Education Commons^™

Social Emotional Learning Practices And Learning Spaces, Yanira Oliveras, Dalane Bouillion, Sara Koprowski

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Daniel Goleman, journalist and author, popularized the idea of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) based on his work surrounding emotional intelligence (Hargreaves & Shirley, 2022). Although recognized as a new approach, SEL was well-established during the early 1990s in American education. Since then, SEL “has emerged as a major thematic and programmatic emphasis in American education” (Hoffman, 2009, p. 533). “Well-being in education” (Hargreaves & Shirley, 2022, p. 26) has become a succinct description of SEL. Generally, SEL is learning focused on “social, emotional, behavioral, and character skills that support success in school, the workplace, relationships, and the community” (Frey …

Adopting Virtual Reality For Education: Exploring Teachers' Perspectives On Readiness, Opportunities, And Challenges, Rob E. Carpenter, Rochell Mcwhorter, Katherine Stone

Human Resource Development Faculty Publications and Presentations

Virtual reality (VR) can be adapted to teach many topics and may be particularly effective for complex concepts. However, little is known about teacher readiness on adopting VR in the classroom. Accordingly, 189 higher education teachers were surveyed to explore perceptions on adopting VR. Findings revealed the adoption of VR vectored on teachers perceived readiness confidence in technology skill and belief that VR has potential to benefit student learning. Moreover, understanding students cognitive experience in the immersive VR environment remains underdeveloped and may influence teacher's perception of readiness to adopt VR for teaching. However, there is an opportunity to influence …

Working Across Boundaries: School Leaders Redefining Communities Of Practice Through Twitter, Jennifer Bailey, Forrest Kaiser, Ron Rhone, Stephanie Atchley

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Attrition rates among school leaders have risen in recent years, and scholars cite a lack of meaningful connections and responsive professional learning as leading reasons why they are leaving the field. School leaders are called to navigate unfamiliar and complex challenges, often working in isolation with limited opportunities for collaboration and professional growth. Social media forums, like Twitter, have potential to support a Community of Practice to facilitate learning around school leadership; however, there is a lack of scholarship exploring how school leaders use social media to support their needs. This mixed-methods study used sentiment and content analysis along with …

Handedness And Test Anxiety: An Examination Of Mixed-Handed And Consistent-Handed Students, Christopher L. Thomas, Savannah B. Fitch

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Test anxiety refers to maladaptive cognitive and physiological reactions that interfere with optimal performance. Self-regulatory models suggest test anxiety occurs when there is a perceived discrepancy between current functioning and mental representations of desired academic goals. Interestingly, prior investigations have demonstrated those with greater interhemispheric communication are better able to detect discrepancies between current functioning and preexisting mental representations. Thus, the current study was designed to investigate the relationship between test anxiety and handedness—a commonly used proxy variable for interhemispheric communication. Undergraduate and graduate students (N = 277, 85.20% female, 68.19% Caucasian, age = 29.88) (SD = 9.53) completed the …

Facilities Beyond Physical Spaces: A Case For The Intentional Design And Use Of Learning Space, Yanira Oliveras

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In 2022, the state department released new standards and a competency-based education curriculum. Simultaneously, the Toledo Creek School District has experienced an unprecedent shift in the student population demographics. The shift has resulted in two distinct zones, east and west, with income averages on the two extremes of the income spectrum. Given the shift in both the curriculum and demographics, the superintendent in consultation with stakeholders decided to implement project-based learning (PBL) as the district’s instructional model. PBL has a significant research-based supporting implement for authentic learning as intended by the new standards and better supporting deeper learning among all …

Strategies For Preventing Surgical Site Infections, Dorathy Anderson

MSN Capstone Projects

Post-surgical site infection has continued to remain a significant public health concern. Amid the prominent hospital-acquired infection, surgical site infections contributed to a considerable rate of death, severe morbidity, increased cost of therapy, disability, prolonged hospital stay, higher insurance payment, complications in patient healing, an increase in healthcare cost as well as treatment expenses (Allaf & Navyashree, 2022). Although seemingly relatively low in occurrence, about 10% of the infections are related to healthcare-associated infections. (Allaf & Navyashree, 2022). Knee reconstructive procedures are most common among older patients, who have a higher risk of developing complications.

The current practice of scrubbing …

#Teacherquittok: A Content Analysis Of How Current And Former Teachers Navigate Attrition On Tiktok, Forrest J. Kaiser

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this study is to use thematic content analysis to examine conversations and factors most discussed by teachers centering on attrition using the TikTok social media platform. Social media offers teachers a way to connect with others and share their thoughts while maintaining a perceived level of professional distance from their workplace. This research will explore how teachers use social media to provide a window into their classroom, working conditions, and decisions to leave or stay. The study was guided by the following questions: (1) How are current and former teachers using the TikTok social media platform to …

Using Extreme Pedagogy Toenhance Entrepreneurship Education, Dave Silberman, Herman Aguinis, Rob E. Carpenter

Human Resource Development Faculty Publications and Presentations

We address the ongoing concern that entrepreneurship education (EE) is not preparing students sufficiently well for jobs in the 21^st-century. We argue that many criticisms leveled against EE for not effectively addressing the entrepreneurial skills gap are due in part to EE’s emphasis on the roles of specific stakeholder groups separately (i.e., universities and their leaders, instructors, students, potential employers) rather than a shared focus on developing valuable graduates. Stated differently, there are competing and conflicting “ownerships” over the entrepreneurial skills gap. We enhance current pedagogical methods by offering a learning innovation called extreme pedagogy. Extreme pedagogy takes …

Retention Drivers Post-Pandemic, Maria Charles, Christina Gonzalez

MSN Capstone Projects

The Covid pandemic influenced the world in many ways that we still witness a need for recovery. One significant concern that remains apparent is the culture change within the healthcare system. This study is directed to cover only one aspect of this culture change but remains to be a very significant topic for the nursing workforce (AHC Media, 2021). Even though we have managed to find a downward trend of Covid cases, the pandemic has devastated nursing retention to well established facilities. There is currently an exodus of nurses in high acuity departments or simply bedside nursing entirely. This causes …

Reinventing Identity In Transition From Principal To Professor: A Collaborative Autoethnography, Forrest J. Kaiser, Jennifer Bailey

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

School leadership is a fast-paced job where stakeholder feedback is frequent, and decision-making requires quick thinking and strong organization. When school leaders transition from practitioner to scholar, they face a dramatic change in pace and responsibility. Unlike their peers who come from academia, practitioner-scholars experience a unique context and career shift that requires navigating unfamiliar organizational structures and translating existing skills into new contexts. This collaborative autoethnography explores the lived experiences of two junior faculty who recently transitioned from the campus principalship to the tenure track professoriate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a process of individual writing, group reflection, and …

Using The Annotating Strategy To Improve Students' Academic Achievement In Social Studies, Zena T. Lloyd, Daesang Kim, J. T. Cox, Gina M. Doepker, Steven E. Downey

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose: This experimental study aimed to examine the effects of annotating a historical text as a reading comprehension strategy on student academic achievement in an eighth-grade social studies class. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-method design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data sequentially. First, the authors collected quantitative data with a series of pre- and post-tests from all student participants during a six-week instructional time frame. Next, the authors collected quantitative and qualitative data with a survey from teacher and intervention group student participants. Quantitative data were analyzed to evaluate the mean differences in participants' test scores and survey responses. Finally, …

Librarian-Faculty Collaboration For Literacy Courses: Promoting Better Learning For Preservice Teachers, Annamary Consalvo, Gina M. Doepker, Vandy Dubre, Joanna L. Neel Dr.

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This narrative describes a collaboration between three university literacy faculty and a subject librarian undertaken to embed library instruction across the semester in three required courses--children’s literature, early literacy, and disciplinary literacy--in order to help undergraduate preservice teachers better understand and incorporate children’s literature and high interest literature into their teaching. Concrete, scaffolded, hands-on experiences for preservice teachers with teaching materials helped to build awareness of foundational concepts in literacy instruction. Librarian/faculty collaborations have the potential to improve literacy teacher preparation programs by providing designed opportunities for active, concrete engagement coupled with structured reflection.

Identifying The Research And Trends In Stem Education In Pakistan: A Systematic Literature Review, Sarfraz Aslam, Atif Saleem, Teresa J. Kennedy, Tribhuwan Kumar, Khalida Parveen, Huma Akram, Baohui Zhang

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although STEM is an essential feature of 21st-century education and learning, there is a lack of awareness about it in Pakistan, especially at the K-12 and tertiary levels. Recently many initiatives have been launched across Pakistan to create more interest in STEM education. In order to assist in raising the level of STEM awareness in Pakistan, this study sought to examine the current state of research and identify recent contributions and gaps in the literature. A systematic literature review was conducted using 22 research papers from five renowned databases. Results produced limited research in this area, with the majority being …

Dnp Final Report: Implementation Of An Electronic Clinical Placement System For Improving Faculty Workflow And Accreditation Compliance, Janice R. Hawes

DNP Final Reports

Healthcare today is continually evolving and requires healthcare providers to coordinate and work together to provide quality care. Among healthcare changes is the increasing expansion of technological improvements assisting in mainstreaming processes. In the academic setting, these changes are currently needed to help improve faculty workflow and assist in regulatory compliance. The purpose of this paper is to discover if implementing technology in a clinical nursing setting through an evidence-based practice approach will improve nursing faculty workload and aid in accreditation compliance. The design and methodology for this project were developed using the Iowa model of evidence-based practice, the Donabedian …

Advancing Algebra Achievement Using Affordances Of Classroom Connectivity Technology: The Case For Noticing Through Discussion, Stephen J. Pape, Yasemin Gunpinar, Ranjini Mahinda Johnbull, Clare V. Bell

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article reports on two aspects of a professional learning (PL) and research study. Twenty-five teachers participated in a two-year PL program that sought to support teachers to implement classroom connectivity technology (CCT) in their Algebra I classrooms. Students in one school who learned Algebra I with CCT outperformed their peers who learned without CCT. Therefore, we explored the classroom practices of one teacher whose students attained higher achievement. There were several aspects of this teacher's instruction that created the context for noticing and potentially led to the significant difference in Algebra I achievement. First, we describe the foundational components …

Age- And Sex-Based Differences In The Moral Intuitions Of American Early Adolescents, Brandon Bretl, Marlon Goering

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study sought to explore the validity of a latent-factor model of moral intuition development during early adolescence. The 3-Factor Character Foundations Survey (CFS-3) was used to assess the moral intuitions of early adolescents (n = 850, mean = 12.4 years old, SD = 0.96) under a moral foundations theory framework. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the psychometric validity of the three latent factor constructs (autonomy, loyalty and empathy), and partial metric invariance was established to allow for the comparison of latent factor means between four age- and sex-based groups coinciding with averages for pubertal onset. Results support prior findings of …

Dnp Final Report: An Evidence-Based Hesi Exit Exam Remediation Plan, Nancy Mcclurg

DNP Final Reports

In a small East Texas associate degree nursing program, the average pass rate for the National Council of State Board exam fell and was below both national and state averages for three years. In an effort to identify students who may need extra preparation prior to taking the licensure exam, the college administers the HESI Exit Exam during the last semester of the program. For the last three years, between 28 and 37% of the senior class did not achieve a passing score on the exam. The project’s purpose was to evaluate the effect of a remediation plan which consisted …

Dnp Final Report: Mission Cyborg: An Ebp Project Integrating Hybrid Learning In An Undergraduate Nursing Course, Mary A. Thomas

DNP Final Reports

In modern times it is an expectation of students that technology be incorporated into how they receive their education. The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light how pure reliance on traditional face-to-face (F2F) learning can be detrimental to student learning. Many institutes of higher education had already implemented hybrid/blended learning prior to the pandemic and saw no difference in their NCLEX-RN pass rates. This evidence-based practice project gathered, reviewed, and synthesized evidence in order to determine if implementing different teaching strategies would maintain or improve student performance on both unit exams and end of course exit exams.

Amicus Historicorum (The Friend Of Historians), Jacob Williams

Senior Projects

A guide/help manual for present and future undergraduates students of history at The University of Texas at Tyler, from a group of faculty members, librarians, and undergraduate students.

Bridging Mental Healthcare, Kristin L. White

MSN Capstone Projects

Nurses have an important role in the care given to mental health patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). Without expectations or encouragement toward growth or continued education, the quality of care and the therapeutic ability for care are crippled, as evidenced by nurses' knowledge/competency deficits and negative attitudes. Through ongoing/continued education, the cultivation of a therapeutic culture toward patients that present to the ED for mental health complaints could result. Additionally, these improvements in care, in turn, could promote not only the closure of gaps that exist for quality mental healthcare but may also lead to an increase in …

Validation Of The State Version Of The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory In A University Sample, Christopher L. Thomas, Jerrell C. Cassady

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Model makes a theoretical distinction between the contribution of dispositional anxiety and the transitory experience of anxiety to performance difficulties during testing situations. According to the State-Trait framework, state anxiety is viewed as the primary performance barrier for test-anxious students, and as such, educators and educational researchers have expressed interest in validated, state anxiety measurement tools. Currently, the most widely used measure of state anxiety is the state version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. However, evidence regarding the psychometric properties of this scale is relatively scarce. Therefore, the current study was designed to determine the structural validity, …

Dnp Final Report: Reducing The Rate Of Falls With A Stuctured Fall Program, Elanda L. Douglas

DNP Final Reports

Background: Fall rates continue to be a significant problem in health care facilities despite all the research and tool kits created to prevent falls. Hospitals that have successfully reduced fall rates find it challenging to sustain a reduction in the fall rates. During hospitalizations, 3%-20% of patients fall, with 30%-50% resulting in injury (Joint Commission, [JC], 2015).

Internal Evidence: Despite Medical City Alliance (MCA) having an evidence-based fall program, the fall rate has not decreased. Falls are one of the quality measures identified at the division level that needs improvement.

PICOT: In adult patients in a progressive care unit (P), …

Team-Based Learning Compared To Lecture-Based Learning Among Pharmacology Students, Tammie C. Petersen

MSN Capstone Projects

This paper seeks to discuss the evidence-based practice change project that implements team-based learning over lecture-based learning in pharmacology courses at Austin Community College. Three unit exams were administered in two sections of pharmacology, one TBL and one LBL course. The means for each unit exam for each section were determined and compared to determine the effectiveness of TBL on exam scores. Effectiveness were determined to be a 5% increase in mean unit exam scores. The results conclude the TBL is effective on improving exam scores in pharmacology community college students.

The Rise Of Esports: Insights Into The Perceived Benefits And Risks For College Students, Julie A. Delello, Rochell Mcwhorter, Paul Roberts, Hunter S. Dockery, Tonia De Giuseppe, Felice Corona

Human Resource Development Faculty Publications and Presentations

The availability and affordability of increased internet bandwidth, video memory, and processing speed has enabled electronic sports (eSports) to become a flourishing global sensation, and college students are helping to drive this phenomenon. This mixed-methods study focuses on feedback from 159 college students regarding the eSports phenomenon across both gender and educational classification. Findings from the study include their eSports-related gaming and spending habits and perceptions of personal and academic benefits of playing eSports such as social interaction, teamwork, and critical thinking skills. Included are the perceived risks of playing eSports that encompassed eSports gaming addiction; mental, social, emotional risks; …

Teacher Perceptions Of Skills, Knowledge, And Resources Needed To Promote Social And Emotional Learning In Rural Classrooms, Staci M. Zolkoski, Samantha Estrada Aguilera, Erin M. West, Gary J. Miller, Jessica M. Holm, Sarah Sass, Eric Stocks

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The incorporation of social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools has been shown to improve academic and psychological health of students. Research has been limited regarding implementation of SEL programs in rural communities, where student needs are heightened. The current study examined factors that could impact teachers' intentions to be early adopters of a SEL curriculum in a rural community. Seventy-six teachers provided self-report data regarding perceptions of professional strengths, school climate, school resources for student support, ability to educate diverse students, ability to teach specific SEL domains, and intentions to be an early adopter of a SEL program. Present …

Engaging Nursing Students And Older Adults Through Service-Learning, Christine S. Gipson, Julie A. Delello, Rochell Mcwhorter

Human Resource Development Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine nursing students’ (n = 18) perceptions of interrelating with older adults to understand how such interactions might improve students’ levels of cultural competence and enhance their future nursing practice. Additionally, the study sought to contribute to a higher level of technological competency in older adults.

Design/methodology/approach

A basic qualitative study design (Merriam and Tisdell, 2016) was used to direct the data collection and analysis to achieve the aims of this study.

Findings

Four themes emerged from the data collected based on cultural knowledge, cultural skills, cultural desire and engaging in …

Preventing Stress Among Undergraduate Learners: The Importance Of Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, And Emotion Regulation, Christopher L. Thomas, Staci Zolkoski

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the current investigation, we examined the association among emotional intelligence, emotional regulation tendencies, resilience, and perceived stress within a sample of undergraduate students. Participants (N = 277, 71% Female, 55% White) completed the Brief Emotional Intelligence Scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Brief Resilience Scale, and Perceived Stress Scale. Using path analysis techniques, we demonstrated that resilience was a negative predictor of perceived stress. Additionally, our results indicated that the use of cognitive reappraisal exerted an indirect influence on perceived stress through resilience. Finally, the current investigation provided evidence that emotional intelligence exerts an indirect influence on stress through both …

Teachers' Instructional Decisions And Student Agency In New Purposefully Designed Learning Spaces, Yanira Oliveras Ortiz, Dalane Bouillion, Lizzy Asbury

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Learning that promotes student agency and active, cognitive student engagement has a positive impact on students’ self-efficacy, learning, and achievement. When designing lessons that foster student agency and active engagement, educators must consider multiple variables, including the space where learning will take place. In order to understand how students perceive the impact of spaces in learning and how designed areas are being used by teachers, a qualitative study was conducted at a newly designed energy industry-focused high school. This manuscript presents the students' perspectives related to student agency, the value of learning, students' role in their learning, and how cognitively …

Dnp Final Report: The Flipped Classroom: An Evidence-Based, Course Redesign To Increase Retention Rates In A Vocational Nursing Program, Jennifer P. Hauger

DNP Final Reports

Over the past three decades, Vocational Nursing has been taught using a conventional didactic method that is content heavy and lecture focused. Despite having a group of highly qualified professors and an excellent student pass rates on the National board examinations, student retention in a Vocational Nursing Program in central Texas remains below the National benchmark. With a unique student demographic that is identified as non-traditional (over 21, full-time working adults, English Second Language and single parents), we embarked upon the redesign of a Medical-Surgical Nursing course using the flipped pedagogical framework to increase retention rates. Therefore, in 2019 we …

Screen Time Reduction, Karmen L. Serda Mrs.

MSN Capstone Projects

Children and adolescents are spending an alarming amount of time engaging in screen time (ST) activities on mobile devices, computers, televisions (TV), and video games; activities include, but are not limited to, watching shows or movies, playing video games, searching the internet, texting, or using social media. This excessive ST is contributing to a vast array of serious childhood complications and health concerns, of which are rarely discussed, acknowledged, or remedied.

The proposed implementation of a structured 3-day elementary school based screen time reduction program (STRP) that would target not only the children and adolescents, but their parents and/or caregivers …