Digital Commons Network^™

Madison Wittenburg Honors Portfolio, Madison Mackenzie Wittenburg

Honors Capstone Portfolios

Madison Wittenburg's honors portfolio captured in May 2019.

Parental Availability As A Predictor Of Academic Success Among Students Of A Private Residential School, Lesley Kubisiak Logan

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

A private residential school in the northeast United States provides a cost-free coeducation to qualifying pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade students. One of the most important application factors is need, which is measured by a scale for parental availability. For a parent to be considered unavailable, any or all of the following areas could be present: limited physical capacity to effectively parent the child, limited mental capacity to effectively parent the child, active abuse of drugs or alcohol or ongoing substance abuse history, inadequate supervision, chronic neglect, incarceration, death, no contact or sporadic contact (e.g., not on a regular basis or …

Student Participation In School Sponsored Extra-Curricular Activities At The Elementary School Level And The Impact Of Student Engagement, Kirsten D. Myers

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Getting students involved in their day to day educational processes is often challenging and, in some schools, systems appear almost unrealistic. Students in school do not often see the value of or make the connection with the importance of education. Students see movie stars such as Jennifer Lawrence drop out of school at fourteen, singers, rappers and others in the entertainment industry who are successful and make millions without an education. The potential of a YouTube posting, turning someone into a star looms in their imaginations and they think it could happen to them. Students today are even more enticed …

Threshold Yearbook, 2019, Lesley University

Threshold Program - Yearbooks

Yearbook published by the Threshold Program Class of 2019. Original volume available for browsing in the Lesley University Archives.

Walking Out: Schools, Students, And Civil Disobedience, Michelle S. Simon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article begins in Part I by reviewing the history and impact of youth civil disobedience and the special issues school walkouts raise. Part II then discusses the legal doctrines that guide school administrators and courts as they aim to strike a suitable balance between free expression and the day-to day operations of a school. Part III analyzes the different approaches school districts have taken, and offers specific advice to school districts dealing with future walkouts. Part IV cautions that the only constitutionally permitted response by school districts is to subject students to the same consequences they would face for …

Language Immersion Teachers' Perspectives Of Foreign Language Learning For Students With Disabilities, Chunling Zhang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Foreign language learning for students with disabilities can be different from that of their nondisabled peers because of their special needs. Understanding the perspectives of language immersion teachers regarding their challenges and the support needed while working with students with disabilities in language immersion programs is important because such programs are growing rapidly nationwide. In addition, there is little research on the perspectives of these teachers in elementary school settings. The purpose of this qualitative study was to develop a deeper understanding of foreign language learning needs of students with disabilities from language immersion teachers' perspectives. Ajzen's theory of planned …

Stress Of College Students And Memory With The Implementation Of Brief Mindfulness, Rebecca Lopez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

College students are faced with stressors which can negatively impact memory function, thereby, negatively affecting academic performance. This study used a field experiment design to investigate the effects of brief mindfulness on levels of distress and memory functioning between first-year community college students engaging in a brief mindfulness intervention (n = 29) and a control group (n = 28) by using ANCOVA, MANOVA, correlations, and descriptive statistics. Research questions examined whether a brief mindfulness intervention lowered levels of distress in a treatment group. Second, the study examined whether the intervention of brief mindfulness in a treatment group improved memory function. …

Achieving Economic Sustainability For Niche Social Profession Courses In The Australian Higher Education Sector: Final Report, Trudi Cooper, Miriam Rose Brooker

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The purpose of this fellowship was to develop a nationwide collaborative strategy to improve the economic sustainability and geographic availability of niche social profession courses. The niche courses in social professions examined in this program meet specialist social needs in disability services, social gerontology, and youth work. Specialist courses in social professions have limited availability across the Australian university sector and availability has declined over the last decade. This is despite a continuing need for specialist graduates, as attested by the relevant professional bodies, and by policy implementation reviews in the areas where graduates from these courses might provide stronger …

The Steering Towards Readiness Framework : The Lived Experience Of Clinical Facilitators In Identifying, Assessing And Managing Students At Risk Of Not Being Ready To Practice As Beginning Practitioners Within Western Australian Health Settings, Rosealie Southwell

Theses

Clinical facilitators (CFs) are a fundamental resource for student registered nurses (RNs) as they facilitate the consolidation of theory and practice in preparation for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). Health service providers (HSPs) and higher education providers (HEPs) require CFs to identify, assess and manage (I, A & M) the risks of final placement nursing students and, in doing so, protect risk to patient safety. This research aimed to explore the lived experience of CFs in Western Australia in identifying, assessing and managing risk of a student progressing to be a RN. The study used …

School Counselors' Lived Experiences Supporting Students With Mental Health Concerns, Linda F. Peterson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mental health in schools is a growing concern for many school counselors, educators and communities. School counselors are in key roles in the school setting to support students with mental health concerns. This research was done to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences, beliefs, and attitudes of school counselors supporting students with mental health diagnoses. This hermeneutic phenomenology research used n=4 participants school counselors and each has worked in their field for over 6 years. Additionally, each participant worked in the same school building for a minimum of 3 years or more. Semi structured interviews were used to collect …

Examining Perceptions Of Service Quality Of Student Services And Satisfaction Among International Students At Universities In Indiana And Michigan, Mordekai Ochieng Ongo

Dissertations

Problem

Universities in the United States face financial constraints, intense competition for students, declining student enrollment, and constant student attrition. However, an increasing number of international students seek higher education abroad, especially in the U.S. Providing quality services to these international students might help institutions attract and retain more of them. Unfortunately, little empirical research has been done on international students’ perceptions of service quality, especially of non-academic services. This study fills that gap by using a modified SERVPERF questionnaire to investigate international students perceived service quality and satisfaction at eight universities in Indiana and Michigan.

Method

The purpose of …

The Interplay Of Racial Identity Attitude And Religious Orientation On The Social Integration Experiences Of Black African College Students And African American College Students Attending Predominantly White Institutions In The United States, Christina Miattamengie Johnson

Dissertations

Problem

Not much attention has been devoted to the academic experiences of Black African college students, the latter being typically categorized with those of African Americans (Kim, 2014). While research has effectively documented the social challenges that African American college students experience at (Predominantly White Institutions (PWI). much less research has been conducted on the social experiences of subcategories within the Black population, specifically, Black Africans. Though researchers have speculated on the potential differences between the social integration experiences of Black Africans and African American college students as these relate to religious orientation and racial identity attitude, no empirical studies …

Working Memory And Attention As Predictors Of Processing Speed In Elementary School Students: A Developmental Study, Monih Alshehri

Dissertations

Problem

Many studies suggest that Processing Speed (PS), Attention, and Working Memory (WM) are major cognitive functions that collaborate to achieve a coherent cognitive system. The aim of the current study was to improve the conception of how these cognitive functions interrelate. The study addressed two main questions: the first, whether PS can be predicted by WM (visual, verbal, and the central executive) and attention of elementary students in first and fifth grade; the second, whether there are gender differences in the rate of change in WM and PS from first to fifth grade.

Method

The participants were taken from …

The Impact Of Psychostimulants On The Executive Capacities Of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Theresa C. Mcmahon

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The current study compared executive-skill and executive-function deficits resulting from teacher ratings of two clinical groups of students diagnosed with ADHD (ADHD-Med, ADHD-NoMed) with ratings of demographically- matched control groups. In addition, teacher ratings of the ADHD-Med group and the ADHD-NoMed group were compared. The data for both clinical groups and their respective matched control groups were part of the data collected during the standardization of the McCloskey Executive Function Scale – Teacher Report (MEFS-TR). Analyses examined teacher responses to all of the items of the seven Self-Regulation, the Self-Realization, and the Self-Determination Clusters of the MEFS. Congruent with the …

The Impact Program: Increasing Employability Skills Of High School Students Through Adventure Based Learning, Titina Finch Brown

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

High school students face unique challenges following graduation such as the rising costs of post-secondary education, demands from employers for a highly skilled workforce, and the desire of employers to hire workers who are not only technologically proficient, but also effective communicators and team players. Soft skills have become a commodity to businesses. High schools find themselves more and more responsible for adequately preparing students for a rapidly changing economy. Engaging instruction in social motional learning (SEL) for secondary students is essential in preparing them for this transition. Research shows that Adventure Based Learning (ABL) could be the vehicle for …

The Effects Of A Guided Imagery Intervention On The Working Memory Of Primary Aged Students, Monica D. Addison-Walker

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Many practitioners view working memory as the temporary capacity to store and manipulate information. Current findings suggest a developmental trajectory of working memory and other executive functions. Limited research has been effective in improving working memory using short term methods; however, recent findings suggest guided imagery and mindfulness meditation improves working memory in children. This study examined whether or not a 30 day guided imagery intervention affected the working memory of students in the primary grades of an elementary school. Participants from a sample of convenience were randomly assigned to a guided imagery intervention (n = 12) or to a …

Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Techniques To Improve Socialization Skills For High School Students With High Functioning Autism, Erika D. Wood

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The literature on the use of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) suggests that it is a well researched and evidenced-based viable intervention in teaching and improving social skills for children with high functioning autism (HFA). Autism is a prevalent diagnosis for children and adolescents as school settings struggle with how to provide effective interventions and support to address students’ deficits with communication and social skills. Students with HFA may not have difficulty with verbal language skills; however, there is the expectation of being able to navigate social relationships, use social communication and be aware of social cues and rules which are …

Let's Talk About Art School!, Elise Radzialowski

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Art students have tough lives. We choose an education that is difficult to complete and a career that often trades financial security for personal fulfillment. The purpose of this project is a celebration of art students, whether it laughs at our mistakes, rejoices in our successes, or offers advice. This is a student-led critique on art school. This project intends to look seriously at the good and bad in art school, including both students and professors. The media is an experimental combination of traditional watercolor and digital painting techniques, as seen in the process images.

The limitations of this project …

Designing Classrooms For Learning, Ryan Neubauer

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this research project was to provide a comprehensive look into what physical features of a middle school classroom that students find the most beneficial. The main question specifically was "What do students need in a classroom to meet their physical needs." In doing this, ten features of classrooms were selected and from those a set of students were asked to evaluate how they felt about these features. Over the course of a semester data was complied evaluating these features as well as classroom design and the interior space and layout.