Master of Arts (MA), Wright State University, 2024, International and Comparative Politics

How alliance structures form and why states balance, bandwagon, or remain neutral against other states is an enduring and important question in international relations. This thesis adds to the discussion of how states make alliance decisions by testing whether perceptions matter in predicting state balancing behavior and by proposing a new theoretical framework which allows for a better understanding of the mechanisms which drive the perception of aggressive intentions as a factor within Stephen Walt's balance of threat theory. In this thesis, I explore the construction of threat through a comparative case study analysis of border states of Russia following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine to explore how differing states responded with varying levels of threat perception of Russia and how actions and characteristics of these states shaped their differing responses in balancing. The case studies for this analysis include Ukraine, Finland, and Mongolia in relation to their perception of threat of Russian aggressive intentions.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, Human Ecology: Human Development and Family Science

Community blogging is a potentially important and innovative educational tool that promotes both the cognitive and social construction of knowledge through individual postings, student-to-student commentary, and hyperlink sharing. However, the intimate nature of postings, the social nature of commentary, and the explorative nature of hyperlinking may activate entrenched relational schemas held by students that have potential to influence their community blogging activity in ways that limit their ability to benefit from an educational blogging project. In an attempt to understand exactly what impact students' relational schemas have on their community blogging activity, the present study examined the direct and indirect associations of students' attachment anxiety and avoidance with four observed measures of their community blogging activity: 1) posting activity, 2) comment activity, 3) hyperlink activity, and 4) the average length of written contributions. Data were collected from 53 undergraduate students enrolled in a 10-week introductory course in which community blogging was a central component of the course structure. Hierarchical regression analyses tested the associations between students' attachment anxiety and avoidance and their observed community blogging activity while controlling for students' self-reported GPA and Internet self-efficacy. In addition, more sophisticated analyses examined (a) whether students' relational motivation for blogging mediated these associations, and (b) whether students' sense of classroom community moderated the second leg of these mediation models and thus the strengths of the indirect effects. Overall, results demonstrated weak evidence that students' attachment was related to their observed community blogging activity, with the exception of one robust finding. Students' attachment avoidance was related to their observed hyperlink activity such that students reporting greater attachment avoidance contributed a greater combi (open full item for complete abstract)

PHD, Kent State University, 2013, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

English language teaching and learning receive considerable attention in Saudi Arabian schools as seen in existing efforts of development. A primary purpose of this study is to participate in these efforts of development through the application of a modern constructivist instructional practice for English language teaching and learning on the intermediate school level. This study, in part, strives to determine whether or not the adoption of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) would be a more effective means of increasing the students’ reading comprehension achievement scores when compared to the traditional teaching method of the English language that involves (among other things) prompting and drilling of students. This study also strives to gain issues and insights that accompany the application of TBLT through constant comparison and contrast with those that accompany the traditional teaching method. This mixed-method study is quasi-experimental that uses a pretest and posttests for collecting quantitative data, and classroom observation and researcher log for collecting qualitative data. The study involved 122 participants divided into treatment and control groups. The treatment group has received ten weeks of English language instruction via the TBLT method while the control group has received ten weeks of English language instruction via the traditional teaching method. The independent variable is the use of TBLT in the classroom and the effect/dependent variable is the students’ reading comprehension achievement scores. A Two-Factor Split Plot analysis with the pretest as the covariate is used for analyzing the quantitative data. Analysis of qualitative data included synthesis, rich, and detailed description for classroom observation and grounded theory for researcher log data. The findings show that teaching via the TBLT method has significantly helped students increase their reading comprehension achievement s (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Musical Arts, The Ohio State University, 2024, Music

Polyphonic music, especially the contrapuntal keyboard music of J.S. Bach and other Baroque composers, constitutes an important portion of classical piano literature. Baroque contrapuntal music corresponds to a period in tonal music where linear and vertical aspects of music were in almost perfect equilibrium. In studying Baroque contrapuntal music, students can experience how principles of voice leading affect harmony, dissonance, and musical texture of all tonal music. However, in the United States today, the general trend in piano education is to avoid teaching contrapuntal music until students reach an early advanced level. Even then, the learning of this style is often superficial, and students and teachers face difficulties in understanding and teaching its complexities in limited weekly lesson times. As for students who do not advance to such a level, their educational track often does not allow the opportunity to experience contrapuntal music at all. The effect, unfortunately, is a gap in students' learning of contrapuntal music and a disservice to the quality of music appreciation at large. Considering the generally inadequate understanding of contrapuntal music and Baroque style today, it seems that the current model of learning and teaching is not productive and that a new framework is needed. Constructivism has been an enduring movement in education in American education since the 1960s. The discussion and application of constructivist principles have permeated classroom music teaching since around the turn of the century, but very little has been discussed in private instrumental teaching. Constructivism allows students to learn through active participation by building upon previous knowledge and discovering principles through experiential learning. The framework of constructivism leads music teachers to consider how students might be guided to “discover” foundational principles by manipulating musical materials. Jeanne Bamberger has been applying (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2023, Foundations of Education

Critical peace education sets forth a process-oriented pedagogy with key tenets that include inquiry, reflection, dialogue, critical value-assessment, and empowerment. Empowerment as tenet is unique because, when viewed comprehensively, it is recognized as an integral element required for the actualization of all other tenets within CPE. Although empowerment may take on many forms within the CPE framework, this work seeks to establish that its foundational component rests upon three distinct elements which include: the ability to establish and maintain authentic inner unification with peace (through the development of an integrated state of nonviolence), the ability to offer valid normative justifications for one's claims, and an ongoing commitment and willingness to reconstruct the conception of peace in pursuit of justice and fairness in a diverse biosphere. The prevalence of violence (specifically structural violence experienced as dehumanization, marginalization, and oppression) coupled with the rise of societal polarization, ingroup bias, and groupthink, highlight the need for a greater focus on and understanding of empowerment in CPE. This work seeks to emphasize that empowerment is a matter of justice which necessitates normative presuppositions for the validation of claims as well as ongoing reflection and praxis in the pursuit of justice as peace; however, without authentic commitment to external as well as internal obligations to peace, empowerment efforts in all forms will remain insufficient. This assertion underscores the need for a three angle approach to dynamic empowerment in CPE.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Educational Studies

This multi-component study assesses perceived mechanisms through which undergraduate and graduate college students use social media and learning management systems (LMS) through multiple regression path modelling. The literature review outlines current work related to investigating the mechanisms of learning through LMS and social media, and proposes a new cybernetic model focusing on interplay between design constraints and user agency on online platforms. Using an existing, validated scale that measures design constraints and perceived social connection and exploration on social media, the first part of this study revalidates the existing scale with 302 college students, and adapts it to create and validate another instrument that measures user perceptions of their agency on LMS tools using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The second part of the analysis in this study involves a platform level understanding of the use of social media and LMS in terms of social connection, exploration and design constraints, and placing these interrelationships within a framework of topology, abstraction, and scale. It also measures relationships across these platforms, through the use of legacy dialogs. The third part of the data analysis in this study focuses on the construction of multiple regression path models investigating general level mechanisms of social connection, exploration and design within and between social media and LMS. Results reveal that the ethos of community formation that drive the creation of problem-solving environments in social media settings and on LMS tools are fundamentally different; requiring educators to create activities that mirror the spontaneous agencies displayed by users on social media tools in the classroom. An interview tool is created based on results, to inquire further into students' perceived bond formation on varied informal, formal, and non-formal platforms.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2022, Instructional Technology (Education)

Learning spaces in recent times are seeing a shift from traditional classrooms that are instructor led to innovative spaces that are student-centered. This paradigm shift is also seeing the emergence of informal learning spaces that are unstructured and allow for student collaboration. Using the universal design for learning (UDL) as a theoretical framework, this qualitative study examined the design of a collaborative learning space and how the space support or promotes student learning. Data collection techniques used for the study were semi-structured interviews with nine participants recruited as key informants, secondary data, and site observation. To analyze the data collected, Creswell's (2014) three step approach was employed. The first step involved organizing and preparing the data and this was done by downloading the auto generated transcripts and checking it against the recorded interview videos. It also involved removing filler words from the transcripts. Generating broad themes was done as the second step in the analysis process and a total of nine broad themes were generated. For the final step, the transcribed document was imported into Nvivo and codes or sub-themes were created for each broad themes and to address the two research questions. Findings from this study revealed that design decisions made 4 were intentional in promoting collaboration among students. The findings also showed that the flexible setup and multi-purpose use of the spaces appeal to diverse users and supports the principles of UDL. In terms of learning theories, constructionism and constructivism were presented and encouraged. An area of concern identified was limited staffing in running the space and was further worsened by layoffs of full-time staff during the Covid-19 pandemic. The concluding part of the study discussed the implications of the study and direction for future research.

Doctor of Professional Studies (D.P.S.) in Instructional Design Leadership, Franklin University, 2021, International Institute for Innovative Instruction

Discussion board forums have become commonplace within online learning environments (OLEs). With student enrollment in online classes continuing to rise and the emergence of COVID-19, more students will be utilizing discussion forums within OLEs than ever before. Positive pedagogical support for the use of discussion forums abounds, but studies on the efficacy of discussions in online forums show mixed results. This study seeks to compare two types of discussion forums. One type, instructor-led scaffolding, was designed with pedagogy such as feedback, discussion prompts, and scaffolding implemented by the instructor. The second type, technology-enhanced scaffolding, was designed to foster autonomous motivation in students, while some feedback and scaffolding were implemented automatically by the technology-enhanced platform and offloaded onto discussion TAs provided for instructors by the platform. The study used the Interaction Analysis Model (IAM) to measure student knowledge construction levels and interpreted results to determine the impact of pedagogical design implementation on student knowledge construction in undergraduate online learning environments.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2021, Instructional Technology (Education)

The purpose of this study is to explore AI tutors in formal and informal learning settings through quantitative methods. Also, this study sought to understand the benefits and limitations of AIS in different learning contexts at Ohio University. This study followed a quantitative approach and collected data from participants (n=28) through a Qualtrics XM survey. Participants of this study represent teachers who have teaching experience and use any commercial brand of artificial intelligence speakers (AIS). All the interval data collected was analyzed through descriptive statistics that included the mean standard deviation; other non-interval data collected was analyzed using frequencies. The study results showed that student teachers who were familiar with and used AIS had a positive perception of the usage of AIS for learning contexts, classroom settings, privacy and security, and interaction. Limitations and suggestions for further research of this study are discussed.

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2021, Cross-Cultural, International Education

African graduate international students in the US experience a range of challenges. These challenges come about mostly due to the differences in culture between the US and their African countries, and differences between the US education system and most education systems in African countries. From March 2020, classes in most US universities and colleges switched to online due to COVID-19 pandemic. This study documents African graduate international students' perceptions and experiences with the unplanned switch to online learning in 2020. The study uses phenomenological approach to focus on a sample of eight African graduate students studying in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is framed by Berry's (1997) acculturation theory, the social constructivism theory framed by Vygotsky (1962). The findings of this study are presented in overlapping themes. The results show most African international students have both positive and negative experiences with the online learning.

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2020, Psychology

This study explores spiritual crisis from the perspective of experiential personal construct psychology (EPCP). Spirituality and religion are understudied phenomena in clinical psychology, despite being relevant to many people's understandings of themselves and their experiences of distress. Spiritual crisis, as a time of grief and loss related to one's spiritual life that leads to a change in worldview, is an intersection of spiritual and psychological concerns given its focus on distress and grief (Agrimson & Taft, 2009). In this study, I interviewed four people who self-identified as having gone through periods of spiritual crisis. The purpose of this research was to deeply explore the lived experiences of these four persons and how they made sense of their experiences, in order to inform theoretical frameworks around spirituality (rather than to find generalizable themes of how all people respond to spiritual crisis). In the interviews, participants described personalized understandings of religion and spirituality, entwined with other aspects of cultural identity. Participants described times of spiritual crisis as marked by profound grief, distress, and confusion, and described the resulting changes in their lives as an ongoing, transformative process rather than temporary or resolved ruptures. Spiritual crisis often involved negotiating relationships with larger group or institutional structures such as churches or formal doctrines. I discuss these themes and how EPCP theory might develop an understanding of spiritual crisis related to group expectancies (Kelly, 1991).

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2020, College of Education and Human Services

Most people experience some type of traumatic event in their lives, such as physical or sexual assault, serious medical illnesses, accidents that cause injury, the death of a loved one, and military combat exposure. There is variability in how people respond to trauma. Survivors could benefit from learning more about trauma responses, including the process of healing. In recent times, society has been challenged to examine their perceptions of sexual assault and those who survive these experiences. Much research has been done on the negative impact of trauma. Further research is necessary to gain a deeper understanding of both the positive and negative responses to trauma, particularly among sexual assault survivors as this population is not well-represented in the current research. Posttraumatic growth (PTG) has been defined by Calhoun and Tedeschi (2006) as a positive transformative experience among people who have been exposed to trauma that may coexist with symptoms of psychological distress. The purpose of this narrative study was to better understand the lived experiences of PTG in adult sexual assault survivors. The current qualitative narrative study used a social constructivist interpretive paradigm to explore PTG among eight sexual assault survivors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed, coded, and interpreted. Restorying was used to introduce the participants to the readers and to organize their narratives. Findings indicated that the participants had similar experiences of negative and positive life changes and reported experiences of PTG domains, appreciation for life, relating to others, new possibilities in life, personal strength, and spiritual change.

PHD, Kent State University, 2020, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

MCTEER, JANIS S., PH.D., August 2020 Education, Health, and Human Services A MIXED-METHODS STUDY OF WHOLE-CLASS REPEATED READING AS A FLUENCY INSTRUCTIONAL METHOD FOR ALL STUDENTS (170 pp.) Co- Directors of Dissertation: William P. Bintz, Ph.D. Gumiko Monobe, Ph.D. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in the fluent reading of 33 second grade students attending a charter school in the southwestern area of the United States. Students read poems, a song, and a readers' theater as classes multiple times employing a fluency instructional method called whole-class repeated reading (WCRR). They read texts using different voices, clapping patterns, and pointers while preparing for a parent performance at the conclusion of the study. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods study design, quantitative and qualitative data were both gathered to strengthen study findings. Students were assessed using 3-Minute Reading Assessments to reveal any changes in student fluency which may have occurred during the study. Observations and video recordings of students participating in WCRR were made by the researcher and participating teachers (Teacher 1 and Teacher 2). Data were then used to provide an understanding of students' fluency at the end of the study and to ascertain any support to assessment findings through observational data. Students in Teacher 2's class had significant findings in all areas of the assessment, while Teacher 1's students' findings were significant in one assessment area. Assessment findings disclose students in both classes, on average, increased the number of words they could recognize automatically.

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Biological Sciences

As universities within the United States continue to compete for students and resources, there is increasing pressure for these institutions to maximize the enrollment of students per classroom. Evidence exists that higher-enrollment classrooms can have negative effects on the students who are exposed to them, with students in higher-enrollment classrooms displaying decreases in engagement, persistence, and sense of belonging (MacGregor, 2000). In this paper, the analysis of survey, observational, and demographic data, that was collected from BGSU students enrolled in multiple gateway STEM courses (3278 Students; 41 Classrooms), is described. The purpose of this research is to better understand how the implementation of the BGSU Learning Assistant (LA) Program in these courses impacts course structure as well as student perceptions of belonging and their academic success. The results indicate that classes with Learning Assistants (LAs) present spend a lower percentage of time engaged in exposition-centered teaching styles (i.e. lecture) and a greater percentage of time engaged in constructivist teaching modes, during which students have the opportunity to take a more active role in discussing and refining their thoughts and understanding of the course concepts. Data also indicate that students in these transformed classroom environments report an increase in their sense of community, as measured using the Classroom Community Scale (Rovai, 2002), and students in classes with LAs present are retained at a higher rate than students in classes without LAs. Correlations between class instructional profiles, student perceptions of classroom community, and retention are analyzed in order to better understand how these variables relate to one another, in order to gain a clearer understanding of how LAs are able to impact the students in their classes. Results indicate that at least some of the increase in community and retention can be explained by the positive influences o (open full item for complete abstract)

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2019, Antioch Seattle: Clinical Psychology

Our culture is steadily becoming more aware, and less tolerant, of sexual harassment and misconduct. This is particularly evident in the wake of the viral Me Too movement beginning in 2017 which highlighted the breadth of personal experiences of sexual harassment on various social media platforms. Often the focus of these experiences is on overt sexual harassment and assault, but less attention is paid to the buildup that can lead to these terrible events. What is more, is that often these events are attributed to character flaws of the perpetrator without taking covert social norms into perspective. This dissertation takes a social constructivist perspective to concretely define sexually objectifying microaggressions (SOMs), a building block of sexual assault, as well as outline their clinical implications. This was done in the hope of expanding cultural competency of gendered microaggressions for both psychology professionals and students, exposing the potential impact SOMs may have on clinical presentations, and espousing the importance of utilizing modern media to better understand our culture. A qualitative content analysis was conducted on the seven top-grossing PG-13 rated films between the years 2010–2016, beginning with a pilot study analyzing a clip from the top-grossing PG-13 rated film of 2009 to measure inter-rater reliability and construct validity. An extensive literature-based qualitative code book was created to conduct this analysis. Results indicated that SOMs were present in all the films, but saturation longitudinally decreased. SOM targets were primarily protagonist characters with both men and women being equally targeted. The primary SOM perpetrator was found to be the audience or viewer of the films. An unexpected result was the high prevalence of idyllic hypermasculinity in the films. Implications and future research directions will be discussed.

PHD, Kent State University, 2019, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

For many years, the Saudi national curriculum focused on memorization and exam-based, teacher-centered instruction. After recognition of the ineffectiveness of this traditional system, the Ministry of Education introduced a major curriculum reform in 2011, based on constructivist pedagogy. This study explores seven Saudi elementary teachers' individual experience with this change; their interpretation of constructivism, their classroom enactment of the curriculum, and their anticipation of future reform outcomes and impacts. Based on Pinar's (1976) argument that teachers' self-understanding is a key component in curriculum reform experience, the research utilized Pinar's concept of self-understanding—currere—as a lens for examining these Saudi teachers' holistic, existential, autobiographical reflections regarding their curriculum experience in the past, present, and future. The teachers' complex journeys were examined through narrative methodology, with data from interviews and journals. Findings include seven re-storied narratives of these Saudi teachers' experiences with the new constructivist curriculum, as well as three emergent themes: First, these Saudi teachers interpret constructivism as a theory that supports student knowledge-building, with roles for both teacher and student that contrast with the traditional Saudi educational approach. Second, Saudi teachers' enactment of the new curriculum has been difficult so far due to their past experience and lack of exposure to constructivist models. Third, these teachers see that constructivism is creating outcomes for them personally and believe constructivism has great potential to impact and transform the thinking of Saudi students, educators, and society.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2018, Arts Administration, Education and Policy

The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze ways to expand the educational role of art museums in terms of their relationship with schools. Recently, art museums in South Korea began to emphasize their educational role and provide school programs. However, so far, these programs have only targeted to visual art education and art teachers, instead of all classroom teachers. After a yearlong internship at the Wexner Center for the Arts, located in Columbus, Ohio, I conducted a study of Pages, a yearlong collaborative art museum-school program between a contemporary art museum and school teachers who do not teach visual art. During my participation in Pages, I discovered several aspects with the potential to benefit collaborative art museum-school programs both in Korea and the U.S. Thus, overarching research question of the study was formulated as follows: What are the unique and essential components and practices of Pages that can inform collaborative art museum-school programs in Korea and the U.S.? To delve into the Pages program, I grounded this qualitative case study in constructivism. Specifically, I utilized the communities of practice framework, a contemporary version of social constructivism. This framework helped me explain the collaborative learning process of adult educators. In addition, constructivist learning theories helped me place art museums as legitimate learning institutions and to describe the practices of the educators which target meaningful student learning through connecting art museum education and school education. Finally, constructivism was used as an interpretive framework for the study: I co-created knowledge with the research participants and aimed to show their diverse perspectives. I utilized qualitative case study research as a methodology. Like Pages, several ongoing education programs at U.S. art museums require involvement of core classroom teachers. However, I chose Pages because it has several unique characteris (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2018, Psychology

I conceived this study based on the premise that we need to improve our relationship with the natural world. Based on my literature review, I argued that art-making could be helpful in improving our nature-human relationships. I then explored the experiences of four participants who made short films about their relationships with nature. I interviewed these participants before and after their film-making experience, asking how their nature-human relationships changed due to the film-making experience. I analyzed my participants' experiences using the framework of Experiential Personal Constructivist Psychology (Leitner, 1985). Participants stated that, due to the film-making experience, they could deepen the relationships with nature by becoming more aware and appreciative of the nature in their lives. Participants' experiences were also consistent with Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan, 1995), as they became more aware of themselves and nature due to their film-making in nature. I discuss several implications for Experiential Personal Construct Psychology, Attention Restoration Theory, and future research.

Doctor of Education, Ashland University, 2018, College of Education

This research study looked at how high school core area teachers are trained in the area of formative assessment and the impact this has on the implementation of formative assessments in their classroom. The study was quantitative and relied on teacher self-reported survey data. This study found most teachers have knowledge of formative assessment, but lack the training the research indicates is necessary to properly implement formative assessments. There was little evidence in this study to indicate that training impacts the use of formative assessment in high school core area classrooms.

PHD, Kent State University, 2017, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

The purpose of this qualitative practitioner research study was to describe middle school algebra students' experiences of learning linear functions through kinesthetic movement. Participants were comprised of 8th grade algebra students. Practitioner research was used because I wanted to improve my teaching so students will have more success in learning mathematics. Since this research focused on the mental constructions made by students as they attempted to make sense of mathematics kinesthetically, it is grounded in the philosophical tenants of constructivism (Piaget & Vygotsky), math representation theory, and kinesthetic movement. This study utilized multiple data sources which included pre-and post-teacher-made assessments with state standardized problems, audio and video transcriptions of class, small group activities, individual discussions, learning style inventory, and attitude survey on kinesthetic learning. Data was collected and analyzed through triangulation. The results of this study have important curricular implications for math educators to understand how students can learn through kinesthetic movements. Educators can support their students learning by incorporating movement into their classrooms. Recommendations for future research based on unanticipated findings are suggested.