<p> The phenomenon of test anxiety has long been associated with decrements in performance (Zeidner, 1998) and has been found to affect up to 40% of all students (Cizek &amp; Berg, 2006). Because a substantial number of students that deal with test anxiety perform below their ability on exams, test anxiety during cognitive ability tests has also been identified as a root cause of differential predictive validity of academic performance (Bonnaccio, Reeve &amp; Winford, 2011). In addition, recent developments in cognitive psychology and neuroscience have led to a greater understanding of the neurological and psychological mechanisms at work in test anxiety (e.g., Eysenck &amp; Derakshan, 2011; Immordino-Yang, Christodolou &amp; Singh, 2012). Together, the well-known decrements in performance attributable to test anxiety, the hardships students suffer as a result of these decrements, and the increasing influence of test performance on decision-making in a number of educational settings contribute to a situation where developing effective test anxiety interventions is of the utmost theoretical, ethical, and practical importance. </p><p> Given the importance of developing effective interventions for test anxiety, there is, relative to the rather large body of literature that looks at the symptoms, causes, and effects of test anxiety, very little research that offers empirical findings from studies that explore effective interventions for test anxiety. The current research sought to replicate findings from a recent study that found a 10-minute expressive writing intervention immediately before a final exam allowed test anxious students to overcome their anxieties and outperform their less-anxious peers (Ramirez &amp; Beilock, 2011). Students in the Ostrow School of Dentistry and Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California performed the same kind of expressive writing intervention during a final exam. Survey data regarding cognitive test anxiety levels and trait anxiety were collected at Time 1 and the intervention was performed during at Time 2, during which levels of state anxiety were be assessed immediately before and after the intervention to determine the effect of the intervention on state anxiety. </p><p> Ultimately, the current research sought to answer the following questions: 1) Is there a difference in exam outcomes for students who write about worries immediately before an exam and for students who do not? 2) Does writing about worries immediately before an exam reduce self-report survey scores for state anxiety? Findings showed that condition differences did not exert a significant effect on exam performance when controlling for prior exam score in Sample 1 or Sample 2, but word count produced during the intervention significantly predicted exam performance across both samples when controlling for prior exam score. Further, the intervention significantly reduced state anxiety in Sample 1, but not Sample 2. </p><p> Recommendations for future research include additional investigation amongst samples within a more homogenous context; qualitative analysis of the content of writing performed as part of the intervention; comparative investigation of similar interventions that induce constructive internal reflection, mind-wandering, and interoception; and consideration of research designs that might allow for examination of the effects DMN deactivation induction in educational contexts.</p>

<p> Previous research suggests that executive functions (EF), including self-regulation skills, are essential for children's academic readiness and educational production, particularly middle school students, who are identified with learning disabilities (Desmond &amp; Hanich, 2014; Hartman, 2012). Decline in the educational outcomes of middle school students remains an alarming concern for educators and researchers (Anderman, Anderman, &amp; Greisinger, 1999; Bobik, 2010; Jimerson, 2001; Roderick, 1994; Rumberger, 1995). For special education students, who fall short on the "producing" end, academic goals do not address the EF deficits, which are more likely to be addressed by EF development geared for academic production in reading, writing, and mathematics (Denckla, 2002; Hartman, 2012; McCloskey, Perkins, &amp; Van Diviner, 2009). </p><p> Furthermore, the wide-range of changes experienced by the early adolescent during the critical development stage is supported by research on the brain&mdash;development of adolescent and related cognitive processes, particularly EFs (Sylvan &amp; Christodoulou, 2010; Jensen, 2008; Kellough &amp; Kellough, 2008; Caskey &amp; Ruben, 2007; Manning, 2002; Dorman, Lipsitz, &amp; Verner, 1985). Findings from these researchers have supported a variety of school-based interventions designed to support children's EF development. Limited research has investigated interventions utilizing mindfulness to improve EFs and academic production in middle school. To address the gaps in literature, the study design is a secondary analysis of an existing data set at the item level. </p><p> Five questions were investigated in this analysis of a prior study; Desmond and Hanich (2014) conducted a randomized control experiment using a quasi-experimental design, including repeated measures analysis of variance (RMANOVA) and multiple regression analyses. Additional procedures were used for accounting for and handling missing data arising from attrition (Enders, 2013; Little &amp; Rubin, 2002). </p><p> The results suggested the following: a refinement of the item pool to produce more valid sub-sets of indicators of positive change in order to create a Scale based on the findings; establishing a basis for a more sound methodology for assessing change in studies of mindfulness; and supporting the research on the continuing plasticity of the early adolescent brain and on school-based interventions for brain development. The recommendations for practice, policy, and research are presented.</p>

Low back pain (LBP) is the top reason for Soldiers to seek medical care and one of the top reasons to be medically discharged. Mental health problems and psychosocial stressors have been increasing in Soldiers and are also top causes for medical discharge. Dysregulated stress has contributed to many Soldiers and Veterans to develop chronic LBP as well as mental health disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research suggests that psychosocial characteristics, as opposed to physical factors or tissue health, contribute to chronic pain the most. Focusing entirely on tissues for individuals seeking care for LBP can increase disability and vulnerability. Attributing physical pain to mental health concerns, however, risks stigmatizing patients or making them feel dismissed. The purpose of this dissertation was to develop a pain neuroscience education (PNE) program for Veterans and Soldiers with LBP and stress and determine if PNE is more effective in improving disability, PTSD symptoms, and beliefs about pain compared to traditional education about back pain and stress. This dissertation demonstrated that Veterans with PTSD can comprehend the neuroscience of pain and PTSD at a comparable level to a highly educated Veteran and medical panel without PTSD when adjusting for education. Since a proportion of participants were concerned that using military examples in PNE might increase PTSD symptoms, however, results from pilot testing suggested that the PNE materials developed for this dissertation should be tested in a clinical trial to ensure they do not increase PTSD symptoms. A systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated that Veterans with PTSD have higher depression and pain-catastrophizing beliefs for a large effect size compared to Veterans without PTSD. Furthermore, Veterans with PTSD have significantly lower pain self-efficacy with a large effect size. Compared to Veterans without PTSD, Veterans with PTSD have higher pain and disability. These results, however, were not confirmed in Veterans presenting to a Physical Therapy clinic. In fact, this dissertation revealed that many of the negative outcomes previously attributed to PTSD in the literature may be due to the correlation between PTSD symptoms and pain-catastrophizing beliefs rather than from trauma. Furthermore, Veterans with chronic LBP do not appear to have different sensitivity levels to pressure based on PTSD symptoms. Finally, the results from a randomized controlled trial provide evidence that PNE greatly improves the confidence of Veterans and Soldiers to increase participation in social, work, and life roles despite the pain as measured by the pain self-efficacy questionnaire. Participants in the experimental group were more likely to achieve a meaningful reduction in disability at the 8-week follow-up compared to the control group. Furthermore, Veterans and Soldiers with LBP were more satisfied with how PNE explains pain and believed the PNE curriculum connected with their military experiences better than traditional psychosocial education about stress. Participants in the experimental arm were less likely to believe that exercise is harmful compared to traditional education. Finally, PNE improved PTSD symptoms beyond the clinically meaningful threshold in the experimental arm. In conclusion, PNE appears to be an effective treatment for PTSD, disability, and pain-related beliefs in Veterans and Soldiers with chronic LBP. These results should be replicated in a larger sample to ensure generalizability beyond the current study.

abstract: ABSTRACT Research literature relating to the use of humor as a teaching method or curricula specifically designed to include humor was reviewed to investigate the effects of humor on student learning in various environments from elementary schools to post-secondary classrooms. In this multi-method study, four instruments and a humor treatment were selected to test the hypothesis that students who receive humor-embedded instruction would perform better on assessments than students who did not receive humor instruction. These assessments were analyzed to show student growth in achievement and memory retention as a result of humor-embedded instruction. Gain scores between a pre- test and two post-tests determined student growth in achievement and memory retention. Gain scores were triangulated with student responses to open-ended interview questions about their experiences with humor in the classroom. The gain score data were not statistically significant between the humor and non- humor groups. For the short-term memory gain scores, the non-humor group received slightly higher gain scores. For long-term memory gain scores, the humor group received higher gain scores. However, the interview data was consistent with the findings of humor research from the last 20 years that humor improves learning directly and indirectly. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2011

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No. of bitstreams: 1 Geraldo Coelho Lima Junior.pdf: 12870371 bytes, checksum: 6f5ca82eeceeb84a90f9a0a63819d609 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-11-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The aim of this thesis is to determine whether it is possible to establish a method based on a project-oriented development in fashion design, which takes account of the cognitive processes of people with visual impairment (PcDV) This method should also both allow them to be trained as fashion designers, while at the same time, fostering the learning of students with sight, and enable them to carry out collective projects. With this in mind, an investigation was undertaken of the Curricular Guidelines for Design Courses in Brazil. This was based on an analysis of the curricular benchmarks for Bachelor Degrees in Fashion Design, which were drawn up in accordance with pre- established parameters. The purpose of this was to establish a framework and explore the feasibility of admitting students with visual impairment. There was found to be a gap with regard to the teaching methods employed when carrying out projects related to PcDV. In another area, the study conducted a review of the literature with regard to the inclusion of this group in higher education and the availability of suitable teaching materials. In addition, the ¨inclusive¨ Program and the Brazilian Law for the Inclusion of Handicapped People were examined with the aim of establishing the rights of this group with regard to higher education. Running in parallel with this, the investigation was extended to the Neurosciences and the cellular basis of brain function, which is involved in teaching- learning processes, and likely to lead to the development of Fashion Design projects for students with or without visual impairment. The application of an Experimental Protocol emerged from these studies, which was subdivided into modules. These provided guidance for the way the Project- Oriented Development Methodology was conducted and allowed an assessment to be conducted of three groups of people, the first comprising porPcDV and the others formed of students with sight, who are doing Fashion Design courses at the University of Anhembi Morumbi. Among the results that validate the proposed thesis, the following stand out: (1) evoking memories potentiate the assimilation and learning of contents by students both visually impaired or not; (2) somatosensory stimulation provide access to courseware by students that are visually impaired, while enlarge the interest of the students with no impairements about the taught contents; (3) personal repertoires, when associated to the method of projective development, potenciate the learning for the enhancement of the skills of students with and without visual impairment. / Essa tese apresenta como objetivo verificar a possibilidade de se estruturar um método voltado ao desenvolvimento projetual em design de moda que considere o processo cognitivo de pessoas com deficiência visual (PcDV), e propicie sua formação como designer de moda e, concomitantemente, venha a potencializar o aprendizado do estudante vidente e, sua capacitação para o desenvolvimento de projetos de coleção. Para tanto, empreendeu-se uma investigação às Diretrizes Curriculares do Curso de Design no Brasil, de modo a fundamentar uma análise das matrizes curriculares de Bacharelados em Design de Moda, selecionados segundo parâmetros pré-estabelecidos, com o propósito de verificar suas estruturas e a factibilidade de ingresso de estudantes com deficiência visual. Identificada a existência de lacuna, referente aos métodos de ensino destinados ao desenvolvimento de projetos junto a PcDV, em outro âmbito, investiu-se em uma revisão da literatura relativa à inclusão deste grupo no ensino superior, e a existência de material didático acessível. Ainda, estudou-se o Programa INCLUIR (BRASIL, 2005) e, a Lei Brasileira de Inclusão da Pessoa com Deficiência (BRASIL, 2015), com o intuito de localizar os direitos desse grupo referente à educação superior. Em concomitância, a investigação estendeu-se às Neurociências e as bases de funcionamento do cérebro, envolvidos nos processos de ensino-aprendizagem, passíveis de contribuir para o desenvolvimento de projetos em Design de Moda, por pessoas com ou sem deficiência visual. Desses estudos procedeu-se à aplicação de um Protocolo Experimental, subdividido em módulos, os quais orientaram a condução de uma Metodologia de Desenvolvimento Projetual e avaliação de três grupos de pessoas, o primeiro composto por PcDV e os demais formados por estudantes videntes que cursam Design de Moda, na Universidade Anhembi Morumbi. Dentre os resultados que validam a tese proposta, destacam-se: (1) a evocação de memórias potencializa a assimilação e o ...