This research explores changes in students' cognition while using multiple portrayals available in STELLA, a computer-based simulation construction kit. A case study was conducted with four high school students. The researcher videotaped the students constructing and testing their own simulation models and conducted clinical interviews probing student thinking in order to identify learning environment attributes from which cognitive shifts could be inferred. Videotaped sessions were transcribed and analyzed. Students evidenced progression through increasingly sophisticated assumptions and encountered learning barriers that made this environment challenging. STELLA portrayals were useful for inferring student mental representations of dynamic systems and STELLA appeared to enable students to move their frame of reference gradually to a dynamic perspective. STELLA's multiple portrayals highlighted diverse dimensions of the information and facilitated shifts in thinking by juxtaposing an individual's cognitive representations. Educational implications for other computer portrayal tools are discussed.

Multiracial children, who are the offspring of multiple racial unions, have unique needs which are possibly not being met in the schools because, among other things, they are racially categorized on the basis of "one race only" on school forms. This monoracial categorization has become a visible symbol that acts as a foundation for a much wider array of experiences and situations in our schools and communities which affect the racial self-image of multiracial children. This incomplete categorization affects awareness and funding for supportive measures which should be available to them. The basic question which this dissertation raises is the question of whether the needs of interracial children are being met in the schools. In order to study this question, the school's racial categorization procedures as predominant cultural forms were investigated by way of its instruments--school forms, curriculum, resources, cultural programming and school material culture. In order to answer these questions, this inquiry utilized predominantly two methods of data collection: (1) documentation analysis of government and school forms and (2) semi-structured interviews with teachers as key informants. To establish a focus for the direction of the research, a theory of radical pedagogy was used to critically analyze the role of the schools in fostering or obstructing a more positive racial identity in interracial children and a theory of classification to provide a framework to analyze both the nature and language of our racial categorization procedures and its' instruments in the schools. This dissertation found that the schools do unknowingly make the normal racial identity development process problematic for at least some of those students who might want to select more than one racial identity. Multiracial children's invisibility in the schools' racial categorization procedures mirrors a wider range of their invisibility in school curriculum, books, cultural programs, class discussions, and other artifacts of school culture. Therefore, before support for the multiracial child can come into being, there needs to be an alteration in the classification of multiracial children.

<p> The discontinuation of intercollegiate athletics teams at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, II, and III institutions has been tracked by the NCAA national office for decades. From 1988-89 through 2014-15, the men&rsquo;s sport with the greatest net loss of teams throughout all NCAA divisions was wrestling. While a body of research exists that examines factors cited by campus and athletic administrators as reasons that lead to the discontinuation of NCAA sports, the actual lived experience of college student-athletes in the wake of sport elimination has garnered little attention. After a sport is discontinued, the NCAA also ceases to examine the academic progress, retention, or persistence to degree of those Division I student-athletes. Retrospective interviews with twelve Division I wrestlers provide insight into their experience and changes in identity following sport elimination. </p><p> The contextual framework includes a review of the role of intercollegiate athletics in higher education, summary of current NCAA structure, discussion of the economics of Division I athletics, overview of the ancient origins of wrestling, and examination of the structure of modern intercollegiate and club wrestling programs. </p><p> First-generation college students negotiate and construct multiple identities while navigating the university experience. Since participation in athletics is commonly used as a springboard for social mobility and access to the cultural capital of higher education, this project explored the experience of both first-generation and non-first-generation NCAA Division I wrestlers. This research privileges the voices of college student-athletes who candidly shared personal insights after the elimination of a sport that provided a significant source of their identity. Research was designed to expand the literature on the experience and identity of first-generation college students, contribute to the development of a robust body of work on the specific experience of first-generation college student-athletes at NCAA Division I institutions, and provide recommendations for campus and athletic administrators considering the elimination of an intercollegiate sport. </p><p> While sport discontinuation is usually considered to be an event (the elimination of a team on a particular date), findings in this study suggest that sport discontinuation might be better viewed as a process with ripple effects that last for years. The decision to eliminate a team requires thoughtful consideration of the effect it will have on the experience and identity of individual student-athletes. To mitigate the short-term and long-term effects of sport discontinuation, it is recommended that institutions establish and maintain support services specifically for the affected student-athletes in the months prior to and years following the announcement of the elimination of the team.</p>

<p>This research project explored the anatomy of satisfaction of undergraduate students&rsquo; experiences in order to identify the themes common to students who were satisfied with their college careers. The study also examined the conditions that help students thrive on campus focusing on college seniors who self-reported as very satisfied with their college experience. Furthermore the study analyzed the motivation behind satisfied students&rsquo; behavioral choices, including their choice of major and extracurricular involvement. Assessment of the quality of students&rsquo; relationships to others on campus served as a component of this research as well. A grounded theory qualitative approach was used to collect and analyze data. The study found that satisfaction is a function of a student&rsquo;s integration on campus. Integration resulted when students enjoyed their majors, actively engaged in campus life, and formed and maintained successful social relationships. Characteristics common among satisfied students included openness to experience, self-awareness, sociability, and a willingness to make intrinsically motivated decisions with respect to behavioral choices. Students thrived in an environment that promoted the exploration of their intrinsically motivated behavioral choices, where they felt seen, valued, and supported in their identities, activities, and interests, and where they were afforded opportunities to discover, grow, and expand their capabilities and skills. </p><p> <i>Keywords</i>: college satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, student engagement, thriving </p>

<p> The current study investigated whether hypocrisy-induction &ndash; a burgeoning method of cognitive dissonance therapy &ndash; acts to increase physical exercise habits and reduce stress, as well as how physical exercise mediates the relationship between hypocrisy-induction and perceived stress, and whether self-esteem moderates the relationship between hypocrisy-induction and physical exercise. Using questionnaires and manipulations, this study measured participants&rsquo; (both work and non-work) stress, self-esteem, physical exercise habits, and physical exercise intentions. Fifty-four undergraduate students enrolled in Psychology 111 at a small Midwest university were randomly assigned to a control or treatment condition and surveyed on several constructs before being put through manipulations, and were then surveyed online four weeks following the experiment. Results supported some hypotheses, revealing that: as individuals exercise more, they perceive less stress; individuals who had their hypocrisy induced perceived less stress than those who hadn&rsquo;t; hypocrisy-induction did not affect physical exercise habits or intentions; and those with higher self-esteem are more affected by hypocrisy-induction than those with lower self-esteem. Ultimately, these results highlight the potential efficacy and versatility for hypocrisy-induction to generalize onto improving prosocial behavior.</p>

<p> The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the college-related self-efficacy of 12th Grade English learners enrolled in a public charter school in Southern California. College-related self-efficacy is defined as a student's belief that they can attend college. This qualitative exploratory study was designed to explore the beliefs and attitudes that current English language learners (ELL) have regarding the possibility of attending college. A cross sectional data collection approach was utilized to explore college-related self-efficacy during English Learner's senior year. The senior class studied was the first to experience a high-school pathway designed to culminate in English language learners having both the academic skills and having completed the coursework to make them college-ready and competitive during the admissions process. </p><p> The findings of this study support the following conclusions. Explicit adult investment in ELL success impacts how students describe their college-related self-efficacy. Language acquisition impacts the ability to communicate both academic and social-emotional growth. According to ELL students, personal efficacy and college-related self-efficacy share descriptive traits. Students perceive their college-related self-efficacy as a choice impacted by both external and internal input. As default experts for ELLs, teachers are in a position to impact college-related self-efficacy. College-related self-efficacy is impacted by factors outside the school campus and outside the school-day. English learners need additional time outside of their senior year to understand college applications and the college experience. Students view additional opportunities to practice language as a key component of social immersion and acculturation. Explicit attention to belief in ELL student potential is an avenue of improving college-related self-efficacy.</p>

<p> Test anxiety is problem that affects college students. Explanatory mixed methods research was completed with the objective of understanding the interrelationship of prayer and test anxiety as well as the potential therapeutic effects of Christian prayer on test anxiety. It was hypothesized that Christian prayer would have significant effects on the reduction of physiological test anxiety biomarkers of salivary cortisol (SC), salivary alpha amylase (SAA), and heart rate (HR). The framework of the cognitive attentional theory (CAT) of test anxiety was used as a lens to gain insight into the phenomena of test anxiety and the use of prayer as a hypothesized alleviating agent. Undergraduates among four different majors of study from a university in the Northwest United States were volunteer participants in the study. Forty-eight participants were put into three 20-minute experimental groups to determine if a relationship existed between concentrated Christian prayer and test anxiety. The experimental groups were: Focused Christian Prayer, Guided Meditation, and Study Guide. In order to further understand the relationship of prayer and test anxiety, students were also grouped and analyzed by their scores on the Westside Test Anxiety Scale (WTAS) and their value of prayer in their lives. The mean age of the sample was 20.02 yrs old. SC and SAA were measured with Assay kits ordered from Salimetrics Company, and HR was measured using Gurin Santamedical SM-110 finger pulse oximeters. Two focus groups were conducted to help explain the quantitative data gathered. Results from the quantitative research did not clearly show that prayer is more effective than meditation or a study guide to alleviate biomarkers of test anxiety. Quantitative results did suggest that students who valued prayer higher in their lives experienced less biomarkers of test anxiety. Nine qualitative themes from the two focus groups emerged to help shed light on the findings of the quantitative data. The unique interrelationship of prayer and test anxiety is discussed. More studies on the phenomena of prayer and test anxiety are supported.</p>

<p> The purpose of the study is to evaluate if the effectiveness of a check-in, checkout (CICO) intervention varies based on the function maintaining students' target behaviors as determined by functional analyses prior to the implementation of the intervention. Participants in the study consisted of 6 children enrolled in general education Kindergarten classes across 6 teachers in the Southeastern United States. Upon completion of a functional analysis, participants were determined to fit into functional groups (i.e., combined attention and escape, attention, and escape), then a modified between groups design with a component of a multiple-baseline across participants design was completed. Overall, the current study found that the CICO intervention increased desired behavior as measured by points earned on the daily behavior report card ratings across baseline to intervention phases. All functional groups displayed an increase in average points earned from baseline phase across intervention phases. The results of the current study have implications within the educational systems for selecting interventions within the response to intervention framework, utilizing functional analysis for the CICO intervention, and acceptability of evidence based interventions. Limitations and recommendations for future research are presented.</p>

<p> The quality of early caregiving and educational environments has a significant effect on children&rsquo;s later cognitive outcomes. Early childhood teachers are an important determining factor in the quality of these environments. Due to inconsistencies in practice across the early childhood field, there is a call for better prepared teachers. Teacher preparation itself is criticized for its lack of innovative and effective practices. While research finds that more effective teacher preparation programs are those that are steeped in clinical practice, these types of experiences are inconsistent and fragmented in the early childhood field. Part of the issue is the lack of knowledge on how to integrate highquality clinical experiences carefully into early childhood teacher preparation in order to prepare all preservice teachers successfully for the classroom. </p><p> The purpose of this qualitative study was to propose a middle-range, systematic theory for the types of practices and ideologies that the most successful early childhood teacher education programs use to prepare their preservice teachers for the education profession. A more focused purpose of this grounded theory study was to describe the ways in which early childhood preservice teachers learn about children&rsquo;s cognitive development as well as how they describe their application of this knowledge to developmentally appropriate pedagogical practices. A secondary purpose of this study was to examine these various clinical models as described by experts in the field. Analysis was completed on semi-structured interviews with preservice teachers and faculty members, open-ended surveys completed by preservice teachers, and university documents. As a result of rigorous data analysis, a theory emerged to explain clinical practice at three model early childhood teacher preparation programs. Findings suggest that there are seven layers of strength that contribute to the model programs&rsquo; expertise in preparing their preservice teachers. This study is significant in that it reports researchbased elements that may contribute to policy regarding models for teacher preparation and meaningful clinical experiences.</p>

<p> There is little written about the use of foundational courses in high school science. This study seeks to identify if a foundational course in high school biology improves student outcomes as measured by Biology I EOC exam proficiency scale scores and student growth. Efforts were made to determine differences in cognitive skill areas and affective/conative skill areas as students progress from the foundational course of Greenhouse Biology (GH Bio) to Biology I. Three years of test score data from over 15,000 student participants are evaluated, as well as extant survey data from biology teachers and district student scheduling personnel. Findings from the study indicate GH Bio does make a difference in academic outcomes in students taking the foundational course before taking the Biology I course, and subsequently, the Biology I EOC exam. Findings also show there are cognitive, affective, and conative differences between the GH Bio students and their non-GH Bio peers while in Biology I. The study also seeks to determine why some students are scheduled for GH Bio and others are not. Findings indicate there are variances as to the reasons and intent for scheduling students into GH Bio. Some students who could benefit from the course are not being scheduled into the course.</p>