How Does Classroom Management Affect Student Behavior?, Lucy Hoelscher

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question discussed is, how does classroom management affect student behavior? This capstone project is a research-based professional development training for educators. The training is made up of two sessions. The first session focuses on the components and principles of classroom management and the impact of classroom management on student behavior, engagement, and academic performance. The second session consists of successful classroom management approaches and the challenges and barriers educators may face.

A Need For Culturally Relevant Texts To Motivate K-2 Students In Reading, Thi Hoai Anh Nguyen

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this capstone project was: How can K-2 teachers boost student motivation in reading through interactive read-alouds using culturally relevant texts? After delving into the research on reading motivation, Culturally Relevant Texts, creating a Culturally Relevant Text set, developing student identity, promoting students’ appreciation of cultural diversity, and Interactive Read Alouds, the author created a "We Are All Different and That’s Beautiful” Text Set Unit which promotes students’ appreciation of cultural diversity by incorporating culturally relevant texts and interactive read-alouds. The text set unit with eight chosen culturally relevant texts and matching interactive read-aloud lesson plans …

Motivation Within The Inclusive Art Classroom: A Phenomenology On Engaging Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders, Christina Marie Cox

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of K-12 art teachers motivating students with emotional and behavioral disorders within the Central and Eastern Regions of the United States. The theory guiding this study is Ryan and Deci’s self-determination theory which guides the understanding that students with emotional and behavioral disorders whose psychological well-being is supported by their art educators may develop higher motivation and reach their full creative potential. As this study was designed to describe the lived experiences of K-12 art educators who have enhanced motivation in students with emotional and behavioral disorders, the …

Self-Determination Theory As A Possible Explanation For The Motivation Of Norwegian Outdoor Life Students, Arne Martin Jakobsen

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Introduction: This study, based on the self-determination theory (SDT) by Deci and Ryan (1985), investigates the motivation among outdoor life students at universities and colleges in Norway. It also examines how students score on basic psychological needs, such as autonomy, competence, and relatedness, and their frequency of engagement in outdoor activities. The significance of the nature experience and the activity itself for the outdoor life students were analyzed, along with the extent to which the SDT can explain these two variables. Material and methods: The participants completed two standardized questionnaires. Results: The results showed a high degree of internal motivation …

Are Scientific Memes Motivating And Does Public Sharing Affect Motivation?, Virginia Clinton-Lisell, Alison E. Kelly

Education, Health & Behavior Studies Faculty Publications

In recent years, renewable assignments, or student creations that have value outside of a course, have received considerable attention. However, there is little theoretically grounded inquiry into students’ motivation for renewable assignments such as scientific memes. Moreover, it is unknown how public sharing of renewable assignments affects students’ perceived value and learning from coursework. In addition, public sharing could logically affect students’ pride and anxiety related to the renewable assignment, but this lacks empirical testing. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of public sharing of renewable assignments on students’ perceived value, learning, pride, and anxiety relevant …

Brainwaves, Memory, And Reward, Rebecca Mccune

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The development of effective educational curricula for enhancing learning involves the crucial consideration of effort and rewards. In the realm of education, teachers commonly employ rewards as motivational tools. Traditionally, these rewards are given to students as a recognition of their successful performance. However, a thought-provoking idea emerges: What if we were to extend rewards to students not solely based on accurate answers, but also on the effort they invest, even in cases where their actual response might be incorrect? Our study explores the potential impact of this approach on the way information is absorbed and subsequently retained, specifically focusing …

Digital Game-Based Learning Activities In Primary Grade Mathematics Achievement, Chris Anderson

Graduate Teacher Education

The research paper has gathered and analyzed research from online databases to find how digital game-based learning activities were used in mathematics and how it influences the affective domains of academic engagement, motivation, and academic self-perception. The paper aims to inform primary educators of the benefits and limitations of digital game-based activities in primary mathematics. Digital game-based learning has positively influenced students' academic engagement through interaction, play, and effort, which had a positive effect on their mathematical achievement. Increased motivation felt by students when doing digital game-based activities resulted in higher mathematical achievement and an increase in learning more mathematics …

The Impact Of Instructor Immediacy And Social Presence On Online Students' Academic Success: A Hermeneutical Phenomenology Study, Colette B. Lazenka

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of instructor social presence and immediacy on student success for asynchronous online students at universities that offer asynchronous learning in Southern California. The theory guiding this study was Short’s theory of social presence, as it explains the real and present interaction that affects the saliency and interpersonal relationships of the participants. The methodology for this qualitative study followed a hermeneutical phenomenological design of 10 asynchronous online students enrolled in universities in Southern California. Data were collected using individual interviews, letter writing, and a focus group. The data analysis …

The Lived Experiences Of Secondary Teachers Who Give Grades And Feedback: A Phenomenological Study, Brandon Miles Moore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of secondary teachers who grade student work, including their grading beliefs, decisions, and feedback practices at Discovery Hills Unified School District. The theory that guided this study was self-determination theory as it helps explain the motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic, for teacher grading practices and the impact of teacher feedback on students. The central question was: What are secondary teachers’ lived experiences with grading student work? Sub questions were used to explore the beliefs, decisions, and practices secondary teachers employ when grading student work or providing feedback. …

A Qualitative Phenomenological Study Of Former Maine Adult Education Students Who Successfully Earned A High School Credential, Kayla Sikora

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

Students who unenroll from traditional high school often seek a nontraditional pathway to earn a high school credential. Maine adult education programming provides a nontraditional pathway to a high school credential for high school non-completers. This qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of former students who obtained their high school credential through a Maine adult education program. Through one-on-one semi-structured interviews, eight participants shared their lived experiences working with Maine adult education programming to obtain their high school credential. Two themes emerged in this study: The significance of self-motivation and the importance of support. The significance of self-motivation was …

The Degree Of Applying Distance Learning Management Among School Principals In Northern Region Within Green Line, Maysoon Azaizah, Muneera Al-Shurman

Jordan Journal of Applied Science-Humanities Series

This study aimed at identifying the degree of applying distance learning management among school principals in northern region within green line from the perspectives of school principals and teachers. The sample of the study consisted of (546) Individuals, (136) principals and (384) teachers chosen by the simple random method. To achieve the study goals, a questionnaire was developed to measure the degree of application of distance learning management, consisted of (37) items. The researcher used the descriptive survey approach.

The results of the study showed that the degree of school principals application of the distance learning administration was (high), and …

Re(Engineering) Student Success: Constructing Knowledge On Students’ Experiences In Engineering Education Programs To Encourage Holistic Student Success, Shaylin Williams

Theses and Dissertations

If a group of engineering deans were asked whether students at their institutions were successful and why, what information might they immediately or subconsciously use to measure or gauge the engineering students’ success? If only academic performance outcomes like GPA, individual course grades, or graduation rate race to their minds, then their rationale aligns with the majority of researchers. My research seeks to shift the mindset that frames engineering student success mainly within the boundaries of academic performance measures. By measuring students’ perceived autonomy, competence, social integration and relatedness within their programs, and aspirations after graduation, one can more accurately …

Examining The Influence Of The Classroom Environment On Motivation, Belonging, And Academic Confidence In Engineering Education: A Relational Developmental Systems Approach, Robert O'Hara

All Dissertations

This dissertation explores the impact of the classroom environment on undergraduate engineering students by integrating three manuscripts using the process-person-context-time (PPCT) model within Bioecological Systems Theory. Each manuscript focused on students’ sense of belonging, motivation, and academic confidence. The study confirms prior research suggesting a link between students' perceptions of the environment and their sense of belonging, motivation, and academic confidence. The findings highlight the complex nature of student and classroom environment relationships throughout their college experience. Moreover, the results are demonstrated across different engineering majors. Overall, this dissertation highlights the significance of understanding the complex interactions between students and …

College Students' Motivation When Acquiring A Language Other Than English, Maria Teresa O'Brien

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Foreign languages have been studied since the beginning of civilization; in the past few decades, there has been increased interest in understanding the role of motivation in learning a foreign language. Less than a quarter of studies on learning languages other than English (LOTE) have studied motivation. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to determine if there was a difference in motivation between college students enrolled in French 100, French 200, French 300, and French 400. The study consisted of 79 college students at the freshman to senior level enrolled in French at a novice to advanced level …

A Phenomenological Study Of Females With Adhd Who Experienced Non-Cognitive Academic Difficulty In High School, Monika M. Woods

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover the lived experience of women with ADHD who encountered non-cognitive difficulties in the academic environment while attending a U.S. public high school. At this stage in the research, non-cognitive difficulties in the academic environment will be generally defined as academic difficulties not related to academic ability. Non-cognitive characteristics are described as soft skills such as learning strategies, motivation, and personality traits that cannot be identified in scholastic aptitude tests. The application of the hermeneutic phenomenological method was guided using Maslow’s theory of hierarchal needs. Maslow’s theory provided a framework of reflective …

A Phenomenological Study That Examines The Perseverance Of Young Single Mothers Who Have Earned A College Degree, Christine Marie Kirkpatrick

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to understand perseverance in young single mothers who have earned a college degree. The theory guiding this study is Duckworth’s theory of grit since many students who complete undergraduate degrees experience barriers related to the components of grit. Participants for this study were single mothers who have completed a college degree from an institution of higher learning in central Pennsylvania by the age of thirty. Data for the study were collected utilizing one-on-one interviews, personal timelines, and focus group discussions. Data were analyzed using Moustakas’ data analysis processes, including horizonalization, reduction, and …

Using Written Self-Assessment To Improve Student Motivation In The Social Studies Classroom, Zachary Robbins

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The main research question addressed in this study was: How do written self-assessment reflections affect student motivation in a social studies classroom? To answer this question, this study reviewed the student motivation literature to explore the causes of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation. Based on the existing research, this study then examined the self-assessment literature as one way to improve student motivation in linguistically diverse classrooms. To test the impact of short self-assessment writing prompts at the end of each class on student motivation, a pre-experimental design of eight students (four English learners (ELs) and four non-ELs) in three …

Career Choice Motivation For Commercial Pilots, Brett Watts

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Career choice motivation research studies the factors involved during a person’s decision-making process regarding which career to pursue (Skatova & Ferguson, 2014). These factors are often studied in individuals who have not yet entered the workforce, such as students. Although there is a significant amount of research on career choice motivations for doctors, dentists, and other related fields, research on career choice motivations for pilots is sparse. As air traffic is expected to grow at approximately 4.7% per year for the next 20 years (Federal Aviation Administration, 2022), a key factor in the aviation industry’s growth is the availability of …

Using Multicultural Texts To Motivate Special Education Middle Schoolers To Read Independently, Ramona Maria Di Maria

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to investigate and examine middle school students’ motivation to read independently. The goal was to see what happens to seventh grade special needs students’ motivation when using authentic multicultural texts during independent reading. Motivation profiles, student interest surveys, reading habit observations and student multicultural book choices were collected and analyzed. The special needs students that participated in the study showed how a structured daily independent reading schedule, choice of multicultural literature, and classroom environment can increase their motivation to read independently. The implications for teaching independent reading in a middle school special needs …

Assessing Student Empowerment In Mobile-Assisted Extensive Reading In A University Setting, Misdi Misdi, Nunung Nurjannah, Suwarno Suwarno, Kardi Nurhadi, Anna Riana Suryanti Tambunan Ant

The Qualitative Report

Mobile-assisted language learning and its impact on students’ learning outcomes have been examined as one of the attractive methods in English extensive reading (ER). Yet, studies investigating mobile-assisted extensive reading on students’ empowerment are scarcely reported. Grounded in a learning empowerment scale, this research aimed to assess students’ empowerment toward the enactment of mobile-assisted extensive reading in a private university in Indonesia. This case study involved students (n=27) from the Department of English Education at the university. All participants were voluntarily recruited according to the research protocol assigned by the department. All data were garnered from closed-ended questionnaires, reflective journal …

Self-Determination And Student Persistence: A Case Study Of A Higher Education Institution Exclusive To Students With Disabilities, Nachole Marie Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative embedded single case study was to understand how the unique experience of attending a post-secondary school exclusive to students diagnosed with LD and ADHD affects student success in developing and using self-determination skills to increase persistence to graduation. Guiding this study is the theory of self-determination while seeking to explain the reasoning for student persistence to degree completion and the execution of self-determination skills autonomously. This study uses a qualitative embedded single case study design to examine a post-secondary educational institution that exclusively services students with learning disabilities from different perspectives. The research setting is …

Technology Elective Classes’ Effects On Middle School Students’ Self-Efficacy And Learning Engagement In Science, Rebecca K. Farrell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative design was to examine the technology classes’ effects on private middle school students’ self-efficacy, self-regulation, task value, and learning goal orientation between students in technology electives and non-technology electives. The topic was introduced using historical, theoretical, and societal backgrounds. Further literature review led to a synthesis of the literature investigating technology classes, STEM education, self-efficacy, task value, learning goal orientation, and self-regulation. Further investigations found and synthesized literature that focused on middle school students and their connections to the above topics. The sample for the setting was drawn from 136 participants enrolled in three …

Comparative Analysis Between Physical Activity Affect And Discrete Emotions In College Students, Kelly L. Simonton, Timothy M. Dasinger, Alex C. Garn

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate empirical distinctness and overlap between physical activity (PA) affect and emotions as well as potential unique relationships with PA beliefs and behaviors. Specifically, researchers wanted to explore the level of shared variance amongst discrete emotions and affect, which in effect tested the jingle-jangle fallacy that can be present in psychometric evaluation of related constructs.

Participants: College students (N=519; Mage= 20.47) enrolled in PA courses at two universities in the Southeastern United States completed questionnaires concerning their PA related emotions, affect, self-efficacy, and self-reported PA.

Methods: …

Understanding Motivational Differences Through The Lens Of Gamification User Types, Heather J. S. Birch

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

In the context of an educational technology course, teacher candidates completed Marczewski’s User Types Hexad Test, a questionnaire based on a typology for classifying both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational tendencies. The test results showed teacher candidates' motivational tendencies, through indicating their resonance with six different User Types, including Socializers, Free Spirits, Achievers, Philanthropists, Players, and Disruptors. Knowing their User Type allowed teacher candidates to reflect on their own personal motivations to use various types of digital tools, as well as to consider how their peers and their students with different user profiles may be motivated differently than themselves. The …

Analyzing Motivation And Sense Of Belonging Belonging In Cs1 Review Sessions, Cory Longenecker

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

The Computer Science Department at James Madison University has a Teaching Assistant program which aims to help students succeed in early-level Computer Science courses. Part of this program is a review session, the Fourth Hour, which provides students extra help on the concepts taught each week in class. Historically, attendance at this review session has been low. Because of this, the study aimed to increase attendance by motivating students through interventions, primarily offering quiz retakes to students who attended. Additionally, this study looked at the reported sense of belonging for participants who attended.

We made three conclusions from survey data …

I Would Have Never Thought Of That On My Own: Using Peer Feedback To Motivate And Shape Pre-Service Teachers’ Critical Thinking, Alexandra Vasile, Alexandra Anton

TFSC Publications and Presentations

Second Annual University of Arkansas Teaching and Learning Symposium: Sharing Teaching Ideas

The presentation reports the results of implementing a peer review feedback strategy in an elementary education program. To prepare teacher candidates for field experiences, the program uses coursework such as projects. We examine the awareness and perspectives of preservice teachers (n = 38) to providing and receiving feedback from their peers on their project ideas, and - in particular - their motivation and readiness to assimilate peer feedback. Data includes initial and final project ideas, answers to reflective questions, and the peer feedback each participant received.

The study …

The Effects Of An Intervention Using Pokemon Trading Card Game On The Decoding Abilities Of Children, Derek Emmett

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The present study focuses on illustrating the relationship between word decoding instruction and word decoding abilities within the context of a trading card game. Additionally, an argument for reading motivation and improvement of literacy skills is made. Three participants between the ages of 9 and 13 were recruited for participation in this study. Several decoding strategies such as phonemic awareness and morphological awareness strategies were implemented and trained over the course of several trading card games. Performance in decoding of several lists of compiled nonwords following treatment phases were systematically measured by the researcher. Two of the three participants demonstrated …

Using Student Goal Setting And Individual Student Conferences To Increase Academic Achievement In Mathematics, Amanda R. Mcnamee

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

ABSTRACT

This study focuses on an elementary school in the Midwest region of the United States; this community serves as a regional center of education, commerce, and health care. Participants in this study are a classroom of 17 fifth grade students; 35% girls and 65% boys. The school district in this study recently adopted a new mathematics curriculum, Bridges. In using this new mathematics curriculum, the teachers have noticed that many of the fifth-grade students are consistently scoring in the red on the assessments. This research study will investigate whether implementing goal setting and individual student conference sessions will …

The Importance Of Mood And Motivation Of An Individual In The Success Of Physical Therapy, Spencer Wagner

Honors Theses

Physical therapy is a health profession that helps people improve their movement and range of motion in certain body areas. Since the time it was founded, physical therapists have mainly focused on the physical health of the patient. While that is their job, they may not have been as successful because they neglected the mental health of the patient. The mindset of an individual, particularly their mood and motivation, can influence how they progress through physical therapy and how successful they are in regaining functionality in their affected body area. The purpose of this study is to determine how the …

The Effect Of Goal Setting And Reflection On Student Motivation In High School Classrooms, Jodi Clark, Stephanie Moses

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

No abstract provided.