The purpose of this study was to develop and test a model of first-year student-athlete (FYSA) transition into college. The model examined basic psychological need satisfaction (BPNS) levels in both athletic and collegiate domains, and the impact of BPNS in each domain on athletic (sport motivation, athlete satisfaction, sport confidence, perceived sport performance), academic (academic motivation, student satisfaction, academic self-efficacy, perceived academic performance), and quality of life outcomes amongst a sample of FYSA at various NCAA institutions in Divisions I, II, and III across the country (N = 260). The model was tested via path analysis, and the results revealed a number of significant direct associations between the factors. Included amongst the most notable and powerful of these relationships were influences of athletic competence on sport confidence, athletic autonomy on athlete satisfaction, collegiate competence on academic efficacy and academic motivation, and sport confidence on academic efficacy and integrated quality of life. The general conclusions of the study stressed the significant impact that BPNS and the development of psychological skills can have on the transition and adaptation process for FYSA. The analyses conducted in this study contribute to the development a deeper understanding of how FYSA experience transition into college and has potentially significant implications for how athletic department administrators approach and allocate resources to orienting FYSA to the campus community. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2018. / July 16, 2018. / Sport psychology, Transition / Includes bibliographical references. / Graig Chow, Professor Directing Dissertation; John Taylor, University Representative; Gershon Tenenbaum, Committee Member; Martin Swanbrow Becker, Committee Member.

Although blogs have been used in online learning environments with optimistic expectations, the distributed nature of blogs can pose some challenges. Currently, we do not have a robust collection of tested blogging strategies to help students interact more effectively with each other when blogs are used as a primary form of engagement in an online class. Prior studies have illuminated the need for effective strategies that will lead to greater active engagement on student blogs. Thus, the purpose of the study was to test an early iteration of an instructional blogging strategy, “Featured Student Profiles,” which is designed to help students become acquainted with each other better and encourage them to visit and comment on each other’s blogs. Eighteen undergraduate students who were enrolled in an online course for pre-service teachers in which student blogs are the primary medium of peer interactions, participated in the study. Using a case study design, seven students participated in interviews and all student blog interactions were analyzed. Thematic analysis was applied to analyze the interview data and identify salient themes of students’ blogging experiences overall under the study strategy. The findings indicated that students took the most direct and efficient path they experienced to complete the blog task. Their peer interaction patterns varied, but several shifted from random to targeted relationships as the semester progressed. Although all students perceived the strategy as a positive approach to peer awareness, there was no clear evidence of its effect on student interactions. This study provides three suggestions that are needed to achieve more effective use of the strategy. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2018. / March 30, 2018. / Includes bibliographical references. / Vanessa P. Dennen, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jonathan Adams, University Representative; James D. Klein, Committee Member; Fengfeng Ke, Committee Member.

This study investigated the effects of schemata at three different structural levels (superordinate, parallel, and subordinate) on high school students' learning of a narrative passage. A schema was defined as a domain of knowledge one possessed prior to learning of a target domain. A second purpose of the study was to examine the dynamic relationship between schemata and reading ability and between schemata and different types of learning performance. / Seventy-three tenth grade students were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: Activating a schema superordinate (Superschema), parallel (Paraschema), or subordinate (Subschema) to the target learning domain. Three preinstructional passages served as activating devices. The final performance measures were retention and comprehension tests with short-answer and multiple-choice questions. Data on students' previous experience of the target domain, motivation, IQ scores, and reading ability levels were also collected. / As predicted, results indicated that the Superschema group scored significantly higher on both retention and comprehension tests than did the Subschema group. The Paraschema group performed at a similar level as did the Subschema group. The quality of the activated schema was also found positively and significantly associated with learning. When the effects of the types and quality of schemata were specified, it appeared that students' motivation, reading ability, IQ scores, and previous experience about the target domain alone had little impact on learning. None of the expected interactions between Schema Type and Reading Ability, between Schema Type and Performance Type, and between Schema Type and Information Type was confirmed, indicating the effect of schemata followed a similar pattern on students with different reading ability levels and across different types of learning outcomes. / The study results indicated that both types and quality of schemata activated prior to learning determined the quality of performance. Various instructional strategies should be employed to help students activate an appropriate schema so as to achieve optimal learning results. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-01, Section: A, page: 0121. / Major Professor: Robert M. Morgan. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

The purpose of the research was to determine if differences existed in the effects of learning and performance strategies on the initial acquisition of a complex motor skill. Learning strategies were viewed as focusing on the storage of task information, the recognition of important stimuli, the selection of appropriate responses, the programing of efficient movement patterns, and the detection and correction of movement errors. Performance strategies were alternatively viewed as focusing on the attainment of optimal physical and mental readiness states, the concentrated focusing on task cues, and the automated execution of movement responses. Although both types of strategies have been shown effective in learning situations, it was hypothesized that the use of a learning strategies program would be more effective in the initial stages of skill acquisition. / Forty-two Florida State University students participated in the study. A posttests-only repeated measures design with two strategy groups and a control group was selected as the research model. The task required subjects to hit four 60 ft putts from each of six different putting stations on two separate occasions. The development of the learning and performance strategy programs was based on an information-processing model of strategy selection. Learning strategies included imagery, location cues, internal focusing, and error detection and correction. Performance strategies included mental rehearsal, relaxation, and external focusing. / The results indicated that subjects using the learning strategy program experienced a constant reduction in distance error and putting variability, culminating in putts that were consistently closer to the hole than the control or performance strategy groups. It was, therefore, concluded that the learning strategies were more appropriate than performance strategies for the acquisition of putting skill. In addition, support was also gained for the efficacy of the study's information-processing model of strategy selection in developing an effective learning program for motor skills. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-05, Section: A, page: 1250. / Major Professor: Lynda E. Randall. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

This study was designed to develop and implement a self-esteem enhancement program for disadvantaged middle school adolescents. The target population, adolescents between 12 and 14 years of age, was selected at random from students classified by the Brookover SES Scale and the Escambia District Schools as socioeconomically disadvantaged. These students attended one Escambia District middle school. / Changes in the relationship between self-esteem, as measured by the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventories and achievement in reading vocabulary and comprehension, as measured by the California Achievement Test, represented the main emphasis of the study. / A pretest-posttest experimental and control group design was used in the study. Fifty students were divided into two groups, for a period of 12 weeks. Treatment began in March, 1988, and was completed in June, 1988. / A t-test was employed to determine if there was a significant difference in achievement level of the experimental and control groups prior to treatment. There was none. Analysis of variance (one-way) tests were employed to determine average differences between pre- and posttest self-esteem scores, reading scores and academic self-esteem scores for the experimental group; and to determine average differences between experimental and control group pre- and posttest scores for self-esteem and posttest scores for reading. A Pearson-Product Moment Correlation Coefficient test was employed to test the relationship between self-esteem and reading achievement in the experimental group. / No significant differences at the.05 level were found in the experimental group scores for self-esteem or reading achievement. No significant differences at the.05 level were found between the experimental and control groups for reading achievement or self-esteem. A positive correlation of.62 at the.05 level of significance was found between self-esteem and reading achievement, indicating a reciprocal relationship in a linear trend. / The results of this study lend support to the concept of the inclusion of a self-esteem enhancement program in the curriculum of middle schools. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-12, Section: A, page: 3566. / Major Professor: L. V. Rasmussen. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a program of progressive relaxation training on stress perception, dispositional optimism, and the frequency and severity of running related injury. Subjects were volunteer competitive road runners (32 male and 17 female) randomly selected from two large running clubs (mean age = 36.4). Subjects were randomly assigned to a relaxation training group or a waiting list control group. Relaxation training consisted of two 2-hour classroom sessions. Additionally, a tape providing relaxation cues was given to each subject. Subjects were told to practice daily during the 8 weeks of the duration of this study. The primary analysis used was a one-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) for each dependent variable (optimism/pessimism, general well-being, hassle frequency and hassle intensity, and injury frequency and severity). / Results demonstrated significant treatment effects for hassle frequency, hassle intensity, and optimism. General well-being and injury frequency and severity did not demonstrate any statistically significant treatment effects, although there were differences between the two groups. It is possible that the brevity of this study (8 weeks) obscured some injury effects. Further research of a longitudinal nature may uncover more about the relationship of running related injury and stress perception. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-04, Section: A, page: 1253. / Major Professor: David Pargman. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

In this study, 109 student teachers were randomly selected and assigned to one of the three treatment conditions; Coded Elaborative Outline (Tuckman, 1993), Question-Writing, and Informed groups. Subjects in the Coded Elaborative Outline (CEO) and Question-Writing conditions received direct instruction in applying their respective strategies to a learning theory textbook. The Informed subjects were only provided a description about each strategy, but no training in using either method. All subjects were taught by the same instructor, using the same textbook, for a duration of four weeks. The results showed that both the CEO and Question-Writing training produced superior higher-order learning than did simple awareness of these strategies. Training in either of these strategies was equally effective in enhancing learning from the textbook. However, the CEO-trained subjects produced better transfer of strategic behaviors as manifested by a significantly higher improvement in general reading scores than did subjects in the other two groups. The study confirmed and extended the results of previous studies on the use of comprehensive strategies in promoting meaningful learning from college level texts. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-07, Section: A, page: 2615. / Major Professor: Harold J. Fletcher. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

College students have to learn predominantly from texts. While learning is very much dependent on the ability to read, understand, and remember texts, many college students have not learned the skills and strategies that enhance learning from texts. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among learning strategies and grade point average (GPA) on subjects' ability to learn from text. / Type of strategy was the independent variable, with coding, elaborating, and outlining comprising the three levels. The coding strategy used top-level structure in texts to help learners understand and organize information in long-term memory. Elaborating required learners to reconstruct text concepts into realistic, familiar examples. Outlining subjects developed hierarchical structures that represented the relationships between major concepts in the text. The moderator variable was subjects' grade point average (GPA), classified as either high, medium, or low. The dependent measures for this study were total, factual and conceptual knowledge, measured by two multiple choice tests. Time spent using the strategy was the control variable. / The specific hypotheses investigated were (i) subjects in the elaborating condition would perform higher than coding subjects, who in turn would outperform subjects in the outlining condition, and (ii) elaborating and coding, but not outlining, would increase scores of conceptual knowledge learning more than factual knowledge learning. / Study subjects included approximately 150 undergraduate students from three sections of a required Educational Psychology course. Data were analyzed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) method. Results did not confirm study predictions. Significance for main effect for grade point average (GPA) was detected but no interaction effects were noted. Subjects who coded and elaborated performed better overall, particularly on conceptual items. As predicted, outlining facilitated performance on factual items. Differences did not reach statistical significance. Reasons for strategy failure are presented, including low student motivation, insufficient training, strategy difficulty, and weak instructor support. Implications for teaching and instructional design are presented. Suggestions are made for future research in the learning strategy domain. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-11, Section: A, page: 4329. / Major Professor: Bruce Tuckman. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

Several assessment studies document African-American children's achievement in mathematics learning at various grade levels. However, little research exists which systematically examines the role of visual imagery in mathematics learning within this population. This study examined how African-American fifth-graders used visual-imagery in constructing geometric tiling patterns and (indirect) area measurement concepts. It was conducted within the constructivist theoretical framework and made explicit basic processes of knowledge acquisition. / This investigation consisted of clinical interviews of eight African-American fifth-grade students, exhibiting high or low spatial-thinking ability according to the Space Thinking (FLAGS) Test. Each participant engaged in three imagery-building tasks designed to facilitate mathematical thinking and develop spatial reasoning in the content area. All interviews were videotaped; they provided data for use in the development of a cognitive model of the participants' spatial and related mathematical constructions. / Major themes which emerged from the data refer to the participants' Construction of Visual Units, Acknowledgement of Tiling Patterns, and Interpretation Levels of Size and Measurement. Careful analysis of the themes revealed important answers to the major research questions. High-spatial thinkers, particularly, made more use of dynamic imagery to recall repeating aspects of geometric tiling patterns. Low-spatial thinkers' images were more concrete and static. High-spatial learners used cognitive reorganization to formulate equivalences of area measures of plane regions. High- and low-spatial learners interpreted "size" on diverse levels--ranging from a concrete level to an intuition level. / Research themes and answers supported the development of abstract constructs comprising a model of the African-American fifth-graders' constructed activity (i.e., their mental actions and operations). Major components of the model along with some associated elements include: Nonverbal/Verbal Cues--motor activity, verbal discourse; Anticipatory Images--using images dynamically, forming dynamic images, mental transformations; Reflective Abstraction--mental restructuring, reversibility of thought; and Cognitive reorganization--chunking, decomposing/recombining images. The model suggests instructional and curricular implications to educators whose goal is to enhance children's mathematics learning. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-02, Section: A, page: 0454. / Major Professor: Janice L. Flake. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

This investigation consists of two experiments. The first experiment attempted to generalize the findings of a study by Kirschenbaum, Tomarken and Humphrey (1985) who found that positive mood facilitates performance on a mathematics task. The goal was to determine whether Kirschenbaum et al.'s (1985) finding could be obtained with (1) a less cognitive mood induction procedure (MIP), (2) a different academic task, and (3) difficult rather than easy items. Sixty female undergraduates service as subjects. Subjects were first administered one of four MIPs: positive self-statements, neutral self-statements, positive video (comedy) and neutral video (weather report). Mood was successfully induced according to subjects' self-report on mood questionnaires administered before and after the MIP. After the completion of the MIP, subjects were given a novel passage to read and took a multiple-choice test on that passage. Results showed no evidence for the hypothesis that positive mood facilitates performance. Therefore, a replication was conducted in order to determine whether the lact of significant findings was due to the changes made in Kirschenbaum et al.'s (1985) procedures or because Kirschenbaum et al.'s (1985) results were due to chance. Twenty female undergraduates were administered either positive or neutral self-statements (MIP). The MIP was successful according to subjects' self-report on mood questionnaires. After the completion of the MIP, subjects were administered a difficult mathematics task. Kirschenbaum et al.'s (1985) findings failed to be replicated. In sum, there was no evidence to suggest that positive mood facilitates performance. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-06, Section: B, page: 2383. / Major Professor: Barbara G. Licht. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.