Education Commons^™

Growth Vs. Fixed Mindsets In College Mathematics Education, Bryan Yaeger, Lynne Pachnowski

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between college mathematics professors and whether they have a growth or fixed mindset towards the students in their classrooms. This paper will share the results from a survey that was constructed with 38 participants - all of which are college mathematics professors in the state of Ohio. This survey focused on asking questions that would relate the professors to either having growth or fixed mindset traits. The survey also asked for the demographics of the participants, which helped classify similarities between those with growth or fixed mindset ideals. After analyzing …

A Meta-Analysis On Non-Cognitive Predictors Of College Student Academic Performance, Maggie Allphin

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

There are many factors that affect student success, often measured with academic performance. Research has shown that students attribute stress as a major factor that affects their academic performance (Frazier et al., 2018). This suggests that the ability to cope with stress can improve academic performance. Studies have shown that higher emotional intelligence is linked to higher ability to cope with stress (Wang, Xie, and Cui, 2016). In this meta-analysis, I looked into the relationship across multiple studies between emotional intelligence, grade point average, and other non-cognitive predictors. For the first meta-analysis, seven records relating emotional intelligence to academic performance …

Why We Teach Mathematics To Every Student: Determining Impact Of Mathematics On Problem Solving And Logical Reasoning Skills, Megan Marie Harris

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this paper is to dissect why it is important to teach mathematics to every student, even if the student does not plan on pursuing mathematics in his or her career. This paper will describe and test various reasons why mathematics is taught to every student but it will focus on math as a way to help develop and improve problem-solving and logical reasoning skills. An experiment was conducted on a random sample of fourteen University of Akron students who were measured on their problem-solving abilities and critical thinking through playing two games. These students were then compared …

Campus Child Care In Ohio: An Assessment Of Characteristics, Quality, And Challenges, Cassandra Milham

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research is an analysis of campus child care centers in Ohio. In order to assess the quality and status of these centers, phone screenings with centers and a questionnaire completed by directors were utilized to learn of the characteristics of campus child care in Ohio.

Results of the questionnaire were separated into individual sections for quality, academic mission, support for student parents, and challenges. Through analysis of the results, campus child care centers provided quality programs. They assist in the needs of student parents and promote the academic mission of higher education institutions. Some areas where quality was found …

The Effectiveness Of Living Learning Communities On Residence Hall Students, Jessica Repko

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the current LLC model that is used at The University of Akron. In this study, a survey was given to two groups of residence hall students in South Hall: first year living learning community students, and first year non-living learning community students. The responses from these surveys were compared to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the living learning communities on first year students. Then, interviews were conducted with the LLC residents to find common themes that were successful or unsuccessful within the LLCs. Surveys were also given to …

Measuring Bacterial Growth Using A 3d-Printable Spectrometer, Samuel R. Bunting

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Visible light spectroscopy is a commonly used technique for measuring the growth of bacterial cultures, and growth curves provide broadly important data. However, the equipment and resources required for these experiments has been restricted to higher education and industry due to high cost and sophistication. We have previously reported on an inexpensive, 3D-printable photospectrometer called the SpecPhone. This device utilizes an iPhone as the camera, along with several other, inexpensive additions to make a fully functional spectrometer. Here, the application of the SpecPhone is expanded to the quantification of actively dividing E. coli cultures. Two protocols have been developed; one …

Modeling The Progress And Retention Of International Students Using Markov Chains, Lucas Gagne

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

International students are a small and diverse student population present in any sizable American university. One of the greatest obstacles in their path is the acquisition of the English language. English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programs, such as the English Language Institute (ELI) at the University of Akron, attempt to address this problem. By studying how this student population progresses in their academic studies, EAP programs and their associated universities can make well-informed decisions on how best to serve their English Language Learners. One way to study International students is through the use of a Markov model based on university …

Perfecting The Process Of Pairing College Roommates: A State Of The Art Review, Carly A. Corio

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The entirety of higher education is facing new budgeting and costly cuts to essential entities of the institutions. One of the most expensive and fiscally-beneficial parts of most college campuses are their residential facilities. With the thousands of universities in the country come hundreds of thousands of residence halls, all filled with pairs of roommates. Apart from a handful of them that self-select who they room with, the majority of college roommates are randomly paired using a computerized questionnaire that does its best to put two random individuals together in hopes that they are compatible as roommates. This state of …