nebraska, resulting in a description of the decision-making steps needed for the transition and analyzing the outcomes. The focal point of the study was the importance of maintaining a culture of distinction through this time of significant change while transitioning from an elementary and middle school program to a complete high school program. The process …

Children's Physical Fitness And Academic Performance: A Challenge For Leaders In Title I Schools In The Rio Grande Valley, Maricela Valdez

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between physical fitness, body mass index and academic performance in Hispanic children enrolled in grade 5 from a district in the Rio Grande Valley. A total of 547 participants were selected from 11 elementary schools from a school district in the Rio Grande Valley. The dependent variable, academic performance, was measured by children’s gain score on the STAAR Progress Measure for Reading and Math assessments. The independent variables of physical fitness were measured by scores on cardiovascular fitness and body mass index from the FITNESSGRAM assessment.

The literature review …

Linguistics In Secondary Education: Teachers' Perceptions Of Linguistics In The Classroom, Ayla Aizza Galvan

Theses and Dissertations

Theoretical linguistics is an area of English study focusing on the abstract components of language: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. By 11th and 12th grade, students in the United States have been tested on linguistic concepts, as per state examination standards. English Language Arts teachers can introduce theoretical linguistic investigation and terms to their students, but this is not happening. The paper reviews why theoretical linguistic analysis is not thoroughly implemented in classrooms, successful classroom linguistic investigation in other countries and some U.S., and how linguistic investigation can be part of classroom curriculum. The research incorporates survey data from …

Implementing The Use Of Personal Activity Data In An Introductory Statistics Course, Lacy Christensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Integrating real data into a classroom is one of the recommendations in the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) college report which lays out guidelines for an introductory statistics course (Committee, GAISE College Report ASA Revision, 2016). In order to assess the effect of using real data in a classroom, the students received physical activity trackers to wear during an undergraduate introductory statistics course taught in the summer. This tracker, a Fitbit, enabled students to monitor and record their steps, calories, and active time throughout the class. Collecting personal activity data (PAD) creates a large database which …

Teaching Landscape Construction Using Augmented Reality, Arshdeep Singh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis describes the design, development, and evaluation of an interactive Microsoft HoloLens application that projects landscape models in Augmented Reality. The application was developed using the Unity framework and 3D models created in Sketchup. Using the application, students can not only visualize the models in real space but can also interact with the models using gestures. The students can interact with the models using gaze and air-tap gestures.

Application testing was conducted with 21 students from the Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning department at Utah State University. To evaluate the application, students completed a usability survey after using the …

An Experimental Comparison Of Student Motivation Between Two Computational Thinking-Based Stem Activities: Vex-Based Automation And Robotics And A Quadcopter Activity, Cory J. Ortiz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to compare student motivation between two junior high level computational thinking based STEM curricular activities. These two activities were a newly developed quadcopter based curriculum and a VEX based curricular activity developed for Project Lead the Way’s Gateway to Technology – Automation and Robotics course. Student motivation was assessed using an assessment called My Class Activities which broke motivation into four constructs: interest, challenge, choice, and enjoyment.

This study assessed students in three schools in a northern Utah school district. Students were assessed after receiving each curriculum. Assessment responses were then coded and analyzed. …

Underrepresentation Of Hispanic Bilingual Students In Gifted And Talented Programs: The Role Of Teacher Expectations, Melissa I. Leon Leal

Theses and Dissertations

There is currently an underrepresentation of Hispanic and bilingual students in Gifted and Talented (GT) programs. The present study examines the role of teachers’ expectations and preconceptions of what constitutes a gifted student as possible contributing factors to the underrepresentation of Hispanic and bilingual students in GT programs. Participants will include approximately 100 pre-service teachers and currently practicing teachers in the community. Measures will include a demographic survey, vignettes for identifying giftedness which describe bilingual and monolingual potential gifted students across three ethnic groups, and a survey about student qualities that includes both quantitative and qualitative items. Results and implications …

A Study Of The Protective Factors That Foster Resilience In Teachers, Zundra Gates

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the protective factors of teachers in various fields: discipline, tested and non-tested subject areas, and teacher certification route. The study involved 161 kindergarten to twelfth grade Mississippi teachers who were full-time during the 2016-2017 school year. The 36-item Resiliency Questionnaire was used to measure the presence of six protective factors. The six protective factors that were examined on the questionnaire are: purpose and expectation (PE), nurture and support (NS), positive connections (PC), meaningful participation (MP), life guiding skills (LGS), and clear and consistent boundaries (CCB). A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) test …

The Relationship Between Toddlers' And Their Primary Caregivers' Perspectives On Gender, Marc Strawderman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative case study was to discover the relationship between the views of gender between toddlers and their primary caregivers and between those toddlers and their teachers at an early childhood education center, or daycare center, in south-central Pennsylvania. The Child-Rearing Sex-Role Attitude Scale (CRSRAS) and Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale (SRES) assessed and evaluated how the adults perceive gender. The Sex-Role Learning Index (SERLI) had the toddlers gender-type toys. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the adults’ scores on the CRSRAS and SRES, and explanation building was used after that to link the adults’ perceptions to the toddlers’ …

Revealing Luz: Illuminating Our Identities Through Duoethnography, Carrie Diaz Eaton, Luz Marizza Bailey

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Hispanic Americans make up 15% of the current US workforce, but they only account for 7% of the STEM Education workforce [8]. One effective way to reach this population, particularly Latinas, is by providing stories and ethnographic biographies of successful Latinas they can relate to. It is important to note that Latinas have been earning PhDs in STEM disciplines outside of the US much longer than US-born Latinas have been earning them inside. Thus we offer the story of a mathematics educator, from Peru, Dr. Luz Antonia Mendizábal Gálvez de Rodriguez, a girl who was given a chance to be …

The Impact Of Language Acquisition And Language Learning On Learning Process: A Meta-Synthesis, Ashley Allman

Special Education Masters Program Theses

This meta-synthesis explores the correlation between language acquisition and learning. Children who are bilingual have advantages and disadvantages to how they learn. When research first started on this idea, common opinion was that it was a disadvantage to be bilingual. However, as research has progressed more advantages than disadvantages of being bilingual have been found. Furthermore, new ways children can learn language have appeared. Options can include but are not limited to parents and guardians, an immersion program, and/or a dual/multi-language program. An important factor of language acquisition is for children to be fluent in one language before they learn …

Re-Forming Educational Reform: An Oral History Of Three Louisiana Teachers, Ashley L. Seatter

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of educational reforms from 1983- 2014 through conducting oral histories with three Louisiana teachers. My research, as a postmodern and cultural feminist, was to interview and create a dialogue with three teachers; to find the intersection between school, reform and the meaning these give to their teaching life. I chose to interview teachers who are currently or close to retirement, who taught in a Louisiana accredited school system.

My focus was to investigate the lives of teachers, including their thoughts on educational reform changes during their tenure of teaching. Much …

Indicators And Precipitators Of Special Educator Satisfaction: The Role Of Certification And Advanced Coursework, Jessica Spencer

Dissertations

Special education teachers are leaving the education field at a higher rate than other education professionals. The annual attrition rate for special education teachers is estimated to be between 8-10% of special educators across the United States. These attrition rates are concerning, as they contribute to the shortage of quality special educators. Considering that an estimated 50% of special educators leave their positions within their first five years, researchers have conducted studies examining criteria centered on teacher retention and attrition. This study examined the findings of such studies, and explored the role of how teachers' certifications and obtaining advanced degrees …

Breaking Down Traditional Classroom Walls And Studying Spacesuits Abroad, Ryan L. Kobrick, Jessica Mckee Ph.D., Sue A. Macchiarella, Angelica Gould

Publications

The spacesuit curriculum under development by the Spacesuit Utilization of Innovative Technology Laboratory (S.U.I.T. Lab) in the Spaceflight Operations program of the Applied Aviation Sciences Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has the unique challenge of educating non-engineering students about extremely technical space systems, highlighted by spacesuits. CSO 399: “Spacesuits and Human Spaceflight Operations” course, taught in Greece each summer, introduces students to human spaceflight topics. This unique offering takes advantage of the clear water visibility in the Aegean Sea with practical underwater demonstrations of space operations. Students live in confined quarters on a sailboat for two weeks to simulate operations …

The Pedagogical Impacts Of The Common Core State Standards On Elementary Mathematics Teachers Of The Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing, Nathan E. Harrison

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This study explored the intersection of the Common Core State Standards and the field of Deaf Education, specifically the impact of the Common Core on the pedagogy of elementary mathematics teachers of the deaf. Pedagogy was defined as the union of the philosophy and methodology of teaching a teacher uses.

This study made use of an explanatory sequential mixed methods research design, which included a phase of quantitative data collection through a survey of elementary mathematics teachers in Deaf Schools in Common Core states and a phase of qualitative data collection through interviews with a sub-sample of participants from the …

Teaching And Learning Competencies Valued By Engineering Educators: A Pilot Study, Cormac H. Macmahon, Brian Bowe, Orla Mcconnell, Fiona Cranley

Articles

At the onset of this paper, it is important to provide context by highlighting two backdrop narratives, which have prompted and guided this research project:-(i) Since 2015, The National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning in Ireland has undergone an extensive consultation process on professional development, resulting in a guiding document entitled the National Professional Development Framework (NPDF) for Staff Who Teach in Higher Education [1].(ii) The Technological University Alliance for Dublin has placed Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (ITB) and Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) on a merger trajectory towards technological university designation …

An Examination Of Teacher Perceptions Of Credit Recovery In Three South Georgia School Districts, Brooks Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

The present study was an exploration of the credit recovery program in three school districts in Georgia. The researcher explored the implementation of the credit recovery program used as a tool for improving graduation rates and college and career readiness of students in three purposefully selected school districts in Georgia. Three research questions were used focusing on the implementation process, the reason why the credit recovery program was implemented, and the outcome of the credit recovery program after implementation. The methodology was a qualitative comparative research design, which included data from three school districts in Georgia. Data were collected via …

Reflections On Inquiry-Based Learning In A First-Year Algebra Classroom: Implications For Practitioners, Gregory P. Sand

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

This self-study examines the learning by the teacher and students in a first-year Algebra class in a medium sized Midwestern city. The author, a secondary mathematics teacher, overviews two problems of practice and outlines methodology used to study these problems within the standard curriculum of first-year Algebra taught using inquiry-based methodology. Three units of study, Inequalities, Exponents, and Parabolas are analyzed to identify the learning of students and the mathematical and pedagogical learning of the teacher. Emergent mathematical and pedagogical themes from the analysis chapters are discussed with implications for practice.

Advisor: Stephen A. Swidler

Teacher Perceptions Of Mandated Collaboration Through Professional Learning Communities, Carmen Cranford Horton

Theses and Dissertations

Georgia Rule 505-2-.36, implemented in July of 2017, revised teacher recertification policy to include administrative evaluations of professional growth resulting from teachers’ engagement in professional learning communities (PLCs). The rule represented the convergence of two possibly conflicting ideals: mandated change and PLCs. Districts were permitted autonomy over how to implement and develop rubrics for the evaluation of professional growth resulting from PLCs. The purpose of this bounded case study was to capture the perceptions of teachers concerning the structure, purpose and dynamics of required PLC meetings during the initial year of implementation. The goal was to give voice to the …

Universal Design For Learning: Is Training Making A Difference In Teacher Pedagogy, Michelle D. Sizemore

Theses and Dissertations

David H. Rose and his colleagues at the Center for Applied Specialized Technology (CAST), a non-profit organization specializing in educational research and development, worked for over one quarter of a century to improve learning opportunities for all individuals (Rose, 2012). In the late 1990s this work led to a set of principles known as Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a research-based instructional framework grounded in neuroscience and educational research that allowed teachers to proactively identify barriers that might exist between students and learning and account for those barriers during lesson development and implementation (CAST, 2015). One school district in southwest …

5-Httlpr, Drd4 Gene, College Students’ Psychological Characters And Academic Performance, Weiyi Guo

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study, “Genetic basis of Academic Performance,” is to evaluate associations between the 5-HTTLPR, the DRD4 gene, psychological characteristics including metacognition and depression, and academic performance as reflected in SAT scores. We discovered that participants with 2-repeat or 7-repeat alleles of the DRD4 gene have significantly lower scores on the Metacognition tests (P = 0.022) and two subclades of metacognition, “Cognitive Self-Consciousness” (P = 0.021) and “Need to Control Thoughts” (P = 0.040), as compared to those without 2-repeat or 7-repeat alleles. 7-repeat allele DRD4 gene carriers have significantly higher scores for alcohol use disorders than those …

Experience Constructing The Artifact Genome Project (Agp): Managing The Domain's Knowledge One Artifact At A Time, Cinthya Grajeda, Laura Sanchez, Ibrahim Baggili, Devon R. Clark, Frank Breitinger

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

While various tools have been created to assist the digital forensics community with acquiring, processing, and organizing evidence and indicating the existence of artifacts, very few attempts have been made to establish a centralized system for archiving artifacts. The Artifact Genome Project (AGP) has aimed to create the largest vetted and freely available digital forensics repository for Curated Forensic Artifacts (CuFAs). This paper details the experience of building, implementing, and maintaining such a system by sharing design decisions, lessons learned, and future work. We also discuss the impact of AGP in both the professional and academic realms of digital forensics. …

A Framework And Exploration Of A Cybersecurity Education Escape Room, Justin Charles Snyder

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a review of educational-escape-room literature followed by a design-oriented framework (the Snyder Escape Room Framework or SERF) and demonstrates the potential efficacy of escape-rooms in cybersecurity education. Several authors have proposed frameworks and guidelines for game and educational design regarding escape rooms. This work coalesces some of those ideas into a more substantial and comprehensive framework (SERF) that designers can use when developing educational escape rooms. The Snyder Escape Room Framework provides heuristics for goals and objectives, players, activities, context, trajectory design, and evaluation. Additionally, this work describes and analyzes the novel prototyped BYU GCC escape room …