This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students. 

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Description
Communication skills within dating contexts are developed during the adolescent years, and are associated with a lifelong ability to have satisfying, enduring, and non-violent partnerships. As such, they are currently and increasingly implemented into both more general forms of healthy relationship education, as well as that targeting the prevention of

Communication skills within dating contexts are developed during the adolescent years, and are associated with a lifelong ability to have satisfying, enduring, and non-violent partnerships. As such, they are currently and increasingly implemented into both more general forms of healthy relationship education, as well as that targeting the prevention of teen dating violence specifically. Reaching Mexican American youth with culturally and developmentally appropriate relationship education, including communication skills, may be particularly important given their earlier transitions to marital and parenting relationships, acculturative stressors that present them with unique coupling challenges, and their higher rates of teen dating violence as compared to European American youth. We know very little about how Mexican American dating couples communicate about areas of conflict. This dissertation research utilizes Bell and Naugle's (2008) framework of interpersonal violence to explore how cultural and developmental considerations may be integrated in order to better understand how communication behaviors contribute to Mexican American middle adolescents' experiences with dating conflict. I use an observational study design in order to 1.) Qualitatively explore the communication strategies used by a sample of committed couples, including integration of culturally- and developmentally-relevant contexts, 2.) Quantitatively examine whether couple-level discrepancies in acculturation are associated with observed negativity, including whether this relationship may be mediated by dissimilar gender-related beliefs, and to 3.) Review empirical findings pertaining to the communication behaviors of Mexican American adolescents and to integrate ecodevelopmental theory in said framework as informed by Papers 1, 2, and literature specific to this topic area. The ultimate aim of this dissertation research is to generate findings that may improve the dating health of Mexican American adolescents living in the United States.
ContributorsAdams, Heidi (Author) / Rankin Williams, Lela (Thesis advisor) / Marsiglia, Flavio (Committee member) / Anthony, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
This study empirically evaluated the effectiveness of the instructional design, learning tools, and role of the teacher in three versions of a semester-long, high-school remedial Algebra I course to determine what impact self-regulated learning skills and learning pattern training have on students' self-regulation, math achievement, and motivation. The 1st version

This study empirically evaluated the effectiveness of the instructional design, learning tools, and role of the teacher in three versions of a semester-long, high-school remedial Algebra I course to determine what impact self-regulated learning skills and learning pattern training have on students' self-regulation, math achievement, and motivation. The 1st version was a business-as-usual traditional classroom teaching mathematics with direct instruction. The 2rd version of the course provided students with self-paced, individualized Algebra instruction with a web-based, intelligent tutor. The 3rd version of the course coupled self-paced, individualized instruction on the web-based, intelligent Algebra tutor coupled with a series of e-learning modules on self-regulated learning knowledge and skills that were distributed throughout the semester. A quasi-experimental, mixed methods evaluation design was used by assigning pre-registered, high-school remedial Algebra I class periods made up of an approximately equal number of students to one of the three study conditions or course versions: (a) the control course design, (b) web-based, intelligent tutor only course design, and (c) web-based, intelligent tutor + SRL e-learning modules course design. While no statistically significant differences on SRL skills, math achievement or motivation were found between the three conditions, effect-size estimates provide suggestive evidence that using the SRL e-learning modules based on ARCS motivation model (Keller, 2010) and Let Me Learn learning pattern instruction (Dawkins, Kottkamp, & Johnston, 2010) may help students regulate their learning and improve their study skills while using a web-based, intelligent Algebra tutor as evidenced by positive impacts on math achievement, motivation, and self-regulated learning skills. The study also explored predictive analyses using multiple regression and found that predictive models based on independent variables aligned to student demographics, learning mastery skills, and ARCS motivational factors are helpful in defining how to further refine course design and design learning evaluations that measure achievement, motivation, and self-regulated learning in web-based learning environments, including intelligent tutoring systems.
ContributorsBarrus, Angela (Author) / Atkinson, Robert K (Thesis advisor) / Van de Sande, Carla (Committee member) / Savenye, Wilhelmina (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
ABSTRACT This study describes student interactions in the academic social network site Edmodo versus student interactions in Facebook. This qualitative case study relies upon four high school juniors enrolled in Advanced Placement Language and Composition who use Edmodo to complete assignments for their English class. Their experiences were gathered in

ABSTRACT This study describes student interactions in the academic social network site Edmodo versus student interactions in Facebook. This qualitative case study relies upon four high school juniors enrolled in Advanced Placement Language and Composition who use Edmodo to complete assignments for their English class. Their experiences were gathered in an attempt to describe specific experiences in a complex system. Students were selected using an Internet Connectedness Index survey. Using a Virtual Community of Practice framework, students were asked about their experiences in Edmodo. This study concludes that Edmodo and Facebook can be compared in three categories: accessibility, functionality, and environment. Unlike Facebook, which students access regularly, students access Edmodo only to fulfill the teacher's participation expectations for the specific grade they wish to receive. Additionally, students appreciated the convenience of using Edmodo to complete assignments. The functionality of Edmodo is quite similar in layout and appearance to Facebook, yet students were unaware of the media sharing capability, wished for private messaging options, and desired the ability to tag peers for direct comment using the @ sign, all options that are available in Facebook. Students felt the environment in Edmodo could best be characterized as intellectual and academic, which some mentioned might best be used with honors or AP students. A surprising benefit of Edmodo is the lack of social cues enable students to feel free of judgment when composing writing. Some felt this allowed students to know their classmates better and share their true personae free from judgment of classmates. As a result of the case studies of four students, this study seeks to illustrate how students interact in Edmodo versus Facebook to provide a robust image of the academic social network site for teachers seeking to implement educational technology in their classes.
ContributorsCurran-Sejkora, Elizabeth (Author) / Blasingame, James (Thesis advisor) / Nilsen, Alleen (Committee member) / Rodrigo, Rochelle (Committee member) / Turchi, Laura (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
This study examined the relations between cognitive ability, socioemotional competency (SEC), and achievement in gifted children. Data were collected on children between the ages of 8 and 15 years (n = 124). Children were assessed via teacher reports of SEC, standardized cognitive assessment, and standardized achievement assessment. Composite achievement significantly

This study examined the relations between cognitive ability, socioemotional competency (SEC), and achievement in gifted children. Data were collected on children between the ages of 8 and 15 years (n = 124). Children were assessed via teacher reports of SEC, standardized cognitive assessment, and standardized achievement assessment. Composite achievement significantly correlated with all areas of SEC on the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA). Cognitive ability significantly correlated with all areas of SEC as well. Composite cognitive ability significantly correlated with all composite achievement, as well as with achievement in all subject areas assessed. Achievement scores tended to be higher in older age groups in comparison to younger age groups. When gender differences were found (in some areas of SEC and in language achievement), they tended to be higher in females. Gender moderated the relation between SEC and composite achievement. The areas of SEC that best predicted achievement, over-and-above other SEC scales, were Optimistic Thinking, Self-Awareness, and Relationship Skills. While cognitive scores did not significantly predict achievement when controlling for SEC, SEC did significantly predict achievement over-and-above cognitive ability scores. Overall findings suggest that SEC may be important in children's school achievement; thus it is important for schools and families to promote the development of SEC in gifted children, especially in the areas of optimism and self-awareness.
ContributorsKong, Tiffany (Author) / Caterino, Linda (Thesis advisor) / Naglieri, Jack (Committee member) / Brulles, Dina (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
This study examined four research questions investigating relationships among the experience of trauma, identity development, distress, and positive change. There were 908 participants in the study, ranging in age from 18 to 24 which is known as the period of emerging adulthood. Participants completed an online survey regarding their exposure

This study examined four research questions investigating relationships among the experience of trauma, identity development, distress, and positive change. There were 908 participants in the study, ranging in age from 18 to 24 which is known as the period of emerging adulthood. Participants completed an online survey regarding their exposure to trauma and reactions to these experiences. The first research question examined the experience of trauma for the sample. The second question examined group differences among the participant's identity status, gender, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnostic status on the hypothesized variables. In general, comparisons among the four identity status groups found participants who experienced greater identity exploration (diffused and moratorium) experienced more distress, whereas the identity status groups that reported greater identity commitments (foreclosed and achieved) were associated with positive change. Similar findings were found for PTSD diagnostic status indicating more distress and identity exploration for participants with the diagnosis and more positive change and identity commitments for participants without the diagnosis. Female participants were found to experience more PTS symptoms, centrality of the trauma event, and positive growth than males. Examination of the relationships between trauma severity and posttraumatic growth revealed an inverted U-shaped relationship (quadratic) that was a significant improvement from the linear model. An S-shaped relationship (cubic) was found for the relationship between trauma exposure and posttraumatic growth. Regression analyses found the centrality of the trauma event to one's identity predicted identity distress above and beyond the experience of trauma. In addition, identity distress and the centrality of the trauma contributed to the variance for identity exploration, while only identity distress contributed to identity commitments. Finally, identity development significantly predicted positive change above and beyond, identity distress, centrality of the trauma event, and the experience of trauma. Collectively, these results found both distress and growth to be related to the experience of trauma. Distress within one's identity can contribute to difficulties in the psychosocial stage of identity development among emerging adults. However, the resolution of identity exploration towards commitments to goals, roles, and beliefs, can help trauma survivors experience resilience and growth after stressful experiences.
ContributorsWiley, Rachel (Author) / Robinson-Kurpius, Sharon (Thesis advisor) / Stamm, Jill (Committee member) / Kinnier, Richard (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
Accumulating evidence implicates exposure to adverse childhood experiences in the development of hypocortisolism in the long-term, and researchers are increasingly examining individual-level mechanisms that may underlie, exacerbate or attenuate this relation among at-risk populations. The current study takes a developmentally and theoretically informed approach to examining episodic childhood stressors, inherent

Accumulating evidence implicates exposure to adverse childhood experiences in the development of hypocortisolism in the long-term, and researchers are increasingly examining individual-level mechanisms that may underlie, exacerbate or attenuate this relation among at-risk populations. The current study takes a developmentally and theoretically informed approach to examining episodic childhood stressors, inherent and voluntary self-regulation, and physiological reactivity among a longitudinal sample of youth who experienced parental divorce. Participants were drawn from a larger randomized controlled trial of a preventive intervention for children of divorce between the ages of 9 and 12. The current sample included 159 young adults (mean age = 25.5 years; 53% male; 94% Caucasian) who participated in six waves of data collection, including a 15-year follow-up study. Participants reported on exposure to negative life events (four times over a 9-month period) during childhood, and mothers rated child temperament. Six years later, youth reported on the use of active and avoidant coping strategies, and 15 years later, they participated in a standardized psychosocial stress task and provided salivary cortisol samples prior to and following the task. Path analyses within a structural equation framework revealed that a multiple mediation model best fit the data. It was found that children with better mother-rated self-regulation (i.e. low impulsivity, low negative emotionality, and high attentional focus) exhibited lower total cortisol output 15 years later. In addition, greater self-regulation in childhood predicted greater use of active coping in adolescence, whereas a greater number of negative life events predicted increased use of avoidant coping in adolescence. Finally, a greater number of negative events in childhood predicted marginally lower total cortisol output, and higher levels of active coping in adolescence were associated with greater total cortisol output in young adulthood. Findings suggest that children of divorce who exhibit better self-regulation evidence lower cortisol output during a standardized psychosocial stress task relative to those who have higher impulsivity, lower attentional focus, and/or higher negative emotionality. The conceptual significance of the current findings, including the lack of evidence for hypothesized relations, methodological issues that arose, and issues in need of future research are discussed.
ContributorsHagan, Melissa (Author) / Luecken, Linda (Thesis advisor) / MacKinnon, David (Committee member) / Wolchik, Sharlene (Committee member) / Doane, Leah (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
Statistics is taught at every level of education, yet teachers often have to assume their students have no knowledge of statistics and start from scratch each time they set out to teach statistics. The motivation for this experimental study comes from interest in exploring educational applications of augmented reality (AR)

Statistics is taught at every level of education, yet teachers often have to assume their students have no knowledge of statistics and start from scratch each time they set out to teach statistics. The motivation for this experimental study comes from interest in exploring educational applications of augmented reality (AR) delivered via mobile technology that could potentially provide rich, contextualized learning for understanding concepts related to statistics education. This study examined the effects of AR experiences for learning basic statistical concepts. Using a 3 x 2 research design, this study compared learning gains of 252 undergraduate and graduate students from a pre- and posttest given before and after interacting with one of three types of augmented reality experiences, a high AR experience (interacting with three dimensional images coupled with movement through a physical space), a low AR experience (interacting with three dimensional images without movement), or no AR experience (two dimensional images without movement). Two levels of collaboration (pairs and no pairs) were also included. Additionally, student perceptions toward collaboration opportunities and engagement were compared across the six treatment conditions. Other demographic information collected included the students' previous statistics experience, as well as their comfort level in using mobile devices. The moderating variables included prior knowledge (high, average, and low) as measured by the student's pretest score. Taking into account prior knowledge, students with low prior knowledge assigned to either high or low AR experience had statistically significant higher learning gains than those assigned to a no AR experience. On the other hand, the results showed no statistical significance between students assigned to work individually versus in pairs. Students assigned to both high and low AR experience perceived a statistically significant higher level of engagement than their no AR counterparts. Students with low prior knowledge benefited the most from the high AR condition in learning gains. Overall, the AR application did well for providing a hands-on experience working with statistical data. Further research on AR and its relationship to spatial cognition, situated learning, high order skill development, performance support, and other classroom applications for learning is still needed.
ContributorsConley, Quincy (Author) / Atkinson, Robert K (Thesis advisor) / Nguyen, Frank (Committee member) / Nelson, Brian C (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
This dissertation describes the development of a state-of-the-art immersive media environment and its potential to motivate high school youth with autism to vocally express themselves. Due to the limited availability of media environments in public education settings, studies on the use of such systems in special education contexts are rare.

This dissertation describes the development of a state-of-the-art immersive media environment and its potential to motivate high school youth with autism to vocally express themselves. Due to the limited availability of media environments in public education settings, studies on the use of such systems in special education contexts are rare. A study called Sea of Signs utilized the Situated Multimodal Art Learning Lab (SMALLab), to present a custom-designed conversational scenario for pairs of youth with autism. Heuristics for building the scenario were developed following a 4-year design-based research approach that fosters social interaction, communication, and self-expression through embodied design. Sea of Signs implemented these heuristics through an immersive experience, supported by spatial and audio-visual feedback that helped clarify and reinforce students' vocal expressions within a partner-based conversational framework. A multiple-baseline design across participants was used to determine the extent to which individuals exhibited observable change as a result of the activity in SMALLab. Teacher interviews were conducted prior to the experimental phase to identify each student's pattern of social interaction, communication, and problem-solving strategies in the classroom. Ethnographic methods and video coding were used throughout the experimental phase to assess whether there were changes in (a) speech duration per session and per turn, (b) turn-taking patterns, and (c) teacher prompting per session. In addition, teacher interviews were conducted daily after every SMALLab session to further triangulate the nature of behaviors observed in each session. Final teacher interviews were conducted after the experimental phase to collect data on possible transfer of behavioral improvements into students' classroom lives beyond SMALLab. Results from this study suggest that the activity successfully increased independently generated speech in some students, while increasing a focus on seeking out social partners in others. Furthermore, the activity indicated a number of future directions in research on the nature of voice and discourse, rooted in the use of aesthetics and phenomenology, to augment, extend, and encourage developments in directed communication skills for youth with autism.
ContributorsTolentino, Lisa (Author) / Paine, Garth (Thesis advisor) / Kozleski, Elizabeth B. (Thesis advisor) / Kelliher, Aisling (Committee member) / Megowan-Romanowicz, Colleen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
An integral part of teacher development are teacher observations. Many teachers are observed once or twice a year to evaluate their performance and hold them accountable for meeting standards. Instructional coaches, however, observe and work with teachers to help them reflect on their performance, with the goal of improving their

An integral part of teacher development are teacher observations. Many teachers are observed once or twice a year to evaluate their performance and hold them accountable for meeting standards. Instructional coaches, however, observe and work with teachers to help them reflect on their performance, with the goal of improving their practice. Video-based evidence has long been used in connection with teacher reflection and as the technology necessary to record video has become more readily available, video recordings have found an increasing presence in teacher observations. In addition, more and more schools are turning to mobile technology to help record evidence during teacher observations. Several mobile applications have been developed, which are designed to help instructional coaches, administrators, and teachers make the most of teacher observations. This study looked at the use of the DataCapture mobile application to record video-based evidence in teacher observations as part of an instructional coaching program in a large public school district in the Southwestern United States. Six instructional coaches and two teachers participated in interviews at the end of the study period. Additional data was collected from the DataCapture mobile application and from a survey of instructional coaches conducted by the school district in connection with its Title I programs. Results show that instructional coaches feel that using video-based evidence for teacher reflection is effective in a number of ways. Teachers who have experienced seeing themselves on video also felt that video-based evidence is effective at improving teacher reflection, while teachers who have not yet experienced seeing themselves on video displayed extreme apprehensiveness about being video recorded in the classroom. Instructional coaches felt the DataCapture mobile application was beneficial in teacher evaluation, but there were several issues that impacted the use of the mobile application and video-based evidence, including logistics, time requirements, and administrative support. The discussion focuses on recommendations for successfully using video-based evidence in an instructional coaching context, as well as some suggestions for other researchers attempting to study how video-based evidence impacts teachers' ability to reflect on their own teaching.
ContributorsShewell, Justin Reed (Author) / Bitter, Gary (Thesis advisor) / Dawson, Edwin (Committee member) / Blair, Heidi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
Researchers have postulated that math academic achievement increases student success in college (Lee, 2012; Silverman & Seidman, 2011; Vigdor, 2013), yet 80% of universities and 98% of community colleges require many of their first-year students to be placed in remedial courses (Bettinger & Long, 2009). Many high school graduates are

Researchers have postulated that math academic achievement increases student success in college (Lee, 2012; Silverman & Seidman, 2011; Vigdor, 2013), yet 80% of universities and 98% of community colleges require many of their first-year students to be placed in remedial courses (Bettinger & Long, 2009). Many high school graduates are entering college ill prepared for the rigors of higher education, lacking understanding of basic and important principles (ACT, 2012). The desire to increase academic achievement is a wide held aspiration in education and the idea of adapting instruction to individuals is one approach to accomplish this goal (Lalley & Gentile, 2009a). Frequently, adaptive learning environments rely on a mastery learning approach, it is thought that when students are afforded the opportunity to master the material, deeper and more meaningful learning is likely to occur. Researchers generally agree that the learning environment, the teaching approach, and the students' attributes are all important to understanding the conditions that promote academic achievement (Bandura, 1977; Bloom, 1968; Guskey, 2010; Cassen, Feinstein & Graham, 2008; Changeiywo, Wambugu & Wachanga, 2011; Lee, 2012; Schunk, 1991; Van Dinther, Dochy & Segers, 2011). The present study investigated the role of college students' affective attributes and skills, such as academic competence and academic resilience, in an adaptive mastery-based learning environment on their academic performance, while enrolled in a remedial mathematics course. The results showed that the combined influence of students' affective attributes and academic resilience had a statistically significant effect on students' academic performance. Further, the mastery-based learning environment also had a significant effect on their academic competence and academic performance.
ContributorsFoshee, Cecile Mary (Author) / Atkinson, Robert K (Thesis advisor) / Elliott, Stephen N. (Committee member) / Horan, John (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013