Between-session homework assignments refer to activities completed by clients between therapy sessions which serve to meet therapy goals and maximize treatment time. A national sample of doctoral students within clinical and counseling psychology programs were surveyed to gain data regarding trainee perceptions about the amount of training received, self efficacy, outcome expectations, homework use and, client compliance with homework. Driven by the social cognitive model of counselor training, relationships among amount of training, self efficacy, outcome expectations, and client compliance were examined. Descriptive data reveal that overall, trainees reported receiving a moderate amount of training, have a high degree of self efficacy, and have mostly positive outcome expectations for the use of homework in psychotherapy. Similar to previous data obtained from practicing clinicians, most trainees reported frequently using homework in psychotherapy and perceiving it as an important component of their clinical practice. Trainees generally perceived client compliance with homework tasks to be moderate, also similar to survey data of practicing clinicians. Three regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationships among trainee self efficacy for homework use within psychotherapy, trainee outcome expectations about homework in therapy, amount of training received in the use of homework, and degree of client compliance with homework. Formal training in the use of homework was found to be a significant positive predictor of self efficacy for homework, outcome expectations for homework, as well as client compliance with homework tasks. After controlling for amount of training received, trainee outcome expectations regarding homework were found to be a significant positive predictor of client compliance with homework, but trainee self efficacy was not. Discussion of these findings is offered along with implications for theory, research, and training. / 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, 2012. / April 26, 2012. / Homework, Outcome Expectations, Psychotherapy, Self Efficacy, Training / Includes bibliographical references. / Georgios Lampropoulos, Professor Directing Dissertation; Thomas Joiner, University Representative; Frances Prevatt, Committee Member; James Sampson, Committee Member.

The intention of this study was to examine the impact of gender and rank on job satisfaction among rehabilitation counselor educators. Women are now earning doctorates at a greater percentage than men and are the majority of faculty at community colleges and four year liberal arts colleges. However, women still lag behind men in terms of salary, tenure and promotion. Women are also more likely to leave academic appointments at a higher rate than male faculty. One of the key factors of leaving a position is job satisfaction. Research has indicated that female and male faculty both are usually satisfied with their job, but women are more dissatisfied with aspects of the job than men. This study utilized Herzberg`s two factor theory of motivation for work. Herzberg, in his study of worker motivations, determined that job satisfaction is not on a continuum but actually two distinct continuums. This study explored whether there are differences among faculty regarding job satisfaction, or intrinsic factors of the job, or job dissatisfaction, or extrinsic factors of the job. The results demonstrated those both male and female faculties were satisfied with their jobs and there was no significant difference between men and women in extrinsic and intrinsic factors of the job. However, intrinsic factors of the job were more predictive of job satisfaction than extrinsic factors. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2011. / July 5, 2011. / Rehabilitation Counseling / Includes bibliographical references. / Deborah Ebener, Professor Directing Dissertation; Mary Frances Hanline, University Representative; Vanessa P. Dennen, Committee Member; Yanyun Yang, Committee Member.

Merrill (2002a) created a set of fundamental principles of instruction that can lead to effective, efficient, and engaging (e3) instruction. The First Principles of Instruction (Merrill, 2002a) are a prescriptive set of interrelated instructional design practices that consist of activating prior knowledge, using specific portrayals to demonstrate component skills, application of newly acquired knowledge and skills, and integrating the new knowledge and skills into the learner's world. The central underlying principle is contextualizing instruction based on real-world tasks. Merrill (in press) hypothesizes that if one or more of the First Principles are not implemented, then a diminution of learning and performance will occur. There are only a few studies that indicate the efficaciousness of the First Principles of Instruction. However, most claims of efficacy in the application and usage of the principles are anecdotal and empirically unsubstantiated. This phenomenon is not isolated to the First Principles of Instruction. Claims of effectiveness made by ISD model users have taken precedence over empirically validating ISD models. This phenomenon can be attributed to a lack of comprehensive model validation procedures as well as time restraints and other limited resources (Richey, 2005). Richey (2005) posits that theorists and model developers tend to postulate the validity of a model due to its logicality and being supported by literature, as is the case with the First Principles of Instruction. Likewise, designers tend to equate the validity of a model with an appropriate fit within their environment; that is, if using the model is easy, addresses client needs, supports workplace restraints, and the resulting product satisfies the client then the model is viewed as being valid (Gustafson & Branch, 2002; Richey, 2005). Richey and Klein (2007) emphasis the importance of conducting design and development research in order to validate the use of instructional design models, which includes the fundamental principles (e.g., First Principles of Instruction) that underlie instructional design models. These principles and models require research that is rigorous and assesses the model's applicability instead of relying on unsubstantiated testimonials of usefulness and effectiveness (Gustafson & Branch, 2002). In order to validate the use of principles and models researchers need to explore and describe the usage of the principles and models to determine the degree of implementation in different settings (Richey & Klein, 2007). The purpose of this study was to examine the use of the First Principles of Instruction (Merrill, 2002a) and the decisions made by instructional designers --including project leads, team leads, and designers-by-assignment. The investigation of the use of the First Principles was part of an effort to determine if these principles were conducive to being implemented during a fast-paced project that required the design and development of a large number of online modules. The predominant research question for this study was: How were the First Principles of Instruction used by instructional designers, in a short-term, high volume, rapid production of online K-12 teacher professional development modules? Four supporting questions were also addressed: 1) What were the conditions under which the First Principles of Instruction were used? 2) What design decisions were made during the project? 3) What is the level of understanding of the First Principles by instructional designers? 4) How frequently do the modules incorporate the First Principles of Instruction? This case study involved 15 participants who were all instructional designers and designers-by-assignment that worked on 49 science and math professional development modules for K-12 teachers within a short 11-week time period. Participant interviews, extant data --project management documents, e-mail communications, personal observations, recordings of meetings, participant surveys, and the evaluation of nine online modules consisted of the data collected in this design and development research study. The results indicated the First Principles of Instruction were not used at the level expected by the lead designer and may not be conducive to being applied as described by Merrill (2002a, 2007a, 2009a, 2009b) in this case. The frequency of use of the First Principles in the modules showed an overuse of the Activation/Tell principle in relationship to the number of Demonstrations/Show and Application/Ask applications. Results also indicated that the project requirements, personnel, designer experience, the physical setting, and training and meetings contributed to decision-making and ultimately to the use and misuse of the First Principles of Instruction. / 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. / Fall Semester, 2012. / August 1, 2012. / Design and Development Research, First Principles of Instruction, Instructional Design Theories and Models, Instructional Systems Design, Online Learning, Task-centered Instruction / Includes bibliographical references. / Tristan E. Johnson, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; James D. Klein, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Jonathan Adams, University Representative; Vanessa P. Dennen, Committee Member.

There is a movement in our culture today to keep young people physically active. Sport is one avenue for physical activity, but teenagers involved in competitive sport often quit and never return to any sort of physical activity (Vanreusal et al., 1997). In light of this, motivational aspects of what keeps high school athletes involved in sport are important to consider. In the current study, athletes on 31 high school sport teams were surveyed to assess their perceptions of motivational climate, motivational needs, motivational regulations, and psychological outcomes. In line with self-determination theory, results for the study showed that a perceived task climate supported the athletes' motivational needs. While relatedness and competence satisfaction were integral parts of the model as anticipated, autonomy satisfaction did not have significant associations with any other variable. Autonomous and controlled motivations were observed to have significant relationships with the outcome variables of athletes' perceived performance, sport satisfaction, and intention to continue sport participation. Furthermore, a number of variables were observed to act as potential mediators in the model. In sum, facets of sport motivation including motivational climate and personal motivation regulations had an impact on how satisfied high school athletes were in their sports, their perceptions of their performance, and their intention to continue to participate in sport in the future. / 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. / Fall Semester, 2012. / October 10, 2012. / high school sport, motivation, motivational climate, self-determination theory, structural equation modeling / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert Eklund, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lynn Panton, University Representative; Gershon Tenenbaum, Committee Member; Jeannine Turner, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to determine if teacher ratings in early elementary school predict achievement and cognitive ability in late elementary and middle school. The longitudinal predictive utility of the GRS was also examined. Students were in kindergarten, first, and second grades during Time 1 (2004) and fifth, sixth, and seventh grades during Time 2 (2009). GRS teacher ratings of Intellectual Ability, Academic Ability, and Motivation served as the predictor variables. The criterion (outcome) variables were achievement, as measured by GPA and SAT-10 scores and cognitive ability, as measured by K-BIT-2 scores. GRS teacher ratings, GPA, and SAT-9/10 scores were collected on the same 59 students during Time 1 and Time 2 data collection. KBIT-2 scores were obtained at Time 2 data collection. Findings suggest that when combined, 2004 teacher ratings of Intellectual Ability, Academic Ability, and Motivation do not predict achievement or cognitive ability in 2009. However, the individual construct of motivation predicted GPA and the individual construct of academic ability predicted SAT-10 scores and K-BIT-2 scores (cognitive ability), five years after initial teacher ratings were completed. GRS teacher ratings in 2004 were found to have positive and significant correlations with GRS teacher ratings in 2009. The predictive longitudinal utility (diagnostic accuracy) of the GRS could not be judged fairly because there were too few students scoring in the higher range on the K-BIT-2 in 2009. / 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, 2010. / April 23, 2010. / Teacher Ratings, Gifted Rating Scale, Gifted Identification, Predictive Validity, Motivation Achievement / Includes bibliographical references. / Steven Pfeiffer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Janet Kistner, University Representative; Jeannine Turner, Committee Member; James Sampson, Committee Member.

It is suggested by researchers and educational experts that viewing educational television programs may be a good way to improve the language and literacy development for children, especially those in immigrant families. In an immigrant family, many family characteristics appear to be related to educational television program viewing of children at home, for example, parental acculturation (the process of adapting to the new culture) and parental mediation (supervision and guidance) of television viewing. In the present thesis work, the author reviewed some of these family characteristics and investigated how they interact with children's educational program viewing. This is a quantitative study, based on a sample (n = 171) of parents with children at 3-6 in immigrant families collected across the United States. The subsequent survey data analysis was conducted by utilizing one-way ANOVA and Structural Equation Modeling techniques. The key findings include: (1) Hispanic children watched significantly more educational television than Asian children; (2) there were significant differences between Asian and Hispanic groups in coviewing mediation, but not in instructive and restrictive mediation; (3) language in parental acculturation significantly predicted instructive and restrictive parental mediation of television viewing; (4) parental mediation was not a mediating variable between parental acculturation and children's educational television program viewing. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Spring Semester, 2012. / December 7, 2011. / Acculturation, Educational television, Immigrant family, Parental mediation / Includes bibliographical references. / Beth M. Phillips, Professor Directing Thesis; Alysia D. Roehrig, Committee Member; Yanyun Yang, Committee Member.

This study investigated the effects of example-postings on students' cognitive load and performance in online discussions. Cognitive overload was assumed had caused the problem of the lack of reflective and thoughtful contributions in student discussions. The theoretical foundation supporting the use of example-postings aiming at reduce cognitive load and therefore improvement student performance was cognitive load theory. Example-postings demonstrated good ways to follow the discussion rubric that were stated in abstract manners and were provided as part of the discussion instruction. These examples were highlighted with explanations on the purpose of each section and what requirements in the rubric were met. Other than examining the effects of example-postings, this study demonstrated the procedures of using 2X2 cross-over experimental design and the analysis methods. The use of cross-over design was to improve the power of the study without increasing the number of participants. Several effects that were associated with the cross-over design, including cross-over effect, task effect, and treatment effect were analyzed separately. Grouping effect was also analyzed. The results of this study showed that the students did not perceived very high level of cognitive load in either the treatment (with example-postings) or the control (without example-postings) condition. The use of example-postings did not reduce cognitive load of the discussion instructions but improved students' performance in the discussions. This findings indicated that with the increasingly broadly use of online discussions, students were more experienced with this instructional activity therefore cognitive overload was less likely a problem. Without investing more mental effort, the students were able to construct more thoughtful and reflective postings in the online discussions when example-postings were presented. This finding implies that the example-postings helped the students better understand the discussion requirements and affected the ways students organize and presenting their thoughts and ideas. The significant carry-over effect also confirmed the positive effect of example-postings by showing that the students learned from the examples and were able to transfer the learned knowledge and skills to new tasks. / 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. / Fall Semester, 2012. / September 28, 2012. / cognitive load, discussion board, instructional design, mental effort, online discussion, online learning / Includes bibliographical references. / Aubteen A. Darabi, Professor Directing Dissertation; Kathleen Burnett, University Representative; Allan Jeong, Committee Member; Russell Almond, Committee Member.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of including adaptive confidence strategies in instructionally sound computer-assisted instruction (CAI) on learning and learner confidence. Seventy-one general educational development (GED) learners recruited from various GED learning centers at community colleges in the southeast United States were randomly assigned to one of three levels of independent variable: Absence of Adaptive Confidence Strategies Condition (non-adaptive, or NA), Adaptive Confidence Strategies with Program Control Condition (PC), or Adaptive Confidence Strategies with Shared Control Condition (SC). In the NA condition, learners received instructionally sound CAI that did not measure nor respond to changes in learner confidence during the learning process. In the other two conditions, learners received instructionally sound CAI that did measure and respond to changes in learner confidence by implementing various confidence building and confidence sustaining strategies during the learning process, but that differed in the amount of control allowed to learners. Implementing the adaptive confidence strategies involved the CAI program collecting learner performance data (e.g., from practice items) and learner self-reported confidence data (from an embedded confidence analysis), interpreting the data using a confidence diagnosis-prescription rubric in order to diagnose the confidence state of the learner, and finally prescribing confidence strategies based on the diagnosis. The two dependent variables were learning and learner confidence. Learning was measured using a posttest consisting of eight items that reflected the content taught in the CAI. Learner confidence was measured on the exit survey using a shortened form of the IMMS (Song, 1998). Both learning and learner confidence were expected to be greater for CAI containing adaptive confidence strategies than for CAI not containing adaptive confidence strategies. In addition, this study explored the effect that the extent of control (i.e., choice of learning task and branching) provided to learners in the form of an adaptive confidence strategy had on learning and learner confidence. The findings did support the hypothesis that incorporating adaptive confidence strategies in instructionally sound CAI can improve learner confidence (SC versus NA). The modest effect size of this finding is discussed in regards to possible limitations that prevented a larger effect to be observed. The findings did not support the hypothesis that incorporating adaptive confidence strategies in instructionally sound CAI can improve learning, and was thought to be partly a result of the overall effectiveness of the CAI across all conditions. Findings for the exploratory question suggested that affording learners an extra amount of appropriate control in choices of learning activities and promotion can overall instill greater confidence in learners. Although for the present study, affording this control did not lead to significant differences in learning, affording this control did apparently result in higher learner confidence, which could in turn result in greater amounts of sustained motivation or greater likelihood at approaching more challenging tasks in longer term interventions. These findings and results were discussed in relation to their implications to the research area of adaptive motivational systems and the field of instructional design, limitations that may have prevented observations of larger effects, future research directions that could be examined, and conclusions from the study. / 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, 2012. / February 27, 2012. / adaptive confidence strategies, adaptive motivation strategies, ARCS model, computer-assisted instruction, learner confidence, learner motivation / Includes bibliographical references. / John M. Keller, Professor Directing Dissertation; Charles Ouimet, University Representative; Jeannine Turner, Committee Member; Walter W. Wager, Committee Member.

Team coordination has been an area of interest for researchers in military, business, social, and cognitive psychology, while only relatively recently emerging as area of growing interest for researchers in sport psychology. Research on teams in sport traditionally has been focused on the social characteristics of the team, such as cohesion and leadership. Additionally, when the role of cognition in skilled performance in sport has been examined, the interest primarily has been in the cognitive processes at the individual level. As a response, Eccles and Tenenbaum (2004) proposed a socio-cognitive conceptualization of team coordination in sport that has been used to frame much of the extant research in sport. However, to date most research on team cognition and coordination in sport has been conducted using the individual as the unit of analysis. The present study is a response to the need for research that captures the experience of the team as a whole and in context, to further understanding of cognitive processes underlying skilled team performance. A study was conducted with a men's collegiate soccer team over the course of a competitive season. Cognitive field research was used to investigate how the team developed, modified, and executed coordinated action in a natural setting. This method was selected on the basis that it affords the opportunity to capture contextual and social factors that influence the cognitive processes underlying skilled team performance. The key themes to emerge from the research were the importance of team members' long-term shared knowledge, moment-to-moment shared knowledge, and challenges to team coordination. The findings presented support the conceptualization of team coordination as a socio-cognitive construct. Furthermore, the results indicate that social properties of, and social processes within, a team impact the cognitive processes mediating coordination in teams. As such, the study demonstrates that the traditional focus on the cognitive processes of the individual, removed from context, might provide an incomplete explanation of the cognitive processes underlying skilled team performance. The findings have implications for current understanding of team coordination and for practitioners seeking to enhance the functioning of sports teams. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sport Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2012. / June 19, 2012. / Cognitive Field Research, Communication, Soccer, Sport Teams, Team Cognition, Team coordination / Includes bibliographical references. / David W. Eccles, Professor Directing Dissertation; Neil Charness, University Representative; Robert C. Eklund, Committee Member; Gershon Tenenbaum, Committee Member.

ABSTRACT In most open and distance learning institutions, the development of learning materials, whether in print or electronic form, is created by teams consisting of people with different skills. Team communication has a critical influence on the development of team shared mental models (SMMs) as well as team performance. A review of the literature reveals a gap in our knowledge about the effects of communication on team performance in open and distance learning institutions. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a communication strategy and planning intervention designed to promote team communication, team SMM, team psychological state and team performance in the development of course materials in the Indonesia Open University. Sixty teams were randomly assigned to the treatment group (30 teams) and to the control group (30 teams). The study consisted of a treatment as a between subject factor (communication intervention vs. control) and several dependent variables (team communication, team SMM, team psychological components, and team performance). Team communication and team SMM were measured at the beginning, middle, and end of the projects. Team psychological components were measured at the beginning and end of the project, and team performance was measured at the end of the project. In terms of team communication, the treatment group's mean score was significantly higher than the control groups for team communication planning level and team communication planning value. The treatment group's score mean for the team SMM degree and team SMM similarity was significant higher than the control group. In team psychological components, the treatment group's mean score in team efficacy, team satisfaction, and team frustration was significantly higher than the control groups. The effect of the communication strategy and planning intervention on the team performance showed that the intervention was effective in helping teams to improve their product quality. The quality of the introduction section and the closing section produced by the treatment group was significantly higher than those of the control group, which indicates that the increased communication among the team members improved the quality of those sections, and required more time to complete. In terms of team product submission, the intervention did not lead to a better product submission. / 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, 2012. / February 2, 2012. / Communication Strategy and Planning, Team Communication, Team Performance, Team Process, Team Psychological Components, Team Shared Mental Model / Includes bibliographical references. / Tristan E. Johnson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jonathan Adams, University Representative; Gershon Tenenbaum, Committee Member; Vanessa Dennen, Committee Member.