Master of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2021, Education

The current study sought to identify what differentiation strategies are commonly implemented by general educators in an attempt to promote an inclusive learning environment and the impact providing instruction in multiple modalities as it relates to student learning styles has on student achievement. Furthermore, the data collected in the study was used to analyze the perspective general educators have on promoting an inclusive learning environment consisting of learners with diverse backgrounds. The participants of this study were selected using two non-convenience samples consisting of a general educator population and a student population. All participants were from a rural public school district located in Central Ohio during the 2020-2021 academic school year. Results from this study indicate a high level of confidence in teacher perception of differentiation as well as frequent differentiation occurring at the time of the study. Participants of the study most commonly differentiated by process. Data collected from this study found no correlation between teaching in multiple modalities and student achievement.

Committee: Amy McGuffey (Advisor) Subjects: Education; Elementary Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2012, College of Education and Human Services

Adult learners can develop leadership skills and competencies such as conflict management and negotiation skills. Virtual simulations are among the emerging new technologies available to adult educators and trainers to help adults develop various leadership competencies. This study explored the impact of conflict management tactics as well as learning styles on the efficacy of virtual leadership development training. In this quantitative study, participants (n=349) completed electronic versions of both the Power and Influence Tactics Scale (POINTS) and the Kolb Learning Styles Instrument (KLSI). Results of participant scores for both instruments were compared with scores from a virtual leadership simulation. Performance within a virtual leadership simulation was not found to be significantly impacted by diverse learning styles, indicating that virtual simulations can be effective for adult learners with any learning style. Statistically significant correlations were found between all seven conflict management tactics and key virtual leadership simulation scores, indicating that virtual leadership simulations can be effective tools for practicing multiple conflict management tactics. Experiential learning techniques are becoming commonplace and the use of technology is growing within the field of adult and leadership education. This study elucidates the effectiveness of new technologies such as virtual simulations as tools for leadership development. This study contributes to leadership education best practices by exploring the effectiveness of virtual simulations as a method for training leaders that will allow educators to incorporate emerging best practices into their repertoire of methodologies.

Committee: Catherine Monaghan PhD (Committee Chair); Jonathan Messemer EdD (Committee Member); Catherine Hansman EdD (Committee Member); Selma Vonderwell PhD (Committee Member); Sanda Kaufmann PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2008, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Franklin University, 2019, Business Administration

The purpose of this research was to explore why some agents can experience thriving in a call center. The intended outcome was to determine what could be gleaned and used for the development of interventions that organizations could implement to improve the conditions for thriving to be experienced. Existing research indicated that for thriving to be experienced, vitality and learning had to occur in concert (Porath et al., 2012). The high call volumes, compounded by continuous multi-tasking and emotional labor can be exhausting work (Molino et al., 2016; U.S. Contact Center, 2016; Valle & Ruz, 2015; Zhan, Wang, & Shi, 2016). This high emotional labor was observed as one of the leading causes of burnout, resulting high rates of turnover (Abid et al., 2015, 2016; Molino et al., 2016). Call center agents are required to perform the functions of active listening, demonstrating empathy, typing/documenting, navigating systems, formulating responses, de-escalating emotionally-charged customers, and moving the calls forward quickly and repetitively (Jacobs & Roodt, 2011; Molino et al., 2016; U. S. Contact Center, 2016). How the study participants felt, learned, and managed the demands of the job and still experienced levels of thriving in the emotionally-charged venue of the call center environment were explored. The results of the qualitative research revealed two over-arching attributes among the study participants that seemed to have caused their ability to experience thriving – transformational learning and heedful relating. Breaking these two elements down into chunks, five critical elements that contributed to thriving at work in the call center were observed and translated into actionable interventions for future use in call center organizations. The five elements of focus were (a) sense-making; (b) heedful relationships; (c) managing the emotions of self and others; (d) learning styles; and (e) organizational culture.

Committee: Timothy Reymann Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Tami Moser Ph.D. (Committee Member); Michelle Geiman Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Management; Organizational Behavior

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Teaching and Learning

From an anthropologist's (Maddock, 1981) point of view, “science and science education are cultural enterprises which form a part of the wider cultural matrix of society and educational considerations concerning science must be made in the light of this wider perspective”(p.10). In addition, Spindler (1987) states that teaching science is considered cultural transmission while, Wolcott (1991) focuses on learning science as culture acquisition. In these statements, culture is defined as “an ordered system of meaning and symbols, in terms of which social interaction takes place” (Geertz, 1973). Thus, learning and culture are a partnership.The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between students' learning styles and their culture. Does culture limit or expand the learning of individuals? For this study Turkish students who pursue undergraduate or graduate education in the United States were identified and compared to American college students through learning styles data and anxiety levels as cultural markers. To identify individuals' learning styles we used the Building Excellence (BE) instrument (Dunn & Rundle, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000). BE assesses twenty four elements covering each person's perceptual, psychological, environmental, physiological, emotional, and sociological processing preferences and analyzes the learning conditions for students' individual preferences in these six areas. A two-sample t test and regression analysis were used to identify the differences between Turkish and American students by means of their learning style preferences and social anxiety levels. The sample consisted of 67 % males and 33 % female. The age of the subjects was relatively young as we expected; 51 % of them 25 years old and under and 46 % of them were between the ages of 26 and 35. In terms of academic major areas 38 % of the students were from the basic science areas and the second most prevalent major category was engineering with 35 % of the s (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: BARBARA THOMSON (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Communication

How people understand and learn information is changing due to an increased reliance on technology. The Internet is creating a complex environment where the lines between media and information are blurring. This switch can be seen in mass media, classroom learning applications and the work environment. Along with this reliance on technology comes access to an almost unlimited amount of information presented in a multitude of ways. This presentation can be overwhelming to information seekers and online learners alike. By taking advantage of the inherent properties of new media, namely the ability to present content in different forms to a variety of learners, online learning can be structured to improve recall and satisfaction for multimedia learners. This research presents the results of an experimentally designed research study that examines the effects of learning style, content delivery method, and pre-instructional strategy on recall and satisfaction in an online learning environment. Two hundred and forty-two participants were tested on their individual learning styles and online learning self efficacy and then randomly assigned to one of six conditions. The three independent variables consisted of 1) two learning styles: concrete and abstract; 2) two content delivery methods: linear and nonlinear; and 3) three pre-instructional strategies: control, elaborative interrogation and factual questioning. Online learning self-efficacy, or one's belief in their ability to learn using the web, was used as a covariate in all analyses. This research indicated a strong relationship between learning style, recall and satisfaction. Abstract learners had higher recall scores and were more satisfied in the online learning environment than concrete learners. Online learning self-efficacy was found to play an important role with recall and satisfaction in the online learning environment. Content delivery method also affected content satisfaction. Future research is needed to ex (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Matthew Eastin (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Technology

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2007, Organizational Behavior

While demographic characteristics such as age, race and gender evoke social categorization processes about diversity that may result in unfavorable team processes and outcomes, psychological characteristics such as learning style can evoke diversity of thought leading to enhanced team performance. To expand how we realize the potential of diversity, this dissertation uses responses from 33 organizational teams from 6 different industries to examine team diversity effects on the team learning process: defined as a cycle of idea creation, planning, decision-making, and implementation. The implications team learning has on outcomes related to member disagreements on how task accomplishment occurs and how well the team meets its goals and satisfies client needs are also investigated. Using survey methods, this is the first research to empirically examine the impact of demographic diversity and learning style diversity in one study. Drawing on theory and research related to team demography, team and experiential learning, team conflict and performance; a model of the relationship between team member diversity and the team learning process and outcomes of conflict and performance are created to guide hypothesis generation. The hypothesis that the diversity of member composition influences the team learning process is partially supported. Results suggest that learning style diversity is significant and positively related to the team learning process and performance and to the item, "our team achieves its goals.” Although, correlations between demographic diversity and the overall performance index are not significant, one item in the index, an occurrence of critical quality errors, is positive and significant. Results also reveal that the team learning process is positively associated with team performance and is higher when the team's task is non-routine. This study further extends research linking process-related conflict and team performance. Learning style diversity is (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Kolb (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2017, English (Rhetoric and Writing) PhD

My dissertation study fills current gaps in scholarship by analyzing the feedback preferences of students enrolled in two sections of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) 1010: Academic Composition II courses at Bowling Green State University during the Fall 2015 semester and whether or not those preferences match the students' individual learning styles as measured by a learning style inventory. Additionally, the study examines how providing feedback in different modalities (audio, video, and written) impacts student comfort levels and their perceptions of the writing classroom. Finally, the study examines the impact each feedback modality had on the students' academic performance as measured by the grades students received on essay assignments when utilizing the differing feedback modalities throughout the semester. The learning style inventory and initial feedback preference survey were provided during week 1 of the semester, and a follow-up feedback preferences survey was given during week 15. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze, code, and categorize the students' survey responses. Through classroom observation, student surveys, and grade analyses, it was clear that despite showing a preference for written feedback at the onset of the semester, the majority of students identified as visual learners, preferred video feedback, and performed better academically when they received video feedback.

Committee: Lee Nickoson (Advisor); Neal Jesse (Other); Kristine Blair (Committee Member); Sheri Wells-Jensen (Committee Member) Subjects: Curriculum Development; Educational Technology; English As A Second Language; Foreign Language; Higher Education; Instructional Design; Language; Language Arts; Multilingual Education; Pedagogy; Rhetoric; Teacher Education; Teaching; Technology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1982, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Chemical Engineering

Our three studies examine the factors of learning styles, student self-efficacy, collective (team) efficacy, attitudes, perceptions, and performance at individual and team levels. Each study addresses a different environment: (i) Individual Level—we are interested in how variability in learning styles engaged by specific exam problems may correlate with student learning styles, self-efficacy, and performance in our introductory chemical engineering course, Process Fundamentals (i.e., mass and energy or material balances); (ii) Team Level—we are interested in understanding how team composition with respect to learning styles (homogeneous vs. heterogeneous teams) may influence these factors in the upper level Unit Operations course; (iii) Combinatorial Level—we are interested in understanding how collective efficacy may influence individual self-efficacy and again if there are any correlations with learning styles and performance in the senior level Process Design and Development course. Some of the most interesting results of these studies have stemmed from the study on individual students, which has shown correlations between learning style preferences and performance in specific instances. Even more interesting, evaluating and characterizing the learning styles that exam problems engage has shown strong variations in problem types by instructor. This presents new questions regarding how these variations may affect student understanding and subsequent performance. Also included are details regarding a course developed in Technical and Professional Communication (for Chemical Engineers) that was offered Spring 2014 and Spring 2015.

Committee: David Wood (Advisor); James Rathman (Committee Member); David Tomasko (Committee Member) Subjects: Chemical Engineering; Education

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2006, Allied Health Sciences : Audiology

This study determined if a case history, Client Oriented Scale of Improvement (COSI), and Hearing Handicap Inventory (HHIA) assessed qualitative disabilities of hearing loss. The Wilson Learning Social Styles Inventory (WLSSI), a basic personality inventory, was used as an indication of differences expected. Ten subjects meeting inclusion criteria, were given four questionnaires (1) case history, (2) COSI, (3) HHIA and (4) WLSSI. Results indicated the COSI and HHIA gave the same information of the patient's self-perception of disability caused by hearing loss. The results also showed more agreement between the COSI and WLSSI than between the HHIA and WLSSI. In addition, a determination could not be made based on personality of which self-assessment inventory was favorable. The WLSSI was given to the subjects as a self-assessment inventory of individualistic personality traits. For some subjects involved in this study a biased self-perception existed therefore, inhibiting the hypothesized benefit of the WLSSI.

Committee: Dr. Doug Martin (Advisor) Subjects: Health Sciences, Audiology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2009, Allied Medicine

Student learning is an important consideration in the development of course designs. By recognizing and holding a better understanding of student learning styles, educators are able to build a better framework for more efficient and desirable teaching methods. This study aimed to find a relationship between allied health students' classroom and clinical learning styles. Two Kolb Learning Style Inventories were administered to a total of 82 seniors in The School of Allied Health at The Ohio State University. This sample included students in the Athletic Training, Medical Dietetics, Radiological Sciences, and Respiratory Therapy programs. The students were asked to fill out the first questionnaire in regards to their didactic classroom learning. The second survey was administered at least one week after the first and the students were asked to fill out this questionnaire in regards to their current clinical experience. The data collected from the questionnaires was then entered into the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences for analyses. Overall, in the didactic classroom setting, 24.2% (n=16) of the students were Divergers, 28.8% (n=19) were Accommodators, 19.7% (n=13) were Convergers and 27.3% (n=18) were Assimilators. In the clinical settings 27.8% (n=20) of the students were Divergers, 36.1% (n=26) were Accommodators, 23.6% (n=9) were Convergers and only 12.5% (n=9) were Assimilators. Learning style did not change for 66.7% (n=10) of Athletic Training Majors. Over half of the Medical Dietetics (53.8%,n=7), Radiological Sciences (72.7%, n=8) and Respiratory Therapy (52.9%, n=9) students' Learning Style did change with the switch of the setting from classroom to clinical. It was found in Cross tabulation that the Accommodating learner was least likely to change style with setting (75%, n=12) with the Diverger style next at 69.2%. The change of style that was least likely to occur was between the Converger and Diverger (n=2) and the Assimilator and Accommodator (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jill Clutter PhD (Advisor); Laura Harris PhD (Committee Member); Georgianna Sergakis PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Behaviorial Sciences; Continuing Education; Education; Educational Evaluation; Educational Psychology; Educational Theory; Health; Health Care; Health Education; Higher Education; Sports Medicine; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2009, ED Teaching and Learning (Columbus campus)

This study of science education in the Boy Scouts of America focused on males with Boy Scout experience. The mixed-methods study topics included: merit badge standards compared with National Science Education Standards, Scout responses to open-ended survey questions, the learning styles of Scouts, a quantitative assessment of science content knowledge acquisition using the Geology merit badge, and a qualitative analysis of interview responses of Scouts, Scout leaders, and scientists who were Scouts. The merit badge requirements of the 121 current merit badges were mapped onto the National Science Education Standards: 103 badges (85.12%) had at least one requirement meeting the National Science Education Standards. In 2007, Scouts earned 1,628,500 merit badges with at least one science requirement, including 72,279 Environmental Science merit badges. “Camping” was the “favorite thing about Scouts” for 54.4% of the boys who completed the survey. When combined with other outdoor activities, what 72.5% of the boys liked best about Boy Scouts involved outdoor activity. The learning styles of Scouts tend to include tactile and/or visual elements. Scouts were more global and integrated than analytical in their thinking patterns; they also had a significant intake element in their learning style. Earning a Geology merit badge at any location resulted in a significant gain of content knowledge; the combined treatment groups for all location types had a 9.13% gain in content knowledge. The amount of content knowledge acquired through the merit badge program varied with location; boys earning the Geology merit badge at summer camp or working as a troop with a merit badge counselor tended to acquire more geology content knowledge than boys earning the merit badge at a one-day event. Boys retained the content knowledge learned while earning the merit badge. Scientists, Scout leaders, and Scouts felt that Scouts learned science through participation in the Boy Scout program (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Barbara Thomson PhD (Advisor); John Harder PhD (Committee Member); David Haury PhD (Committee Member); Garry McKenzie PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Curricula; Education; Gender; Geology; Science Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Agricultural Education

Students enter a preservice teaching program planning to teach in public schools. However, career intent appears to change during the preservice education program for many students. There is no research that examines the relationships of learning style, teacher heart, and teacher sense of efficacy to career intent. Further, Palmer (1998) stated that teacher heart cannot be developed only diminished. However, Peterson and Seligman (2004) stated that the virtues of care, enthusiasm, hope, faith, and purpose can be developed. No research exists to discern the heart of a teacher, its development or lack thereof, and its change during the preservice preparation program. The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to determine the level of a preservice teacher's heart and sense of efficacy and how these levels changed through the preservice preparation program in relation to the preservice teacher's learning style. The study also investigated whether the level of the preservice teacher's heart and level of sense of efficacy explained the Ohio State University's 2004 preservice agricultural education student's choice to pursue a career in education. The study found that at the conclusion of the student teaching experience learning style made no difference on the development of teacher heart or teacher efficacy. The study also found that 26% of the variance in career intent was due to teacher heart and 17% of the variance in career intent was due to teacher sense of efficacy. Over the period of the student teaching experience, the student teachers heart's significantly increased while the teacher sense of efficacy significantly decreased indicating that they found their purpose in the classroom while they simultaneously lost confidence in their abilities to teach.

Committee: Jamie Cano (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Agricultural

MFA, Kent State University, 2012, College of Communication and Information / School of Visual Communication Design

Information retention is paramount to the education process. There is not a single act in academia that does not require extensive information recall. Beginning with the middle school grades, teachers increasingly rely on the lecture method of instruction. Incidentally, the middle grades are a critical period in the instruction of study skills as the students in that age range are developmentally ready to become strategic learners. Notable is a versatile tool that functions in varied note-taking environments. Considerations for different learning styles and activities that aid in information retention and recall are uniquely utilized throughout the application. This thesis offers a framework for the development of Notable. Ethnographic research was conducted on middle school students to gain insight on their learning environments, including the classroom, lecture styles, notetaking tools, organizational methods and social interactions among teachers and classmates. Quantitative research was conducted in the form of a survey. Over 70 participants submitted answers to questions revolving around achievement levels, learning styles, tools, and study habits. Data synthesized from surveys informed the construction of user personas and usage scenarios to help focus an iterative design approach toward the development of a comprehensive note-taking application.

Committee: Ken Visocky O'Grady (Advisor); Jerry Kalback (Committee Member); Karl Fast (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Education; Educational Software; Educational Technology; Middle School Education; Teaching; Technology

Master of Arts in Education, Defiance College, 2003, Education

Five left-handed, seventh grade science students enrolled in a small rural school setting were the study's participants. Each participant experienced four different teaching methods throughout the year. The different teaching methods were used to determine what helped the left-hander learn. It was found that the left-handed students felt they learned best through hands-on and visual teaching methods. These teaching methods could be utilized by teachers to help all the students in a classroom become successful.

Committee: Suzanne McFarland (Advisor) Subjects: Educational Psychology; Science Education; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2007, Music Education

The purpose of this study was to describe the teaching and learning strategies demonstrated by middle school band teachers in Northeast Ohio who reported a student-directed teaching style. This study used a two-stage mixed methods design prioritizing quantitative data and statistical analyses, but also employing qualitative data collection methods in a second stage to enrich perspective and discussion on student-directed teaching and learning strategies (Creswell, 2003). In the first stage, quantitative data was gathered using a researcher-designed demographic questionnaire and Gumm's Music Teaching Style Inventory (MTSI) (Gumm, 2004b). These surveys were delivered online to 120 middle school band teachers in Northeast Ohio, with hard copies administered to two participants who requested them (N = 122). Forty-nine respondents returned completed surveys, representing a return rate of 40.2%. In Stage One, data were analyzed to determine participant teaching styles so that the most student-directed middle school band teachers could be identified and observed during Stage Two. Relationships and differences among selected demographics and MTSI scores were also analyzed, yielding several significant results, including a significant, positive, moderate relationship (p = .00; r = .52) between teacher- and student-directed MTSI scores. Stage One results also revealed that teacher-directed instruction was more prevalent than student-directed instruction; middle school band teachers in Northeast Ohio seemed to prioritize a more teacher-directed rehearsal. In the second stage of the study, three of the most student-directed band teachers were observed and videotaped during five rehearsals, and interviewed following observation. Based on the analysis of videotapes, observational field notes, interview transcripts, and interview notes, quantitative computations and qualitative descriptions of student-directed band teachers were possible. The teachers observed and interviewed duri (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William Bauer (Advisor) Subjects: