Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, 1913. / "Published as one of the Psychological review monographs." Also available in digital form on the Internet Archive Web site.

<p> Despite growth in the elementary classroom, the level of technology adoption by some teachers falls short of levels sought by educational stakeholders. To address this disparity, the purpose of this correlational study was to identify if, and to what extent, a correlation exists between elementary teachers&rsquo; adult playfulness factor levels and their attitude toward technology in the teaching-learning process. The theoretical lenses of the technology acceptance model and the five-factor model of personality guided the research. A convenience sample of 106 teachers was drawn from California educational organizations who permitted their in-service kindergarten through fifth grade teachers to be invited to complete a web-based, self-reported survey. A significant, negative correlation was observed between the playfulness factor of creativity and teachers&rsquo; attitude toward technology in the teaching-learning process at the .05 error probability level (<i>r_s</i> = -.20, <i>p</i> = .040), but not significant at the Benjamini-Hochberg correction critical value of .01, nor significant at the Bonferroni corrected error probability level of .01. Although no significant relationships between the variables were found, administrators and staff developers may find the potential relationship between an aspect of personality and technology attitude helpful in encouraging increased levels of technology adoption by considering teachers&rsquo; personal characteristics. Opportunities for future research and practice are discussed.</p><p>

<p> A web-based usability evaluation was conducted to examine the effects of two text-resizing methods on normal and low vision Internet users&rsquo; online reading experience. Normal or corrected to normal vision (N/CTN; <i> N</i> = 50) and low vision (<i>N</i> = 5) participants completed two blocks of four mock Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) reading tests on the experiment website using fixed width (FW) and text reflow (TR) text-resizing methods. Subjective visual fatigue scores, modified System Usability Scale (SUS) score, time on task, and accuracy were collected as dependent measures for user experience evaluation. Results showed that when FW method was presented in the second block, N/CtN participants&rsquo; visual fatigue continued to increase, along with a significant decrease in time spent on reading tasks. Such effects were not observed in TR method. Results of low vision participants were different from those obtained in lab settings, suggesting that testing environment may have played a role in low vision participants&rsquo; performance. Implications of the current research can be used to guide future web accessibility research in regards to online experiment design and recruitment of participants with visual impairments.</p><p>

Some of the positive social benefits found to accrue among participants of peer tutoring programs were investigated in mentally retarded subjects who were characterized by aggressive behavior. Twenty-five institutionalized adults were randomly assigned to be tutors or nontutuors. All subjects were trained to play with an experimental apparatus that delivered pairs of edible rewards following its correct operation. Subjects were taught to share one of the edibles with the trainer. During the experimental treatment, nontutors were allowed to operate the apparatus and to share with the trainer as before. However, tutors were prompted to demonstrate their skill to a peer and then to share an edible with them. As expected, the scores on posttreatment experimental tests of both sharing and helping were significantly higher for tutors (p $<$.05). In addition, tutors were found to be significantly less aggressive than nontutors on one measure of aggression (p $<$.05). The results are congruent with previous research and suggest that the positive effects of tutoring may extend to the mentally retarded. Potential biases in the procedure, as well as a number of alternative explanations for the results are discussed.

<p> Response Interruption and Redirection (RIRD) has been demonstrated to be an effective treatment for stereotypic behavior exhibited by persons with autism spectrum disorder. The present study investigates the applicability of this intervention in the context of the classroom setting. Specifically, it investigates whether or not the intervention is as effective when it is used with a subject in the process of completing complex tasks. This research also investigates collateral effects of reduced stereotypic behavior on productivity and efficiency of task completion. While stereotypy was reduced and productivity increased across three experimental conditions, there were mixed results as to the relationship between RIRD and overall efficiency of task completion. </p>

<p>This experiment tested the effectiveness of an equivalence-based instructional procedure on verb acquisition among five typically developing, low-performing first grade students. Additionally, the researcher compared the possibly differential effects of picture and video formats to teach actions as concepts. The researcher custom-designed a computerized, multiple exemplar plus fluency-based match-to-sample training procedure to directly train 96 total relations across 24 potential generalized equivalence classes (i.e., 24 verbs). After training, students completed post-tests for 408 potential untaught relations per verb. The independent variables in this study were the instructional procedure implemented and the two instructional visual depiction formats&mdash;photo and video. A multiple treatments, multi-probe experimental design was conducted. The researcher measured (1) accuracy, (2) rate of response, (3) the number of criterion-level performances, (4) the number of derived and generalized relations, and (5) the number of stimulus classes formed across three dependent variables: emergent relations tests, generalized emergence tests, and retention tests. The results showed that (1) the procedure implemented was overall effective in facilitating verb acquisition across some but not all measures tested; (2) video format was as, if not more, effective compared to picture format; and (3) which format promotes relatively better acquisition depends on the unique learning history of the individual student. This was a preliminary investigation and, therefore, provides initial information on verb acquisition, adds to the literature in generalized equivalence class formation, and serves as a basis for many areas of additional research. </p>

<p> The current study is a replication and extension of Wilson and Ryan (2013), the goal of which study was to reduce the size of the 34-item Professor-Student Rapport Scale via principal components analysis. In light of several shortcomings of their methods, including use of an inadequate sample size, we sought to determine whether or not the two factors were replicable. An exploratory factor analysis conducted using an adequately large sample (>300) failed to replicate the factor structure previously found. Instead, we describe the emergence of two new factors: &ldquo;Professor Cares about Students&rdquo; and &ldquo;Professor Creates an Engaging and Constructive Atmosphere.&rdquo; The new factor-structure exhibited adequate model fit in a confirmatory factor analysis (<i>N</i> > 300) and significantly predicted five of the six student and course outcomes examined through multiple linear regressions (<i>N</i> >= 109 for all regression analyses). Importantly, in addition to methodological improvements, our results appear to have produced two factors &ndash; &ldquo;Professor Cares about Students&rdquo; and &ldquo;Professor Creates an Engaging and Constructive Atmosphere&rdquo; &ndash; that better capture the broader construct of professor-student rapport than did the previously identified factors. Implications of our findings for instructors wishing to establish rapport with their students are discussed, as are directions for future studies and remaining problems for the scale not addressed by the current research (namely, a need for discriminant validity). </p>

<p> As with traditional healthcare providers, emotional-social intelligence (ESI) plays a role in the holistic practitioner-client relationship. It is important to determine if students in holistic healthcare programs increase their ESI, and subsequently better serve their clients. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to determine if online education can develop students&rsquo; ESI at levels similar to that of traditional programs. This study is based on the theory of ESI and transformative learning theory. The sample consisted of 95 students in an online program and 61 in a traditional program. Multiple linear regression, ANCOVA, and Pearson Correlation&rsquo;s were used to explore the relationships between the independent variables professional standing, program delivery method, program progress, and number of classes with elements consistent with transformative learning theory, and the dependent variable emotional-social intelligence, as measured by the EQ-i 2.0 survey. The results of the study revealed no significant differences in the development of ESI between online and traditional methodologies, except within the self-expression category, for which online was higher. The number of transformative classes taken had no effect on the dependent variable. The positive social change implications of this study include a better understanding of the development of ESI for holistic healthcare, which could lead to a greater potential for success, as well as being better able to contribute to the stability of their communities through meeting the needs of those seeking their services. In addition, determining the relationship between transformative theories of learning and ESI development may assist in creating courses better suited to increasing students&rsquo; ESI.</p>

<p> Researchers have stressed the importance of addressing the social/emotional needs of early childhood (EC) children, including the development of resilience; however, some U.S. school personnel focus more on academics than on these needs. When young children possess these skills, they can handle social/emotional challenges later in life. The purpose of this qualitative bounded case study was to explore school social workers&rsquo; (SWs) perspectives about resilience in EC settings. Research questions focused on knowledge of existing programs, participants&rsquo; perceptions of the successes and challenges of working with EC students, and their recommendations to improve EC students&rsquo; education. Bronfenbrenner&rsquo;s ecological systems theory and O&rsquo;Neill&rsquo;s and Gopnik&rsquo;s work on needs of young children informed this study. Five elementary school SWs with at least 6 years&rsquo; experience from 5 districts in the U.S. Midwest participated in 2 semistructured individual interviews. Interpretive phenomenological analysis, involving first-cycle, transition, and second cycle coding, was used to identify themes. SWs&rsquo; experiences indicated a need for a clear definition of resilience, and needs of young children, including EC programs that develop psychological resilience of children&rsquo;s thoughts and an increase in adults to promote resilience. Additional research may expand and enhance educators&rsquo; and families&rsquo; understanding of resilience and help develop research-based preventive programs and strategies to foster psychological resilience in young children. These endeavors may enhance positive social change by adding components of psychological resilience to EC programs for school personnel and students and in parent/family workshops, which may result in sound mental health practices that enable them to become productive members of society.</p>

<p> This study examined the experiences of collegiate, online, distance learners. This research developed an understanding of the dynamic interplay between students&rsquo; emotions and their experience of social presence within this unique learning environment. Through surveys and interviews, the research secured perspectives of the emotional and social climates in the learners&rsquo; experience of this evolving educational environment. The data were sorted based on themes from prior research exploring successful distance learning experiences. Analysis and synthesis of emergent themes, Likert scores, and percent agreement led to the development of a professional discussion, conclusions regarding the guiding research questions, and recommendations for future practice and study.</p>