Educational Psychology Commons^™

An Exploratory Investigation On The Effects Of An Electronic Recording System For Repeated Reading, Seajae Calvin Hartness

Dissertations

Repeated Reading is a common reading intervention that has been used to help students read fluently since 1979. There are many variations of Repeated Reading that have been investigated and found to be effective. However, there is a relative research deficit on the effectiveness of software programs for administering Repeated Reading. This exploratory research project examined the effectiveness of Repeated Reading with an electronic recording system. The performance of the electronic Repeated Reading group was compared to the performance of participants who received traditionally administered Early Intervention Program services. The results suggest that electronically scored Repeated Reading is as effective …

Exploring The Relation Between Office Discipline Referrals And Reinforcement Rates In Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support Programs, Michelle Woidneck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The implementation of schoolwide positive behavioral support (SWPBS) programs is becoming increasingly common in schools across the nation. Although a primary assumption of SWPBS is that schoolwide administration of positive supports to students who meet behavioral expectations will result in fewer behavior problems, surprisingly few studies have investigated the effects of various positive reinforcement rates (RR) on office discipline referral rates (ODR). This study investigated the relationship between RRs and ODRs among schools (N = 44) implementing SWPBS programs with high fidelity. Results revealed no significant differences in RRs or ODRs between Title I and non-Title I schools but …

The Impact Of Study Skills Courses On Academic Self-Efficacy In College Students, Brenna M. Wernersbach

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Colleges across the nation are increasingly interested in improving retention of students. Many universities have begun offering workshops and courses targeted at improving study skills in academically underprepared students with the goal of helping students succeed in higher education and continue enrollment. The impact of such courses on study skills themselves has been supported, but prior research has not examined the courses impact on students' beliefs about their ability to succeed in college–that is, their levels of academic self-efficacy. This study examined pre- and post-test levels of academic self-efficacy in college students enrolled in a study skills course in comparison …

Assisting The Accompanying Partner: A Dramaturgical Explanatory Study Of Dual Career Couples Offices, Christine Promin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study is a mixed methods explanatory sequential design framed in resource dependency theory that uses Goffman's dramaturgical analysis to explore how the dual career couples offices address issues, serve constituencies, and relate to the broader institution. The researcher examined schools with dual career offices by using the Higher Education Dual Couple Network [HEDCN]. In Phase I of the study, the researcher surveyed HEDCN affiliates regarding their dual career offices. In Phase II of the study, three schools from the HEDCN sample were selected through purposeful sampling for site visits which included in-depth, one-on-one interviews, observations, and artifact analysis.

The …

Alumni Participation: An Investigation Using Relationship Marketing Principles, Lisa Ann Kelleher

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study investigated in what ways alumni relations officers use relationship marketing principles, concepts, and bonding levels to strengthen the ties between alumni and their alma maters. Alumni programs and services at select high intensive research institutions of higher education were explored and an explanation was offered for how using relationship marketing in alumni relations might be beneficial. A literature synthesis, drawn from an extensive examination, evaluation, and interpretation of alumni relations and relationship marketing literature, helped to inform this exploratory study. Using a qualitative method of study, data was gathered through interviews with senior alumni relations officers, by observing …

The Relationship Between Participation In Extracurricular Activities And Utah's Proficiency Assessments Of Students In A Suburban School District, Everett N. Kelepolo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to discover whether a relationship exists between participation in extracurricular activities and meeting Utah proficiency assessment standards. This study took place in a suburban school district in the state of Utah.

Throughout the history of public education, economic hardships have wreaked havoc on school systems that depend on public sources of income. Schools today are managing these budget restraints by reducing or eliminating extracurricular programs.

The relationship between academic success and participating in extracurricular activities is found concretely in the research data. However, schools must make budget decisions which place activities and academics in …

Resilient Leadership In High Poverty Schools, Edward P. San Nicolas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children in high poverty schools often receive inadequate services in dilapidated facilities while enduring inexperienced and unprepared educators (Darling-Hammond, 2004). Communities with a dense impoverished population in turn create school wide poverty, which is ultimately more detrimental than individual family poverty (Books, 2004). With most teachers leaving impoverished urban schools within the first five years, it is no surprise of the difficulty to retain qualified and professional school leaders. As suggested by Haberman (2005), attracting educators with specific qualities to fill these critical roles may be the best route to lasting success. Equally important is the possibility to transform existing …

Set In Stone: Legends, Traditions, And Symbols Influencing Place Attachment For Southern Utah University Students, Claudine Nielsen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study explored the influence of campus legends, traditions, and symbols on the development of place attachment in students at Southern Utah University. An examination of organizational theory, including universities as cultures, student development theory, alumni participation, and place attachment revealed no cross-disciplinary research into how place attachment to a university campus may be influenced by intentional attempts to instill a sense of collective identity through the stories and rituals that occur on campus, hence the need to address this void. Unlike many organizations, colleges have a vested interest in maintaining a connection with students beyond the point of separation. …

Does A Co-Learner Delivery Model In A Mathematics Methods Course Affect Pre-Service Teacher Candidates’ Self-Efficacy In Teaching Mathematics?,, John J. Ribeiro, Denise Demagistris

Teacher Education

This study is related to a previous study (Ribeiro, 2009) that examined teachers’ perceptions of teaching self-efficacy. In the first study the sample consisted of two groups of teachers that took the same professional development course in mathematics. The comparison group took the course in their school district with other teachers and the experimental group took the course with pre-service teachers in a university classroom. After completing the course, both groups were measured in three dimensions of teaching self-efficacy: student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom climate. Findings indicated that although both groups had significant gains in self-efficacy toward teaching mathematics …

An Investigation Of The Potential Use Of Advanced Placement Examination Scores In The College Admission Of Transfer Students, Andrew Callahan Dwyer

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

Faced with making college admission decisions on an increasingly large number of applicants, many higher education institutions have begun to consider using additional information to assist with those decisions. Unlike college admissions practices for the population of first-time freshmen, however, admission practices for the population of transfer students have been largely ignored in the literature. There is evidence that the transfer student population is growing and will likely continue to grow for the foreseeable future, which emphasizes the need for colleges and universities to find additional suitable information to use in transfer student admission. Using data from the University of …

High Priority Design Values Used By Successful Children's Museum Exhibit Developers: A Multiple Case Study Analysis Of Expert Opinions, Stephen D. Ashton

Theses and Dissertations

The following qualitative study sought to answer three questions: (1) What are the high priority design values used by expert exhibit developers to create meaningful exhibits at children's museums? (2) How do exhibit developers prioritize these design values? (3) What are the desirable outcomes that exhibit developers seek to achieve with the guests who interact with the exhibits? These questions were answered through interviews with children's museum exhibit developers, personal observations, and artifact analysis. The data collected was organized into four cases, each representing a different children's museum and corresponding exhibit developer. The cases were then compared against each other …

Character Education Seeking The Best Of Both Worlds: A Study Of Cultural Identity And Leadership In Egypt., Rania M Rafik Khalil, Nevien Mattar

English Language and Literature

No abstract provided.

The Influences Of Acculturation, Marianismo And Ethnic Identity On Sexual Activity Among Latina Adolescents, Keyona M. Jarrett

Dissertations (1934 -)

This mixed methods study examined the influences of acculturation (e.g., assimilation and enculturation), marianismo, and ethnic identity on the sexual behaviors and attitudes of Latina adolescents. In the quantitative portion of the study, 204 Latina adolescents completed measures regarding acculturation, gender roles, ethnic identity, and sexual behaviors. In the qualitative portion of the study, three focus groups were conducted (with a total of 10 participants) in which Latina youth were asked questions regarding their ethnic group membership and its influence on their attitudes about sex.

The results of the quantitative portion of the study revealed that ethnic affirmation was negatively …

Language Outcome After Left Temporal Lobectomy In Patients With Discordant Fmri And Sodium Amobarbital Testing Results, Julie K. Janecek

Dissertations (1934 -)

The rationale for this study was to examine 1) language lateralization discordance rates between fMRI and the IAT in pre- surgical epilepsy patients and 2) naming outcome after left ATL in a group of patients for whom IAT and fMRI language LIs were discordant. Participants were 229 consecutive pre-surgical epilepsy patients who underwent the IAT and fMRI. IAT LIs (% correct inject right -% correct inject left condition) were calculated based on performance on comprehension, naming, repetition and reading language tasks. The fMRI LIs [(L-R)/(L+R) where L = number of activated left hemisphere voxels and R = number of activated …

Current Practices And Optimal Futures For The Treatment Of Substance Use Disorders Through Client-Treatment Matching: A Delphi Study, Noah Elijah Adrians

Dissertations (1934 -)

While over 4 million people in the United States aged 12 and over are engaged in treatment for substance use disorders each year, much remains unknown about how clients can be optimally referred to available treatment services, settings, providers, and interventions. Historically, clients received treatment in uniform, high intensity settings. Research over recent decades, however, has shown increased cost effectiveness and sustained, if not improved, clinical outcomes associated with efforts to individualize care. This study utilized the Delphi research methodology to examine community experts' (N = 9) perspectives on the real world implementation of client-treatment matching principles within a major …

The Effects Of Simplifying Assumptions In Power Analysis, Kevin A. Kupzyk

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

In experimental research, planning studies that have sufficient probability of detecting important effects is critical. Carrying out an experiment with an inadequate sample size may result in the inability to observe the effect of interest, wasting the resources spent on an experiment. Collecting more participants than is necessary may unnecessarily put too many participants at risk and potentially detect an effect size that is not clinically meaningful. Therefore, obtaining the most accurate estimates of necessary sample size prior to applying for research funding and carrying out experiments is of utmost importance.

Educational studies often select whole classrooms for participation. When …

Economically Disadvantaged Students: A Case Study Of Resilient Qualities That Encourage Academic Success, Stephanie Kim Hawkins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This case study examined academically successful economically disadvantaged (ED) students from one intact Caucasian family through parents', students', and teachers' perceptions of the reasons for resilience. The problem is that little research exists exploring qualities of academically successful ED Caucasian students. Because being a high school dropout significantly affects students, families, schools, and society, risk factors were explored; protective factors that help students overcome risk factors were also investigated. This study describes why academically successful ED students from one intact Caucasian family in Tennessee thrive despite risk factors working against them. Findings include the importance of Christian faith to the …

How Does Psi Chi Journal Of Undergraduate Research Measure Up?, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez

Psychology Faculty Publications

Understanding the complexities inherent in descriptions of research journals can take significant time and energy, and in the end leave the average psychologist and psychology student wondering—what does it all mean? Why does this matter? In this column, I attempt to provide information to illuminate how journals are described and why we care. Additionally, I will review how our own journal, Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research, measures up on these criteria. In short, Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research is a scholarly journal that is peer-reviewed and indexed. Let’s explore these areas so you will feel very excited about …

Evaluating Focus-2'S Effectiveness In Enhancing First-Year College Students' Social Cognitive Career Development, David M. Tirpak

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.

Collaborative Strategic Board Games As A Site For Distributed Computational Thinking, Matthew Berland, Victor R. Lee

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper examines the idea that contemporary strategic board games represent an informal, interactional context in which complex computational thinking takes place. When games are collaborative – that is, a game requires that players work in joint pursuit of a shared goal – the computational thinking is easily observed as distributed across several participants. This raises the possibility that a focus on such board games are profitable for those who wish to understand computational thinking and learning in situ. This paper introduces a coding scheme, applies it to the recorded discourse of three groups of game players, and provides qualitative …

Content Development Of The Relationships With Alcohol Scale For Late-Adolescents, Rose Lucey Schroedl

Dissertations (1934 -)

Level of functioning is an important component of comprehensive assessments of adolescent alcohol use behavior. However, comprehensive adolescent substance use measures fail to provide a clear conceptual framework for understanding how alcohol use impacts functioning. Recent research (Lucey, 2009) suggests that alcohol use does negatively impact late-adolescent functioning and it is important to measure an adolescent's alcohol-use behavior and its consequences in conjunction with level of functioning. Thus, a biopsychosocial measure of the impact of alcohol use on late adolescent functioning entitled the Relationship with Alcohol Scale (RAS) was proposed. Items for the RAS were developed from a review of …

Effect Of A Mindfulness Intervention On Community College Students' Writing Apprehension And Writing Performance, Megan E. Britt

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

This experimental study used a quantitative data collection strategy to examine whether a mindfulness intervention, a three-minute breathing exercise marked by focused attention on the sensations of breath, would affect writing anxiety and writing performance measures. The researcher compared Daly-Miller Writing Apprehension surveys and narrative writing samples from 277 students enrolled in a freshman composition course at a southeastern community college, half of whom practiced the mindful-breathing technique at class onset.

Quantitative results revealed students in the mindful-breathing group experienced a statistically significant decrease in writing apprehension and mechanical error scores from pre- to post-measures when compared to controls. No …

The Effect Of Induced Happiness Levels On Academic Performance, Laura Marie Spice

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Past research has shown that people who have high levels of happiness show greater job performance and productivity than those who are less happy (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, et al., 2005) and that happiness can be improved in both non-depressed and depressed people (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009; Seligman, Steel, Park, & Peterson., 2005). However, little research has been done on the application of positivity interventions in the classroom context. In 4 academic classrooms, positivity and control interventions were applied. I then measured well-being, engagement, and classroom performance. I found that the positivity intervention resulted in higher engagement and classroom performance …

Exploring Collaborative Teaching And Learning Models In A University Drama Literature Classroom, Kim Solga, Jennifer Boman, Elan Paulson

Research Day (Arts & Humanities, FIMS, and Education)

No abstract provided.

Risk Factors For And Outcomes Of Bullying And Victimization, Susan M. Swearer Napolitano

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Individuals exist within multiple environments: home, school, neighborhood, church, community, and society. Within the interaction between individuals and these environments are risk factors for bullying and victimization. In this paper research on risk factors for bullying and victimization across multiple contexts-- individual, peer, school, family, community, and society will be synthesized.

We're Definitely On Our Own: Interaction And Disconnection In A Virtual High School, Abigail Hawkins

Theses and Dissertations

Using mixed methods, this study examined the nature of teacher-student interaction in an asynchronous, statewide, self-paced virtual high school. Eight teachers were interviewed to understand their perceptions on the nature of interactions and their role as a virtual school teacher. Interactions were primarily instructional in nature, taking the form of feedback on student assignments. There were few procedural and social interactions. In general, teachers felt disconnected from their students due to the large class sizes and limited interactions. They also felt disconnected from their peers and the role of a teacher as they traditionally defined it. To understand the relationship …

Localization Of Open Educational Resources (Oer) In Nepal: Strategies Of Himalayan Knowledge-Workers, Tiffany Ivins

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines localization of Open Educational Resources (OER) in Himalayan community technology centers of Nepal. Specifically, I examine strategies and practices that local knowledge-workers utilize in order to localize educational content for the disparate needs, interests, and ability-levels of learners in rural villages. This study draws on insights from non-formal education (NFE) stakeholders in Nepal, including government, UN, international and national NGOs, local knowledge-workers, and learners from different villages. I specifically focus on a sample of seven technology centers to better understand how localization is defined, designed, and executed at a ground level. I illuminate obstacles knowledge-workers face while …

Formative Evaluation Of Three Lds Videos On Teaching Improvement, Danielle Jorgensen Macfarlane

Theses and Dissertations

The Sunday School General Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints launched a new effort in 2010 to improve gospel learning and teaching by producing a series of short video vignettes illustrating teaching principles. This formative evaluation was conducted during the development process to determine how teachers and leaders in the Church might use these videos and the degree to which they feel the videos might be useful in improving their own teaching. Results show that in general the vignettes were well received. The majority of participants rated the videos as relevant to their needs—noting specific successes …

Loving The World And Our Children Enough--Nurturing Decidedly Different Scientifc Minds, By Design, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

Wise world-shaping and problem-solving requires that we and our children think in decidedly different, integral and wise ways. This transformation requires a fundamental shift in consciousness and the emergence of global minds that can creatively live into a new worldview of an interconnected planet and a sustainable and interdependent human family. "The fullness of our humanity and the sustainability of our planet rest with the nurturing of decidedly different minds."

Promoting Smooth School Transitions For Children In Foster Care, Ghyslyn T. Laviolette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children in foster care move two times per year on average. School records are not always transferred in a timely manner, which leads to a lack of services. Schools often are not aware of the legal issues surrounding foster care, such as who has legal rights to sign field trip permission slips or consent for educational evaluations. This study led to the development of an informational guideline as to how best support the school transition process for children in foster care. The Delphi technique was used to enlist the expertise of four respondent groups: foster parents, Guardians ad Litem, school …