Other Education Commons^™

Health-Promoting Behaviors And Subjective Well-Being Among High School Students, Nicholas David W. Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In positive psychology, a greater emphasis is placed on the presence of indicators of both physical and mental health. This study examined the relationship between 12 health-promoting behaviors and subjective well-being (SWB; e.g., happiness) in a sample of 450 high school aged youth from five high schools in two states. Participants reported on their dietary habits, physical activity, abstinence from tobacco products, abstinence from alcohol, and sleep hygiene (i.e., 8 unique components) as well as a multidimensional assessment of SWB (i.e., life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect). It was hypothesized that increased engagement in each of the health-promoting behaviors …

Engineering Career Academies: A Comparison Of Middle School Student Academic Performance, Jakub D. Prokop

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A quasi-experimental study tested an integrated curriculum design in two career academies with engineering themes at the middle school level. Teachers in the engineering career academies, using the National Standards of Practice, implemented cross curricular units to middle school student cohorts. Participant cohorts ranged in sample sizes (n = 79, 155, 237, and 232) during the four years of analysis. Constructivism was used as a framework for the study and supported by integrated curriculum units. This study examined middle school students’ performance in reading and mathematics on state assessments of students in the engineering career academies to students not enrolled …

Adolescent Identity Exploration And Civic Identity Development In A U.S. Government Classroom, Sarah Mead Denney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As technological advances provide minute-by-minute updates of current events and personalized media feeds push the boundaries of political polarization, the task of social studies educators to provide students with the tools to become effective citizens becomes increasingly important. Undergirded by theories of psychosocial identity development, civic identity development, and the promotion of identity exploration in the academic curriculum, this qualitative multiple case study attempts to examine the processes of adolescent identity exploration and civic identity development in relation to the assignments and activities in a twelfth-grade Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. Government classroom. Classroom observations, teacher and student interviews, and artifact …

The Experiences Of African American Male Computer Science Majors In Two Year Colleges, Simone Brookins Jenkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the field of computer science grows and the computing science workforce demands more qualified workers, the United States workforce will require underrepresented minorities to help meet these demands. African American males are a demographic that can help meet this need but there are few of them pursuing computer science careers and successfully graduating with computer science degrees. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of African American male two-year college students who are in pursuit of a degree in computer science. My findings indicated that the study participants’ experiences such as positive interactions with faculty …

Building A Collaborative Culture In A Middle School: A Case Study, Andrew Olson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is extensive research indicating the importance of teachers working together in teams and in conjunction with school leadership to improve teaching practice and, ultimately, outcomes for students. However, there is little evidence that collaboration is valued in the American school system. Tension pervades in a system that often prescribes a top-down approach to teacher evaluation, fails to provide sufficient time for teachers to collaborate, and unfairly scapegoats teachers for many challenges both within society and the education system itself. It is not surprising that teachers are leaving the profession at an alarming rate.

Combine these contextual factors with the …

Formulation To Application: Thermomechanical Characterization Of Flexible Polyimides And The Improvement Of Their Properties Via Chain Interaction, Alejandro Rivera Nicholls

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this work, Polyimides were synthesized by incorporating an aromatic diamine monomer with a methylene linker, 4,4'-methylenebis(2,6-dimethylaniline) (MBDMA), to make a robust main chain along with aliphatic polyetherdiamine backbone linkers to reduce rigidity. The polymers were designed to exhibit thermal properties in between those of conventional aromatic polyimides and polymers with wholly aliphatic ether diamine links. Through dynamic mechanical analysis and differential scanning calorimetry, it is shown that control of the molar ratios of the aromatic MBDMA and the composition and size of the aliphatic polyetherdiamine can be used to tune the glass transition temperature. The materials were characterized and …

An Autobiographical Narrative Of A Principal's Personal Journey With Autonomy, Delilah Rabeiro

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Educational reform and state policies have stripped principals and teachers of autonomy, and this has been attributed as one of the reasons why teachers leave the profession. Adamson (2012) stated, "To implement reform at their school sites, principals need a certain degree of autonomy. This study sought to understand what I experienced of autonomy as I embarked on my journey as a principal of a turnaround school; what I did, or did not do, to extend autonomy to teachers; and what I came understand about autonomy in this turnaround setting.

This was an autobiographical narrative inquiry (Freeman, 2007; Saleh, Menon, …

Evaluating Conversation Agent Impact On Student Experience In A Distance Education Course, Grover Walters

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We explore the efficacy of conversation agents operating as an instructional aid in a distance education course. Two aspects of efficacy are considered—conversation agent impact on student perceptions of the experience, and how different design features of the agent affect student perceptions of engagement. Evaluation of the agent is accomplished by collecting data from 24 undergraduate participants separated into random groups. We conduct two rounds of mixedmethod evaluation. Between the two rounds, a modification to the agent occurs based on the outcome of the first evaluation. Findings include limitations related to phrasing and data persistence features of the design that …

Simulation And Experimental Investigation Of Fluid Mixing Enhancement With Orifice Plate, Mohammed Al Busaidi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current experimental and simulation fluid mixing studies aim to increase mixing efficiency and incorporate various measurement methods to quantify mixing. In this thesis, comprehensive simulation and experimental studies were carried out to investigate the effects of an orifice plate on mixing. Mixing efficiency is measured through the correlation of volume fraction to color light reflectivity, as dyes were introduced to the fluids being mixed. Volume fractions close to 0.5 indicate high mixing performance, and the efficiency declines as volume fractions depart from 0.5. It was found that fluids in a small diameter tube do not mix due to the absence …

Measuring And Utilizing High-Dimensional Information Of Optical Fields, Ziyi Zhu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently, many areas of optical techniques including imaging, inspection and communication emphasize the utilization of the high-dimensional information encoded in optical fields. There is also a requirement for novel measurement techniques to extract this high-dimensional information with high-speed and accuracy. We firstly introduce a scan-free direct measurement technique that is capable of simultaneously characterizing the amplitude and phase of a coherent scalar optical field. Our direct measurement approach is constituted of a weak polarization perturbation which is followed by the recording of a polarization-resolving imaging process. The weak perturbation rotates the linear polarization on the spatial frequency domain of the …

Digital Corpus Use In Learning L2 Prepositional Collocations: A Pilot Study, Matthew A. Siegel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because of their prevalence in both spoken and written English, collocations—words that go together—are important for the English language learner. Collocations that contain prepositions have been shown to pose particular difficulty (Hong, Rahim, Hua, & Salehuddin, 2011). Collocational errors are common, even among advanced learners (Laufer & Waldman, 2011). The purpose of this pilot study was three-fold: (1) to determine whether the use of a digital corpus by English language learners is effective in learning prepositional collocations, (2) to determine if proficiency level exerts any influence on effectiveness of using a digital corpus to learn prepositional collocations, and (3) to …

Ripping The “Paper Ceiling”: How Social Studies Teachers Conceive And Enact The Integration Of Gender And Women’S Experiences In Their Curriculum, Andrea Watson-Canning

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the intentions of teachers who report incorporating gender and women’s experiences into their social studies curriculum and how those intentions are manifested in the classroom. I examine how teachers talk about the purposes of social studies education, their reasons for incorporating gender and women’s experiences into their curriculum, and their descriptions of incorporation (the intended curriculum). Then, I analyze how the intended curriculum is enacted in the classroom.

Using educational connoisseurship and criticism and portraiture, I construct narrative portraits of the phenomena analyzed. Both educational connoisseurship and criticism and portraiture consider the …

Roma Girls Expressing Identity, Aspirations, And Voice Through Participatory Arts-Based Research, Crista Kaye Banks

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The methods by which Roma girls are studied and represented, do not account for their individual expressions of identity, aspirations or voice. Experiences and voices of Roma girls have rarely been seen or heard and have been consistently defined and represented by non-Roma individuals throughout history and within academia, which has perpetuated stereotypes. Interpretations of the image and lives of the Romani are permeated with misperceptions, myths, and assumptions based on stereotypical definitions.

This study uses the arts-based method of mixed media collage with Roma girls in London, England, to understand their expressions of identity, aspirations, and voice. This arts-based, …

Experiences Of Using Intelligent Virtual Assistants By Visually Impaired Students In Online Higher Education, Michele R. Forbes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In today’s world, the attainment of higher education impacts the acquisition of competitive employment and, thus, quality of life. As a group, persons with disabilities continually fall behind others in such academic progress, requiring new efforts to support their earning of advanced credentials. Though highly beneficial for these individuals, obtaining a degree comes with elevated levels of stress. As enrollment of students with disabilities grows in all formats of higher education, those involved must understand the stress endured by these students and how to diminish it. Theories speculate that technology, such as intelligent virtual assistants, may be a viable tool …

Two Phenomena In Contemporary Music Education: Mental Toughness And The Law, Jason R. Sivill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This collection of works involved examinations of two phenomena that currently impact music education in the United States and constitute challenges for both pre-service and in-service music educators. Article one is an exploration of college aged musicians, their experiences with critical commentary and stressful scenarios encountered in and through applied music studies, and the role that mental toughness might play in these experiences.

This study examined the perceptions of college level studio teachers and their students.

Results of the study indicated that significant differences in mental toughness scores existed between the studio teacher group and the students (as a whole) …

Inside The Work Of A Rookie Principal Coach: Tackling Equity In Disciplinary Practices, Olayinka A. Alege

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hillsborough County Public Schools embarked on an ambitious goal to improve the highest-need schools by restructuring how the district supports schools and their leaders in July 2018. As part of this effort, the superintendent reduced the span of control and assigned principal coaches to support principals in a more intentional way. The purpose of this study was to explore how a principal coach engages a principal in examining inequities in disciplinary practices and how the principal coach provides the supports to prompt and sustain the principal’s efforts to reduce the disproportionate number of students of color being suspended from school. …

The Left Behind Generation: Instructional Practices To Increase The Technological Literacy Of Older Adults, Daphne Pace Phillips

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to explore the utilization and perception of best practices by community-based technology training programs when instructing older adults to become technologically literate. The target population included adults age 55 years and older of the Baby Boomer generational cohort who ranged academically from possessing a high school diploma or General Education Diploma (GED) through a college degree and had enrolled in a local technology training program to improve their technological skill level with the goal of obtaining employment and/or to remain functionally independent. This study was conducted at three community technology training centers located in the southeast that …

Simulation And Software Development To Understand Interactions Of Guest Molecules Inporous Materials, Douglas M. Franz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The effect of inclusion of explicit polarization is investigated through several theoret- ical studies of crystalline porous materials herein. In addition to the use of Monte Carlo simulation for such studies, a robust molecular dynamics software is presented which is suitable for analyzing time dependent properties of gases or other molecules in porous materials and other condensed phase systems. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are the main focus of the work included here, a relatively young class of materials originally in- troduced in the early 1990s. These are usually three dimensional crystalline nanoporous materials that exhibit unique properties such as gas separation, …

International Teaching Assistants’ Perceptions Of English And Spanish Language Use At The University Of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, Edward G. Contreras Santiago

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Globalization and sociopolitical factors impact migration patterns all over the world. In Puerto Rico, these factors created superdiverse environments where languages users have pushed the boundaries of language in order to make sense of their worlds. Even though this language dynamic is natural for locals, it is those who visit from different countries, specifically international graduate students, that have a difficult time adjusting to Puerto Rico’s rich use of English and Spanish. Understanding how international graduate students perceive the language used at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez (UPRM) upon arrival is essential to provide a better experience for future …

An Investigation Of The Effects Of The Parasitic Nematode Aplectana Hamatospicula On The Performance And Behavior Of Cuban Treefrogs (Osteopilus Septentrionalis), Kerri Surbaugh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parasitic infections are ubiquitous in nature, and host-parasite dynamics can have powerful effects on wildlife populations. Many species have evolved behavioral responses to infection that can help mitigate damage from parasites. Anorexia is a common response to infection observed throughout the animal kingdom. Reducing nutrient intake can help shift host resources from digestion to immunity, as well as limit resources available to parasites. Reduced feeding can weaken the host, but in some host-parasite interactions, this cost is less than that of maintaining an infection. Here, I describe an experiment aimed to explore the effects of the parasitic nematode Aplectana hamatospicula …

Promoting L2 Idiomatic Competence Among Chinese College Students Via Wechat, Zhengjie Li

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many second language (L2) scholars acknowledge that L2 idioms play a critical role in reading development as well as in communicative competence for L2 learners (Arnaud & Savignon, 1997; Barfield & Gyllstad, 2009; Conklin & Schmitt, 2008; Howarth, 1998; Liontas, 2017; Littlemore, Chen, Koester, & Barnden, 2011). Echoing the current trends of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), much research has been done to underscore how L2 idiom learning can be infused with instructional technologies to promote L2 learners’ idiomatic competence (see Luk & Ng, 1998; Nakata, 2011; Yang & Xie, 2013). However, what remains underexplored is the ways that L2 …

Eating In America: Easing The Transition For Resettled Refugees Through An Applied Anthropological Intervention, Emily A. Holbrook

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Refugees resettled in the United States are expected to quickly become self-sufficient members of society despite the numerous challenges they face due to adaptation and integration into new systems and ways of life. Issues with dietary and nutritional adaptation persist for resettled refugee communities in the United States and are not prioritized by national, state, or local policy and practice. This research aimed to help mitigate problems with food assistance benefits and healthy eating issues faced by resettled refugees in Hillsborough County through an applied intervention in local English as a Second Language (ESOL) classes. ESOL materials designed to teach …

A Cross-Case Analysis Of Strategies Used By Novice Elementary School Principals To Understand School Culture, Shane Silpe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many have identified the principalship as a “sink or swim” role (Rooney, 2000, p. 77) in which new leaders address a multitude of tasks daily (Spillane & Lee, 2014, p. 433) with feelings of being ultimately responsible (Swen, 2019, p. 5). Preparing principals through induction programs, internships, mentors, coursework, and exposure, are just some of the many ways that we currently prepare beginning principals for their new role. “Challenges for novice school leaders evolve as information is managed differently and as societal and regulatory expectations change” (Beam, Claxton, & Smith, 2016, p. 145). Given this on-going negotiation, novice principals must …

An Examination Of The Roles Of Classroom Quality And Approaches To Learning On The Early Academic Skills Of Latino Dual Language Learners Enrolled In Head Start, Marcela A. Galicia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examined the relationship between classroom quality, approaches-to-learning, and early academic skills among 384 Latino dual language learners (DLLs) enrolled in Florida Head Start programs. The children were living in low-income homes where Spanish was the primary language spoken by at least one parent. The study analyzed the extent to which approaches-to-learning behaviors moderate early literacy and numeracy skills in Head Start classrooms of varying quality. During the spring of their prek-4 year, the children were administered the English and Spanish Letter-Word Identification and Applied Problems subtests of the WJ-III (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001) and the Batería III …

Quantifying The Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale And The Functional Performance Measures, Chelsea Rene Davis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Friedreich Ataxia (FA) is a debilitating autosomal-recessive neurodegenerative disorder which is characterized by ataxia of all four limbs, difficulty walking, areflexia, and dysarthria. Further complications of FA include diabetes, scoliosis, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Approximately three-quarters of people with FA have onset before the age of 25 and in most instances, affected individuals will require the use of a wheelchair within ten years after symptoms emerge.

The current advancements in clinical trials have escalated the developmental demand for a scale which validates adjustments in FA. The Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale (FARS) is a disease-specific semi-qualitative assessment which includes three subscales (functional …

Steady State Hydroplaning Risk Analysis And Evaluation Of Unsteady State Effects, Menna Yassin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hydroplaning is a major concern on high speed roadways during heavy rainfall events. Hydroplaning tools are widely used by designers to reduce their roadway’s hydroplaning potential, therefore reducing the possibilities of severe crashes. This dissertation presents two methodologies for improving the prediction of hydroplaning potential.

The first phase focused on improving an existing widely used software called PAVDRN. Using multiple datasets from the Florida Department of Transportation, the author filtered the data using specific criteria to leave only truly dynamic hydroplaning crashes. The author then evaluated PAVDRN’s prediction capabilities and assessed its reliability in predicting a hydroplaning crash. Using past …

Project-Based Learning: Implementation And Reflections Of An Advanced Placement American Government Class, Arren M. Swift

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this qualitative case study was to investigate the process of the enactment of a project-based learning method in an Advanced Placement American Government and Politics course and the effects of contextual factors, the beliefs of the teacher, and environmental factors had on the planning and implementation of PBL-aligned tasks. This study also investigates the experiences and perceptions of students in an Advanced Placement American Government and Politics course that enacted project-based learning.

The study was conducted to add to the literature on project-based learning. Research on the steps a teacher takes to enact project-based learning can enhance …

Weaved Journeys: Life Writings Of Leading And Engagement In Science Education, Tara M. Nkrumah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study’s purpose was to explore science engagement and in/equity through science educators’ narratives of servant leadership at both the K-12 and higher education levels in the United States. The research question was: How have participants become and led others to become engaged in science? I took an arts-based approach using drawings and autobiographical data to initiate and create metissages focused on becoming engaged in science education. The findings were that: (1) Participants helped marginalized students understand the culture of science through pedagogical strategies that connected self and science; (2) Participants recognized and countered systemic forms of oppression for students …

Engaging Students Globally Without Leaving The Comforts Of Home, Weiwen Liao, Margaret S. Kilcoyne, Carmella Parker, Begona Perez-Mira, Connie Jones, Lynn Woods

Journal of Global Education and Research

To meet the needs of and preparing graduates to enter the 21^st century business environment, higher education institutions have realized global learning is now an essential part of the knowledge and skill sets needed by business graduates. Global competency is no longer a luxury. This article describes how a regional higher education institution has implemented active learning projects and assessments which integrate global competency in the core and elective courses. Students can complete these projects and assessments without leaving the comforts of their homes, the campus, or the U.S. and still be exposed to a global experience. The purpose …

Examining Efl Learners’ Reading Comprehension: The Impact Of Metacognitive Strategies Discussion And Collaborative Learning Within Multimedia E-Book Dialogic Environments, Abrar H. Alsofyani

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For most English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, both reading and comprehension skills are challenging to acquire. EFL students find reading challenging due to their inability to comprehend and interpret text information, which may lead, at times, to demotivation and loss of interest. The current study intends to explore how Saudi EFL learners may better tackle reading comprehension challenges by examining the utilization of metacognitive reading strategies through discussion and extensive collaborative learning activities within a multimedia e-book dialogic environment. Accordingly, the study investigates the impact of teaching metacognitive strategy-based discussion and collaborative learning on students’ application of the …