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Gera Conference Program 2018, Gera Conference

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Official Conference Program

Navigating And Building Capacity For Educational Research: An Interactive Website To Ensure Smooth Sailing, Tasha R. Wyatt, Aj Kleinheksel, Elena Wood, Thomas Mitch Toomey, Lara Stepleman

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

As seasoned educational researchers, we were trained in how to carry out a research project. However, for health professionals whose primary responsibility is to care for patients, many have not been explicitly taught the steps involved in launching and supporting educational research projects. The lack of opportunity to learn this process is a barrier to clinicians interested in engaging in educational research.

In an effort to build capacity for health sciences educational research at Augusta University, the Educational Innovation Institute developed an interactive website that serves as a “one-stop shop” for assisting with this process. The website was designed with …

Pre-Service Teacher Attitudes Toward Control: Middle And Secondary Education Teacher Candidate Reflective Practice As Evidence Of Gap Between Theory And Practice, Deborah Paine, Jt Cox, Robert Spires

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

The gap between theory and practice in pre-service teacher training is well documented. Despite shifts toward constructivist approaches and student-centered instruction, teacher education programs continue to note the gap between innovative student-centered best practices in teacher training coursework, and the teacher-centered practices seen in many classrooms which then become early career teachers’ default approach. This study examined the attitudes and beliefs of pre-service teachers through reflections written during a 4-week practicum field experience. Within these reflections, researchers noted pre-service teacher attitudinal reliance on ideas of control, including student behavior control, student noise and the classroom. Study participants dismissed student-centered approaches …

Open Educational Resources: A Primer And Review Of Implementation At One Institution, Judy O. Grissett

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Open educational resources (OER), which are materials that can be adopted or adapted from their original source and shared with others for free (UNESCO, 2017), are becoming increasingly popular among faculty, as research has shown they are often as effective on student learning and engagement as copyright-restricted textbooks (Hilton, 2016). They also save students money on textbook cost (Bliss, Robinson, Hilton, & Wiley, 2013b).

The purpose of this presentation is several-fold. First, I will discuss the use of OER by faculty at one USG institution. Several courses have been transformed at the institution, including ones in biology, education, music, psychology, …

Designing An Eguide For Physical Examination In Pre-Clerkship Medical Education: A Pilot Study, Elena Wood, Tasha R. Wyatt, A.J. Kleinheksel

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Prior to this pilot study, there were no concise or standardized mobile resources for pre-clerkship medical students to using while conducting a physical exam. To address this need, an electronic guide (eGuide) was developed to instruct students on proper physical examination technique and to provide standardized reference information. This interactive resource was developed using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop as an interactive PDF, which could also be printed if desired. Both anatomy and physiology information was included, as relevant to physical diagnosis. The eGuide was particularly useful for those first-year medical students who have clinical skill units prior to basic anatomy …

A Tightrope Walk Of Trust: An Analysis Of Attachment Styles Of Children Raised By Parents With Psychotic Disorders, Kate E. Crockett

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

A child’s development is significantly impacted by the environment in which the child lives, and the attachment styles of parents or guardians have a direct connection to the child’s attachment style. So what happens when one or more of the child’s guardians have a psychotic disorder? To answer this question, individuals will complete an assessment to determine their attachment style after providing information on whether their guardian(s) have a psychotic disorder. The individuals participating in the study will be contacted through email and all responses will be voluntary. The attachment assessment will be self-administered electronically by the individuals who volunteer …

Introducing Simulation Through A Situated Cognition Framework To Integrate Physiology Into Clinical Medicine, Elena Wood, Anthony Payne, Shilpa Brown, Tasha R. Wyatt, A.J. Kleinheksel

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

A new multi-modality pathophysiology simulation was developed for second year medical students, in order to integrate basic sciences into clinical medicine prior to students’ clerkship experiences. A congestive heart failure case was introduced into the Physical Diagnosis course, allowing students to collect subjective data from a standardized patient actor, then to conduct a physical examination on a high fidelity manikin. By applying a theoretical framework of situated cognition, faculty were able to demonstrate the physiological processes the simulated patient was experiencing, allowing students to learn the content within the context where they will apply their knowledge during their clinical experiences. …

Latent Classes Of Victimization In U.S. Adolescents, Diana Mindrila

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

This study used latent class analysis (LCA) with binary observed indicators to identify latent classes of victimization, based on the extent to which adolescents in the U.S. experienced traditional victimization and cyber-victimization. Data were collected by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Bureau of Justice Statistics using 2013 School Crime Supplement of the National Crime Victimization Survey. The sample included 4,939 individuals ages 12-18. LCA yielded a four-class solution: a) “Non-victims” (N=4,274), b) “Traditional victims” (N=486), c) “Cyber-victims” (N=107), and d) “Traditional victims and cyber-victims” (N=72). These findings inform practitioners of the most prevalent types of victimization in …

Lessons Learned From Using Open Educational Resources In An Online Health Psychology Course, Judy O. Grissett

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

This presentation will cover the use of open educational resources (OER) in an online health psychology course. OER are materials that have an open license, meaning they can be adopted or adapted from their original source and shared with others for free (UNESCO, 2017). All materials used in the course were free of cost to students and were accessible through the course learning platform GeorgiaVIEW.

Students in the course completed a project for which only OER were to be used to inform their research. Students therefore became familiar with finding credible OER online. In this presentation, I will discuss the …

Implementing An Lgbtq Training For Teen Pregnancy Prevention Facilitators, Christopher F. Drescher, Elizabeth Devon Eldridge, Elizabeth Wood, Alexis Rossi, Lara Stepleman

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Rates of teen pregnancy are 2-3 times higher among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention (TPP) programs exist, although they may not have been designed with LGBTQ youth in mind. Community organizations may need additional training to ensure that TPPs are LGBTQ inclusive. This study aimed to implement and examine participant experiences of an educational LGBTQ training provided to TPP facilitators. A four-hour LGBTQ educational workshop was designed that included didactics and interactive segments covering topics of LGBTQ terminology, intersectionality, and risk/resilience factors in LGBTQ youth. This workshop was provided to two groups of …

Persistence To Graduation: Is It The Money, High School Preparation, Or First Semester College Matriculation?, Mary E. Anderson, Noran L. Moffett

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

This research study examined the relationship between persistence to graduation within six years and selected variables including financial aid awarded, high school GPA, ACT composite scores, SAT combined scores, and first-year first-semester GPA. It is well documented in research literature that high school preparation, college entrance examinations, and freshman year academic performance play a significant role in degree completion; however, studies on the impact of financial aid have not been as abundant. The researchers developed the College Persistence – Financial Aid Coding Technique System (CP-FACTS) to explore the influences of finances on degree attainment.

In this study, a documentary research …

Supporting Rural Student Success In Higher Education, Peggy A. Lumpkin

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Founded in the late 1880’s, this college originally served students exclusively from the surrounding Appalachian region. Faculty to student ratios average 18:1 and the number of students served average 1000-1200. Today, although the college serves a more diverse student body geographically, it still endeavors to retain the culture of personal attention and support from faculty and staff. These attributes make the college attractive to students from rural communities who often are first generation college students. Striving to survive against competition from both well-funded larger private colleges as well as from state colleges and universities, places pressure on college administration to …

Design And Exploratory Factor Analysis Of A New School Connectedness Scale, Jiali Zheng

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

School connectedness is found to be directly related to adolescents’ academic achievement, peer acceptance, social emotional well-being, and their decisions to remain in school. Given its importance, school connectedness has become an important goal in educational reform initiatives. However, the construct of and terminology for studying school connectedness remain unclear and there is no consensus on what core latent traits of school connectedness should be measured. This study aims to design a new and easy-to-use school connectedness scale. The researchers will examine factor analysis results from existing literature, and borrow items from existing scales. Except for experts’ advice, adolescents’ opinions …

Puppetry Path 2 Science And Math 4 Girls, Paulette Harris, Linda G. Smith Mrs., Sarah E. Wong Ms.

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

In our proposed practice report session, we will describe an ongoing project that bridges the gap between literacy, science, and math for young children. The project that will be shown demonstrates in a playful hands-on manner how using puppets taps into interests of young children in science and math as they develop literacy skills at the same time.

During this presentation of our practice report, the audience will have the opportunity to explore ideas and strategies for whetting the interests of young children. Examples of integrated science/math/literacy units that are a part of the practice report will be shared. These …

Gera Conference Program 2017, Georgia Educational Research Association

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Official Conference Program

Using Planned Reading Circles To Increase Pre-Service Special Education Teachers' Content Knowledge, Yvonne Hefner

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

This presentation will describe the implementation of an appropriate and effective teaching method to help pre-service teacher candidates learn about major course topics. As a method of teaching course content the presenter implements reading circles and the use of the wiki to teach course content in a college course for pre-service special education teacher candidates. The reading circles offer a direct way to encourage reading of course content and, in turn, lead to a better understanding of course content. The wiki allows the students to construct, discuss, revise, and fine-tune their understandings and interpretations of assigned readings. Both the reading …

Urban Students' Motivation In A Stem-Related Afterschool Program, Timothy Hicks, Tugba Ayer, Aeslya Fuqua, Jonathan D. Cohen

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

AMAYS is a design-based research project involving the creation, implementation, and evaluation of an informal learning environment (ILE) that combines elements of culturally relevant pedagogy, informal STEM learning, and gamified learning design. The target population is traditionally underserved middle school students in the greater Atlanta area. A pre-pilot study testing of the AMAYS intervention with a sample target population was completed this summer. Data sources consisted of field notes and open-ended interviews. The researchers used grounded theory in order to allow the data to lead us towards any conclusions. Data were analyzed at first with open coding and then with …

Coteaching In An Inclusion Setting: Perceptions Of Third- Through Eighth-Grade Educators, Crystal Ricks

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

The problem addressed by this study was that coteachers in the district had verbalized a need to address insufficiencies in their understanding about what constitutes best models or practices in inclusion settings. Specifically, coteachers voiced frustration regarding a lack of knowledge about inclusion practices and a lack of necessary training to better equip them to work in coteaching settings. Most of all, teachers in the district articulated concerns regarding the perceived lack of collaboration between coteachers, making it difficult for them to work together. Some teachers put forth views that coteaching as they experienced it was not the type of …

Improving Measurement Of Ambiguity Tolerance Among Teacher Candidates, Kent Allan Rittschof

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

The process of learning often requires dealing with the ambiguity of uncertain interpretations. A learner’s tolerance for ambiguity involves the degree of willingness to accept or adapt to unfamiliar, unpredictable, or uncertain situations and ideas. This study examined the measurement of ambiguity tolerance (AT) among teacher candidates. Pre-service teachers (n = 114) attending a medium size university in the southeastern United States were administered McLain's (1993) Multiple Stimulus Types Ambiguity Tolerance (MSTAT-I) scale. Analyses were first conducted on item responses from the MSTAT-I, then on item responses from the MSTAT-II (McLain, 2009), an instrument comprised of a subset of 13 …

All Possible Regressions Using Ibm Spss: A Practitioner’S Guide To Automatic Linear Modeling, T. Chris Oshima, Theresa Dell-Ross

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Although the all possible subsets regression procedure (or all possible regressions) has been a preferred method for selecting the “best” model in multiple regression, it might not have been the most frequently used method by SPSS users partly due to its time consuming nature of evaluating all possible combinations of multiple regression models. Starting with Version 19, however, IBM SPSS introduced a new procedure called Automatic Linear Modeling, enabling researchers to select best subsets automatically. While the arrival of this new procedure is highly welcomed by researchers, practitioners, and students, it has also raised a potential threat of misuse due …

School Choice: Why Parents Choose Charter, Private, And Homeschool Options, Andrena B. Mathis

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Abstract not available.

Investigating Elementary School Teachers’ Interactions Relating To Newcomer Emergent Bilingual Students, Amy Cain

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Five of the top 16 counties in the United States with the fastest-growing Latino populations from 2000 to 2007 are in Georgia (Pew Hispanic Research Center, 2015). The Georgia metropolitan area where the study occurred has more Latinos than Austin, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, or Tucson (Pew Hispanic Research Center, 2015). Particularly following the New Latino Diaspora (Hamann, Wortham, & Murillo, 2002; Murillo, 2002; and Villenas, 2002) schools in the Southeastern United States have more and more Spanish-speaking students (Pew Hispanic Research Center, 2015). However, most classroom teachers have not received specialized training or professional development relating to these students (Ballantyne, …

Persistence To Graduation: Does Financial Aid Matter?, Mary E. Anderson, Noran L. Moffett

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

This mixed methods research study used a QUAN-QUAL Model to examine the impact that various factors have on student persistence to graduation in postsecondary education. A documentary research approach was used to collect existing data for first-time full-time freshmen in the Fall 2008 Cohort who graduated within six years at a private Historically Black College or University. A correlational research design was employed to determine if a significant relationship existed between the dependent variables—Persistence to Graduation within Six Years and Final GPA at Time of Degree Completion and independent variables. Descriptive statistical analyses were used to describe, summarize, and …

A Proposal For Evaluating Georgia’S Senior Citizen Tuition Waiver Program, Donald Lamar Ariail

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Georgia’s Senior Citizen Tuition Waiver Program (SCTWP) became law in 1976. This program allows senior citizens age 62 and older to attend University System of Georgia (USG) institutions tuition free. With the ultimate aim of improving the current program, the purpose of the proposed evaluation of the SCTWP is to determine the ongoing implementation of the program including the status of the promotion of the program, the assistance being provided to seniors aimed at facilitating entry into the program, and the level of satisfaction of program participants. Preliminary research indicates that information about the program may be difficult to obtain …

Examining The Development Of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy For Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers, Natasha Ramsay-Jordan

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Culturally responsive mathematics pedagogy (CRMP) should be valued and presented as the norm for teachers so that students from diverse backgrounds can access essential mathematical knowledge (Aguirre & del Rosario, 2013; Bonner & Adams, 2012; Leonard & Moore, 2014). Prospective teachers of diverse students need to have opportunities in their professional study to develop the shared knowledge, perceptions and attitudes required for effective implementation of culturally responsive mathematics pedagogy (Gay, 2002). The purpose of this study is to begin investigative and exploratory work through the coupling of qualitative research methodology and critical race theory to examine preservice secondary mathematics teachers’ …

Books Or Boots: A Case Study Of The Dependents Of The Deployed, Meagan Arrastia, Aria Nicole Alvarez, Breanna Mechelle Drummond

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

In response to Dr. Jill Biden’s address at the 2016 AERA annual meeting to study and serve military families, we present a preliminary study of the dependents in military families currently attending college. This case study includes a collection of interviews with college students at a four-year comprehensive university who experienced parental deployment of one or more parent during childhood. Interviews consisted of questions about childhood and educational experiences. Transcripts from interviews with six females with varying experiences have been coded by three separate researchers using thematic analysis. Using self-determination theory to understand academic motivation and identification with the military, …

Gera Conference Program [2016], Georgia Educational Research Association

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Not available.

Student Perceptions Of Caring Mathematics Instruction, Andrew B. Spires

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

In my study I would like to examine how students who are part of a ninth grade mathematics intervention program describe caring mathematics instruction. Researchers have shown the importance of caring instruction especially as it relates to high school mathematics instruction of students who have a history of academic struggles and failure. Given that caring is a complex construct, students’ perceptions of teacher caring not only has the potential to inform high school mathematics instruction but also could lead to healthier and stronger teacher-student relationships.

Developmental Trajectories Of The Children Of The Incarcerated: From An Educational Psychological Perspective, Meagan C. Arrastia

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

In the state of Georgia, more than 28,000 children have parents that are currently incarcerated (The Sentencing Project, 2013). At the nationwide-level, a total of 10 million children have at some point lived without one or both parents due to incarceration (Pew, 2010). Although the captive audience of the imprisoned parents have been studied in the past, these parents rarely have an understanding of their children’s experiences. In fact, a majority of the state prison population reported never getting to see their children for visitation (Glaze & Maruscak, 2010). Recent research has found high rates of learning disabilities, communication problems, …

Undergraduate Research In Georgia Classrooms, Courtney Hartman, Jessica Davis, Meredith Eby, Meca Williams-Johnson, Yasar Bodur

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Despite considerable research describing the positive outcomes of including undergraduate students in research inquiry and investigations (Desai, Gatson, Stiles, Stewart, Laine, & Quick, 2008; Narayanan, 1999; Russell, Hancock, & McCullough, 2007), very little action is taken to include education majors in research endeavors. While universities are seeking to find ways to include students earlier and more often in research projects, students’ perspectives on conducting their own research is overwhelmingly overlooked. The purpose of this symposium is to introduce undergraduate research in education to GERA and to expose these students to conference presentations.

In recent years, the College of Education at …