Education Commons^™

Gender Differences In Achievement, Behavior, And Stem Interest Among Learners Using Minecraft, Maricel A. Esclamado, Ma. Mercedes T. Rodrigo

Department of Information Systems & Computer Science Faculty Publications

In this paper, we analyze how male and female learners differ in their in-game behaviors, knowledge assessment outcomes, and STEM interest using the What-If Hypothetical Implementations using Minecraft (WHIMC). We also investigate how male and female learners’ self-reported levels of frustration and boredom relate to these outcomes. We examine in-game data, out-of-game assessment data, self-reported frustration and boredom, and results of the STEM interest questionnaire (SIQ) from 175 Grade 8 learners from a school in the Philippines. We found that male learners tend to explore more than female learners. Both genders learn more through more exploration, making more observations, and …

Actions Of The Principal: Influences On Teacher Self-Efficacy And Motivation, Amanda Maslen Conner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Classroom teachers are a significant influence on student achievement. Numerous studies indicate that teacher motivation and self-efficacy influence their effectiveness in the classroom. Furthermore, studies indicate that the leadership behaviors of the principal can influence the school culture and have a direct impact on teacher motivation and self-efficacy. This study sought to determine if a relationship exists between certain behaviors of administrators and a teacher's self-efficacy and motivation. The study used a correlational design using The Teacher Motivation & Job Satisfaction Survey (TMJSS), The Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), and the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI). There were 72 high …

School Improvement Plan, Taylor Anderson

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Students in schools display a variety of behaviors. Some of these behaviors being negative, and some of these behaviors being positive. This school improvement plan will give you a small glimpse at a Title 1 elementary school with a goal of decreasing the amount of times a student has to be removed from the classroom, or receives a first responder call. A first responder call is when an adult in the building has to call for additional adult support due to a student's behaviors. This project will start with a literature review of multiple articles discussing social skills, and the …

Academic Dishonesty And Testing: How Student Beliefs And Test Settings Impact Decisions To Cheat, Jarret M. Dyer, Heidi C. Pettyjohn, Steve Saladin

Testing Services Publications

Research shows that academic dishonesty in post-secondary education runs particularly high among students in the specific disciplines of engineering, business, and nursing. The authors were interested in how student attitudes towards specific environments for testing might contribute to the prevalence or likelihood of cheating on tests and exams. It was hypothesized that while there would be no difference in their beliefs or attitudes regarding the acceptability of cheating behaviors in unproctored versus proctored settings, students would be more likely to engage in cheating behavior in an unproctored setting. Technology continues to transform the world around us at a rapid pace, …

Analyzing The Mindsets And Behaviors Of Introductory Physics Students Through The Lens Of Intellectual Humility, Meagan Sundstrom

University Scholar Projects

Students often enter the physics classroom with intuitive conceptions drawn from real life experiences or former coursework, and may be hesitant or reluctant to re-evaluate these mindsets in favor of formally instructed knowledge. The goal of introductory physics courses is not only to teach and expose students to new content, but also to cultivate students’ ability to reason through and derive content knowledge through personal inquiry. This scientific process necessitates one’s abilities to be open-minded in terms of hearing evidence that contradicts his or her personal opinion, to be willing to discard any original misconceptions in the face of such …

Analyzing The Mindsets And Behaviors Of Introductory Physics Students Through The Lens Of Intellectual Humility, Meagan Sundstrom

Honors Scholar Theses

Students often enter the physics classroom with intuitive conceptions drawn from real life experiences or former coursework, and may be hesitant or reluctant to re-evaluate these mindsets in favor of formally instructed knowledge. The goal of introductory physics courses is not only to teach and expose students to new content, but also to cultivate students’ ability to reason through and derive content knowledge through personal inquiry. This scientific process necessitates one’s abilities to be open-minded in terms of hearing evidence that contradicts his or her personal opinion, to be willing to discard any original misconceptions in the face of such …

A Typology Of Predictive Risk Factors For Non-Adherent Medication-Related Behaviors Among Chronic Non-Cancer Pain Patients Prescribed Opioids: A Cohort Study, Amy Peacock, Louisa Degenhardt, Gabrielle Campbell, Briony K. Larance, Suzanne Nielsen, Wayne Hall, Richard P. Mattick, Raimondo Bruno

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

BACKGROUND: There has been no previous prospective examination of the homogeneity of chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) patients in risk factors for non-adherent opioid use. OBJECTIVES: To identify whether latent risk classes exist among people with CNCP that predict non-adherence with prescribed opioids. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. METHODS: The Pain and Opioids IN Treatment prospective cohort comprises 1,514 people in Australia prescribed pharmaceutical opioids for CNCP interviewed 3 months apart. Risk factors were assessed in wave 1, and non-adherent behaviors in the 3 months prior to wave 1 and wave 2. Latent class analysis was used to examine groups with …

Energy Cost Of Physical Activities And Sedentary Behaviors In Young Children, Anja Grobek, Christiana Van Loo, Gregory E. Peoples, Markus Hagenbuchner, Rachel A. Jones, Dylan P. Cliff

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: This study reports energy expenditure (EE) data for lifestyle and ambulatory activities in young children. Methods: Eleven children aged 3 to 6 years (mean age = 4.8 ± 0.9; 55% boys) completed 12 semistructured activities including sedentary behaviors (SB), light (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activities (MVPA) over 2 laboratory visits while wearing a portable metabolic system to measure EE. Results: Mean EE values for SB (TV, reading, tablet and toy play) were between 0.9 to 1.1 kcal/min. Standing art had an energy cost that was 1.5 times that of SB (mean = 1.4 kcal/min), whereas bike riding (mean = …

Physics Students' Social Media Learning Behaviors And Connectedness, Rachel Moll, Wendy S. Nielsen, Cedric Linder

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Drawing on a complexity thinking perspective on learning, the conditions of emergence for complex systems were used as an analytic framework to characterize social media learning behaviours for their potential to promote connectedness. The authors' analysis identifies trends in secondary and tertiary physics students' social media use from focus group interview data and characterizes the nature of these behaviours for their potential to benefit students' understanding of the content of science curricula. While the authors' study focuses on physics learning, they propose implications that extend to other science learning contexts vis-a-vis how to transform connectivity learning behaviours into connectedness learning …

Peer Health Teaching Improves Nutrition Behaviors In The Teen Teacher Population, Ashlie Smith

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Peer teaching is a promising model of health education. Limited research exists on the topic of the effectiveness of peer health teaching, and even less research exists on the effects on the actual peer teachers, notably their motivations for becoming peer teachers as well as behavioral modifications and improved self-efficacy made as a result. This study examined the motivations and the health behavior modifications made by 4-H Eat 4-Health teen teachers ages 14 to 17 after delivering a peer health education program. This study investigated teen teachers’ nutrition and physical activity behavior changes as well as their leadership and confidence …

The Relationship Of The Implementation Of Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports To Improve Academic Achievement, Brenda L. Tracy

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The foundation for PBiS and its practices is that academic achievement and social behaviors are connected. It becomes difficult for students to learn when the student is spending more time in discipline-related interactions than in those related to learning academic content. School administrators and teachers have become increasingly frustrated with the impact of poor student behavior on academic achievement in their schools. The situation leads to the public perception that student behavior is out of control. Isolated situations of violence (e.g., school shootings) contribute to the perception. Teachers continually struggle to master classroom management strategies that are proactive, preventative in …

Associations Between Sports Participation, Adiposity And Obesity-Related Health Behaviors In Australian Adolescents, Stewart A. Vella, Dylan P. Cliff, Anthony D. Okely, Maree L. Scully, Belinda C. Morley

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between organized sports participation, weight status, physical activity, screen time, and important food habits in a large nationally representative sample of Australian adolescents.

Methods

Nationally representative cross-sectional study of 12,188 adolescents from 238 secondary schools aged between 12 and 17 years (14.47 ± 1.25 y, 53% male, 23% overweight/obese). Participation in organized sports, compliance with national physical activity, screen time, and fruit and vegetable consumption guidelines, and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and high-fat foods were self-reported. Weight status and adiposity (BMI, waist circumference) were measured.

Results

Organized sports participation …

Using Social Marketing To Promote Cold And Flu Prevention Behaviors On An Australian University Campus, Lyn Phillipson, Sandra C. Jones, Karen Larsen-Truong, Laura Robinson, Lance Barrie

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Cold and influenza transmission is a serious public health issue for universities. This case study describes a coordinated social marketing campaign that incorporated health messages and products. It was designed to motivate behavior change to prevent the spread of colds and influenza on a university campus. Methods: The aims of this multi-component intervention were to raise awareness of the importance of individual behavior in preventing the spread of colds and flu and to encourage staff and students to adopt three simple habits: hand washing, cough or sneeze in sleeve, and stay at home if sick. A repeated, cross-sectional survey …

Parental Employment And Child Behaviors: Do Parenting Practices Underlie These Relationships?, Renata Hadzic, Christopher A. Magee, Laura Robinson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This study examined whether hours of parental employment were associated with child behaviors via parenting practices. The sample included 2,271 Australian children aged 4-5 years at baseline. Two-wave panel mediation models tested whether parenting practices that were warm, hostile, or characterized by inductive reasoning linked parent's hours of paid employment with their child's behavior at age 6-7 years. There were significant indirect effects linking mother employment to child behavior. No paid employment and full-time work hours were associated with more behavioral problems in children through less-warm parenting practices; few hours or long hours were associated with improved behavioral outcomes through …

Using Prompts To Initiate Behavior, Jenna L. Clark, Megan R. Lechner, Kelsea Simmons

Applied Behavior Analysis (SPED 432) and Intervention Strategies for Literacy (SPED 431)

Using prompts to initiate behavior seems to be effective when employed as a component of a classroom behavior management system. Prompts can remind or guide an individual to perform a desired behavior. In the research, there are 7 different types of prompts, as well as 6 rules to follow when administering prompts. The seven different types of prompts are: 1) verbal, 2) written, 3) material, 4) imitative, 5) physical, 6) pictorial, and 7) gestural. The six rules are: 1) timing is everything, 2) select a location that facilitates good timing, 3) prompts should be specific, 4) the prompt should guide …

An Integrated Approach To Prevention Of Obesity In High Risk Families, Hillary Warren

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO PREVENTION OF OBESITY IN HIGH RISK FAMILIES
Hillary Anne Warren, M.S.
University of Nebraska, 2010
Advisor: Kaye Stanek-Krogstrand
Childhood obesity has reached epidemic levels in developed countries. In the past 30 years, overweight in children has doubled and it is now estimated that one in five children in the US is overweight (1). Identifying connections between caregiver-child interactions and key behaviors associated with resilience to overweight is viewed as an approach which can lead to interventions which may result in a reduction in overweight and obese children. While children learn eating behaviors from adults and peers …

Do Health Beliefs And Behaviors Differ According To Severity Of Obesity? A Qualitative Study Of Australian Adults, Sophie Lewis, Samantha L. Thomas, R. Warwick Blood, Jim Hyde, David J. Castle, Paul A. Komesaroff

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Public responses to obesity have focused on providing standardized messages and supports to all obese individuals, but there is limited understanding of the impact of these messages on obese adults. This descriptive qualitative study using in-depth interviews and a thematic method of analysis, compares the health beliefs and behaviors of 141 Australian adults with mild to moderate (BMI 30−39.9) and severe (BMI ≥ 40) obesity. Mildly obese individuals felt little need to change their health behaviors or to lose weight for health reasons. Most believed they could “lose weight” if they needed to, distanced themselves from the word obesity, and …

School Environments And Behaviors Of Students On The Autism Spectrum, Aimee Pont

Honors Scholar Theses

This study explores the relationship between the different environments within a school and the stereotyped behaviors of students with autism. The study seeks to identify whether the behaviors of these students are similar or different in the different environments, testing the idea of environment as a stimulus for these behaviors. The study is a naturalistic observational study, and a change in prevalence of these stereotyped behaviors during the duration of the study is not a focus of this study.

The Impact Of A Cancer Diagnosis On The Health Behaviors Of Cancer Survivors And Their Family And Friends, Nancy Humpel, Christopher Magee, Sandra C. Jones

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Goals The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a cancer diagnosis on the health behaviors of cancer survivors and their family and friends, and to determine whether a cancer diagnosis could be a teachable moment for intervention. Materials and methods This was a cross-sectional study of the health behaviors of individuals taking part in a cancer fundraising event. The questionnaire was completed by 657 participants. Main results Participants were 81.4% women, had a mean age of 46 years, and comprised of 17.2% cancer survivors. For cancer survivors, 31.3% reported an increase in physical activity, 50% of …

Functional Family Therapy: An Interview With Dr. James Alexander, Dr. Jill D. Duba

Counseling & Student Affairs Faculty Publications

This article presents the functional family therapy of James Alexander, focusing on his work with high risk youth who are high risk, delinquent, and who abuse substances. The interview addresses evidence-based interventions, indivudalizing treatment, and prevention of violence. Training efforts and recent developments in functional family therapy are discussed.