Matching Items (50)
Description
This study investigates whether an experience as a novice can help alleviate expert blindness in Arizona State University faculty. Expert blindness, also known as the expert blind spot, is a phenomenon in which an expert in any subject finds it difficult to teach because they are so advanced at it. Many faculty have taught the same subject for so long that certain things that are difficult for beginners in their courses are trivial for the expert. In this experiment, ASU faculty were given five weeks of instruction to learn to solve the Rubik’s Cube in five minutes or less. Before and after the five-week experience, the participants took the Interpersonal Reactivity Index assessment, which measures empathy. Throughout the Rubik’s Cube challenge, the faculty were also asked discussion questions and invited to participate in informal interviews. The study finds a significant increase in the “empathic concern” of the participants after the experience, with a sample size of five participants. The qualitative interview data confirms the survey data, and the main sentiments of the professors after going through the experience were distilled into four main themes: (a) patience and reflection; (b) individualized approaches; (c) trying, failing, and improving; (d) knowing what and when to explain. An effective teacher who is aware of their tendency towards expert blindness should be aware of these four themes and strive to include them in their own teaching. The study recommends that universities and companies should have “beginner experiences” at regular intervals to remind experts what it is like to be a beginner again. These experiences not only mitigate the expert blind spot but promote lifelong learning and an active brain.
ContributorsLarson, Paul (Author) / Middleton, James (Thesis director) / Hines, Taylor (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2023-05
Description
This dissertation develops a heuristic—one I call the iterative narrative reflection framework—for rhetorically engaged, data-driven teacherly theory building using Kenneth Burke’s frames of acceptance and rejection. Teacher-scholars regularly develop curricula and lesson plans informed by theory and prior experience, but the daily practice of teaching and learning with students rarely plays out as expected. In many cases, institutional constraints and the unpredictable lives of students interact with teachers’ plans in surprising and sometimes confounding ways. Teachers typically make sense of such challenges by constructing post-hoc narratives about what happened and why, attributing motives and agencies to other participants in ways that suggest how to respond, move forward, and get back on track. Whether such narratives are part of a deliberate practice of reflection or an informal and largely unnoticed mental process, they are rarely thought of as constructed accounts and therefore as rhetorical acts that can be subjected to serious review, criticism, and revision. Yet these stories are shaped by familiar genre conventions that influence interpretations of events and motives in ways that may or may not serve well as teachers consider how best to respond to unfolding events. Using the iterative narrative reflection framework to guide my analysis of my own teacherly narratives through multiple layers of reflection and criticism, I demonstrate across the dissertation’s three cases how such deliberate, methodical analysis can reveal tacit assumptions and additional interpretive possibilities. Ultimately, such a process of iterative reflection enables the teacher-scholar to choose from among a wider range of available means of persuasion and pedagogical possibilities.
ContributorsRobinson, Rebecca Joanna (Author) / Long, Elenore (Thesis advisor) / Rose, Shirley K. (Thesis advisor) / Miller, Keith D. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The delivery of construction projects, particularly with respect to design phase or preconstruction efforts, has changed significantly over the past twenty years. As alternative delivery methods such as Construction-Manager-at-Risk (CMAR) and Design-Build models have become more prominent, general contractors, owners, and designers have had the opportunity to take advantage of the collaborative planning opportunities that exist during the preconstruction portion of the project. While much has been written regarding the benefits of more collaborative approaches and the utilization of various tools and practices during preconstruction to mitigate risk and maximize positive outcomes, what is lesser known is how to teach a coursework that exposes students to various tools and practices that are being utilized today. The objective of this research was to create a testable methodology that can be used to analyze a developed approach that answers the question of how to teach preconstruction tools and practices. A coursework was developed and taught as a graduate level class and data was collected from the actual teaching of that class. In addition, feedback was solicited from the construction industry concerning recommended content applicable to such a class. Data was then analyzed to ascertain student retention of the material and topical content of the course. Through these findings and literature review process the methodology and baseline coursework was shown as an effective means to teach preconstruction tools and practices.
ContributorsKutz, Barry Thomas (Author) / Sullivan, Kenneth T. (Thesis advisor) / Standage, Richard (Committee member) / Hurtado, Kristen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
This course will cover the history, ethics and impact of the fair trade movement for a variety of stakeholders in the Global South and Global North. We will be participating in various activities that will acquaint us with different topics, including globalization, the gender wage gap, environmental degradation and supply chain management. Guest speakers from the fair trade community will contribute their perspectives regarding the movement. Students will gain an understanding of the tradeoffs of the fair trade movement for the different actors throughout the length of the supply chain. Students will describe the purpose of the fair trade movement and who it seeks to serve. Students will explain what the Fair Trade certification entails for the actors who engage in the system. Students will debate the tradeoffs of the fair trade movement, incorporating the perspectives of multiple stakeholders from both the Global South and Global North. Finally, students will evaluate Fair Trade as a tool for sustainability both socially and economically.
ContributorsSimari, Daniella Jayne (Author) / Eakin, Hallie (Thesis director) / Walters, Molina (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Mindfulness, the practice of being aware of your present-moment experiences with an attitude of compassionate curiosity, has recently gained popularity in the academic world - this creative thesis project is intended to help others understand the importance of using mindfulness to improve one’s relationship with oneself and with others through effective communication. This project provides a course template that may be used to help students to implement the ideas from mindfulness into their own patterns of communication on all levels (intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, public, and mass communication). The lectures and course materials provided may act as an instructor’s manual to teach students to practice the facets of mindfulness outside of the classroom setting, and to reflect on their experiences; the lessons in this proposed course were specifically designed to help others learn effective communication practices through the use of empathy, acceptance, and awareness. When used in combination with regular mindful meditation sessions and course readings related to mindfulness, the concepts taught in this project allow others to learn the ideology behind mindfulness and how to benefit from its practice.
ContributorsSimpson, Faith (Author) / Guerrero, Laura (Thesis director) / Graham, Callie (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Low-level optimization is the process of handwriting key parts of applications in assembly code that is better than what can be generated from a higher-level language. In performance-intensive applications, this is key to ensuring efficient code. This is generally something that is taught in on the job training, but knowledge of it improves college student’s skill sets and makes them more desirable employees
I have created material for a course teaching this low-level optimization with assembly code. I specifically focus on the x86 architecture, as this is one of the most prolific computer architectures. The course contains a series of lecture videos, live coding videos, and structured programming assignments to support the learning objectives. This material is presented in an entirely autonomous way, which serves as remote learning material and can be easily added as supplemental material to an existing course.
ContributorsAbraham, Jacob (Author) / Meuth, Ryan (Thesis director) / Nakamura, Mutsumi (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2022-05
High school students' perceptions of teaching and their intention to choose teaching as a profession
Description
This study was conducted to (a) explore high achieving high school students' perceptions of the teaching profession, (b) examine the influence of these perceptions on intentions to teach, and (c) test a recruitment suite of tools to determine the effectiveness of recruitment messaging and strategies. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) served as the theoretical framework for this study. Using the TPB allowed examination of students' behavioral, normative, and control beliefs as well as their attitudes, subjective norms, and efficacy and how those components affected intentions to teach. Participants included high school seniors in the top 20% of their class. A mixed methods approach was employed to identify how the characteristics that students value when considering a profession were aligned with those they believed to be true about the teaching profession. Additionally mixing methods allowed for a more thorough exploration of the matter and an in-depth depiction of perceptions and intentions to teach. Results from a confirmatory path analysis showed students' perceived behavioral control, a measure of efficacy, and attitudes toward teaching were predictive of intention to teach and accounted for 25% of the variation in intention to teach scores. A series of exploratory structural equation models was developed to examine additional paths that might be useful in understanding students' intention to teach. Three additional, important paths were found among TPB variables that accounted for an additional 14% of the variation in intention scores. Additionally, these paths had implications for recruitment practice. Five themes emerged from the qualitative data--status, societal importance, influences of important others, teaching as a backup option, and barriers. The discussion focused on implications for recruitment practice and research, limitations, and conclusions. The following conclusions were drawn: (a) students must be provided with knowledge about the teaching profession to overcome stereotypical beliefs, (b) recruitment must begin much earlier, (c) parents must be better informed about teaching, (d) use of a longer recruitment process with multiple touch points must be used to inform and inspire students, and (e) students must be provided with practice teaching opportunities and systematic observational opportunities, which can foster increased efficacy for teaching.
ContributorsCruz, Crystal (Author) / Buss, Ray R (Thesis advisor) / Barnett, Joshua (Committee member) / Bentz, Matthew (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Online education has become increasingly popular in graduate nursing education. Establishing a strong sense of teaching presence in online courses requires planning and effort on the part of the instructor. The purpose of this project was to develop an evidence-based online asynchronous educational module to enhance nurse educators’ teaching presence behaviors in online courses. Teaching presence survey tools were developed and pilot tested to evaluate instructors’ self-reported teaching presence behaviors over time, as well as their intent and actual follow-through in performing teaching presence behaviors. Despite statistically significant higher levels of participants’ intent to perform teaching presence behaviors following the educational module, there was no significant change in the frequency of teaching presence behaviors reported by participants 8 weeks after completion of the module. Overall, the self-reported scores for each of the teaching presence behaviors on the surveys was high, offering little perceived room for improvement in this group of experienced instructors.
ContributorsMiller, Connie Sue (Author)
Created2016-04-06
Description
Background: Only 40%-80% of health information is retained during an office visit due to ineffective communication. Caregivers, and patients, are unable to remember how to manage their health care needs. Teach back is an effective tool that encourages a conversation between the caregiver/patient and provider. The purpose of this project is to increase knowledge retention and self-management behaviors using a headache teach back tool.
Methods: The quality department at a large children’s hospital in the southwestern United States approved the project as a practice change and parent consent was not required. The project design was a randomized controlled group: pretest-posttest design, quality improvement method. Participants were chosen by convenience sample. Required diagnoses were headache or migraine. Each group had 18 participants, for a total of 36 participants. Ages ranged from four to 18 years of age, with legal guardians present for the intervention group only. New and follow-up patients were included in the project. Demographics for each group were statistically similar. Questionnaires were used to assess knowledge pre and post implementation of teach back tool. Self-management was measured by a follow-up phone call after their appointment to inquire regarding implementation of the headache diary. Charts were reviewed for both groups regarding the number and type of phone calls received by the office.
Outcomes: Paired sample t-test was used to evaluate mean differences in knowledge from pre and post questions of teach back tool. Data analysis concluded a statistical increase in knowledge of triggers and prevention techniques. Cohen’s d for triggers was 2.21 and 1.87 for prevention. Self-management of behavior was measured by use of headache diary and determined by a percentage. Sixty-seven individuals started to use the headache diary. Independent t-test was used to compare number of phone calls from each group. Data concluded a decrease in phone calls. However, due to a small sample size, statistical significance could not be established.
Conclusion: Teach back encourages caregiver/patient and provider interaction, which increases health literacy retention and increases self-management behaviors. Future research should focus on patients with headaches with unknown triggers for their headaches.
Methods: The quality department at a large children’s hospital in the southwestern United States approved the project as a practice change and parent consent was not required. The project design was a randomized controlled group: pretest-posttest design, quality improvement method. Participants were chosen by convenience sample. Required diagnoses were headache or migraine. Each group had 18 participants, for a total of 36 participants. Ages ranged from four to 18 years of age, with legal guardians present for the intervention group only. New and follow-up patients were included in the project. Demographics for each group were statistically similar. Questionnaires were used to assess knowledge pre and post implementation of teach back tool. Self-management was measured by a follow-up phone call after their appointment to inquire regarding implementation of the headache diary. Charts were reviewed for both groups regarding the number and type of phone calls received by the office.
Outcomes: Paired sample t-test was used to evaluate mean differences in knowledge from pre and post questions of teach back tool. Data analysis concluded a statistical increase in knowledge of triggers and prevention techniques. Cohen’s d for triggers was 2.21 and 1.87 for prevention. Self-management of behavior was measured by use of headache diary and determined by a percentage. Sixty-seven individuals started to use the headache diary. Independent t-test was used to compare number of phone calls from each group. Data concluded a decrease in phone calls. However, due to a small sample size, statistical significance could not be established.
Conclusion: Teach back encourages caregiver/patient and provider interaction, which increases health literacy retention and increases self-management behaviors. Future research should focus on patients with headaches with unknown triggers for their headaches.
ContributorsTwo, Melissa A. (Author) / Sebbens,, Danielle (Thesis advisor)
Created2019-05-01
Description
In modern America, as well as the world, violence and extremist ideologies are taking an increasingly central role in affairs. Students are struggling to learn and lack basic analytical skills. In the age of social media, the values of examining literature, critical thinking, and contextual understanding are disappearing. Yet these skills nevertheless remain necessary for life. In taking on civic duties as adults, students must be able to understand and engage with the increasingly complex and dangerous world they live in, particularly one where the threat of terror haunts everyday life. It is thus important for young adults to be exposed to violent or otherwise disagreeable material. Extremism is a reality of today’s society, and younger generations must be prepared to process and respond to it. Critical thinking skills, which are often insufficiently developed, are crucial to this.
The goals of this project are to provide a mature, appropriate, and thoughtful approach to violent or radical ideologies, allowing students to hone critical analysis skills and understand how to respond to a world where extremism is becoming increasingly prevalent. This thesis provides an introduction to the idea of terror and extremism, its history, and its impact on American culture and curriculum. This sets the stage for a discussion on critical thinking, emphasizing the importance of such a skill and how it can best be taught. In light of this, it is important for controversial or mature materials to be read in class, as they not only help students understand what goes on in the world but also provide opportunities for students to develop strong critical thinking skills in a safe and encouraging environment.
ContributorsNicholls, Meredith (Author) / Gruber, Diane (Thesis director) / Carlson, John (Committee member) / Haner, Murat (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05