Digital Commons Network^™

Disconnected, Frustrated And Withdrawn: Institutional Policy Implications For Equity In Student And Faculty Community, Jessica Marie Welsh

Dissertations and Theses

DFW rates at intuitions of higher education for students from underrepresented populations trended higher than majority students. A single explanatory case study provides insight to the factors impacting DFW rates in first-year gateway courses at a four-year, public, comprehensive institution. The study employed the use of focus groups of students, non-tenure-track faculty, and tenure-track faculty. In addition, institutional data was collected and used to triangulate to the data collected from focus groups. The inductive results showed multiple institutional barriers causing DFW rates among first-generation, Pell Grant, and/or students of color. Using Turner and Angulo’s (2018) theoretical framework of high-risk decision-making …

Molly Hill Honors Portfolio, Molly Hill

Honors Capstone Portfolios

Molly Hill's honors portfolio captured in January 2023.

Vanessa Kotek Honors Portfolio, Vanessa Kotek

Honors Capstone Portfolios

Vanessa Kotek's honors portfolio captured in January 2023.

Kristyn Thielbar Honors Portfolio, Kristyn Thielbar

Honors Capstone Portfolios

Kristyn Theilbar's honors portfolio captured in January 2023.

Chapter 5 - Holding Space And Grace: The Implementation Of A Health And Wellness Statement In Graduate Courses, Elodie Jones, Betsy Crawford

Advanced Education Programs Faculty Publications

A student's life is mentally demanding and time-consuming for any learner. U.S. culture values hard work, no excuses mantras, and discipline to achieve a graduate degree or the next promotion, and often it is a badge of honor to be overcommitted, stressed out, and exhausted. As mental and physical health issues arise, the implementation of a health and wellness statement for graduate students was utilized to open the proverbial door to hold space and grace for life's challenges and empower learners in an inclusive setting.

The Landscape Of Advanced Coursework Participation: Understanding Disparities And Intersectionality, Chin-Chih Chen, Chris Parthemos, David Naff, Erica Ross, Virginia Palencia, Beth Fowler, Andrea Herndon, Beverly Fludd-Flanagan

MERC Publications

This population-based study explored students' participation in advanced coursework in elementary schools (gifted/talented programs), middle schools (Algebra I+), and high schools (Advanced Placement) to address enrollment equity. The study identified demographic disparities and the intersectionality of multiple identities to achieve two research aims: 1) to explore how advanced course-taking varies by student demographics, and 2) to understand how disparities in advanced course-taking vary by student demographics and intersectional identities. The findings indicate that disparities in advanced course-taking are related to students’ race, ethnicity, disability status, English learner (EL) status, socioeconomic status, as well as the intersection of these variables. The …

Investigating Students’ Conceptualization Of Linear Programming In Mathematics, A Case Of A Secondary School In Rachuonyo East Sub-County, Kenya, Opiyo Collince Oyaya

Master of Education

Mathematics is a compulsory subject in the Kenyan education system from pre-primary to secondary education. The ministry of education through the introduction of the 8-4-4 system of education in 1985 made Mathematics compulsory owing to its vast application in a wide range of spheres and professions. It is argued that proficiency in mathematics propels both economic and technological advancements. To further enhance delivery in this subject area, the ministry of education initiated SMASSE for science and mathematics teachers to help in simplifying the ‘high order’ concepts such as calculus, loci, and linear programming among others. Linear programming is applicable in …

Exploring The Influence Of One-On-One Peer Support On Academic Performance And Career Pathway Choice For Students With Visual Impairment: A Case Of A Selected Secondary School In Kilimanjaro Region, Gerald John Kimaro

Master of Education

This study explored the influence of one-on-one peer support on the performance and career pathway choice of students with Visual Impairment (VI) in secondary school. The study adopted a qualitative research approach with a case study design. The sampling was purposive and the sample size comprises four teachers (One academic teacher, the head of the special need department, one teacher from STEM and one teacher from the social science department) and ten students (five pairs of one-on-one peer support from Form three class). The study employed an interview guide, focus group discussion guide and document analysis protocol as the instruments …

A Society Impaired: Why Students Must Be Taught Mythology, Elise Hayen

Emerging Writers

This piece investigates why mythology taught in schools is not being retained by most students and therefore causing a major deficit of understanding in society. The author analyzes why mythology is still relevant and how it has impacted our world by shaping our language, our brain, and our perception of the world. Different educational methods are introduced to demonstrate how mythology education can be advanced in all levels of schooling. Lastly, the author shares stories from teachers and students that have successfully integrated impactful mythology into their curriculum and in order to see how this impacted their communities.

What Moves The Needle On Dfw Rates And Student Success In General Chemistry? A Quarter-Century Perspective, Vijay Vyas, Scott A. Reid

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Second-term general chemistry is a key gateway course at our institution for a variety of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) majors. Herein, we examine data on DFW% (i.e., % of D and F grades and withdrawals) in our general chemistry courses over roughly a quarter-century period, focusing on sections taught by the authors. The data are discussed in light of changes in curriculum, pedagogy, and assessments, which included introduction of recitation sections, classroom response systems (clickers), and online homework, restructuring of course content into a modular format, followed by a redesign of the course modules along an anchoring concepts …

College Of Graduate Programs And Honors Studies Newsletter - January 2023, College Of Graduate Programs And Honor Studies, Wright State University

College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies Newsletter

A four page newsletter created by the College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies at Wright State University. This newsletter includes a upcoming events, message from the dean, and more.

Claire Hussey Honors Portfolio, Claire Hussey

Honors Capstone Portfolios

Claire Hussey's honors portfolio captured in January 2023.

An Assessment Plan To Analyze Nudges And Their Effectiveness In A Learning Management System At Educational Institutions, Nishanth J. Rodrigues

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Procrastination is a significant problem in academia with some estimates suggesting that this occurs in as high as 70-90% of college students (Abdi Zarrin & Gracia, 2020) that manifests in numerous harmful ways including postponement of weekly reading assignments, delay in writing term papers, and inadequate preparation and beginning too late when studying for exams. The effects of procrastination vary from the immediate, such as a failed grade on an assignment, to the long-term, including delayed graduation or even failure to graduate, all of which have the “knock-on” effect of harming the students’ self-esteem and future success following their studies. …

An Evaluative Study To Understand The Mission Motivation Of The Theology Students Of Spicer Adventist University With Missiological Implications And Applications, Anish Puthusseril Joseph

Dissertations DIS

This dissertation critically examines the understudied domain of mission motivation among theology students at Spicer Adventist University (SAU) to provide valuable insights for developing an appropriate missiological response. Chapter I provides a comprehensive overview of the research proposal. Then the study builds upon a biblical and theoretical foundation established in Chapters II and III. Official statistics reveal a significant need for focused missiological attention in India, where the Adventist community constitutes a ratio of 1:811 (1.26 billion Indian population vs. 1.55 million Adventists in India). However, there has been a lack of evaluation concerning the mission motivation of theology students …

Implementing Culturally Relevant Pedagogies For Black Students Through Targeted Professional Learning Communities, Willie Reece

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This action research emphasizes the need to implement curricula to engage marginalized students as well as promote literacy and high levels of academic achievement. Marginalized students include minority students who perform far below their White peers on state assessments. In Chapter I, the action research problem of practice is explored. The major issues at Genesis Elementary School are revealed, and they are targeted through culturally relevant pedagogies. Chapter II outlines relevant literature related to the research topic, and the researchers provide frameworks to guide the study. Chapter III focuses on the preparation and implementation of the action plan for the …

Closing The Gap: Culturally Competent Consultations In Schools, Kimmely Mechelle Williams

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Poor academic achievement among minority students has historically been identified as one of the most pressing challenges of public education (Dorvil, 2011). However, even before the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) adoption, there has been a focus on what should be done to improve the academic achievement of the nation’s children. With each of its subsequent incarnations and legislative renaming, policymakers, educators, and researchers alike have sought to ensure that all children are afforded the opportunity to receive a high-quality education delivered by competent educators enabling them to reach predetermined but vaguely defined levels of proficiency. Despite best efforts, …

Impact On Retention For Students Participating In Supplemental Instruction At A Community College, Jacqueline Ann Larry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractTitle III Strengthening Institutions Program is a supplemental grant that was designed to help eligible higher education institutions improve and strengthen academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability of eligible institutions. A community college in the Midsouth region was the focus of this quantitative study. Graduation and retention rates have steadily declined, and there are significant achievement gaps in terms of ethnicity and race, program completion, and failure rates in high-enrolled courses among first-year students. Using the retention model, this study involved examining the impact on retention for students participating in supplemental instruction upon entering college during their freshman year. …

Academic Dishonesty: The Ghost Of Papers Past, Wayne T. Whitmore

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This research project examined student’s acts of academic dishonesty and their beliefs regarding whether acts of academic dishonesty were acceptable through survey research conducted online at a two-year college and a four-year university in the Minnesota State (MinnState) system in southern Minnesota. This research aimed to build on existing research related to academic dishonesty in higher education. The sample included 195 students enrolled at a two-year comprehensive college and a four-year state university. Outcomes indicated a majority of students engaged in acts of academic dishonesty. Second, outcomes indicated men are more likely to engage in academic dishonesty than women. Third, …

Test Optional Admissions: Pre And Post Enrollment, Mackenzie M. Turner

Honors Theses

This phenomenological qualitative study explores students’ experiences navigating test-optional admissions when applying to post-secondary education. This thesis examines how test-optional admissions influence students' admissions decisions. The recent policy changes in college admissions practices raise questions about student experiences when making decisions when regarding test-optional admissions. First, this study explores the factors that go into a student’s decision on whether to submit test scores in their college application. Second, this thesis investigates college admission administrators’ perspectives on test-optional policies at their respective universities. Third, this study analyzes where the views of college admissions and student applicants are dissimilar. One important insight …

Examining Social Media Use, Connectedness, And Depression In Graduate Students, Marisa Gretz

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between social media use, sense of connectedness, and depression among graduate students. Graduate students are at risk of depression and often disconnect from their social supports due to their program's demands. Literature on the impact of social media on depression is discrepant. The relationship between a sense of connection, the use of social media, and depression in a graduate student population is a novel area of research. Graduate students at The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) and other universities, including healthcare and non-healthcare-related disciplines, were included. Participants were recruited via social media or email. …

Critical Literacy: Meeting Twenty-First Century Literacy Demands For Adolescent Learners, Molly Blew

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Adolescents’ critical text interpretation skills are important to college, career, and citizenship demands. At present, the literature reflects concerns with adolescents’ ability to interpret academic and internet-based texts critically. The pedagogical framework of critical literacy is presented as an instructional approach that may support the development of adolescents’ critical text interpretation skills. The objective of this study was to understand the perceptions of secondary teachers concerning student proficiency in critical text interpretation, teachers’ current level of implementation of instructional practices consistent with the critical literacy framework, and perceived barriers to implementation. Three hundred thirty four (334) high school teachers were …

Participation In A Positive Education Curriculum And Symptoms Of Anxiety In Students, Aleida Silva-Garcia

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Anxiety is among the most common mental health problems in children and adolescents in the United States (Bhatia & Goyal, 2018). Children and adolescents spend most of their day in the educational setting (Slemp et al., 2017). Positive education curricula may help students increase their well-being while increasing academic performance. This research aimed to determine the effectiveness of a positive education curriculum in lowering anxiety levels in high school students. In addition, this study investigated the relationship among anxiety, happiness, optimism, perseverance, and academic outcomes. Through an independent samples t-test, archival data were utilized to determine the relationship between participation …

Perception Of The Need For And Implementation Of Mindfulness Programming In The Education Setting, Lindsay Kurtz

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study examined the perceptions of school personnel regarding implementing mindfulness within the educational setting. This study explored whether school personnel perceived a mindfulness program as having a positive impact on students’ well-being and staff well-being. This study also examined school personnel’s perception of time, resources, and training to implement a mindfulness program within the education setting. One hundred five school personnel who currently work in school settings in Delaware and Pennsylvania participated in this study by completing an online survey pertaining to this topic. Results indicated that the majority of school personnel perceived mindfulness as having a positive impact …

Implementation Of Patient-Centered Care By Athletic Training Students During Clinical Experiences: A Report From The Association Of Athletic Training Education Research Network, Julie M. Cavallario, Bonnie L. Van Lunen, Stacy E. Walker, R. Curtis Bay, Cailee E. Welch-Bacon

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Patient-centered care (PCC) is a core competency that should be required by all healthcare education programs, but little is known about its implementation in athletic training clinical experiences. Therefore, we examined characteristics of patient encounters documented by athletic training students implementing PCC behaviors. A multisite panel design was used to recruit 363 students from twelve professional athletic training programs (five undergraduate, seven graduate). Over 1.5 years, clinical experience patient encounter data were logged in E*Value Case Logs, including student role during the encounter, length of encounter, and clinical site. Generalized estimating equations models characterized the likelihood students included PCC behaviors …

Closing The Gap Between College Students: An Intergroup Dialogue Program To Reach Understanding And Reduction Of Disparities, Lilly Zhou

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The goals of the intergroup dialogue program are exploration and collective action. The goal of exploration is to spread awareness by presenting the situation. Several students are not aware that disparities between students exist, so this dialogue provided awareness of the issue. With increased understanding of each other, collective action can be taken. Actions by a small number of students are still steps taken to reduce the gap between the financially supported and not financially supported students. Action can look like spreading awareness of the issue, advocating for policy changes, and more.

The structure of the intergroup dialogue program required …

Creating A Primary Care Track In Prelicensure Nursing Education, Janice E. Hawkins, Lynn L. Wiles, Jamela Martin, Beth Tremblay, Karen Higgins, Ingrid Mahoney

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: RNs practicing in primary care (PC) increase access to health care and contribute to better patient outcomes and cost savings, yet undergraduate nursing education traditionally focuses on disease-oriented care. This article describes a curricular track for infusing PC prelicensure programs.

METHOD: PC content is threaded across four semesters with targeted assignments and clinical experiences. Providing clinical immersion experiences with practicing RNs as preceptors in community and PC settings is a key component of this initiative.

RESULTS: Student feedback has been favorable. Students stated they gained insight to the role of RNs in PC through class assignments and clinical rotations. …

Exploring Academic Capital Formation Of Hmong American Undergraduate College Students, Lou Vang

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to investigate whether academic capital is associated with student gender, student generation status, and parental education level of Hmong American undergraduate college students. The study also examined the educational experience of Hmong American undergraduate college students to understand the barriers they faced in obtaining academic capital and how they overcame them. The study's first phase collected and analyzed survey responses from 150 Hmong American undergraduate college students. The study's second phase interviewed six students who participated in the survey from the first phase. The first phase yielded quantitative results that suggested …

Why Do Students Attend Stem Clubs, What Do They Get Out Of It, And Where Are They Heading?, Margaret R. Blanchard, Kristie S. Gutierrez, Kylie J. Swanson, Karen M. Collier

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This research investigated what motivated and sustained the involvement of 376 students in culturally relevant, afterschool STEM clubs at four rural, under-resourced schools. A longitudinal, convergent parallel mixed methods research design was used to investigate participants’ participation in and perceptions of the clubs, their motivations to attend, and their future goals, over three years. Situated Expectancy-Value Theory (SEVT) served as a guiding theoretical and analytical framework. Overall, students who attended the clubs were African American (55%), female (56%), and 6th graders (42%), attended approximately half of the clubs (43%), and agreed with quality measures on the STEM Club Survey (M …

Deaf And Hard Of Hearing College Students’ Experiences With Alcohol And Related Consequences, Christine Lee Gannon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Alcohol misuse on college campuses has been shown to be the cause of physical, socio-emotional, and academic harm. Alcohol is also an issue at Gallaudet University, the only liberal arts university for the deaf, but there is a gap in the literature describing the phenomenon in the environment and how to address it. This qualitative case study explored the perceptions and experiences of alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences for deaf and hard of hearing college students through interviews with 50 students and staff at Gallaudet University. Alcohol misuse and related harms were explored through the framework of the social ecological …

Religiosity, Daily Rosary, And Well-Being Of Catholics In College During The Pandemic, Michael Raul Rios

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Before and since the Coronavirus pandemic, college students suffered from increasing rates of mental health conditions affecting their well-being. Researchers have requested more studies on prayer as a strategy to address well-being issues. The purpose of this anonymous online survey study (N = 59) was to discover if there were any associations between religiosity and well-being, daily Rosary frequency and well-being, and if daily Rosary frequency mediated an association between religiosity and well-being of Catholic students in college in the United States during the pandemic in 2021. Participants were recruited via social media, listservs, email, one nationwide organization, the Walden …