Education Commons^™

The Influence Of Audibility On Speech Recognition With Nonlinear Frequency Compression For Children And Adults With Hearing Loss, Ryan W. Mccreery, Joshua Alexander, Marc A. Brennan, Brenda Hoover, Judy Kopun, Patricia G. Stelmachowicz

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Objective—The primary goal of nonlinear frequency compression (NFC) and other frequency lowering strategies is to increase the audibility of high-frequency sounds that are not otherwise audible with conventional hearing-aid processing due to the degree of hearing loss, limited hearing aid bandwidth or a combination of both factors. The aim of the current study was to compare estimates of speech audibility processed by NFC to improvements in speech recognition for a group of children and adults with high-frequency hearing loss.

Design—Monosyllabic word recognition was measured in noise for twenty-four adults and twelve children with mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss. Stimuli …

Phonological And Lexical Influences On Phonological Awareness In Children With Specific Language Impairment And Dyslexia, Kelly Farquharson, Tracy M. Centanni, Chelsea E. Franzluebbers, Tiffany Hogan

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Children with dyslexia and/or specific language impairment have marked deficits in phonological processing, putting them at an increased risk for reading deficits. The current study sought to examine the influence of word-level phonological and lexical characteristics on phonological awareness. Children with dyslexia and/or specific language impairment were tested using a phoneme deletion task in which stimuli differed orthogonally by sound similarity and neighborhood density. Phonological and lexical factors influenced performance differently across groups. Children with dyslexia appeared to have a more immature and aberrant pattern of phonological and lexical influence (e.g., favoring sparse and similar features). Children with SLI performed …

Tier 3 Intervention: Discipline Recovery, Reece L. Peterson, Ann O'Connor, Jenna Strawhun

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Clearly, further research on discipline recovery and education programs for students that have been expelled is warranted. Several states and programs appear to be making strides in providing students opportunities to accumulate credits and/or prepare for the workforce while expelled from public school, and clearly this is better than no such programs. However, there is little formal evidence to support or guide specific implementation or programming details for these types programs.

Let Us Rank Journalism Programs, Joseph Weber

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

Unlike law, business, and medical schools, as well as universities in general, journalism schools and journalism programs have rarely been ranked. Publishers such as U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Washington Monthly do not pay them much mind. What is the best journalism school in the country? The top ten undergraduate and graduate schools? It is impossible to know. That should change, and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) should lead the way. It should develop a ranking system that would be helpful to anyone interested, especially because federal policy makers soon will …

Testing Of The Vocalog Vocal Monitor, Jeff Searl, Angela M. Dietsch

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Objective. To elucidate capabilities and limitations of the VocaLog, a device marketed to log-calibrated dB sound pressure level (SPL). Study Design. The study design varied depending on the experiment. All were prospective. Some were case series, and others were cohort studies without controls.

Method. Experiments were conducted to determine (1) whether the VocaLog logged phonatory activity and silence when it should, (2) if nonphonatory activities were detected, (3) correlation of VocaLog dB values to an external sound level meter (SLM), and (4) accuracy of phonation time (PT) and speaking time (ST) estimates from the VocaLog.

Results. Silence …

3d Dynamic Visualization Of Swallowing From Multi-Slice Computed Tomography, Andrew K. Ho, Mark A. Nicosia, Angela Dietsch, William Pearson, Jana Rieger, Nancy Pearl Solomon, Maureen Stone, Yoko Inamoto, Eiichi Saitoh, Sheldon Green, Sidney Fels

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Human swallowing and its disorders (dysphagia) are still poorly understood, and yet many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) need to be trained to recognize correct, incorrect, and potentially dangerous swallows. The anatomy of the head and neck region is notoriously complex and difficult to visualize and study. Currently, training programs that teach SLPs to recognize swallowing disorders use artistically derived animations of swallowing, rendered at fixed viewpoints, to help students visualize the anatomy of the head and neck region.

This work improves on these animations by using state-of-the-art medical images to create a dynamic, interactive, 3D simulation of human swallowing. Images of …

Modulation Of Eeg Spectral Edge Frequency During Patterned Pneumatic Oral Stimulation In Preterm Infants, Dongli Song, Priya Jegatheesan, Sunshine Weiss, Balaji Govindaswami, Jingyan Wang, Jaehoon Lee, Austin Oder, Steven M. Barlow

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Background—Stimulation of the nervous system plays a central role in brain development and neurodevelopmental outcome. Thalamocortical and corticocortical development is diminished in premature infants and correlated to electroencephalography (EEG) progression. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of orocutaneous stimulation on the modulation of spectral edge frequency, f_c=90% (SEF-90) derived from EEG recordings in preterm infants.

Methods—Twenty two preterm infants were randomized to experimental and control conditions. Pulsed orocutaneous stimulation was presented during gavage feedings begun at around 32 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA). The SEF-90 was derived from 2-channel EEG recordings.

Results—Compared to the control …

The Impact Of Interface Design During An Initial High-Technology Aac Experience: A Collective Case Study Of People With Aphasia, Aimee R. Dietz, Kristy S.E. Weissling, Julie Griffith, Miechelle L. Mckelvey, Devan Macke

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this collective case study was to describe the communication behaviors of five people with chronic aphasia when they retold personal narratives to an unfamiliar communication partner using four variants of a visual scene display (VSD) interface. The results revealed that spoken language comprised roughly 70% of expressive modality units; variable patterns of use for other modalities emerged. Although inconsistent across participants, several people with aphasia experienced no trouble sources during the retells using VSDs with personally relevant photographs and text boxes. Overall, participants perceived the personally relevant photographs and the text as helpful during the retells. These …

Supporting Narrative Retells For People With Aphasia Using Augmentative And Alternative Communication: Photographs Or Line Drawings? Text Or No Text?, Julie Griffith, Aimee R. Dietz, Kristy S.E. Weissling

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine how the interface design of an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device influences the communication behaviors of people with aphasia during a narrative retell task.

Method: A case-series design was used. Four narratives were created on an AAC device with combinations of personally relevant (PR) photographs, line drawings (LDs), and text for each participant. The narrative retells were analyzed to describe the expressive modality units (EMUs) used, trouble sources experienced, and whether trouble sources were repaired. The researchers also explored the participants’ perceived helpfulness of the interface features.

Results: The participants …

Just Ask: Using Faculty Input To Inform Communication Strategies, Krista Hoffmann Longtin, Megan M. Palmer, Julie L. Welch, Emily C. Walvoord, Mary E. Dankoski

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Faculty members today are bombarded with information, yet limited in time and attention. Managing communication with faculty is an increasingly important function of faculty development offices. This study explored how communication frameworks can be paired with web design principles and attention economics to increase the effectiveness of communication with faculty members. We developed and tested communication approaches designed to enhance faculty members’ identification and involvement with our programs. The advantages, disadvantages, and effectiveness of each model are presented. Ultimately, the study reframed our understanding of communication strategies, not as static tools, but rather as opportunities to engage faculty.

Tracking Pod's Engagement With Diversity: A Content Analysis Of To Improve The Academy And Pod Network Conference Programs From 1977 To 2011, Stacy E. Grooters

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This study examines the degree to which sessions from the annual Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network Conference and articles from To Improve the Academy engage questions of diversity. The titles and abstracts of 3,946 conference sessions and 560 journal articles were coded for presence and type of diversity. A significant variation in inclusion of diversity over time was found for the conference sessions (p < 0.001) but not the journal articles. Overall, the findings suggest that the organization has been inconsistent in its scholarly engagement with diversity and should work to encourage more regular engagement with diversity by its members.

Preparing New Faculty For Leadership: Understanding And Addressing Needs, Anne Kelsch, Joan Hawthorne

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

A perceived decline in effective faculty participation in campus leadership and governance is well documented, both in the literature and via anecdote. Characteristics common within the culture of higher education make nurturing campus “citizenship” among junior faculty challenging. This essay describes findings from an interview based study of junior faculty in which understanding of professional responsibilities beyond teaching and research was explored. The study documented the deep sense of unpreparedness with which new faculty approach key issues in higher education, including those associated with governance and leadership. Two possible strategies for redressing that unpreparedness, both showing preliminary but positive results, …

Developing Scholarly Teachers Through An Sotl Faculty Fellowship, Beth A. Fisher, Michelle D. Repice, Carolyn L. Dufault, Denise A. Leonard, Regina F. Frey

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The increasing interest in incorporating evidenced based teaching in higher education has created a pronounced need for faculty to learn the theory and practice of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). This article describes a program designed to prepare faculty to (a) draw on existing SoTL studies when designing and implementing evidenced based teaching methods, (b) design SoTL studies to test the effectiveness of those methods, and (c) integrate their new knowledge of SoTL into the practice of “scholarly teaching.” This program has proven to be a successful model for incorporating evidenced based teaching into undergraduate science, technology, engineering, …

Sequential Online Course Redesign: When “It Just Takes Time” Works No Longer, Genevieve G. Shaker, Sarah K. Nathan, Elizabeth J. Dale

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Despite the increase in formats of online education, evidence suggests that the academic achievement gap could widen without iterative adaptation. This comparative case study analyzes the implementation of an online undergraduate course delivered consecutively in hybrid and fully online formats. Student feedback and instructor reflection address adaptive processes for online learning and adjustments to enhance the second course following a sequential redesign. Results include students’ challenges with technology and workload, benefits of cross course collaboration, instructor efforts to mediate challenges without sacrificing rigor, and advice for educational developers as they support online teaching through rapid adaptation by design.

A High-Need Azeri School: A Georgian Perspective, Nino Sharvashidze, Miles T. Bryant

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This article contributes to the International Study of Leadership Development Network initiative to identify high-need schools around the globe by focusing on a small minority ethnic school in the country of Georgia. It will be clear in this article that the challenges the Karajala School administrator faces in this former Soviet bloc school stand as an example of the educational disadvantages common to rural minority ethnic schools in Georgia and to many small rural schools in former Soviet bloc nations. The Karajala School is populated with Azeri students and is located in an isolated agrarian village. In the Republic of …

Being And Belonging: A Critical Phenomenological Study Of Undergraduate Chinese International Students’ Sense Of Belonging In Residence Halls, Christina W. Yao

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Despite the large number of international students from China in U.S. higher education, little research exists on these students’ perceptions of the racial climate in residence halls. This research study illuminates the experiences affecting the sense of belonging of first-year Chinese international students and provides insights on how these students perceive the climate within their new collegiate ‘home’. I used a phenomenological orientation to understand participants’ lived experiences. A critical lens was used to analyze and examine the contextual influences on the participants’ experiences.

This study is centered on understanding how undergraduate Chinese international students’ experiences with domestic students affected …

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?, Adrienne Scavera, Jo-Ann Sowers

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

What do you want to be when you grown up? This is a question most of us heard more than once when we were kids and even more when we were in high school. When we got to be in our 20s the question may have changed to something like, “What are you going to do when you finish college?” or “Now that you are an adult what kind of job or career do you want to do?” After working as a barista, receptionist, and other minimum wage jobs, one young woman in the Career Visions project said, “I am …

Transfer Of The U.S. National Parasite Collection [Announcement], Eric P. Hoberg, Anna J.. Phillips

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

In 2013, an agreement was articulated between the United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Smithsonian Institution to transfer the National Parasite Collection (NPC) in its entirety (fluid specimens, slide specimens, frozen tissues, and reprints) to the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in Washington, D.C. Current collections staff, including senior curator Dr. Eric P. Hoberg and support scientists/managers from the ARS, will be transferred with the collection and, with adjunct appointments in the NMNH, will provide continuity and assistance for curation and accessibility during and after the relocation. New curatorial controls will be established under NMNH …

Transfer Of The United States National Parasite Collection [Announcement], Eric P. Hoberg, Anna J. Phillips

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

In 2013, an agreement was articulated between the United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Smithsonian Institution to transfer the United States National Parasite Collection in its entirety (fluid specimens, slide specimens, frozen tissues and reprints) to the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in Washington, D.C. Current collections staff, including senior curator Dr. Eric P. Hoberg and support scientists/managers from the ARS will be transferred with the collection and with adjunct appointments in the NMNH will provide continuity and assistance for curation and accessibility during and after the relocation. New curatorial controls will be established under …

Undergraduate Instructor Assistants (Uias): Friend Or Foe, William J. Seiler, Jenna Stephenson Abetz

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Undergraduate students have been and continue to be employed as instructor assistants (UIAs) in a variety of courses across disciplines. However, relatively little empirical research has been published regarding the educational merits for them or their students. The present essay extends such research by focusing specifically on UIAs’ perceived value of the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) on their learning and personal growth. The authors conducted in-depth interviews with six former UIAs and employed a qualitative thematic analysis of their responses. Perceived benefits that emerged from the analysis include, for example, learning how to balance many different roles and responsibilities, …

Children’S Attitudes Towards Peers With Disabilities: Associations With Personal And Parental Factors, Soo-Young Hong, Kyong-Ah Kwon, Hyun-Joo Jeon

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate the following: (i) associations among children’s prior contact with people with disabilities and the three dimensions of children’s attitudes towards people with disabilities: children’s understanding of and their feelings about people with disabilities and their behavioral intentions to make inclusion decisions; (ii) the relation between children’s behavioral intentions to make inclusion decisions and the demands of activity contexts and the types of disabilities; and (iii) the association between parents’ attitudes and children’s attitudes. Participants included 94 typically developing four- and five-year-old preschoolers. Children’s understanding of disabilities and their prior contact with people …

Changes In School Connectedness And Deviant Peer Affiliation Among Sixth-Grade Students From High-Poverty Neighborhoods, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Kate Niehaus, Lisa J. Crockett, Christopher R. Rakes

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

This longitudinal study examined associations between changes in School Connectedness and changes in Affiliation With Deviant Peers among students from high-poverty backgrounds during the year immediately following the transition to middle school. Sixth-graders (N = 328) attending two middle schools in a large school district completed measures of School Connectedness and Affiliation With Deviant Peers at three points across the year. Results from parallel process modeling showed that students’ reports of School Support significantly declined across the school year, School Support and Affiliation With Deviant Peers were negatively associated at the beginning of the school year, and students who reported …

Teacher Support Mediates Concurrent And Longitudinal Associations Between Temperament And Mild Depressive Symptoms In Sixth Grade, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Patrick Pössel, Stephanie Winkeljohn Black, Kate Niehaus

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The combination of changes occurring at the transition to middle school may be a catalyst for the onset of depressive symptoms, yet teacher support at this transition is protective. Research points to certain temperamental traits as risk factors for developing depressive symptoms. This study examines student reports of teacher support and teacher reports of student–teacher relationship (STR) quality as mediators of associations between child temperament (i.e. negative emotionality at age 4½ : and emotional reactivity in elementary grades) and depressive symptoms in sixth grade. Results indicate (a) negative emotionality predicted emotional reactivity and depressive symptoms; (b) emotional reactivity predicted depressive …

Quality Of Care From A Parent’S Point Of View: An Examination Of An Early Childhood Education Center Located At A Community College, Jennifer Brown

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to understand parents’ views about child care and the variables that influence their decision to place their children in 5-star child-care facilities. Child care of any kind is often the first group experience children have outside the home. The first 5 years are the most important years in a child’s educational life; it sets the educational foundation for the rest of the child’s life.

The quantitative portion of this study consisted of four research questions, which assessed several sets of relationships and issues: (a) the relationship between demographic data and quality of care; (b) the …

Evaluating The Spacing Effect Theory On The Instructional Effectiveness Of Semester-Length Versus Quarter-Length Introductory Computer Literacy Courses In Institutions Of Higher Learning, Emelda S. Ntinglet

Theses and Dissertations

Evaluating the Spacing Effect Theory on the Instructional Effectiveness of Semester-Length versus Quarter-Length Introductory Computer Literacy Courses in Institutions of Higher Learning. Emelda S. Ntinglet-Davis 2013: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler School of Education and Human Services. ERIC Descriptors: Community College, Spacing effect, Retention, Scheduling, Education, Instructional effectiveness, Intensive format, Quarter-length format, Semester format.

This mixed research study evaluated the spacing effect theory on the academic performances of students enrolled in introductory level Computer Literacy courses by comparing course grades and mock IC3 certification exam scores in semester-length and quarter-length courses at Prince Georges Community College. The …

Taming A Wandering Attention: Short-Form Mindfulness Training In Student Cohorts, Alexandra B. Morrison, Merissa Goolsarram, Scott L. Rogers, Amishi P. Jha

Articles

No abstract provided.

Development Of An Instrument To Measure Student Attitudes Toward Science Fairs, Claudia Huddleston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Science fairs are woven into the very fabric of science instruction in the United States and in other countries. Even though thousands of students participate in science fairs every year, no instrument to measure student attitudes toward partaking in this hands-on learning experience has been fully developed and available for school administrators and teachers to assess the perceived value that current students attribute to participation in science fairs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to continue the development and refinement of an instrument that measured student attitudes towards science fairs based on an unpublished instrument created by Michael (2005). …

Frequent Father Miles: A Phenomenological Study Of Divorced Fathers' Perceived Roles In Their Child's Education, Rebecca Bowman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how divorced fathers perceive their role in the education of their middle or high school child. The central focus of this study was: How do divorced fathers describe the roles they play in their child's education? The following questions guided the study: (a) How do divorced fathers describe the role they play in their child's education? (b) What are the factors that influence a divorced father's role in his child's education? (c) What can schools do to facilitate involvement of divorced fathers in their child's education throughout secondary schools? The co-researchers …

Character Traits In Caldecott Award-Winning Literature From 2002-2012: A Content Analysis, Staci Wagner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined children's books that were honored with the Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book from 2002-2012, in an attempt to analyze examples of character elements in these books. Modeled after two previous dissertations in which Newbery books were analyzed, I used similar methodology to further their research to books honored with the Caldecott Medal. Therefore, content analysis was used to determine the presence of the sample character traits, following the acronym C.H.A.R.A.C.T.E.R., developed by researcher Bryant (2008). These elements included: (a) caring/compassionate, (b) helpfulness, (c) acceptance, (d) respect, (e) ambition, (f) citizenship, (g) trustworthiness, …

Affective Domain Applications In Standards-Based Education, Wayne Rumbaugh

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research examined the attitudes of teachers toward the affective domain in high versus low levels of standards-based instruction. Teachers from a school district in the suburbs of the greater Seattle, Washington, metropolitan area completed a self-report instrument to determine the level of standards-based instruction they use in the classroom. Confirmation of the level of standards-based instruction was ascertained through expert evaluation of classroom learning activities and a student report assessment. Data from these three sources were triangulated and participating teachers were ranked from high to low standards-based instruction level. Teachers in the lowest and highest levels of standards-based instruction …