Matching Items (27)
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- All Subjects: Education
- Creators: School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences
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- Resource Type: Text
Description
This thesis, entitled "A Community Perspective on Alcohol Education," was conducted over a ten month period during the Spring 2014 and Fall 2014 semesters, composed by Christopher Stuller and Nicholas Schmitzer. The research involved interviewing twelve professionals from Arizona State University and the City of Tempe to gather a holistic view on alcohol education and alcohol safety as it involves the students at ASU. Upon completion of the interviews, recommendations were made regarding areas of improvement for alcohol education and alcohol safety at Arizona State University. These recommendations range from creating a mandatory alcohol education class to passing a Guardian Angel Law to creating a national network of alcohol education best practices. Through this thesis, the authors hope to prevent future alcohol related injuries, deaths, and tragedies. For the final display of this thesis a website was created. For the ease of reading, all information has been presented in text format.
ContributorsSchmitzer, Nicholas (Co-author) / Stuller, Christopher (Co-author) / Koretz, Lora (Thesis director) / Scott Lynch, Jacquelyn (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
This piece aims to discuss the roles of emerging geographies within the context of global supply chains, approaching the conversation with a "systems" view, emphasizing three key facets essential to a holistic and interdisciplinary environmental analysis: -The Implications of Governmental & Economic Activities -Supply Chain Enablement Activities, Risk Mitigation in Emerging Nations -Implications Regarding Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility In the appreciation of the interdisciplinary implications that stem from participation in global supply networks, supply chain professionals can position their firms for continued success in the proactive construction of robust and resilient supply chains. Across industries, how will supply networks in emerging geographies continue to evolve? Appreciating the inherent nuances related to the political and economic climate of a region, the extent to which enablement activities must occur, and sustainability/CSR tie-ins will be key to acquire this understanding. This deliverable aims to leverage the work of philosophers, researchers and business personnel as these questions are explored. The author will also introduce a novel method of teaching (IMRS) in the undergraduate business classroom that challenges the students to integrate their prior experiences both in the classroom and in the business world as they learn to craft locally relevant solutions to solve complex global problems.
ContributorsVaney, Rachel Lee (Author) / Maltz, Arnold (Thesis director) / Kellso, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
A thorough understanding of the key concepts of logic is critical for student success. Logic is often not explicitly taught as its own subject in modern curriculums, which results in misconceptions among students as to what comprises logical reasoning. In addition, current standardized testing schemes often promote teaching styles which emphasize students' abilities to memorize set problem-solving methods over their capacities to reason abstractly and creatively. These phenomena, in tandem with halting progress in United States education compared to other developed nations, suggest that implementing logic courses into public schools and universities can better prepare students for professional careers and beyond. In particular, logic is essential for mathematics students as they transition from calculation-based courses to theoretical, proof-based classes. Many students find this adjustment difficult, and existing university-level courses which emphasize the technical aspects of symbolic logic do not fully bridge the gap between these two different approaches to mathematics. As a step towards resolving this problem, this project proposes a logic course which integrates historical, technical, and interdisciplinary investigations to present logic as a robust and meaningful subject warranting independent study. This course is designed with mathematics students in mind, with particular stresses on different formulations of deductively valid proof schemes. Additionally, this class can either be taught before existing logic classes in an effort to gradually expose students to logic over an extended period of time, or it can replace current logic courses as a more holistic introduction to the subject. The first section of the course investigates historical developments in studies of argumentation and logic throughout different civilizations; specifically, the works of ancient China, ancient India, ancient Greece, medieval Europe, and modernity are investigated. Along the way, several important themes are highlighted within appropriate historical contexts; these are often presented in an ad hoc way in courses emphasizing technical features of symbolic logic. After the motivations for modern symbolic logic are established, the key technical features of symbolic logic are presented, including: logical connectives, truth tables, logical equivalence, derivations, predicates, and quantifiers. Potential obstacles in students' understandings of these ideas are anticipated, and resolution methods are proposed. Finally, examples of how ideas of symbolic logic are manifested in many modern disciplines are presented. In particular, key concepts in game theory, computer science, biology, grammar, and mathematics are reformulated in the context of symbolic logic. By combining the three perspectives of historical context, technical aspects, and practical applications of symbolic logic, this course will ideally make logic a more meaningful and accessible subject for students.
ContributorsRyba, Austin (Author) / Vaz, Paul (Thesis director) / Jones, Donald (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This paper outlines the process of designing, creating, and implementing a supply chain management outreach program to benefit high schools students in areas surrounding Intel campuses. The program—which spreads awareness of supply chain management and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) and how they work together in businesses today—was created and tested by me, with the help of the following committee members: James Kellso – Director, Cheryl Dalsin – 2nd Reader, and Jack Berg – 3rd Reader. The end goal is for this program to become sustainable, and for it to spread as far and wide as possible. Supply chain management and STEM are becoming crucial to understand in businesses today and will only become more imperative in future years.
Keywords: supply chain management (SCM), Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM)
Keywords: supply chain management (SCM), Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM)
ContributorsHughes, Kelsey Ellen (Author) / Kellso, James (Thesis director) / Dalsin, Cheryl (Committee member) / Berg, Jack (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Previous research discusses students' difficulties in grasping an operational understanding of covariational reasoning. In this study, I interviewed four undergraduate students in calculus and pre-calculus classes to determine their ways of thinking when working on an animated covariation problem. With previous studies in mind and with the use of technology, I devised an interview method, which I structured using multiple phases of pre-planned support. With these interviews, I gathered information about two main aspects about students' thinking: how students think when attempting to reason covariationally and which of the identified ways of thinking are most propitious for the development of an understanding of covariational reasoning. I will discuss how, based on interview data, one of the five identified ways of thinking about covariational reasoning is highly propitious, while the other four are somewhat less propitious.
ContributorsWhitmire, Benjamin James (Author) / Thompson, Patrick (Thesis director) / Musgrave, Stacy (Committee member) / Moore, Kevin C. (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
"Maybe it's hatred I spew, Maybe it's food for the spirit." "I was not born under a rhyming planet." One of the above quotes is by the famous poet William Shakespeare and the other is by famous rap artist, Eminem. In modern society, many students view the works of artists like Eminem to be understandable and even relatable, while the works of classic poets like Shakespeare are a foreign language. However, when the lines are isolated from their entirety, it is very hard to determine the author of each. This Creative Project focuses on how we can use the works of modern lyricists to help teach the works of traditional literature. Not all students are fond of poetry and many of them view literary analysis as a tedious activity. However, almost everyone enjoys listening to music. This Creative Project shows how listening and interpreting modern song lyrics can be used as a tool to teach literary analysis. One of the main reasons students have difficulty with literary analysis is that they have trouble relating to the wording and style of the literature. By analyzing works more familiar to them (i.e. Kendrick Lamar, The Beatles, or Bob Dylan) the skills will be more easily transferable to analyzing traditional literature. The idea that songwriters can be comparable to famous poets has been picking up traction in recent years. In fact, in 2016, Bob Dylan, American singer and songwriter, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature breaking a trend of novels being awarded. This project's goal is to create a class unit for high school English students that teaches analytical skills for contemporary texts (i.e. modern song lyrics). In addition, a unit was created that used the analysis of contemporary lyrics in a middle school Social Studies course. This differentiation shows that development of literary analysis skills are applicable to subjects other than English Literature.
ContributorsCramer, Philip (Co-author) / Weinstein, Julian (Co-author) / Bjork, Robert (Thesis director) / Green, Randell (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
For my thesis, I chose to write a children’s book on financial education. The purpose of the book is to introduce financial terms such as savings, loans, and opportunity cost into a child’s life. The goal of the book is to inspire young individuals to start having open discussions about their finances and what these terms mean as well as how it applies to their daily lives.
The inspiration of the book came from my personal upbringing. I was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona, where I would see title loans businesses in every street corner. Many close family friends grew a dependency on these loans. As I grew older, I became aware of the long-term effects these businesses had on these families and I became inspired to make a change.
My book is meant to introduce simple financial terms into a child’s life with the hopes that they will begin to converse with family and friends about these terms. My book specifically incorporates the terms: loans, opportunity costs, savings, and affordability. These four topics were chosen through surveying a high school class by gathering information such as what they know, how much they know, and what they would like to learn more about. The intended audience would be students reading at a 3rd grade reading level. This grade level is ideal for my book based off information found on the Arizona Department of Education’s website. Final revisions were done with the help of my committee as well as through feedback received from children.
The book itself is 31 pages long with illustrations on every page. The illustrations consist of photographs and drawings. The drawings were purposely placed, roughly, and without color, on the photographs to symbolize the rough patches in life in yet a colorful world.
Proposition 1184 plays a major role in the future of my book. Proposition 1184 is
currently working its way through the Arizona legislature and would require all high school students to take a class on financial basics, replacing the current economics class requirement. I plan to continue working with Mesa Public Schools to get my book, or a similar project, incorporated into the Mesa Public Schools curriculum. I envision the book starting discussions related to financial topics which will in turn familiarize children with these terms’ definitions and begin the movement of financial education in Arizona.
The inspiration of the book came from my personal upbringing. I was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona, where I would see title loans businesses in every street corner. Many close family friends grew a dependency on these loans. As I grew older, I became aware of the long-term effects these businesses had on these families and I became inspired to make a change.
My book is meant to introduce simple financial terms into a child’s life with the hopes that they will begin to converse with family and friends about these terms. My book specifically incorporates the terms: loans, opportunity costs, savings, and affordability. These four topics were chosen through surveying a high school class by gathering information such as what they know, how much they know, and what they would like to learn more about. The intended audience would be students reading at a 3rd grade reading level. This grade level is ideal for my book based off information found on the Arizona Department of Education’s website. Final revisions were done with the help of my committee as well as through feedback received from children.
The book itself is 31 pages long with illustrations on every page. The illustrations consist of photographs and drawings. The drawings were purposely placed, roughly, and without color, on the photographs to symbolize the rough patches in life in yet a colorful world.
Proposition 1184 plays a major role in the future of my book. Proposition 1184 is
currently working its way through the Arizona legislature and would require all high school students to take a class on financial basics, replacing the current economics class requirement. I plan to continue working with Mesa Public Schools to get my book, or a similar project, incorporated into the Mesa Public Schools curriculum. I envision the book starting discussions related to financial topics which will in turn familiarize children with these terms’ definitions and begin the movement of financial education in Arizona.
ContributorsMorales, Irma Lucero (Author) / Desch, Tim (Thesis director) / Wolfe, Mindy (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Grade inflation in modern universities across the United States has been documented since the 1960's and shows no signs of disappearing soon. Responses to this trend have ranged from mild worry to excessive panic. However, is the concern justified? How significant are the effects, if any, of grade inflation on students? Specifically, does grade inflation on the aggregate level have any effect on how much an individual will learn from their courses? This is precisely the question my project hoped to address. Grade inflation in U.S. colleges has played a central role in student-teacher relationships and the way university classrooms run. Through teacher interviews, student surveys, and a literature review, this paper investigates the nuanced effects grade inflation is having on student motivation and learning. The hypothesis is that the easier it is for a student to obtain their desired grade, the less they will end up engaging in and learning from a given course. Major findings of the literature include: grade inflation has robbed grades of their signaling power, grade inflation has helped create students are too grade-oriented, student evaluations of teaching have prompted higher grades, higher expectations for high grades induce greater study times, and open dialogue can help reverse grade inflation trends. The student surveys and faculty interviews agreed with much of the literature and found that professors believe grade inflation is real but do not believe its effects are significant, students admit to being primarily motivated by grades, and students find grades critically important to their future. The paper concludes that grade inflation is not as detrimental to student outcomes as ardent critics argue and offers practical ways to address it.
ContributorsGregory, Austin Scott (Author) / Ruediger, Stefan (Thesis director) / Goegan, Brian (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
A working knowledge of mathematics is a vital requirement for introductory university physics courses. However, there is mounting evidence which shows that many incoming introductory physics students do not have the necessary mathematical ability to succeed in physics. The investigation reported in this thesis used preinstruction diagnostics and interviews to examine this problem in depth. It was found that in some cases, over 75% of students could not solve the most basic mathematics problems. We asked questions involving right triangles, vector addition, vector direction, systems of equations, and arithmetic, to give a few examples. The correct response rates were typically between 25% and 75%, which is worrying, because these problems are far simpler than the typical problem encountered in an introductory quantitative physics course. This thesis uncovered a few common problem solving strategies that were not particularly effective. When solving trigonometry problems, 13% of students wrote down the mnemonic "SOH CAH TOA," but a chi-squared test revealed that this was not a statistically significant factor in getting the correct answer, and was actually detrimental in certain situations. Also, about 50% of students used a tip-to-tail method to add vectors. But there is evidence to suggest that this method is not as effective as using components. There are also a number of problem solving strategies that successful students use to solve mathematics problems. Using the components of a vector increases student success when adding vectors and examining their direction. Preliminary evidence also suggests that repetitive trigonometry practice may be the best way to improve student performance on trigonometry problems. In addition, teaching students to use a wide variety of algebraic techniques like the distributive property may help them from getting stuck when working through problems. Finally, evidence suggests that checking work could eliminate up to a third of student errors.
ContributorsJones, Matthew Isaiah (Author) / Meltzer, David (Thesis director) / Peng, Xihong (Committee member) / Department of Physics (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This thesis investigates students' learning behaviors through their interaction with an educational technology, Web Programming Grading Assistant. The technology was developed to facilitate the grading of paper-based examinations in large lecture-based classrooms and to provide richer and more meaningful feedback to students. A classroom study was designed and data was gathered from an undergraduate computer-programming course in the fall of 2016. Analysis of the data revealed that there was a negative correlation between time lag of first review attempt and performance. A survey was developed and disseminated that gave insight into how students felt about the technology and what they normally do to study for programming exams. In conclusion, the knowledge gained in this study aids in the quest to better educate students in computer programming in large in-person classrooms.
ContributorsMurphy, Hannah (Author) / Hsiao, Ihan (Thesis director) / Nelson, Brian (Committee member) / School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05