Education Commons^™

Longitudinal Relations Among Expectancy-Value Beliefs, Achievement, And Intentions To Leave For Health Science Students, Kyle C. Mefferd

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Utilizing expectancy-value theory (EVT), the present study observed the temporal relations among health science students’ expectations, subjective task values (STV), and costs with academic achievement and intentions to leave a health science program. The present study is among the first to examine this population of students and is one of the earliest to utilize a longitudinal design with a random-intercepts cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) for EVT data. The study’s novel contributions not only add to the EVT literature by incorporating a methodologically more advanced form of the traditional cross-lagged panel model, but also extends the reach of EVT research by …

Student Choice During Silent Solitude: An Examination Of Reading Motivation In An Urban Elementary School, Elizabeth A. White

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study was designed to examine differences in students’ reading motivation based on the frequencies with which they choose to read over other options. A modified version of the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ; Wigfield & Guthrie, 1997), using four of the eleven categories it was designed to assess including Challenge, Self- Efficacy, Reading Importance and Reading Curiosity. The students were also observed inside the classroom by their teaching staff and their choices were recorded on a Behavioral Analysis Checklist during a structured silent break in their day. The students also indicated whether they felt more confident in reading activities …

Revisiting The Smartphone And Learning Inventory (Sali): Perspectives Of Preservice Teachers, Bridget K. Daleiden

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The implications of the presence and usage of smartphone technology in learning contexts are not fully understood. Self-regulated learning (SRL) theory offers a theoretical framework in which smartphone use can be explored. Researchers have recently developed a measure of smartphone use while studying, the Smartphone and Learning Inventory (SALI) (Hartley et al., 2020b). The present study is an exploratory qualitative analysis designed to compare open-ended responses to the 3-factor structure of the SALI. A thematic analysis of open-ended responses from a sample of preservice teachers was conducted. The purpose of the current research is to explore themes that may represent …

Motivation And Gesture In Foreign And Second Language Development: A Sociocultural Study Of Chinese Learners Of English, Lixian Tian

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation study investigated motivation as related to goal-directed activity and gesture awareness as well as their interplay in second and foreign language development in different English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a second language (ESL) contexts. This study included four groups of Chinese learners of English. The first EFL group consisted of college students in China learning English without intention of studying abroad (G1) and the second EFL group in China included Chinese learners of English who were learning English to prepare to study abroad (G2). Participants in the first ESL group were living and studying …

Motivation And Online Information Literacy Instruction: A Self-Determination Theory Approach, Francesca Marineo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Information literacy skills, including critical thinking and problem-solving skills, are imperative for academic, personal, and professional success. Unfortunately, many students graduate only to be more daunted than ever by the vast amount of information available to them and increasingly rely on convenience over quality in their information-seeking behaviors. This study hoped to address this by increasing students’ motivation for engaging in an online information literacy module. Using self-determination theory (SDT) from the field of motivation, motivationally-supportive modules were designed to support students’ feelings of autonomy and competence and ultimately grades on their final research assignment. Experimental conditions included providing relevance, …

Exploring Relations Between Motivation, Metacognition, And Academic Achievement Through Variable-Centered, Person-Centered And Learning Analytic Methodologies, Wonjoon Hong

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The three studies that comprise this dissertation examine relations between student characteristics, motivations, metacognitive learning processes, and academic achievement. Methodologically, the dissertation demonstrated the potential of multiple types of approaches

and data resource types. By employing multiple approaches including variable-centered, person-centered, and learning analytics, researchers can understand learning processes from various angles. In addition, through this triangulation by multiple types of methodological approaches, educational theories could be more thoroughly verified and supported by various empirical findings. Multiple types of data resources are related to analytical methods.

The purpose of the first paper was to examine relations between achievement goals and …

Malingering Undetected Successfully: Does Extrinsic Motivation And Coaching Have A Significant Impact?, Jennifer Golanics

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The present study examined the effectiveness of a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) coaching (i.e., providing information about mTBI symptoms) and motivational incentive (i.e., a $50 gift card lottery) on the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) test performance. The sample included a total of 162 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in an introductory educational psychology course. Participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions: coached plus warning instruction and motivation incentive, coached instruction and motivation incentive, uncoached instruction and motivation incentive, coached plus warning instruction and no motivation incentive, coached instruction and no motivation incentive, and uncoached instruction and …

Student Expectations And Motivation In Spanish For Heritage Speakers Programs, Sergio A. Guzman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The changing demographics in the United States and the growing need for multilingual individuals originated by globalization, among other reasons, have contributed to the emergence of a new field within the area of Applied Linguistics: The Teaching and Learning of Heritage Languages. Due to historical and geographic causes, Spanish for Heritage Speakers (SHS) is currently the largest and most established of these programs. However, the curricula, like those of most college courses, has been developed from professors’ perspectives, largely ignoring what students want to learn and/or their motives for enrolling in these classes. The lack of student input is especially …

More Bang For Your Buck: Bolstering Learning Via Refutation Text With Refutation-Based Elaborated Feedback, Jacqueline R. Cordova

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The current study examines the effects of refutation text and refutation-based elaborated feedback on conceptual understanding, self-efficacy, interest, beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge, within the context of learning about climate change. The study also tests whether elaborated feedback moderates the refutation text effect through an interaction. One hundred and fifty nine undergraduate students were recruited to participate in this study, which was administered via computer. They completed measures of their self-efficacy and interest in learning about climate change, as well as climate change beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge. Approximately half of the participants read a refutation text and half read a comparison …

So It’S Not Like The Movies? An Analysis Of The Links Between Popular Culture, Motivation And Expectations In First-Year College Students, Kelle Snow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The rising concern regarding the graduation rates of university students in the United States has led to research being conducted in order to establish possible relationships between environmental factors and the high attrition rates for first-generation college students pursuing a Bachelor’s degree at a four-year university. One factor to be examined is the portrayal of higher education in popular culture and the impact this has on students’ perceptions, and therefore motivation and expectations, when entering into a four-year program at a university. This study seeks to empirically identify if any such connection exists between the portrayal of higher education in …

Student Motivation, Stressors, And Intent To Leave A Nursing Phd Or Dnp Program: A National Study Using Path Analysis, Delene Renee Volkert

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The growing need for nurse scientists and nurse faculty researchers has led to the call to double the number of doctorally prepared nurses by 2020 (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2010). Nursing has responded with more doctoral degree programs resulting in an increase from 122 DNP graduates in 2007 to 8,184 nurses who hold DNP degrees by 2013. PhD programs have also seen 5,306 graduates between the years 2004 through 2013 (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2014a). One troubling aspect that affects nursing and other doctoral programs is high attrition rates. A recent ten year longitudinal study from the …

Comparing The Effects Of Two Utility Value Interventions On Graduate Students' Interest, Performance, And Perceptions Of Utility Value, Ivan Vladimirov Ivanov

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The present study compares the immediate and delayed effects of teacher- vs. student-generated utility value interventions on students' interest, performance, and perceptions of utility value. In addition, it examines whether sense of autonomy mediates the relationship between type of utility value intervention and performance. The study is grounded in self-determination theory and expectancy-value theory and adopts a 3x3 mixed model design, with random assignment of participants to two relevance instruction conditions and a control condition.

Findings suggest that the teacher-generated utility value intervention was more effective than the student-generated utility value intervention and the control condition in terms of increased …

Enhancing The Calibration Accuracy Of Adult Learners: A Multifaceted Intervention, Antonio P. Gutierrez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The present study employs the Nelson and Narens Model of Metacognition (NNMM) to examine the influence of metacognitive strategy training and extrinsic incentives on performance, level of confidence, and the calibration accuracy of undergraduate students' metacognitive judgments within a pretest/posttest experimental design. Calibration of performance is crucial because it allows learners to engage in appropriate comprehension monitoring during a learning episode. As metacognition implies, those individuals who are better calibrators can more adequately adapt to the demands of the situation (monitoring), and thereby better prepare for learning episodes that are similar in format or content (control). Consequently, this aids in …