Specialist in Education, Miami University, 2019, Educational Psychology

Today professions and post-secondary opportunities in the United States in the areas of science, technology, and engineering are continuously growing and requiring students to have complex understandings of mathematical concepts. As the demand for these professions continues to grow, mathematic achievement scores in the U.S. continue to decline. The current study seeks to examine if an alternative to explicit instruction, such as play, through a multiplication fluency game, can improve mathematic motivation and multiplicative fluency. Students in two third grade classrooms were given pre and posttest curriculum-based fluency tests and surveys focused on their attitude toward math to compare results between the treatment and control classrooms. The treatment classroom played a multiplication fluency game for three days a week for four weeks while the control classroom engaged in traditional instruction. Results were examined qualitatively and quantitatively to conclude that the play intervention appears to have no significance when compared to instruction without a fluency game on mathematical fluency scores.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1970, Graduate School

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1968, Graduate School

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1928, Graduate School

Master of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2023, Education

I conducted this study because of increasingly high undesired classroom behaviors paired with insufficient creative written expression amongst students in Ohio Christian School. I was intrigued by the idea that the two could be connected somehow, so I found a writing intervention, “Write-Talks,” that I decided to implement in my classroom to see its potential impact on both student writing and behavior. I used quasi-experimental quantitative research method to complete this action research study. I started my research with a pre-intervention survey in which students evaluated their own creative written expression and self-management behavior tendencies upon the return of parental consent forms. I also collected writing samples from each of the students from before the intervention. Then, I observed the behavior of students who I categorized as reluctant writers. The study concluded with students responding to a post-intervention survey, similar to the first, and with the collection of another writing sample. After analyzing data, I found that the intervention's impact on student creative written expression was generally positive, meaning that students' writing sample scores increased. However, data did not necessarily support that student self-management behavior had been impacted in any significant way. There was one student, though, whose personal data did suggest that the positive impact with this particular student could have been because of the “Write-Talks” intervention. Due to this clear positive impact the intervention had on student writing, my school, district, and others could take these findings into consideration for the future benefit of creative written expression. I am hopeful that continued research could provide insight to a connection between creative written expression and self-management behavior in students.

Master of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2023, Education

The present study investigated how the implementation of High Leverage Practices related to instruction in the general education classroom impact teacher confidence in meeting the needs of students with and without disabilities. A group of 5 elementary teachers participated in this study in which they were asked to implement one practice in their classroom. Teachers were asked about their confidence and knowledge of High Leverage Practices via a survey. Meetings with teachers were also conducted at the beginning, middle and end of the study. The results showed that there was no significant change in teacher confidence when High Leverage Practices were implemented into the classroom instruction. This study provides valuable information to the field of High Leverage Practices and the impacts on teacher confidence to service students with and without disabilities in the classroom.

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2022, Curriculum and Instruction

As Environmental Education (EE) is one of the most important subjects in the field of education that need further investigation, the current study explores one issue related to EE. Teachers' beliefs about EE are the subject addressed in this research, with a focus on four different variables related to their beliefs about: their understanding of EE, their experiences with EE, EE as offered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the ideal EE program. Many studies have confirmed the role EE plays in developing students' cognitive skills, critical thinking, awareness, and motivation towards maintaining the environment (Osman & Meerah, 2010; Al-Otaibi, 2014; Volk & Cheak, 2003; Powers, 2004; Eames & Birdsall, 2019). Therefore, it seems to be important to explore what teachers think about EE as an academic content in many subjects taught in Saudi elementary schools. To analyze the answers to the main question raised in this dissertation (MRQ) and the four sub-research questions (SRQ1, SRQ2, SRQ3, and SRQ4) related to its four variables, a questionnaire was first developed. The questionnaire was used to collect data from male teachers of boys' elementary schools in Qurtuba district, Riyadh, KSA. In the analysis of the data descriptive statistics were used, and the data are analyzed numerically using SPSS. The data was analyzed through the calculation of percentages, means, and standard deviations as well as through thematic analysis for the open-ended questions. The analysis reveals that teachers have different beliefs depending on the variable and the question proposed. However, they in general strongly agreed about their beliefs about an ideal EE with both a high percentage (94.1%) and mean (M = 1.61). Teachers also agreed that they believed they understand EE, with a general mean of (M= 1.75). While they also mostly agreed about their beliefs about their experience with EE, the mean here decreased to (M= 2.14). The mean of their beliefs about EE as offered in KSA educa (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1940, History

Doctor of Education (EdD), Ohio University, 2022, Educational Administration (Education)

Challenging student behavior is a concern for teachers and administrators across the United States, and the situation in West Virginia is no different. In response to these behaviors, principals often use an exclusionary approach to discipline, including detentions, suspensions, and expulsions. While research indicates a functional approach to discipline is a highly effective strategy, teachers rarely utilize this approach, and little is known about if and when principals do. This qualitative study explored how principals define challenging behavior and make discipline decisions, identify which discipline practices they use, and determine if they apply the Circumstances View of Behavior (attributing a person's behavior to learning history and/or their environment) or a functional approach to discipline (considering why a behavior is happening) when making decision-related decisions. This was accomplished using discipline vignettes, semi-structured interviews, post-interview surveys, and document analysis within a Reflexive Thematic Analysis framework with a Multimethod Research design. This study synthesized a more comprehensive definition of challenging behavior for the participants and outlined traditional disciplinary practices along with an alternate approach expressed by one participant. The findings indicate that nearly all participants only partially subscribe to a Circumstances View of Challenging Behavior and a Functional View of Behavior and that partial subscription was not enough to shift their disciplinary decision-making away from progressive, exclusionary practices.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Educational Studies

Social and emotional learning has been recognized for positively impacting students' social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes (Durlak et al., 2011; Dusenbury & Weissberg, 2017; Taylor et al., 2017). State departments of education have taken this research and implemented statewide social and emotional learning standards for educators to incorporate into their curriculum (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning [CASEL], 2019; Ecklund et al., 2018; Yoder et al., 2020). However, there is a dearth of research on the experiences of educators who plan, prepare, deliver, and evaluate the SEL standards. Additionally, the 2020-2021 school year was profoundly impacted by the COVID-19 health pandemic that created additional challenges for educators trying to meet academic and SEL standards (Darling-Hammond & Hyler, 2020). The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of elementary educators who were implementing the state SEL standards during the COVID-19 health pandemic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 elementary educators licensed as either general education classroom teachers, principals, or school counselors and worked for at least two years. Participants were from a midwestern state that had kindergarten through twelfth grade SEL state standards. Moustakas' (1994) phenomenological reduction process was utilized to describe the essence of the participants' experience that included: a need to prioritize SEL, a focus on relationship building while navigating barriers to connection, awareness of adult SEL needs, and educational inequities highlighted by COVID-19. Implications for elementary educators, educational training programs, and educational policy makers are discussed in addition to recommendations for future research.

Specialist in Education, Miami University, 2021, School Psychology

This research study explored the relationship between test anxiety and growth mindset for fifth grade elementary students in a midwestern, urban district. Researchers compared the levels of test anxiety and growth mindset for elementary students using the Implicit Theory of Intelligence Scale (ITIS) and the Children's Test Anxiety Scale (CTAS). The results were analyzed using a Pearson correlation and t-test to determine if there was a relationship between test anxiety and growth mindset. The results of the study indicate that there is a significant relationship between these two variables (r=.364; p=.029). No significant difference was detected between the male and female participants of the study. Future studies may continue to examine the relationship between these two variables as well as the impact that growth mindset interventions could have on student performance in diverse settings.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, EDU Teaching and Learning

This study explores how 5th grade EFL learners learn and use English in the primary EFL classroom in the complex sociocultural context of Korea. By exploring students' language learning and practices in their school setting triangulated with interviews about their out-of-school language as well as parents' perspective on English, the study highlights the interplay of in- and out-of-school language learning in EFL settings. This qualitative study consisted of semester-long persistent classrooms conducted along with audio-recordings of class sessions and interviews designed to target the complex realities of English education in this setting. Classroom observation focused on moment-to-moment teacher-student and student-student interactions as well as on the nature of language use by teachers and students, including the distribution of roles, rights, and duties closely examined using discourse analysis and triangulated with interviews. In addition, the macro-level values and beliefs prevalent in Korean English education were also examined. In this classroom, a Korean co-teacher (KT) and a native English-speaking co-teacher (NT) try to overcome their students' lack of exposure to the target language by providing meaningful contexts so that the students can learn and practice useful expressions with a variety of materials and modes of teaching and learning. The teachers' educational beliefs and interests thus influenced and constructed the students' language learning environment in the EFL classroom. For one semester, the students were socialized into new frames of teacher-controlled classroom routines through modelling, repetition, visual aids, and praise.In addition, this study reveals how the macro-level values and beliefs of Korean English education influences one local EFL classroom. The practice of teaching and learning in this local context has thus ecologically influenced by official themes promoted in the upper reaches of the national educational system. (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1997, Graduate School

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1984, Graduate School

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2016, Instructional Technology (Education)

Stakeholders are interested in using technology to integrate nutrition education into the regular school curriculum as one strategy, among many, to combat the childhood obesity epidemic. The primary purposes of this study were to: (a) gain a better understanding of elementary teachers' perceptions concerning technology integration in nutrition education, and (b) identify factors influencing elementary teachers' self-efficacy for integrating technology into nutrition education. An online survey was used to collect demographic information, teacher perceptions of barriers to using technology to teach nutrition, teacher perceptions of barriers to teaching nutrition in general, teacher perceptions of supports for using technology to teach nutrition, and technology integration self efficacy for teaching nutrition. Frequencies, means, and standard deviations were calculated to gain a better understanding of teacher perceptions related to technology integration and nutrition education. Multiple regression analysis examined whether the variables (nutrition training and technology training) could predict elementary teachers' self-efficacy for utilizing technology to teach nutrition. One hundred sixteen elementary educators from a six county region in West Virginia completed the survey. All educators taught at schools participating in Marshall University's Nutrition Education Program. Results indicate that “Unavailability of personal technology for students' home use to learn nutrition (iPad, laptop, fitness tracker)” was the greatest challenge for teachers in using technology to teach nutrition. The two greatest challenges for teaching nutrition in general were “lack of appropriate resources” and “lack of instructional time.” Results of the multiple regression revealed an overall significant regression (p = .011) with a small effect size. Multiple regression analysis with four forms of training revealed that the variables professional development, undergraduate course, gr (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education (EdD), Ohio University, 2016, Educational Administration (Education)

Foreign Language in Elementary School (FLES) programs in the United States are not flourishing, nor are their middle- and high-school counterparts. The current global recession has imposed marginal decreases on school funding and has thus influenced curriculum decisions to cut back on such perceived frills as foreign language (FL) instruction. Since FL is not part of high-stakes testing, it remains as an extra on the periphery of curriculum, no matter how crucial it might be culturally, intellectually, and perhaps therefore politically and economically. Kindergarten through twelfth grade administrators appear to be in a unique position to shed light on the American foreign language dilemma, as they are in trenches daily with students and teachers and are involved in curriculum and policy decisions. A survey instrument was sent to all of the public school elementary principals in Ohio. Surveys were successfully delivered to 1427 principals. Although 103 survey responses were received, only 95 were complete and used for data analysis, resulting in a 6.66% response rate. The first step in examining the data involved calculating descriptive statistics for each item in the instrument. Next, a regression analysis was used to determine if there was a relationship between the independent variables (personal and contextual) and the dependent variable, principals' attitudes toward FLES. The regression analysis included nine independent and covariate variables. They are the value of FL and the importance of FL when compared against the covariates of gender, ethnicity, number of years as a principal, number of years as a teacher, the participants' status as being bilingual or multilingual, the number of FLs studied by the participants, and whether the participants' schools have a FLES program. The study's findings indicated that Ohio elementary principals do perceive FLES programs favorably. None of the demographic information individually proved to be important to the p (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2016, Curriculum and Instruction

This study investigated the nature of instructional coaching interactions in three formats: online synchronous, online asynchronous, and face-to-face. Knight's (2007) Seven Partnership Principles of Instructional Coaching were used as a framework to analyze and compare the coaching interactions between coach and teacher to determine whether online coaching may be a viable option to provide support for the teachers unprepared to teach the new science standards. Some previous research has suggested that online communication can result in deeper personal interactions (Walther, 1996), while other studies suggest that interactions are the more natural and easier in formats that are more similar to face-to-face interactions (Kock, 2005). The findings of this study support the media naturalness theory (Kock, 2005) and suggest that collaboration may be especially difficult in asynchronous online communication. Although differences were noted in the actual interactions, teacher perception remained fairly consistently positive across the three formats. Research beyond this exploratory study is needed to make findings generalizable.

Master of Education (MEd), Bowling Green State University, 2014, Curriculum and Teaching

This quantitative study investigated the influence of the new Ohio social studies assessment on social studies elementary education. I wanted to understand teacher perceptions of the reinstated assessment that was modeled after the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment and see how it impacted elementary social studies curriculum, teacher instruction, resources, and instructional time. A survey was sent to twelve schools that were located across the state of Ohio. The schools had previously participated in a study by the Ohio Professors of Social Studies Education (OPSSE) (Patterson et al., unpublished) that asked principals about the removal of the social studies Ohio Achievement Assessment (OAA). Elementary teachers were the participants of this study's survey that was created using the website Qualtrics. The data was collated and analyzed by coding procedures defined by Singleton & Straits (1999). The data showed mixed responses towards the new assessments that provided multiple key findings. First, a majority of teachers had a negative perception of the reinstated assessment with a majority (57%) feeling concerned about the return of an assessment. Additionally, a majority reported (54%) minor curriculum changes while others knew little about the new assessments and PARCC (64%). Some of the teachers felt more confident in their ability to teach their students than students' abilities to do well on the new assessment. Long and short-term impacts were very mixed, with more teachers being positive about testing impacts on social studies education overall (41%) than about impacts on content and skills (26%). Reported changes in teacher instruction were also very mixed. Just under 30% report that they will make changes in their teaching and just over 30% report that they will not make changes. Social studies instructional time had changed little over recent years, but there was a slight trend showing an in (open full item for complete abstract)

PHD, Kent State University, 2014, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

The purpose of this study was to explore elementary teachers’ interpretations of three of the Standards for Mathematical Practice in the Common Core State Standards. The research followed how these interpretations evolved during three types of professional learning experiences. The study also explored teachers’ beliefs about the supports that would be necessary to enact these standards successfully in a classroom, school, and district. A teacher development experiment was utilized for this qualitative study. Three teachers (two from grade five and one from grade one) were recruited from the same school district, and they participated in three individual interviews, two group discussions, and two videotaped lessons as they read and discussed the three chosen standards. Teachers’ comments were analyzed via an interpretive approach reflecting hermeneutic philosophy. Each teacher was considered a case; thus, the analysis focused on each teacher’s thinking as well as the similarities and differences among the teachers’ interpretations. The teachers were able to respond to tentative findings of the study, and adjustments to the analyses were made when appropriate. Findings indicated that teachers often interpret the text and intent of standards in very unique ways. These interpretations are influenced by past personal and professional experiences, opportunities to read and discuss standards with others, expectations set forth and support provided by administrators, and observations of student learning. Interpretations do not change quickly or without catalyst; rather, thinking evolves over extended periods of time when opportunities for professional learning and reflection are provided on a regular basis.

Master of Computer Science, Miami University, 2014, Computational Science and Engineering

De novo repeat discovery is increasingly important due to the growth rate of new genomic data. Library-based programs such as RepeatMasker effectively expand known families of repeats, but discovering new families is difficult due to their inexact nature. Tools relying on self-alignment (e.g RECON), become prohibitively time-consuming with large sequences, while text-indexing methods, such as the Suffix Array or FM-Index, are poorly suited for the wildcard searches needed to account for single base mismatches. We present a tool, RAIDER, that uses spaced seeds in the spirit of PatternHunter to identify inexact repeats with wildcard matching. RAIDER's speed allows extensive parameter tuning, processing Human Chromosome 22 in approximately 1 minute (as compared to 39 minutes for RepeatScout or longer for RECON). RAIDER shows great promise in terms of both sensitivity and specificity, with results comparable to RepeatScout, and much potential for improvement with unexplored spaced-seed patterns.