11678 research outputs found
Sort by
Exploring Audience Perceptions of Elementary School Dance Curriculum: Utilizing Informance to Investigate Beliefs Regarding the Presentation of Student Learning in Dance
Get PDFThe goal of this thesis was to gain insight into the perceptions and expectations of audiences in relation to elementary school dance education curriculum and its representation through showcases or displays, particularly within the context of viewing an informance. The researcher developed three research questions to guide the study:
Q1 What are audience perceptions of elementary school dance education pedagogy and curriculum?
Q2 What methods do audiences expect to be implemented in an elementary school dance performance?
Q3 Can utilizing informances affect audience perceptions of elementary school dance education, thus changing their expectations for dance performance methods?
Thirty-eight audience members shared their understanding of dance education pedagogy/ curriculum and their expectations for an elementary school dance performance through a digital pre- and post-survey administered before and after viewing either a pre-k or fifth grade student informance.
Limitations of this study included a relatively small sample size of audience participants who may have had prior knowledge of and experience with the dance pedagogy, curriculum, and informance model implemented by the researcher. The use of multiple-choice survey questions pre-selected by the researcher may have also resulted in some instances of response bias. Results of the study may not be generalizable to all school populations, particularly those outside of an elementary school setting.
Results of the study supported the utilization of an informance as an alternative and/or supplemental performance method that can affect audience perceptions and understandings of elementary school dance education. Thematic data analysis of pre- and post-survey responses suggested that an informance may change and/or reinforce an audience’s current understanding of dance education pedagogy and curriculum, appreciation for dance education, and perception of students’ abilities, while simultaneously meeting audience expectations for a school performance. Survey results additionally indicated that audience expectations for school performances were largely outside the teacher/researcher’s control and may not change despite the new understandings, appreciations, and perceptions gained from experiencing an informance.
The purpose of this study was to encourage and support dance educators in enhancing community understanding and engagement with their dance curriculum by introducing informances as a meaningful alternative to traditional performance models. The informances presented in this study changed and/or reinforced audiences’ understanding of dance education pedagogy, met or exceeded audience expectations for an elementary school dance performance, and created new understandings of elementary school dance curriculum, new appreciations for dance education, and new perceptions of students’ abilities. This study encouraged dance educators to consider informances when planning student showcases, presentations, and performances. Informances can be a valuable tool for dance educators seeking to educate parents and school communities on their dance programs or to advocate for increased funding and expanded opportunities for dance
Improving Primary Care Providers Awareness, Knowledge, Attitude, and Intention to Change Practice About Uncontrolled Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Its Effect on Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease, Formerly Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Prognosis
Get PDFNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), now known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), is the leading cause of chronic liver disease in the world. The mechanisms involved in its development and progression continue to be a mystery that scientists are trying to unravel. However, many research studies found a correlation between uncontrolled obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and worsening of NAFLD. Chronic intermittent hypoxia and sleep fragmentation in OSA increase sympathetic activity and promote oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory cytokine production, and metabolic dysregulation, which increases the risk of various diseases, including NAFLD/MASLD progression. Early assessment and screening for OSA in patients diagnosed with NAFLD and patient education by primary care providers on adhering to treatment modalities to control OSA are the keys to combating this global disease. Primary care providers are in constant contact with patients diagnosed with NAFLD. However, despite the high prevalence and growing burden of NAFLD, most of them are unaware or have limited knowledge of this critical OSA-NAFLD correlation and might not be assessing, screening, educating, and treating their NAFLD patients properly.
The purpose of this project was to evaluate if an evidence-based educational intervention delivered to primary care providers improved their awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and intention to change practice about screening patients with NAFLD for the presence of OSA and to provide improved patient education about this phenomenon. This purpose was answered in conjunction with the following project question:
Q1 Will an evidence-based educational intervention delivered to primary care providers improve their awareness, knowledge, and intention to increase screening and change clinical management of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) among patients also diagnosed with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)?
With the application of the knowledge, attitude, and practice model in conjunction with the Continuing Professional Development-Reaction Questionnaire, a pre-posttest design with a synchronous in-person educational intervention based upon the integrated literature review discussed the NAFLD-OSA phenomenon. The evidenced-based intervention was delivered to Northern Colorado Nurse Coalition members at a regional meeting. Fifteen advanced practice RNs completed the pre-post survey via Qualtrics Survey. The survey response demonstrated increased awareness, knowledge, attitude, and intention to change practice about assessing and screening patients with NAFLD for the presence of OSA and to provide improved patient education about the phenomenon after the educational intervention. Like previous findings, few advanced practice providers knew of the correlation between uncontrolled OSA and worsening of NAFLD before the education intervention, highlighting the need for continuous professional development provided through this doctoral scholarly project to improve patient outcomes
Exhibit Text
No full textPhotograph showing entrance to the gallery space with the exhibition title and information table.https://digscholarship.unco.edu/degradation/1000/thumbnail.jp
The Price of Precision: Significant Figures and the Student Experience
Get PDFFor students pursuing careers in medicine and science, general chemistry is often viewed as a gatekeeper course. Students struggle with general chemistry for a variety of reasons, one of the most common being mathematical difficulties. Compared to other lower division STEM courses, mathematical computation in general chemistry represents a unique challenge for the student due to the special emphasis placed on reporting answers to the proper degree of precision using significant figure (SF) rules. Although these rules feature in nearly every undergraduate chemistry course, their impact on the student experience of learning chemistry has never before been studied.
The purpose of this study was two-fold: first, to quantify the cognitive load difference associated with applying significant figure rules to chemistry problems, and to explore a possible interactive effect between significant figure rules and student math anxiety. Our second goal was to gain insight into student experiences and perceptions of the value of SF rules and the degree to which this value judgement affects student engagement with these rules. We investigated four research questions: Q1 How do students describe their experiences with significant figures in general chemistry? Q2 What were students’ perceived value for significant figure rules? Q3 To what degree does the inclusion of significant figure (SF) rules represent a change in subjective mental workload when solving general chemistry problems? Q4 To what extent do significant figure rules moderate the relationship between subjective mental workload and math anxiety?
To address these questions, we recruited 40 general chemistry students to participate in this mixed methods study. Participants first completed a written assessment in which they solved chemistry problems both with and without significant figure rules, subjectively rating the mental workload of each question using the NASA Task Load Index instrument (NASA-TLX). We analyzed the data with paired t-tests to determine if there were statistically significant differences in ratings. We then fit linear models to the data to see if significant figure rules moderated the relationship between average NASA-TLX rating and math anxiety. Afterward, each student participated in a 10 to 15-minute interview in which they were asked to explain their approach for working through significant figure problems, and share their personal experiences with these rules. These interviews were transcribed and thematically coded. Analysis of these interviews was framed by situated expectancy value theory.
We found a statistically significant increase in student self-reported cognitive load associated with the application of SF rules. We also found the SF rules moderated the relationship between math anxiety and mental workload, suggesting that students who enter general chemistry already at increased risk of not passing will experience more difficulty with SF rules than their non-math anxious peers. Qualitative interviews revealed that participants often did not engage meaningfully with the SF rules, frequently abandoning the rules or resorting to shortcuts that, while less effortful, led to incorrect answers. Students also associated the SF rules with negative experiences, such as their answers being rejected when using online homework platforms.
These results suggest that the standard textbook approach to teaching precision and significant figures in chemistry is both burdensome and ineffective, substantiating concerns raised by educators in the literature. In light of these findings, we would urge instructors and homework platform providers to be judicious in their enforcement of SF rules, as these rules add significant mental burden to the problem-solving process, particularly for math-anxious students. To promote conceptual understanding over rote memorization, we suggest reducing emphasis on precision and rounding in lecture courses and instead shifting it to lab courses, where students will be more likely to find meaning in these concepts
Journey of Decisions: Understanding Parental Perspectives on Vaccine Hesitancy and Decision-Making Approaches in Childhood Vaccinations
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of parental attitudes toward childhood vaccinations and decision-making styles. Overall, this study worked to comprehensively examine the factors influencing vaccine hesitancy among parents of children under 18 utilizing quantitative and qualitative methodologies and conducting qualitative analytic comparisons to enhance understanding for future research practices.
The study’s objective in the first phase was to quantitatively assess whether decision-making styles predict vaccine hesitancy, considering demographic factors. The contextual research question guiding this phase was, “Do general decision-making styles predict vaccine hesitancy controlling for age, gender, level of education, employment status, marital status, social class, ethnicity, geographic location, and number of children? ”A survey of 260 parents revealed that those with an intuitive decision-making style had 86% lower odds of being vaccine-hesitant, while parents with three or more children had 73% lower odds of exhibiting vaccine hesitancy. However, the sample’s homogeneity limits the generalizability of these findings. The second phase entailed qualitatively exploring the underlying parental perspectives contributing to vaccine hesitancy. The contextual research question guiding this phase was, “How do parents’ underlying beliefs contribute to vaccine hesitancy?” The qualitative phase, involving 17 semi-structured interviews with 18 participants, was analyzed using both traditional reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) with NVivo and RTA enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) with ChatGPT. The methodological research question was, “What are the distinctions between reflexive thematic analysis using ChatGPT and traditional analysis using NVivo?” The study found that traditional RTA provided deeper and more comprehensive insights, consistent coding, in-depth participant quotes, and a rigorous iterative process, making it more effective in addressing the research questions. While AI-driven RTAs were efficient and satisfactory in identifying themes, they lacked the depth of traditional RTA. However, compared to the significant time and expenses associated with traditional RTA using NVivo, AI\u27s capacity to perform analyses within minutes and its cost-efficiency underscores its potential as a valuable co-researcher, especially for those working with limited resources. This study highlights the importance of thoroughly exploring vaccine hesitancy, decision-making styles, and underlying beliefs of parents while also contributing to the evolving discourse on AI’s role in qualitative research
Racially and Culturally Conscious Parent Engagement Programs: Parent Contributions to a Critical Analysis
Get PDFTo capture the perspectives of Latinx families as they relate to racially and culturally conscious parent engagement programming, this qualitative phenomenological case study sought to examine the parent engagement for Latinx families and answer following research questions: Q1 What are the perceptions regarding parental engagement of Latinx parents who participate in parent engagement programs in a Rocky Mountain, suburban elementary school committed to considering race and culture in their engagement practices? Q2 How do Latinx parents perceive culturally and racially conscious parent engagement program participation impacts their students’ school experience?
In the qualitative tradition, interviews were used to critically analyze the perceptions of ten Latinx participants from suburban schools in the Rocky Mountain region. Additionally, three parent engagement activities were observed and a reflexive journal was utilized to capture the researcher’s thoughts and reflections about the study. Each participant had a unique perspective and lived experience regarding practices that are racially and culturally conscious, however, several key points were ubiquitous. Three major themes were identified for the first research question: Engagement, Environment, and Efficacy. Parents voiced their preference of how to be engaged with the school, stating that talking about issues important to them was valuable, engaging in culture-specific practices were fulfilling, and mutual engagement over meaningful topics was also key to a positive experience. They felt that when the school was inclusive, expressed value for their culture/race, and represented the cultures/races of families that attend the school, parents were better able to develop relationships with school staff.
Two themes emerged related to the second question: appreciation for the space provided to different perspectives and overall families felt that the parent engagement programming at their school was beneficial to their child’s school experience. Parents valued the diversity of the activities and felt it was a good model for their students to see and experience. They also felt overall that their participation in parent engagement programming was a way to demonstrate their interest, concern, and commitment to their child’s education.
The discussion of the results concluded that school leaders should continue to address technical barriers for Latinx families, but more importantly, a shift in mindsets and a focus on adaptive changes are necessary to create the type of environment that is conducive to culturally and racially conscious parent engagement programming
Evaluation of Joint Model Imputation of Multilevel Models
Get PDFMissing data is a pervasive challenge in research, particularly in studies involving multilevel models. When left unaddressed or handled poorly, missing data can reduce statistical power and introduce bias, undermining the validity of findings. Although multiple imputation has emerged as a preferred method for addressing missing data due to its ability to provide unbiased and efficient estimates, its application in multilevel modeling remains underexplored. This gap is particularly significant given the hierarchical nature of multilevel data, which requires specialized approaches to imputation. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of joint model imputation in handling missing data in multilevel models under various data conditions. This includes comparing three types of multilevel models—random intercept, random coefficient, and random intercept-and-slope models—by manipulating factors such as sample size, missing data percentage, and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Specifically, the study addresses three research questions: (a) In what ways does varying level 1 and level 2 sample sizes influence the accuracy and reliability of outcomes obtained through joint model imputation across three different hierarchical linear models (HLM), as evaluated using bias, and root mean square error (RMSE) and confidence interval coverage (CI)? (b) To what extent does changing the proportion of missing data affect the outcomes of joint model imputation in terms of bias, root mean square error (RMSE), and confidence interval coverage? (c) How does the variation in intraclass correlation (ICC) impact the effectiveness of joint model imputation for achieving high-quality results, specifically looking at bias, root mean square error (RMSE), and confidence interval coverage? A simulation study was conducted to systematically manipulate sample sizes, proportions of missing data, and ICC values. Performance was evaluated using metrics such as relative bias, RMSE, and CI coverage rates. Additionally, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 dataset for fourth graders in the United States was analyzed to demonstrate the practical application of joint model imputation under real-world conditions. Findings from the simulation study indicate that larger sample sizes at both levels improved parameter estimates, reducing bias and RMSE, particularly in the random-intercept-and-slope model. However, smaller sample sizes posed challenge to the imputation. Proportion of missing data significantly influenced imputation outcomes; while the method performed well at 10% and 20% missingness, it showed diminished effectiveness at 30%. ICC variations presented additional challenges, with higher ICC values exacerbating bias and RMSE, particularly in the random-coefficient model. The random-intercept model consistently demonstrated robust performance under small sample sizes and high ICC, while the random-intercept-and-slope model excelled in scenarios with moderate ICC and larger sample sizes. The empirical validation using the TIMSS dataset corroborated these findings, emphasizing the utility of joint model imputation in real-world multilevel contexts
History Rebuilt at Bent\u27s Fort
Get PDFArticle on the establishment of Bent\u27s Fort as a national Historic Site by the National Parks Servic