Education Commons^™

Lived Experiences Of Women In Collegiate Esports Leadership, Kim S. Johnson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

A leadership gender gap exists in politics, business, and higher education, and there appears to be one in collegiate esports. Researchers have conducted studies on some aspects of esports; however, we know little about women’s experiences leading collegiate esports programs. The purpose of this qualitative study - a descriptive (transcendental) phenomenology – was to explore and describe the essence of women’s lived experiences in leading collegiate varsity esports programs at higher education institutions. In-depth interviews were the research method. Seven women employed as collegiate varsity esports coaches or directors described their historical context, present experiences in the profession, and how …

Accessible And Inclusive Online Course Design In Higher Education, Amy Lomellini

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The growth of online learning has expanded the reach of higher education to more diverse students than ever before; however, students often face barriers to equitable access to online instructional materials, course activities, and assessments. The challenge of meeting the needs of diverse learners was both highlighted and exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid shift to remote teaching and learning at many institutions. Disabled students were one group that was particularly affected. Research has explored faculty and students’ (with and without disabilities) perceptions of online learning; however, less is known about instructional designers’ and their team leaders’ roles …

A Phenomenological Study Of Digital Business Simulation Games And Implementation For Corporate Learning, Jeremy Morgan Manjorin

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study investigated the experiences of a purposive sample of eight Learning and Development executives to understand the circumstances leading to, as well as the experiences implementing Digital Business Simulation Games (DBSG) in a corporate learning environment, specifically related to the financial service industry. Their perception of the organizational needs, decision-making process of those involved, as well as the experience in design, development, and implementation may contribute to a better understanding of the circumstances within an organization where a DBSG would be an effective solution to achieve the development goals of learners within that organization. This study will …

Understanding Students' Experience With 1:1 Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning In A Mathematics Classroom, Oscar Antonio Perales Aguilera

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

There has been a move towards integrating educational technology into K-12 mathematics classrooms. This emphasis has been partly driven by policy, increases in technology resources available, and a need to engage students in their mathematical learning. Most studies on technology integration in mathematics education are focused on teachers’ perceptions or students’ academic achievement. However, we need to learn how students perceive their learning in this type of environment. This dissertation is a basic qualitative study aimed at understanding the experiences of students with 1:1 computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) in an Algebraic Reasoning classroom. The study used the mathematical software, Desmos, …

Game-Based Learning: Examining Factors That Influence K-12 Classroom Usage, Sean Ward

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Video games have become a popular and accepted part of digital culture and are becoming more accepted as an engaging instructional tool in schools. Integration of games can help develop students’ intrinsic motivation for learning and are a great way for teachers to incorporate student interests and make connections to the curriculum. Classroom usage of digital games is becoming more widespread, but prior research suggests that game-based learning is underutilized as a tool in the teacher toolbox. This study seeks to understand the factors that influence teachers’ decisions to use or not use digital games in their classroom and make …

Communicating Multiplicative Reasoning Through Semiotic Resources, Emilie N. Eisenberger

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The importance of fostering in students the requisite language to understand what is being communicated and how to communicate their understanding requires educators to conceptualize themselves as teachers of language and content. It is possible to engage in activities of the mathematics classroom and through that participation engage in language practices and mathematical practices simultaneously. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of semiotic resources, and modality, with a student-generated tool on students’ communication of multiplicative reasoning.

The study design was a qualitative case study that included a single third-grade class with an in-depth look at six …

Associations Between The School Physical Environment And Climate In Rural Schools, Tate Castleton

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2021), more than half of all public-school districts and nearly one-third of all public-school students attend rural schools in the U.S. This study identifies characteristics of the physical environment of rural schools, considers how the physical environment of rural schools compares to urban and suburban schools, and describes the associations of a school’s physical environment with perceptions of school climate among students, staff, and parents.

Using the School Assessment for Environmental Typology (SAfETy; Bradshaw et al., 2015), this study objectively assessed the physical environment of 40 rural schools in Idaho. Those characteristics …

Associations Between Stakeholder Perceptions Of School Climate And Fidelity Of Implementation Of Key Features Of The Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports Framework In Rural Schools, Nathan Florin Anderson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

School climate can be complex to measure and to change, but it is clear that it is a critical component of an effective school. One practice that has been shown to positively influence school climate is Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). PBIS is a framework of evidence-based practices and its power for initiating change has been shown to come from fidelity of implementation of its key components. Although there is a lot of research on PBIS implementation, not a lot is known about implementation in rural schools and the unique challenges that setting provides. This study measures baseline levels …

Tinkering Towards Theories: The Role Of Tinkering In Building Scientific Models, Shakayla Moran

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Tinkering and modeling have increasingly gained traction within science education. For this study, I adopt the construct of tinkering, which is usually applied to the development of tangible artifacts and consider how this activity might apply to the development of novel models and theoretical objects in science. Data was collected from student artifacts and coding of transcripts was performed to identify how students design models in science, with a focus on how students engage in tinkering when doing so. Using a multiple case study approach, I examined two cases of undergraduate pre-service science teachers’ development of models of light and …

Literate Change Agents Working In Oral Communities: Navigating Paradigm Shifts, Regina Marie Manley

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This research documents the experience of 12 local leaders implementing an oral curriculum over 13 months in Karnataka, India. These leaders were Change Agents interested in influencing a community with new information. They created audio materials referred to as “content” in their group’s mother tongue: In a Kannada-Telegu mix for the Madiga group (a Scheduled Caste); in Vaagri Booli for the Hakkipikki group (a Scheduled Tribe); and in Kannada for the Kannadiga group. The first two languages are unwritten. The Kannada language is the official language of Karnataka state. The oral curriculum followed the Spoken Worldwide® model. Each team of …

Teachers’ Experiences With And Perceptions Of Virtual Manipulatives Following The Covid-19 Pandemic, Fayth Keldgord, Yu-Hui Ching

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

While the use of virtual manipulatives (VM) is rising in classrooms, there is still limited research. regarding teacher experiences with and perceptions of virtual manipulatives. Most of the research regarding teacher perceptions of VM has focused only on short-term uses following professional development sessions and none has highlighted the experiences of teachers using them during emergency remote teaching during COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to explore teacher perceptions and. experiences with virtual manipulatives following emergency remote teaching during COVID-19. To achieve this, the researchers conducted an online survey to gather data on educator’s (n = 103) experiences, …

Higher Education Leaders’ Perspectives Of Accessible And Inclusive Online Learning, Amy Lomellini, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Chareen Snelson, Jesús H. Trespalacios

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Online learning can potentially meet increasingly diverse students’ needs in higher education, including disabled students. However, institutions have historically struggled in providing accessible and inclusive online learning. Higher education online learning leaders, those who manage instructional designers, are in a unique position to help institutions strategize and create accessible and inclusive online courses. In this qualitative study, we interviewed nine higher education online learning leaders to understand leaders’ perceptions about how institutions provide accessible and inclusive online learning. Results demonstrated that despite varying conceptualizations of accessibility and inclusivity, online learning leaders perceive an insufficient but growing emphasis in higher education. …

Understand Group Interaction And Cognitive State In Online Collaborative Problem Solving: Leveraging Brain-To-Brain Synchrony Data, Xu Du, Lizhao Zhang, Jui-Long Hung, Hao Li, Hengtao Tang, Yiqian Xie

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this study aimed to analyze the process of online collaborative problem solving (CPS) via brain-to-brain synchrony (BS) at the problem-understanding and problem-solving stages. Aiming to obtain additional insights than traditional approaches (survey and observation), BS refers to the synchronization of brain activity between two or more people, as an indicator of interpersonal interaction or common attention. Thirty-six undergraduate students participated. Results indicate the problem-understanding stage showed a higher level of BS than the problem-solving stage. Moreover, the level of BS at the problem-solving stage was significantly correlated with task performance. Groups with all high CPS skill students …

Examining Physical Education Teaching Practices During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ken Murfay, Aaron Beighle, Heather E. Erwin, Erin Aiello, Sarah Pyszczynski

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Purpose/Method: This qualitative case study examined through an interpretive worldview how current high school (HS) physical education (PE) teachers (n=14) implemented online experiences that could have influenced students’ interpretations of their vicarious experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic (spring/fall of 2020). The study sought to better understand teachers’ perceptions of how social modeling of PA was implemented online, how online PA experiences impacted opportunities for social comparison among the students, and what teachers’ opinions of these practices were in relation to supporting students’ PA self-efficacy. Results: The results found that the study participants differed in their opinions on the most effective …

Exploring The Barriers And Facilitators To Making Healthy Physical Activity Lifestyle Choices Among Uk Bame Adults During Covid-19 Pandemic: A Study Protocol, Johnson Mbabazi, Fiona Macgregor, Mona Salman, Jeff Breckon, Edward Kunonga, Barry Tolchard, Lawrence Achilles Nnyanzi

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Past research has identified that individuals from BAME communities face health inequalities and report poorer outcomes from numerous health interventions. This study will explore some of the reasons with a focus on the perceptions towards physical activity in the lifestyle prevention of diseases. It will also seek to elicit a range of facilitators and barriers towards improving physical activity lifestyle choices amongst UK BAME adults, including but not limited to those in the individual, structural, environmental and social domains. Furthermore, it will consider the role of ethnicity and culture in the forming of physical activity lifestyle choices. This study was …

Associations Of 24-Hour Movement Behaviors, Parental Academic Support, And Academic Achievement In Alaskan Adolescents, You Fu, Ryan D. Burns, Nora Constantino, Xavier Lopez, Samantha Dyer

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between meeting recommendations for 24-hour movement behaviors, parental academic support, and student academic achievement in a sample of Alaskan adolescents. Data were obtained from the 2019 Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS; N = 1,897; mean age = 15.8 ± 1.3 years old). The associations between meeting recommendations for the 24-hour movement behaviors of physical activity, screen use, and sleep with high academic achievement (mostly A’s and B’s) were examined using weighted multivariable logistic regressions. Subpopulation analyses determined if associations differed by levels of parental academic support. Approximately 18.8% of …

How Early Mathematics Interventions Support Mathematics Vocabulary Learning: A Content Analysis, Gena Nelson, Hannah Carter

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

While there is a strong research base that supports intervening early in mathematics, research investigating the importance of mathematics vocabulary is still emerging. Practitioners and researchers may benefit from understanding how mathematics interventions support mathematics vocabulary acquisition, particularly for students who struggle with learning mathematics. Thus, the purpose of this study was to conduct a mathematics vocabulary content analysis across seven kindergarten and first-grade mathematics interventions. Across the intervention lessons, we recorded suggested teacher and student actions related to mathematics vocabulary instruction. The results indicated the most common instructional strategies used to teach mathematics vocabulary include: providing students with the …

Physical Activity And Academic Achievement: An Analysis Of Potential Student- And School-Level Moderators, Peter J. Boedeker, Hannah G. Calvert

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Many children do not engage in sufficient physical activity, and schools provide a unique venue for children to reach their recommended 60 daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Prior research examining effects of MVPA on academic achievement is inconclusive, and few studies have investigated potential moderators of this relationship. This study examined whether student-level characteristics (gender, race/ethnicity, free/reduced-price lunch status) and school-level characteristics (proportion of students qualifying for free/reduced-price lunch, physical activity environment and opportunities) moderate the relationship between MVPA and academic achievement.

Methods: In a large, diverse metropolitan public school district in Georgia, 4,936 students in Grade …

Context And Content Of Teaching Conversations: Exploring How To Promote Sharing Of Innovative Teaching Knowledge Between Science Faculty, Brittnee Earl, Karl Mertens, Susan E. Shadle, John P. Ziker

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Change strategies may leverage interpersonal relationships and conversations to spread teaching innovations among science faculty. Knowledge sharing refers to the process by which individuals transfer information and thereby spread innovative ideas within an organization. We use knowledge sharing as a lens for identifying factors that encourage productive teaching-related conversations between individuals, characterizing the context and content of these discussions, and understanding how peer interactions may shape instructional practices. In this study, we interview 19 science faculty using innovative teaching practices about the teaching-focused conversations they have with diferent discussion partners.

Results: This qualitative study describes characteristics of the relationship …

Current Knowledge And Future Directions: Proportional Reasoning Interventions For Students With Learning Disabilities And Mathematics Difficulties, Gena Nelson, Jessica H. Hunt, Kristi Martin, Blain Patterson, Andy Khounmeuang

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the effectiveness of proportional reasoning interventions for students with learning disabilities (LD) or mathematics difficulty (MD). We evaluated fifth to ninth grade interventions on proportional reasoning content, instructional features, and disability and difficulty identification. The nine studies met inclusion criteria yielded intervention effects ranging from g = −0.10 to 1.87 and from Tau-U = 0.88 to 1.00. Two of the nine studies were deemed high quality and very few studies included participants with LD. Although most studies identified the concepts addressed in the interventions, authors rarely provided in-depth descriptions of …

Early Math Interventions In Informal Learning Environments: Technical Report, Gena Nelson, Hannah Carter, Peter Boedeker

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this technical report is to document the procedures of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded grant (DUE #2000292), Investigating Effective Methods that Adults Use to Improve Children's Math Achievement in Informal Learning Environments: A Meta Analysis. Specifically, this technical report documents the method and results of the literature search process, abstract screening, and full text-review. In addition, Appendix A includes our abstract screening protocol and Appendix B includes our full-text review protocol. This technical report also describes the article coding procedures and all the methods that senior personnel used to train graduate assistants (GAs) about each phase …

The Relationship Between Motivation, Academic Achievement, And Engagement In Mathematics Using Digital Game-Based Learning: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study, Amy Rose Morgan

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Digital game-based learning (DGBL) has unique factors that can engage students in the learning process. It has been shown that incorporating DGBL into mathematics can help bridge the learning gap, differentiate instruction, and engage students (Yang et al., 2018; Hulse et al., 2019; Chen et al., 2012; Naik, 2017). This study examined how students’ prior engagements are related to their academic achievement as well as investigated students’ motivation while utilizing DGBL in mathematics. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was utilized to collect the quantitative data followed by the qualitative data. There were eighteen middle school participants in grades six …

Cognitive Demand Of Teacher-Created Mathematics Assessments, Megan Marie Schmidt

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed assessments created by middle school mathematics teachers participating in a large scale research project in the Northwestern United States. Assessments were coded using the frameworks of Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK) for mathematics content (2002), and Smith and Stein’s Levels of Demand (LOD) (1998). Teachers in the study were instructed to create an assessment using 5 common-items provided by the research team and 5 of their own sourced items. Assessment items were coded using each framework and data was collected based on the DOK framework, LOD framework, and grade level. Findings indicate on average, teachers assessments were …

Making In The Midst Of Pandemic: The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Two Public Library Makerspaces, Stacey Woods

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on makerspaces in the United States which were subject to public health guidelines and challenged with limited/no access to facilities. This multi-case study examined two public library makerspaces, and addressed these research questions: (1) How did the pandemic affect makerspace operations and access, and the teaching and learning that occurs there? (2) How did makerspace leaders respond to the challenges of the pandemic? (3) How did makerspaces evolve during the COVID-19 pandemic? I developed the Conceptual Framework for Studying the Impact of Pandemic on Public Library Makerspaces which informed the …

A Comparative Study On The Construction Of Special Psychological Ability Indexes Of Curling Male Athletes, Xuelin Pang, Zhengze Zhang

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Curling is a sport combining skill and intelligence. Athletes should not only have proficient physical fitness, technical and tactical level, but they also need strong psychological ability. This study attempts to build a special psychological ability system for curling athletes, to provide guidance for the athlete selection and training. In this study, 13 male athletes of Heilongjiang curling team were recruited. HengChan Yin 's attention scale, Dr. Ping Ye's competitive motivation scale, XiaoChuan Yin 's excellent athlete's will quality evaluation scale, Vealey's athlete's trait self-confidence scale, Martens's sports competition state anxiety scale, LiWei Zhang's pre competition emotion scale-t scale, electronic …

The Relationship Between Physical Activity And Academic Performance Of Students, Haizhi Dai, Shuisheng Xu

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

In China, many teachers and parents concern that physical activities take too much time of students, which would negatively influence students’ academic performance and the inescapable pressure of schools to produce students who meet academic standards. However, decreased physical activity participation due to the scarcity of exercises becomes prevalent in Chinese students. The correlation between students’ physical activity participation and academic achievement has raised increased attention. This study explored the relationship between students’ physical activity participation and academic performance from the perspective of humanities and sociology to explore a way to balance the two aspects for students. We conducted literature …

The Influence Of Tai Chi Intervention On Inhibitory Function Of African College Students, Tongtong Guo, Jian Yang

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Inhibitory function is the core sub-function of executive function, which is mainly aimed at inhibiting the current dominant response in the cognitive process. It is embodied in the control of preventing the activation of irrelevant information, disturbing the irrelevant information, and the dominant reaction in the process. However, little research has examined the impact of Tai Chi on inhibitory function among native African students. The major purpose of this study was to conduct an experimental study on the inhibitory function of African college students through Tai Chi intervention, and to explore the non-Tai Chi local country students’ changes in the …

Correlation Between College Students' Physical Fitness And Running Habits, Mingming Guo, Xiaozan Wang

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between the Physical Fitness of Chinese college students and their daily Running Habits (RH). A total of 718 college students from East China Normal University participated in this study (385 boys and 333 girls). Each participant participated in the Chinese Students’ Physical Fitness Test (CSPFT) during the 2018-2019 school year. In addition, each student was also required to use the APP to record all their running results during each run during the 2018-2019 school year. Researchers queried and exported all running records through the app's management platform. Correlation analysis was …

Effect Of The Fit Taijipao On 20-30-Year-Old Adults’ Cardiorespiratory Function, Liyuan Li

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

The FIT taijipao is a personalized fitness run, based on tai chi thought, and taking physiological index heart rate as the assessment of exercise load standard. According to the current research, there is no clear study to confirm its health benefits. Therefore, this study intended to examine the effects of FIT taijipao on cardiorespiratory function for 20-30 years old adults. 60 volunteers were recruited from a university of Sichuan province, China. After the volunteers signed informed consent, they were randomly divided into the experimental group (30 students) and the control group (30 volunteers). The experimental group had the FIT taijipao …

The Relationship Between Physical Exercise And Mobile Phone Addiction Of College Students From Low Social Classes, Yuan Yuan, Jian Yang, Ming Wu

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Mobile phone addiction has become a common phenomenon among college students, which seriously affects their physical and mental health. In this process, individuals with a strong sense of loneliness tend to seek social support and belonging in the virtual network, which leads to the occurrence of mobile phone addiction. At the same time, studies have begun to explore ways to reduce mobile phone addiction by improving physical activity. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of low-level college students' physical exercise on mobile phone addiction, and focuses on the mediating mechanism of loneliness. The mobile phone addiction …