Education Commons^™

The Science Of Learning: Understanding The Learning Process And Its Implementation Into The Classroom, Robert Hawkins

The Cardinal Edge

College and higher education is often seen as the next step for many students pursuing a particular career or field. These institutions strive to facilitate learning and maintain a rewarding academic environment. However, students often face various challenges when first attending college which is reflected by high levels of dropout and withdrawal from general education courses, especially for first-time students. In fact, according to the education data initiation, “at 4-year institutions, 18.4% of first-time, full-time college freshmen dropped out between 2019 and 2020” (Hansen & Checked, 2022). One of these challenges is understanding the process of learning on a fundamental …

Improving Postoperative Breast Augmentation Patient Education Delivery., Madison Callery

Doctor of Nursing Practice Papers

Background: Effective patient education promotes successful postoperative outcomes. Nurses in an outpatient surgery center lacked consistent patient education practices and materials.

Purpose: The purpose of the project was to implement an evidence-based multimodal educational strategy for patients who undergo breast implant surgeries.

Methods: At an outpatient plastic surgery center, pre- and post-intervention phone calls were tracked; post-intervention education, documentation, and patient satisfaction data were recorded. Nurses were educated on the new materials, delivery procedures, and electronic health record (EHR) documentation. All patients undergoing breast implant surgery received multimodal education at each postoperative appointment. Outcomes included (1) the number of patient …

A Psychometric Analysis Of The Comprehensive School Survey (Css) Middle School Student Version., Stephen Leach

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School climate is increasingly recognized by scholars and policymakers as a crucial factor associated with students’ educational experiences. Hence, practitioners endeavor to equitably measure and improve school climate to promote favorable student academic and behavior outcomes. Unfortunately, school climate research is fragmented, and a research-practice gap exists in best scale development and validity testing practices. The result is a proliferation of practitioner-developed school climate measures lacking solid theory-grounding and evidence to support intended score interpretations and uses. In response, Whitehouse et al. (2021) proposed a validity testing framework for practitioner-developed instruments aimed at supporting culturally responsive school climate measurement. Their …

Who Leads The Emergency Department Debrief?, Allison D. Lane, Ethan Bryce, Marcy R. Milbrandt, Lisa R. Stoneking

Journal of Wellness

No abstract provided.

Teachers' Perceptions Of Professional Development And Pedagogical Practice: A Study Of A Kentucky Suburban School District., Rachelle Bramlage-Schomburg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Professional development supports teacher growth and enhances pedagogical practice. Teachers in Kentucky must complete annual professional development hours and districts must develop a professional development plan tied to research that supports high-quality professional development. This qualitative case study takes place in a rural district, Bullitt County, where I investigated the teachers’ perception of a customized professional development, Thinking Focus Cohort (TFC), and its impact on their pedagogical practice. While a body of research exists on high quality professional development, there is a lack of research on the effectiveness of it, in particular a year-long cohort model with curriculum centered around …

A Resident Retreat With Emergency Medicine Specific Mindfulness Training Significantly Reduces Burnout And Perceived Stress, James O'Shea, Mark Dannenfelser, Melissa White, Anwar Osborne, Timothy P. Moran, Michelle D. Lall

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: We hypothesize that a resident retreat with mindfulness training tailored for Emergency Medicine (EM) physicians can significantly reduce levels of burnout and perceived stress in EM residents.

Methods: We conducted an intervention study of 60 EM residents undergoing an annual resident retreat with a 2.5-hour mindfulness training. The retreat was a department-funded 2-day off-site experience with a wellness theme. The training was developed and delivered by an EM physician (JO'S) who is a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher trainee, and a certified MBSR teacher (MD). The training focused on techniques that can be used on shift, such as mindful …

Examining Adolescent Voices In Urban Montessorianism Within The Third Plane Of Development., Raymond Edward Green

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although there is a significant body of research surrounding Montessori education, little research has sought to capture the voices of adolescents, specifically high school students in urban settings (Dr. Montessori’s third plane of development) learning through the Montessori Method. Problem: Legislators, policy writers, district and school-level leaders mandate and implement reforms with minimal to no adolescent input. Further, adolescents are not part of the reform implementation process or identifying desired outcomes of said reform initiatives. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine adolescent’s perspective of their urban high school Montessori education, and their role in helping to develop …

From The Field: Using A Simple Guide To Help Students Write Better Abstracts, Rochelle H. Holm, Anna Karin Roo

Faculty Scholarship

Students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) often write abstracts for research assignments but may not understand the purpose of an abstract. This paper presents the pilot of a simple guide for writing abstracts which gave student support to two undergraduate Malawian ELL students for their undergraduate research assignment. The two students and the instructor found the handout was helpful for the students to develop technical writing skills for the abstracts.

Economic And Sociological Factors Associate With First-Year African American Students' Enrollment In Historically Black Colleges And Universities., Vickie Gale Bridgeman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the long struggle to gain access, African Americans always have valued education. Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were established to educate Blacks. The racial integration of predominately White institutions (non-HBCUs) in the 1960s led to decreased enrollments in HBCUs and challenged their relevance. The purpose of this study is to discover what factors influence African American students to choose an HBCU today. Quantitative, secondary survey data methods were used to conduct the study. African American students at HBCUs and non-HBCUs participated in the survey. Consistent with generally accepted approaches in analyzing student college choice, this study utilized logistic …

Engineering Performance And Teamwork Perceptions Shaped By Structured Learning Experiences In A Makerspace., Teresa Lee Tinnell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ability to work on teams is of critical importance to the field of engineering and a critical competency for future engineers. Fostering performance of effective teamwork through the education of engineers emphasizes the humanistic dimension of the engineering profession and engages future engineering professionals in complex and dynamic team experiences. Team performance and effectiveness of student teams is strongly influenced by individual student perceptions of teamwork as a learning mechanism for successful collective learning experiences. Initial perceptions of teamwork among first year engineering students are often negative due to prior adverse or unproductive team performance. Makerspace learning environments are …

Non-Traditional Instruction: Examining The Interaction Effect Between Student Characteristics And Perceived Sense Of Connectedness In An Online Learning Environment., Kendra M, Nolan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The school setting also has an influence on students' sense of connectedness. Because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, schools across the United States and the world were forced to close in March 2020. The sampled district began the 2020-2021 school year with non-traditional instruction (NTI). With NTI, teachers and students continued academic instruction through an online communication platform such as Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams. Researchers and school leaders are uncertain how effective online learning was. Furthermore, minimal research explores the interaction effect between student characteristics (grade level, gender, and race/ethnicity) and their perceived sense of connectedness in a …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Perceptions Of Co-Teaching Through The Lens Of Special Education And General Education Teachers., Erin Seale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Co-teaching has become one of the most popular service-delivery models that school districts use to incorporate students with disabilities in the general education settings. This phenomenological study reports how special education teachers and general education teachers at one Central Kentucky high school describes their perceptions and experiences with co-teaching. This study uses semi-structured interview to explore general education and special education teachers’ perceptions of their experiences with co-teaching and being a part of a co-teaching team.

The Shifting Role Of Teachers: A Case Study On Teachers’ Perceptions Of Personalized Learning In A Rural School District., Steve Miracle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This case study will explore teacher perceptions of the implementation of personalized learning as a means of supporting teachers in the process of transitioning to a new model of teaching and learning. A review of research revealed that there are many versions of personalized learning based on as many different definitions of what personalized learning is and what it looks like in the classroom. It is due to the lack of one consistent model that implementation can be problematic for schools and districts. As teachers are on the front line of implementing personalized learning their perceptions are important to future …

“So, How Real Can I Get?": Opportunities And Obstacles For Teacher Learners Enacting Culturally Responsive Pedagogy., Jonathan P Baize

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the experiences of three alternative certification teachers (teachers who begin teaching as they worked to complete teacher education courses for initial certification) whom I call “teacher learners” (Jacobs & Low, 2017) as they try to enact culturally responsive practices while navigating their first-year of teaching. The teacher learners worked to develop their understanding and capacities to enact a culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) even as they were faced with the obstacles inherent to shifting teaching practices in K-12 schools. Through these challenges, they still furthered their conceptualization of CRP, as evidenced by, and in some ways guided …

Exploratory Learning Activities In The Physics Classroom: Contrasting Cases Versus A Rich Dataset., Campbell Rightmyer Bego

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In exploratory learning, students engage in an exploration activity on a new topic prior to instruction. This inversion of the traditional tell-then-practice order has been shown to benefit learning outcomes, especially conceptual knowledge and preparation for future learning, but not always. In three studies, the current work examines whether the type of exploration activity impacts learning mechanisms and outcomes, on the topic of gravitational field in undergraduate physics classrooms. Activities using either contrasting cases (CC) or a rich dataset (RD) are compared in two instructional orders, explore-first (EF) and instruct-first (IF). Learning outcomes measured procedural knowledge, conceptual knowledge, and performance …

Wounds And Writing : Building Trauma-Informed Approaches To Writing Pedagogy., Michelle L. Day

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation builds a trauma-informed approach to writing pedagogy informed by writing studies scholarship about trauma and inclusive pedagogy, clinical social work literature on trauma-informed care, and interviews with nine current University of Louisville writing faculty about their experiences academically supporting distressed students. I identify three central touchstones—“students are coddled,” “teacher’s aren’t therapists,” and “institutions don’t support trauma-informed teaching”—in scholarly and public debates regarding what to do about student trauma/distress in higher education. After exploring the valid concerns and misconceptions underpinning these touchstones, I illustrate how clinical research offers a way forward to help writing instructors develop more complex understandings …

Student Voices: African American High School Seniors' Perception Of Culturally Responsive Teaching., Whitney M. Stewart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examined African-American high school seniors’ perceptions of culturally responsive teaching in one public high school within a large urban public-school district in the southeastern region of the United States. It begins with a brief historical overview on the plight of African-Americans in the US public education system and how public school educators have failed to leverage Afrocultural learning orientations as an asset to educate and increase the academic achievement of African-American students in classrooms. The Philosophical Aspects of Cultural Difference Framework (Nichols, 1986, 1995) will guide this dissertation study. The latter part of the dissertation reveals that a …

"Y'All And All These Assessments Is A Little Bit Too Much" : The Effects Of High-Stakes Testing On Critical Literacy Pedagogy., Diana Lalata

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

As the United States of America becomes increasingly diverse, there is a need for teachers to embrace multiculturalism within the classroom. Shifting away from the traditional “banking model” of teaching, educational researchers call for a more critical approach—one in which teachers and students challenge dominant beliefs and practices of education. Foregrounded in those aims of cultural competence and critical consciousness, “critical literacy pedagogy” addresses the politicization of literacy education and employs conscious curriculum and teaching strategies to empower marginalized voices. Although a number of case studies on critical literacy pedagogy show considerable promise in disrupting dominant discourse and developing cultural …

Pathways To Kindergarten Readiness., Ashley T. Forrest, Stephanie Nutter, Deborah Rivera

College of Education & Human Development Capstone Projects

The purpose of this capstone was to explore pathways for increased kindergarten readiness by examining the relationship between kindergarten readiness as measured by the Brigance Kindergarten Screener (BKS) domains of cognitive/general knowledge and language/communication and each of the following variables: school funding, school location, school classification, teacher credentials, teacher years of experiences, music inclusion, and time allotted to music instruction. Participants included 174 preschool students from 17 classrooms in an urban school district. This capstone used preexisting data from the school district including demographic variables of race, socioeconomic status (SES), prior setting, attendance, and the school-level variable of climate. A …

Learning From Science Lectures : Students Remember More And Make Better Inferences When They Complete Skeletal Outlines Compared To Other Guided Notes., David Bradley Bellinger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is common for students to take notes during lectures, but the accuracy and completeness of these notes is highly questionable. Therefore, instructors must make an important decision – should they provide their students with lecture notes? If so, how complete should the notes be and in what format? The present experiments examined how note format and degree of support impacted the encoding benefit of note-taking. In Experiment 1, undergraduate students listened to brief audio-recorded science lectures (Human blood, N = 42; Human ear, N = 36) and completed skeletal outlines (requiring students to conceptually organize the information using the …

Moving Interpretations : Using Drama-Based Arts Strategies To Deepen Learning About The Diary Of A Young Girl., James S. Chisholm, Kathryn F. Whitmore, Ashley L. Shelton, Irina V. Mcgrath

Faculty Scholarship

Three drama-based arts strategies enhanced middle grades teachers’ and students’ engagement with Anne Frank’s diary and historical circumstances.

A Case Study And The Justification Of A Unit-Type Program., Maxine D. Fruchtenicht

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Coeducation In The Secondary Schools., Agnes Borgman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Under The Blazing Sun : A Unit Of Work In Social Studies For The Fourth Grade., Virginia H. Franklyn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Into The Need And The Use Of Patriotic Holiday Reading Material In The Primary Grades., Mary Walker Barnard 1906-1996

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Survey Of The Audio-Visual Aids Being Used By The Louisville White Fourth, Fifth, And Sixth Grade Teachers., Olga Schmutz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Mexican Readers As Instruments Of The Socialistic Program, Anita Jauckens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Unit Of Work In Folklore For Secondary Schools With A Sampling Of Hoosier Folklore., Margaret Sweeney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Sixth Grade Supplementary History Text : Educational Standards And The Extent To Which Five Books Meet These Requirements., Mabel Macdonald Schrodt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Activity Program Versus The Traditional Method Of Instruction At The Second Grade Level., Ruth Marie Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.