Higher Education Commons^™

Teachers’ Experiences Implementing An Ai-Supported Reading Program In Kindergarten Through Grade 2: A Generic Qualitative Study, Janet Harrell

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was completed to explore kindergarten through grade 2 teachers’ experiences implementing an artificial intelligence (AI)-supported reading program during literacy instruction. Guided by a generic qualitative design, the study was designed to examine how teachers prepared to use the program, integrated it into daily literacy instruction, used AI-generated data to inform instructional decision-making, and experienced the instructional and contextual conditions that supported or hindered implementation. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 10 kindergarten through grade 2 teachers with experience using Amira Learning. Data were collected through semi structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Four themes emerged from …

Percepción Y Satisfacción Laboral Del Docente Sobre El Liderazgo Escolar En Contextos De Crisis, Ricardo Cruz-Acosta

Theses and Dissertations

Esta disertación aplicada examinó la relación entre la percepción docente sobre el lide-razgo escolar y la satisfacción laboral en escuelas rurales de Puerto Rico durante contex-tos de crisis. El estudio respondió a la necesidad de comprender cómo las prácticas de li-derazgo influyen en el bienestar del personal docente y en la continuidad de los procesos educativos ante eventos adversos, tales como huracanes, terremotos, pandemias y fallas prolongadas en los servicios esenciales. Asimismo, se reconoció que las escuelas rurales enfrentan mayores desafíos estructurales y limitaciones de recursos, lo que incrementa la vulnerabilidad institucional y profesional del magisterio.

La investigación se sustentó …

The Interaction Between Academic Self-Efficacy And Social Support: Exploring Moderation Effects On Academic Performance And Emotional Well-Being During The Transition To Secondary School, Luis Josué Ortiz Martes

Theses and Dissertations

The transition to secondary school can intensify academic demands and emotional strain, making it a critical context for examining students’ psychological and social resources. This applied dissertation examined whether perceived social support (SS) moderates the association among academic self-efficacy (ASE), academic performance (AP) and emotional well-being (EWB) among seventh-grade students at a private, multilingual school in Puerto Rico. Using a time-lagged, nonexperimental correlational design, 14 students completed the academic subscale of the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C) and the Social Support Appraisals Scale (SS-A) at the start of the academic year; EWB was assessed at midyear with the Negative and …

Why Educators In South Florida Are Leaving The Profession, Keyona Burnes

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide better access to current information for the students and staff in a middle school. The printed materials located in the school’s media center were outdated, scarce, or inadequate. Electronic databases were available in the media center for online searching and information retrieval. However, the students did not know how to use databases as a source for completing class assignments or how to browse within these online services to find additional information. Teachers also did not know how to use electronic information to enrich their lessons.

The researcher developed lesson plans and strategies to …

From Bias To Bottleneck: A Quantitative Analysis Of Gender Preferences In Tech Hiring, Uma Chidambaram

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation examined whether gender preferences influence hiring decisions in the information technology (IT) sector, and whether such preferences contribute to the ongoing labor shortage in the field. Despite national and international initiatives to close the gender gap, women continue to represent only 28% of the United States IT workforce and remain significantly underrepresented in technical and leadership roles. Grounded in the Eagly and Karau (2002) Role Congruity Theory of Prejudice, this study investigated whether evaluator gender and candidate gender alignment affect interview selection outcomes at the résumé screening stage for both leadership and non-leadership IT positions.

A quantitative, …

Students’ Views On Professionalism As A Window Into Their Professional Identity Formation, Jennifer H. Kwon, Charles F. Shuler, Judith Walker, Hsingchi Von Bergmann

Health Professions Education

Purpose: Professional identity formation (PIF) provides a process-based framework for understanding professionalism, focusing on how individuals integrate professional values and roles into their broader sense of self. Limited research has examined how dental students perceive professionalism and how these perceptions shape their developing professional identities. Understanding these perspectives may provide insight into their PIF journey and help inform the design of educational strategies to address their need.

Method: An online survey, consisting of both open-ended and close-ended questions, was emailed to undergraduate students in the Faculty of Dentistry at one Canadian university. Descriptive statistics were conducted using JASP (Version 0.16.1; …

The Compass, Summer 2026

The Compass, 2018-

The Compass is an annual orientation guide for VCU students produced by the Student Media Collective in the VCU Student Media Centered. The guide is distributed physically during summer orientation sessions for new and transfer students. The publication includes short articles, illustrations, letters of welcome from students and administrators, comics, and advertisements from VCU and Richmond organizations.

Designing Classroom Routines To Reduce Math Anxiety: A Growth Mindset And Productive Struggle Toolkit For Middle Schoolers, Heather Carey

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Math anxiety is an evident barrier to the success of students in middle school mathematics which often leads to decreased confidence, lower achievement overall, and avoidance of more challenging tasks. Research in mathematics education advocates that the instructional approaches that are more grounded in growth mindset and productive struggle can positively influence students’ attitudes toward learning and their engagement with solving more complex problems.

This project examines how researched-based strategies can be rendered into practical classroom applications. Using a qualitative design-based approach, this study integrates math anxiety, growth mindset, and productive struggle existing literature to inform the development of instructional …

Transforming Florida Chemistry Education: Exploring Information Literacy Strategies From Singapore, Han N. Le

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study explores the applicability of Singapore’s information literacy (IL) strategies within Central Floridian higher education environments. Singapore’s national IL framework, supported by its Ministry of Education, integrates information and communication technology (ICT), professional development, and lifelong learning initiatives through a standardized, systemwide approach. In contrast, IL instruction in the United States is largely decentralized, often limited to one-time sessions or elective courses. To investigate the feasibility of adapting Singapore’s practices, surveys were distributed to faculty and librarians across Florida’s twelve public universities, yielding responses that highlighted varying levels of IL integration, limited institutional support, and minimal professional training related …

Emanata Presents: Hunger (2026)

Emanata, 2014-

Started by illustrator and comics artist Chris Kindred in 2014 with Weird, Vol. 1, Emanata is VCU’s first-ever comics anthology.

Amendment: Literary And Art Journal (2026)

Amendment, 2004-

Amendment is a VCU student-produced progressive literature and art journal that provides a platform for students to promote equality, tolerance, and social progression through artistic expression.

The Obverse-Turing Test: Rethinking Authorship, Trust, And Time In An Accelerated Age, Michael J. Miller, Chatgpt (Ai~Nesbo+)

Psychology

In this paper, we propose a new test for scientific accountability in the era of artificial intelligence: the Obverse Turing Test for Authorship. While the traditional Turing test focuses on a machine's ability to mimic human intelligence, our test addresses the question: when should a scientific contribution involving artificial intelligence be attributed joint authorship? We argue that more and more authors are using AI in the idea generation and elaboration stages of their work, but rarely acknowledge this use explicitly. To examine this gap, we analyze examples of human–AI interactions across fields and propose a new approach to authorship based …

A Phenomenological Analysis Of Sense Of Belonging Among Community College Educators, Muhammad Owais Aziz

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

This phenomenological study explored the complex phenomenon of sense of belonging (SB) among diverse health professions educators (HPEs) and non-health professions educators (non-HPEs) at a Canadian community college. SB, as a dynamic construct shaped by an individual's perception of being valued and respected, is influenced by personal preferences and by complex interactions with the individual's surroundings. To better understand SB and foster a more inclusive environment for diverse educators, it is necessary to investigate SB among these educators. This qualitative study used eleven semi-structured interviews and seven steps of data analysis. The results of this study can inform strategies, policies, …

Awareness, Empathy, Action: How American Students’ Study Abroad Experiences In The Middle East And North Africa (Mena) Influence Self-Perceptions Of Global Citizenship, Renee Lamb

Theses and Dissertations

Internationally minded practitioners and academics have posited for decades that global citizenship could be a tool the world can use to build a stronger and more sustainably minded global culture. Through global citizenship’s inclusion in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Target 4: Quality Education, educators from pre-primary to university have been put at the forefront of this movement. At the higher education level, study abroad is arguably the most important global learning tool used by American institutions today for building global citizenship. However, the vast majority of American students study abroad in Western Europe, leaving a glaring gap in …

Bridging The Gap: Strategic Leadership For Student-Centered Advising And Retention At A Community College, Dina Abdul Rahman, Wenjun Chi, Katelynn Jarrells, Janet Ping

Doctor of Education Capstones

Community colleges serve as the most accessible gateway to higher education for millions of Americans, yet persistent dropout rates continue to undermine both student opportunity and institutional mission, particularly for first-generation students, students of color, adult learners, working students, and those experiencing financial precarity. This dissertation in practice examined high dropout rates at Delaware County Community College (DCCC), a multi-campus institution serving diverse communities across Delaware and Chester Counties in Pennsylvania. Guided by improvement science and grounded in critical pragmatism, Team RISE partnered with DCCC's Student Affairs division to investigate the systemic roots of student attrition and retention to develop …

Not Just Cheap Labor: A Critical Mixed Methods Assessment Of Working Learner Supervision To Advance Equitable Work-Integrated Learning, Jonathan D. Fuller

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how supervisory relationships shape the quality of on-campus student employment (OCSE) as a work-integrated learning (WIL) experience, with particular attention to the experiences of working learners (i.e., student employees). Situated in response to growing student demand for meaningful, career-relevant work opportunities in college, the study investigates how universities can leverage existing OCSE roles to expand access to WIL. Using a mixed methods explanatory social justice design, the research integrates working learner responses (N = 478) to the Student Supervisor Support Measure with interviews of students and supervisors in relationships characterized as both supportive and cross-identity.

Survey …

A Case Study Of Gender And Online Team Communication In Software Engineering Education, Rita Garcia, Christoph Treude

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Collaboration is crucial in Software Engineering (SE), yet factors like gender bias can shape team dynamics and behaviours. This descriptive case study examines an eight-week project involving 39 SE students across eight teams contributing to GitHub projects. Focusing on gender, we used a mixed-methods approach to analyse Slack communications, identifying gender differences in how students respond to initiated communications and comparing how students’ communications influenced other aspects of students’ performance, including learning gains. We found higher help-seeking and leadership behaviours in the all-woman team involved in this case study, while men responded more slowly. Although communication did not directly affect …

Course Improvement Strategies For Effective Learning, Omar Ahmed Raheem Al-Shebeeb

2026 Scholarly Teaching Conference: Poster Session Papers

Manufacturing processes Lab (IENG 302L) is one of the courses that is taught in the Industrial Engineering Department. The students perform several manufacturing processes in this course and for every one of these manufacturing processes, the students need to submit a project report. One of these manufacturing processes is a CNC turning process. The turning project of this course has historically had extensive average time for completion. As such, it was deemed necessary that a way to improve the quality of a turning project be generated. Industrial Quality Control (IENG 316) is also taught as part of the industrial engineering …

From Needs To Action: Designing Inclusive Writing Workshops For Academics, S. Alison Bolling, Julie Hicks Patrick

2026 Scholarly Teaching Conference: Poster Session Papers

Being productive in academic writing is a critical component of success for graduate students and faculty, yet many scholars report persistent barriers that interfere with successful writing (Kaslow et al., 2025, Sweet et al., 2017). Few faculty and graduate students receive formal training on the art of writing and those who have attended writing programs vary in success (Dankoski et al., 2012). The present study reports results from multiple institutions to inform workshops on writing needs of graduate students, faculty, and postdoctoral scholars.

Data was collected online through a Qualtrics survey distributed by WVU listserv. Participants (N = 26) included …

Teaching Strategies In The First-Year Engineering Seminar Course, Akua Oppong-Anane, Wen Juan Mo, Marshal Miezah, Gia Huy Pham, Susie Huggins, Lizzie Santiago

2026 Scholarly Teaching Conference: Poster Session Papers

This poster highlights the teaching strategies that are implemented in the First-Year Engineering Seminar Course at West Virginia University (WVU). The teaching team incorporated active learning techniques into the course to enhance student engagement, promote critical thinking, support the development of engineering identity, and encourage major and career exploration.

A Rapid, Accessible Active Learning Framework For Stem At Wvu Tech, Somenath Chakraborty, Zahmeeth Sayed Sakkaff

2026 Scholarly Teaching Conference: Poster Session Papers

Many undergraduates find it difficult to move from listening to doing—especially in STEM courses that require sustained practice, timely feedback, and confidence. This poster describes a rapid, low-cost active-learning routine that can be added to existing lectures at WVU Tech with minimal redesign. Instructors insert brief engagement micro-cycles every 10–15 minutes: a concept question or mini-problem, a one-minute individual attempt, a short pair discussion, and a concise explanation that targets common misconceptions.

Forming Groups With Ai Coding, Dimas Abreu Archanjo Dutra

2026 Scholarly Teaching Conference: Poster Session Papers

The poster will detail the creation and deployment of a custom computer-based team formation tool using an Artificial Intelligence (AI) coding agent. The students respond to a survey administered on the LMS about knowledge, skills, availability, and course of study. The survey results are downloaded from the LMS, anonymized, and given to a coding agent as a sample input. The agent is instructed to create groups that have diverse skills, a common time availability for meeting, and are in different majors. Students enrolled in Honors section are grouped together, and groups all belong to the same lab section. Results are …

Gamification For Learning At Wvu Tech: Examples From Engineering And Biology, Tamara Floyd-Smith, Aida Elisabet Jiménez-Esquilín

2026 Scholarly Teaching Conference: Poster Session Papers

At WVU Tech, gamification is intentionally implemented by many faculty as a broad, multi-modal instructional approach rather than a single tool or activity. Faculty employ a range of gamification strategies, including the digital platform Kahoot but also analog, hands-on games (e.g., discipline-specific board games). These approaches are used for multiple instructional purposes, including supporting students in checking their understanding, practicing recall, working through challenging concepts, and developing problem-solving skills. Here we present applications of gamification for learning in engineering and biology courses at WVU Tech. Student feedback was collected regarding the use of Kahoot quizzes as a valuable and enjoyable …

Towards Increasing The Retention Of Freshman Engineering Students: Implementing A New Course, Ee 101 Introduction To Electrical And Computer Engineering, Omer Lateef, Mingyu Lu, Waseem Alaqqad, Charan Litchfield, Kenan Hatipoglu

2026 Scholarly Teaching Conference: Poster Session Papers

To assist with improving student retention in the undergraduate electrical and computer engineering program, a course was developed and implemented at the freshman level in the Spring of 2021.  This course was named EE 101: Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering and served to give freshman students an opportunity to meet the professors of the ECE department and experience live sessions dedicated to presenting “upcoming” topics and research endeavors of their expertise.  Students typically will not be attending the electrical or computer engineering subjects until their sophomore year and this course, set in second semester for a freshman, attempts to …

Rethinking Student Feedback: Separating Instructor And Course Evaluation To Improve Teaching Practice, Cameron Rusnak

2026 Scholarly Teaching Conference: Poster Session Papers

Student evaluations of teaching are commonly used to inform instructional improvement, personnel decisions, and course development. At many institutions, including those using the Student Perceptions of Teaching (SPOT) instrument, instructor effectiveness and course structure are evaluated within a single, unified survey. While efficient, this approach can unintentionally conflate student perceptions of course difficulty, content sequencing, or assessment design with perceptions of instructor performance. As a result, feedback intended to support reflective teaching practice may become ambiguous or difficult to interpret.

This poster proposes an effective teaching practice centered on distinguishing between instructor-focused and course-focused feedback within traditional SPOT reviews. Rather …

Ai-Resistant Activities For Online And Large Enrollment Courses, Jason Bock, Eric Lemley

2026 Scholarly Teaching Conference: Concurrent Session Papers

The rapid adoption of generative AI tools has fundamentally challenged traditional assessments in higher education, particularly in large-enrollment and fully asynchronous online courses where instructor presence and grading time are constrained. While many instructors have responded by restricting AI use or adopting detection tools, research increasingly shows that detection-based approaches are unreliable and labor-intensive. We propose a design-centered alternative: reshaping assessments so that AI use becomes insufficient, rather than prohibited.

Drawing on a systematic process of testing proposed and original assessment ideas directly against multiple generative AI models (using both simple and advanced prompting strategies), we present a curated playbook …

Integrating Antithetical Thinking And Writing Practices, Cody Grey

2026 Scholarly Teaching Conference: Concurrent Session Papers

Following similar pedagogical practices to Steven Krause's (2011) chapter on antithetical writing in Writing Spaces, an open-source composition studies textbook, I developed a short writing assignment requiring students to role-play a "hostile" or oppositional viewpoint from the one they were preparing to take in their larger persuasive writing project. Titled the "Antithetical Micro-Essay," the purpose of the short writing assignment is to prepare students for unintended audiences and counterarguments they could hypothetically encounter while composing their persuasive essays (called the Editorial). By adopting an oppositional viewpoint, students were challenged to earnestly understand the positions of their oppositions, including their …

Priming Students From Confucian-Heritage Culture For Success: Lessons From Music Pedagogy, Amanda Li

2026 Scholarly Teaching Conference: Concurrent Session Papers

Rising to more than 1.1 million in 2024, the number of international students in the United States continues to be a significant portion of the student population in higher education. Although no definitive number is readily available, anecdotal and my personal teaching experiences suggest that a sizable number of international students studying music in the United States are Chinese-native speakers from Confucian Heritage Cultures (CHC).

Much of the literature on Chinese international students is non-discipline specific, treating them as a homogenous whole. These students’ challenges and coping strategies are commonly categorized into language- and culture-related issues, which are inevitably intertwined. …

Preserve Democracy By Teaching Social Action, Cheyenne C. Luzynski

2026 Scholarly Teaching Conference: Concurrent Session Papers

This presentation introduces social action pedagogy aimed to empower students to lead campaigns on pressing social issues and strengthen their participation in democracy. Teaching social action has enhanced the knowledge, practice, and skills of leadership and civic engagement. America’s Promise Alliance conducted a research study on the state of young people in 2024 and found that young people have low trust in American institutions and adults and feel negatively affected by the current social and political climate (Flanagan et al., 2025). The report also found that young people want access to civic education and engagement opportunities to correct inequalities and …

From Prompt To Practice: Designing Custom Ai Bots For Interpersonal Skill Development, Alaina Michelle Schrader

2026 Scholarly Teaching Conference: Concurrent Session Papers

Developing strong interpersonal, leadership, and professional communication skills is foundational in counselor and education preparation programs (Fecke et al., 2023; Lateef, 2010; Stamer et al., 2023). Despite this reality, students often have limited opportunities for repeated, low-stakes practice before engaging with real clients, students, families, administrators, and other stakeholders (Lateef, 2010; Maurya, 2024; Stamer et al., 2023). This session describes a teaching practice that uses custom AI bots as simulated clients, parents, group members, and school administrators to create realistic, structured practice environments where students can rehearse counseling skills, consultation conversations, advocacy, boundary-setting, and professional decision-making without the pressure or …