Education Commons^™

Development Of An Experiential Leadership Curriculum Using The Absorb, Do, Connect Model, Sarah Norris

Education Projects

Numerous leadership development programs exist in both the educational and workforce sectors. However, many organizations, specifically nonprofit and governmental agencies, do not have access to hands-on leadership development curriculum that fits their needs. Often, they either send new leadership staff to off-site “leadership training” that does not provide a transfer of learning aspect to be practiced and applied on site,or they create “make-shift” leadership training sessions that do not show validated improvements. The purpose of this project was to develop and betatest anexperiential learning curriculum for emerging leaders using the Absorb, Do, Connect model (Horton, 2012). The curriculum is generic …

Remodeled Classrooms: Experiential Learning And Its Impact, Mindy Kinnaman

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examined how faculty learn how to host and facilitate experiential learning activities for their classes and how the faculty are impacted by the work. Findings based upon nine semi-structured interviews indicated that fewer than half of participants had been formally trained to host experiential learning activities and some received no training at all. Findings also indicated that faculty experienced several personal benefits to hosting experiential learning activities, as did their students. Recommendations that emerged from this project include training programs for faculty, mentoring programs, and funding of experiential learning programs.

Does Experiential Learning Add Value In Financial Literacy Education: A Qualitative Investigation, Abra Akers Endsley

Online Theses and Dissertations

According to Marketwatch.com the lack of financial literacy among U.S. citizens has cost upwards of $200 billion over the last twenty years. Besides racking up student loan debt that averaged about $37,172 per student in 2016 (Marketwatch.com) millennials and those in Generation Z are also the most likely to engage in risky financial behaviors like payday loans, pawnshops and tax refund advances (PwC, 2016; Mottolla, 2014). Being financially vulnerable as young adults compounded with today’s increasingly complex financial environment (Batty et al., 2015), make fertile ground for mistakes that have lifelong impact.

Over the last 20 years, much has been …

Alignment Or Detachment: College Educators’ Perceptions Of Experiential Learning Pedagogy, Wayne D. Finseth

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The main purpose of this study was to investigate how college educators’ perceptions of experiential learning influence the design, implementation, and assessment of their courses. A second purpose of this study was to examine the way’s college educators use experiential learning in their classes. A final purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between a college educators’ prior experience with experiential learning and how they utilize that prior experiences to design, instruct, and assess their courses. A descriptive research design was used in this study. A randomized and anonymous survey containing 29 items was emailed out through Qualtrics …

Adolescent Adventures In Geology: Impacts Of Geoscience-Focused Stem Education Combined With Recreation Activities On Adolescents’ Perceived Self-Efficacy, Lauren Janowicz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Quality, informal learning techniques combined with outdoor adventure recreation, or adventure STEM programming, is a potentially powerful complement to and extension of formal education (Fu et al., 2015). To address this underexplored field, West Virginia University (WVU) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) partnered to create a geology STEM, outdoor adventure recreation camp. This thesis research project employed qualitative directed content analysis to examine the potential impacts of this adventure STEM program on participants’ perceptions of their outdoor recreation (OR) self-efficacy (Bandura, 1994; Mittelstaedt et al., 2009). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 adolescent participants with an average age …

Gender Equity In Outdoor Adventures: How Gender Constructs Shape Engagement At The University Of San Diego, Lauren Wong

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

Outdoor Adventures (OA) at the University of San Diego bridges the industries of outdoor education and higher education. This action research investigates the constructions of gender that inform programming and relationship building within OA. Through a survey and focus groups, I collected data from OA professional staff and student leaders. The purpose of this research was to explore how different genders engage with experiential learning in an outdoor setting through a lens of queer theory, by evaluating the engagement of OA professional staff and participants. My findings indicate that the constructs of gender inform the ways students experience their capacity …

Master’S-Level Counseling Students’ Experience Of Expressive Arts Techniques In A Cacrep Multicultural Counseling Course, Cameron Houin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Counseling governing bodies have defined what should be prioritized in multicultural counseling courses, including students’ multicultural knowledge and awareness; however, best practice regarding how to teach these multicultural concepts has largely been left up to the counselor educator. Counselor educators have begun implementing expressive arts techniques in the classroom, but very little literature exists related to using such techniques in a multicultural course in a manner that positively influence counseling students’ multicultural competency.

The purpose of this study was to explore master’s-level counseling students’ experience of expressive arts techniques utilized during their multicultural counseling course. Ten student participants took part …

Student Perspectives On Classroom Community In A Career Technical Center, Laura Robinson

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This paper researches how to build community from a students’ perspective, in a criminal justice program in a career technical education center. It is not known how students perceive community building as happening in a criminal justice classroom. Four components of the Lamica model contributed to a model of classroom community or social and emotional learning: experiential education, Capturing Kid’s Hearts, military command structure, and peer mentoring. A case study design was utilized to study this problem through interviews, and questionnaires, from both students and instructors. Analysis of the interviews, both student and instructors, and questionnaires was hand coded …

An Exploration Of Professional Preparedness Of Instructional Designers To Evaluate, Philena V. Devaughn

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Formative, summative, and confirmative evaluation of instructional products determine whether learner objectives have been attained and substantiate the value of the instruction. The ability to implement an evaluation plan is classified as an essential skill for instructional designers by the International Board of Standards for Training and Performance Improvement (IBSTPI). Previous research has ascertained that entry-level instructional designers have failed to master the skills required to create evaluation plans.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the professional preparation received by instructional designers, for instruction evaluation, through graduate level programs. The data collected for this study was the …

A Critical Lens Of Experiential Learning In Puerto Rico, Robin Marion

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT A CRITICAL LENS OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING IN PUERTO RICO February 2019 ROBIN L. MARION, B.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST M.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Dr. Denise K. Ives Teacher education research has shown that ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse students have been historically under-served in U.S. public schools (Bennett, 2013; Gay, 2010). Scholars attribute the under-serving of diverse students to a deficit perspective that exists in many schools across the United States, both in classrooms and within school administration. This deficit perspective devalues the cultural and linguistic resources many students possess (Sleeter, …

An Examination Of Employer Evaluations Of Student Participants In A Cooperative Education Program, Candice Grace Clendenin Stadler

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study examined employer evaluations of engineering student participants in a cooperative education program from research conducted on a small, rural, public university. Specifically, the data was derived from science, engineering, mathematics, and technology (STEM) programs. Historically, little research exists on employer perceptions of participants of cooperative education programs. Thus, a review of the literature examined the following areas: experiential education, cooperative education and work-based learning, implications of cooperative education and internships, history of cooperative education, implications for engineering majors, and employer perceptions of employability skills. More specifically, the research examined employer perceptions of cooperative education students in bachelor degree …

Experiential Learning In Dietetics: Can Diabetes Camp Make A Difference?, Mallory Jean Mount

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This longitudinal qualitative case study explored the knowledge, perceptions, confidence, and empathy gained by dietetics students during experiential learning at a residential diabetes camp. Qualitative research methods were used to explore and understand participants’ experience of hands-on involvement with type one diabetes, and what they learned at camp that cannot be learned in a classroom. Data were collected over two years at Camp Kno-Koma, the diabetes camp of West Virginia. This study suggests that experiential learning at diabetes camp can make an important contribution to the overall education of dietetics students. One year of experiential learning was beneficial to participating …

The Impact Life Experience Has On Leadership Development, Tawyna G. Daniels

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study was to address the problem of ineffective leadership by focusing on the impact life experiences have on leadership development. Participants in this qualitative study were educational leaders (principals) located in a central North Carolina school district. The researcher sought to study how select leaders’ life experiences impacted their leadership development, identify common themes that influenced select leaders, use the results to address the need for effective leadership in educational environments, and use the results to bring awareness of the importance of leadership development through experiential learning. Qualitative data in this study revealed that that …

The Development And Integration Of Community Engagement In Graduate Education, Patricia Noske

Theses & Dissertations

This study, framed by Kolb’s experiential learning theory, explored the intentions, perceptions, and understanding of graduate faculty and staff on community engagement. Questions have arisen as to whether students with advanced degrees are entering the job market with sought-after skills. In response, universities have continued to seek program improvements to enhance quality learning experiences to better prepare them for what follows after graduation. Within higher education, community engagement programs have been identified as an approach to respond to challenges as they have been shown to add substance, meaning, and value to students’ learning.

An epistemological case study was conducted to …

“The Moral Of This Nazi Fairytale”: A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Invisible Adult Education In World War Ii-Era Film, Lauren Carson

Dissertations

When the United States entered WWII, the government contracted with several film studios to produce propagandistic cartoons, newsreels, and short films. These contracts continued throughout the war, and government agencies not only censored these films, but also produced some of their own film media. The deliberately embedded messages planted to influence viewers worked well for several reasons. During the war years, the Nazi Party produced its own propaganda films, and while the United States decried that deliberate attempt to influence populations, the United States government was doing exactly what they condemned: producing film made to influence its own population. Since …

Summer Camp And Experiential Learning – A Qualitative Study Exploring The Perspectives Of Selected Participants, Living In Poverty, While Attending A Sleep-Away Summer Camp In Northern Minnesota, Mary Hill Achelpohl

Student Work

Summer breaks vary in length and depth of experiences for many children and families. The summer learning gap has been widely researched as problematic to the cognitive, social, and emotional development for many children, especially children living in poverty. At the same time, best practices in summer learning initiatives have a narrow research scope. This qualitative phenomenological research study explores participants’ perceptions of their time at a sleep-away summer camp in Northern Minnesota. All participants were living in poverty during their time at summer camp. A major focus will examine summer learning opportunities and the importance of creating experiences for …

The Influence Of A Short-Stay International Trip On Chaperones’ Attitudes Toward Traveling Students, Co-Chaperones, And The Destination Culture: A Case Study, Frederick N. Mbayu

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Chaperones are adults who accompany, look after, and supervise traveling students. This case study examined the influence of an urban middle school short-stay international trip to France on chaperones’ perceptions and attitudes toward traveling students, co-chaperones, and the destination culture. Five chaperones on spring break trips from 2014 to 2017 provided data during individual ex post facto semi-structured interviews. Trip-related documents and trip vendor participant online accounts were analyzed to corroborate and augment the interview data. Participants developed a positive view of the traveling students after traveling together for ten days. Chaperones increased their understanding of diversity, developed a deeper …

Institutionalizing Community Engaged Scholarship At A Research University, Stephanie Hayne Beatty

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Higher education institutions are increasingly investing in community-university partnerships as a mechanism for strengthening relationships with the local community, expanding experiential learning (EL) opportunities for students, and supporting faculty in community engaged scholarship (CES). This organizational improvement plan (OIP) examines how a research-focused university can institutionalize CES so that faculty members feel supported and rewarded for their efforts to link teaching and research to community priorities. Using both transformational and distributed leadership approaches, as well as Kotter’s (1996) change model, in combination with Norris-Tirrell, Lambert-Pennington, and Hyland’s (2010) social movement model, the proposed change plan focuses on organizational structure, and …

Failure-To-Rescue Simulations As A Risk Management Strategy For Registered Nurses, Trena K. Seago

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

In the hospital setting, prevention of failure-to-rescue (FTR) events is an important aspect of patient safety. The use of patient simulation as a strategy to educate nurses on the prevention of these events offers two modes of learning: 1) experiential learning through simulation and 2) reflection through debriefing. The act of practicing to recognize a deteriorating patient through experiential learning and reflection may help increase nurses’ self-efficacy in recognizing a similar situation in their future practice. This quasi-experimental, one-group, pretest-posttest pilot study investigated the use of patient simulation among registered nurses (RNs) in the hospital setting as an anticipatory educational …

Adopting Active Learning Classroom (Alc) Technology And Overcoming Barriers: A Faculty Development Intervention Model For Technology-Enhanced Learning Spaces, Bradford D. Wheeler

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this study was to understand how instructors use technology, and what challenges they face, but also to increase the participants’ understanding of Active Learning Classroom (ALCs) technologies as it applies to their teaching by applying action research methodologies. This study also seeks to lay a foundation for additional research on ALCs, education technology, and the needs of instructors in terms of faculty development in technology. This study investigates a group of 13 faculty members in multiple disciplines teaching in ALCs. Thus far, research on the impact of technology-enriched learning environments like Active Learning Classrooms has typically centered …

A Mixed Method Descriptive Study Of High School Graduates' Dual Enrollment Experiences And The Influence On College Readiness, Sherry W. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the perceptions of graduates regarding the benefits of participating in Dual Enrollment and how their participation influenced their college readiness. Dual enrollment programs have become prominent nationwide. Several studies show positive outcomes including increased high school completion, improved postsecondary persistence, and higher college degree completion. This study will evaluate dual enrollment participants at one high school located in central Georgia. Data is analyzed and presented based on relevance to the effectiveness of the dual enrollment program. The study was important because the success of Dual Enrollment could provide a possible remedy …

The Experiential Journey Of Teacher-Scholars: “If You’Re Not A Teacher, You Just Don’T Get It”, Ashleigh L. Pelafigue

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Center of Graduate Schools (2015) published a report detailing applications, enrollment, and trends in graduate schools across the nation showing that approximately one third of all first-time graduate school applicants in master’s degree programs utilizing the GRE assessment identify their career path in either business or teacher education. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of classroom teachers who concurrently pursued graduate studies to earn a master’s degree in education and to understand how adult learning provided opportunities for personal growth and the attainment of professional goals. Individual interviews and two focus groups were conducted …

Do I Enact What I Learn?: Examining Novice Science Teachers Approximations Of Practice, Helene Pollins

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine novice secondary science teachers’ enactment of their teaching philosophies in their lesson planning and teaching. The framework was based on three theories: approximations of practice, teachers’ knowledge of content and students (KCS), and experiential learning. The design for this research used a qualitative case study design. The participants were three novice science teachers in a large school district in the Southwestern United States. Data sources included teaching philosophies, three semi-structured interviews, lesson plans, and observations. Three research questions were: what are novice science teachers’ major philosophies at the entry level of teaching; …

On The Road For Change: An In-Depth Analysis And Future Recommendations, Amy Lebrecht

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

In the 2016-2017 school year, James Madison University's Dux Leadership Center in collaboration with the Madison Collaborative: Ethical Reasoning In Action program created the On the Road for Change Alternative Spring Break Program. This innovative experience focused on growing ethical leadership skills within 15 student participants through six workshops, an alternative break and a re-orientation session. In order to understand if this program was successful in helping students become better ethical leaders, an in-depth assessment program was implemented including learning objectives, pre and post tests, journal entries and interviews.

This thesis expands upon the creation, content included, results of and …

A Self-Assessment Of Hrd Competency Development In Undergraduate Students: Indigenous Project-Based Learning Experience, Kendra Hall

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

In the field of human resource development, the literature and research suggest that in order for students to become proficient practitioners in a global business world, there is a need for the inclusion of diversity education. The purpose of this study is to understand student’s perceptions of their competency development after a semester-long engagement with an Indigenous organization. The current study examines HRD undergraduate student’s competency development, using the Association for Talent Development (ATD) standards and focuses on the global mindset foundational competency. The participants completed a retrospective pre-post self-assessment to measure their competency development prior to and after the …

Tennessee Junior 4-H Camp Curriculum: Creating, Implementing, And Evaluating Educational Programming Using Research-Based Practices In Youth Development And Instructional Design, Alexis Hall

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Integrating A Farm Study Into A Mixed Age Classroom, Rachel Kanegis

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper, Integrating A Farm Study Into A Mixed Age Classroom, explores the impact and benefits of integrating a farm study into a classroom. It reports on the course and the results of how students responded to the farm study over one full school year. In addition, it shows how the integrated farm study could be incorporated into the core academic topics such as reading, writing, math, social studies, and science. In fact, this paper proves how students become more motivated and engaged to learn in the core academic topics through their focus on the farm study. The class that …

Preparing Nursing Students To Respond To Disasters: Faculty Perspectives, Melissa Jayne Freshwater

Dissertations

This mixed methods study explored emergency preparedness and disaster response in the concept-based learning curriculum adopted by the Alabama Community College System (ACCS) in 2016. The concept-based curriculum employs active learning in lieu of the traditional lecture-style teaching methods.

This study addressed the problem that educators may be unfamiliar with this content and are unsure how to present this material to students. The purpose of this study was to gain insight on teaching methodologies, to better prepare nursing students on this content.

Kolb’s 1984 Experiential Learning Theory was the framework that parallels closely with this curriculum. Kolb emphasizes four stages …

El Aprendizaje Del Inglés Como Lengua Extranjera En Adolescentes Del Instituto Aismer International A Través Del Método Experiencial De Kolb, Karen Lorena Erazon Chezar, Jhonnier Moreno Tique

Licenciatura en Español y Lenguas Extranjeras

Con la finalidad de resolver problemas cotidianos e inmediatos se buscó la transformación de una realidad social, específicamente, del aprendizaje del inglés como lengua extranjera. Esta investigación presenta los resultados logrados luego de aplicar el método experiencial de Kolb (2015), en las clases de inglés de estudiantes adolescentes del Instituto Asimer International. El objetivo de este trabajo fue favorecer el progreso en el nivel de dominio de lengua inglesa de los estudiantes de este Instituto de lenguas y de manera precisa fortalecer el nivel de desarrollo de su habilidad de comprensión de lectura. Se realizó entonces una implementación pedagógica que …

Impact Of Experiential Learning In Cross Disciplinary Projects, Cassandra M. Cameron

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In higher education, immersion in real-world experience is essential for students’ professional development. This paper seeks to examine the facets of importance within experiential learning while participating in cross disciplinary projects. First, an anecdotal experience of participating in a national financial competition as transcribed by the author is provided in Section I. This will provide personal reflection of the various benefits associated with the project. Section II follows with a review of relevant literature to connect the aforementioned benefits to experimental and empirical evidence. Section III provides the manuscript submitted to and chosen as a finalist of the Financial Service …