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Description
Social-emotional learning (SEL) methods are beginning to receive global attention in primary school education, yet the dominant emphasis on implementing these curricula is in high-income, urbanized areas. Consequently, the unique features of developing and integrating such methods in middle- or low-income rural areas are unclear. Past studies suggest that students

Social-emotional learning (SEL) methods are beginning to receive global attention in primary school education, yet the dominant emphasis on implementing these curricula is in high-income, urbanized areas. Consequently, the unique features of developing and integrating such methods in middle- or low-income rural areas are unclear. Past studies suggest that students exposed to SEL programs show an increase in academic performance, improved ability to cope with stress, and better attitudes about themselves, others, and school, but these curricula are designed with an urban focus. The purpose of this study was to conduct a needs-based analysis to investigate components specific to a SEL curriculum contextualized to rural primary schools. A promising organization committed to rural educational development is Barefoot College, located in Tilonia, Rajasthan, India. In partnership with Barefoot, we designed an ethnographic study to identify and describe what teachers and school leaders consider the highest needs related to their students' social and emotional education. To do so, we interviewed 14 teachers and school leaders individually or in a focus group to explore their present understanding of “social-emotional learning” and the perception of their students’ social and emotional intelligence. Analysis of this data uncovered common themes among classroom behaviors and prevalent opportunities to address social and emotional well-being among students. These themes translated into the three overarching topics and eight sub-topics explored throughout the curriculum, and these opportunities guided the creation of the 21 modules within it. Through a design-based research methodology, we developed a 40-hour curriculum by implementing its various modules within seven Barefoot classrooms alongside continuous reiteration based on teacher feedback and participant observation. Through this process, we found that student engagement increased during contextualized SEL lessons as opposed to traditional methods. In addition, we found that teachers and students preferred and performed better with an activities-based approach. These findings suggest that rural educators must employ particular teaching strategies when addressing SEL, including localized content and an experiential-learning approach. Teachers reported that as their approach to SEL shifted, they began to unlock the potential to build self-aware, globally-minded students. This study concludes that social and emotional education cannot be treated in a generalized manner, as curriculum development is central to the teaching-learning process.
ContributorsBucker, Delaney Sue (Author) / Carrese, Susan (Thesis director) / Barab, Sasha (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Civic & Economic Thought and Leadership (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Description
Lie detection is used prominently in contemporary society for many purposes such as for pre-employment screenings, granting security clearances, and determining if criminals or potential subjects may or may not be lying, but by no means is not limited to that scope. However, lie detection has been criticized for being

Lie detection is used prominently in contemporary society for many purposes such as for pre-employment screenings, granting security clearances, and determining if criminals or potential subjects may or may not be lying, but by no means is not limited to that scope. However, lie detection has been criticized for being subjective, unreliable, inaccurate, and susceptible to deliberate manipulation. Furthermore, critics also believe that the administrator of the test also influences the outcome as well. As a result, the polygraph machine, the contemporary device used for lie detection, has come under scrutiny when used as evidence in the courts. The purpose of this study is to use three entirely different tools and concepts to determine whether eye tracking systems, electroencephalogram (EEG), and Facial Expression Emotion Analysis (FACET) are reliable tools for lie detection. This study found that certain constructs such as where the left eye is looking at in regard to its usual position and engagement levels in eye tracking and EEG respectively could distinguish between truths and lies. However, the FACET proved the most reliable tool out of the three by providing not just one distinguishing variable but seven, all related to emotions derived from movements in the facial muscles during the present study. The emotions associated with the FACET that were documented to possess the ability to distinguish between truthful and lying responses were joy, anger, fear, confusion, and frustration. In addition, an overall measure of the subject's neutral and positive emotional expression were found to be distinctive factors. The implications of this study and future directions are discussed.
ContributorsSeto, Raymond Hua (Author) / Atkinson, Robert (Thesis director) / Runger, George (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
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Description
It is unknown which regions of the brain are most or least active for golfers during a peak performance state (Flow State or "The Zone") on the putting green. To address this issue, electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings were taken on 10 elite golfers while they performed a putting drill consisting of

It is unknown which regions of the brain are most or least active for golfers during a peak performance state (Flow State or "The Zone") on the putting green. To address this issue, electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings were taken on 10 elite golfers while they performed a putting drill consisting of hitting nine putts spaced uniformly around a hole each five feet away. Data was collected at three time periods, before, during and after the putt. Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) measurements were also recorded on each subject. Three of the subjects performed a visualization of the same putting drill and their brain waves and GSR were recorded and then compared with their actual performance of the drill. EEG data in the Theta (4 \u2014 7 Hz) bandwidth and Alpha (7 \u2014 13 Hz) bandwidth in 11 different locations across the head were analyzed. Relative power spectrum was used to quantify the data. From the results, it was found that there is a higher magnitude of power in both the theta and alpha bandwidths for a missed putt in comparison to a made putt (p<0.05). It was also found that there is a higher average power in the right hemisphere for made putts. There was not a higher power in the occipital region of the brain nor was there a lower power level in the frontal cortical region during made putts. The hypothesis that there would be a difference between the means of the power level in performance compared to visualization techniques was also supported.
ContributorsCarpenter, Andrea (Co-author) / Hool, Nicholas (Co-author) / Muthuswamy, Jitendran (Thesis director) / Crews, Debbie (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Description
In this paper, it is determined that learning retention decreases with age and there is a linear rate of decrease. In this study, four male Long-Evans Rats were used. The rats were each trained in 4 different tasks throughout their lifetime, using a food reward as motivation to work. Rats

In this paper, it is determined that learning retention decreases with age and there is a linear rate of decrease. In this study, four male Long-Evans Rats were used. The rats were each trained in 4 different tasks throughout their lifetime, using a food reward as motivation to work. Rats were said to have learned a task at the age when they received the highest accuracy during a task. A regression of learning retention was created for the set of studied rats: Learning Retention = 112.9 \u2014 0.085919 x (Age at End of Task), indicating that learning retention decreases at a linear rate, although rats have different rates of decrease of learning retention. The presence of behavioral training was determined not to have a positive impact on this rate. In behavioral studies, there were statistically significant differences between timid/outgoing and large ball ability between W12 and Z12. Rat W12 had overall better learning retention and also was more compliant, did not resist being picked up and traveled more frequently at high speeds (in the large ball) than Z12. Further potential studies include implanting an electrode into the frontal cortex in order to compare neuro feedback with learning retention, and using human subjects to find the rate of decrease in learning retention. The implication of this study, if also true for human subjects, is that older persons may need enhanced training or additional refresher training in order to retain information that is learned at a later age.
ContributorsSpinrad, Amelia (Author) / Si, Jennie (Thesis director) / Thompson, Patrick (Committee member) / Ma, Weichao (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Description
Communication amongst eusocial insect is key to their success. Ants rely on signaling to mediate many different functions within a colony such as policing and nest mate recognition. Camponotus floridanus uses chemosensory signaling in the form of cuticular hydrocarbons to regulate these functions. Each cuticular hydrocarbon profile contains numerous hydrocarbons,

Communication amongst eusocial insect is key to their success. Ants rely on signaling to mediate many different functions within a colony such as policing and nest mate recognition. Camponotus floridanus uses chemosensory signaling in the form of cuticular hydrocarbons to regulate these functions. Each cuticular hydrocarbon profile contains numerous hydrocarbons, however it is yet to be seen if Camponotus floridanus can discriminate between linear hydrocarbons of similar length. Individual specimens were conditioned in three different ways: 5 conditioning with high concentration of sugar water (1;1 ratio), 1 conditioning with high concentration of sugar water, and 5 conditioning with low concentration of sugar water (1;4). Two linear hydrocarbons were use, C23 and C24, with C23 always being the conditioned stimulus. Specimens who were conditioned 5 times with high concentration of sugar water were the only group to show a significant response to the conditioned stimulus with a p-value of .008 and exhibited discrimination behavior 46% of the time. When compared 5 conditioning with high concentration to the other two testing conditioning groups, 1 conditioning with high concentration produced an insignificant p-value of .13 was obtained whereas when comparing it with 5 conditioning low concentration of sugar a significant p-value of .0132 was obtained. This indiciates that Camponotus floridanus are capable of discrimination however must be conditioned with high concentration of sugar water, while number of conditioning is insignificant.
ContributorsDamari, Ben Aviv (Author) / Liebig, Juergen (Thesis director) / Ghaninia, Majid (Committee member) / Pratt, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Description
The flipped classroom is a teaching method that flips the activities done in and out of class, i.e., concepts are learned out of class and problems are worked in class under the supervision of the instructor. Studies have indicated several benefits of the FC, including improved performance and engagement. In

The flipped classroom is a teaching method that flips the activities done in and out of class, i.e., concepts are learned out of class and problems are worked in class under the supervision of the instructor. Studies have indicated several benefits of the FC, including improved performance and engagement. In the past years, further studies have investigated the benefits of FC in statics, dynamics, and mechanics of materials courses and indicate similar performance benefits. However, these studies address a need for additional studies to validate their results due to the short length of their research or small classroom size. In addition, many of these studies do not measure student attitudes, such as self-efficacy, or the difference in time spent out of class on coursework. The objective of this research is to determine the effectiveness of the flipped classroom system (FC) in comparison to the traditional classroom system (TC) in a large mechanics of materials course. Specifically, it aims to measure student performance, student self-efficacy, student attitudes on lecture quality, motivation, attendance, hours spent out of class, practice, and support, and difference in impact between high, middle, and low achieving students. In order to accomplish this, three undergraduate mechanics of materials courses were analyzed during the spring 2015 semester. One FC section served as the experimental group (92 students), while the two TC sections served as the control group (125 students). To analyze student self-efficacy and attitudes, a survey instrument was designed to measure 18 variables and was administered at the end of the semester. Standardized core outcomes were compared between groups to analyze performance. This paper presents the specific course framework used in this FC, detailed results of the quantitative and qualitative analysis, and discussion of strengths and weaknesses. Overall, an overwhelming majority of students were satisfied with FC and would like more of their classes taught using FC. Strengths of this teaching method include greater confidence, better focus, higher satisfaction with practice in class and assistance received from instructors and peers, more freedom to express ideas and questions in class, and less time required outside of class for coursework. Results also suggest that this method has a greater positive impact on high and low achieving students and leads to higher performance. The criticisms made by students focused on lecture videos to have more worked examples. Overall, results suggest that FC is more effective than TC in a large mechanics of materials course.
ContributorsLee, Andrew Ryan (Author) / Zhu, Haolin (Thesis director) / Middleton, James (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Description
The purpose of this study was to develop proposal lesson plans for 4th-6th graders based on active learning to integrate movement physical activity into the curriculum. The 4th-6th graders were chosen, as this is the age where teaching typically transitions from active learning to sedentary/lecture style teaching. Research compiled indicated

The purpose of this study was to develop proposal lesson plans for 4th-6th graders based on active learning to integrate movement physical activity into the curriculum. The 4th-6th graders were chosen, as this is the age where teaching typically transitions from active learning to sedentary/lecture style teaching. Research compiled indicated positive effects of active based learning on children such as increased attention span, retention, and general focus. A survey was created to not only assess the perception of active versus didactic learners, but to also assess the effects of movement-based learning on the variables that research claimed to change. The lesson plans developed here should be transferable to a classroom lesson to evaluate the hypothesized results.
ContributorsTanna, Nimisha (Author) / Hyatt, JP (Thesis director) / Ainsworth, Barbara (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Description
The influence that agent-student interaction has on learning can have significant outcomes in an ITS. Agent-human relationships within ITSs possess elements modeled by teacher-student relationships in the classroom. As a result, student perceptions of pedagogical agents can affect learning outcomes. An efficient environment can depend upon the intention for which

The influence that agent-student interaction has on learning can have significant outcomes in an ITS. Agent-human relationships within ITSs possess elements modeled by teacher-student relationships in the classroom. As a result, student perceptions of pedagogical agents can affect learning outcomes. An efficient environment can depend upon the intention for which the virtual agent is designed. As researchers gain more knowledge on the effect that characteristics outside of language have on learning, agent pedagogies can begin to be developed and perfected. In this research, we investigate the role that the pedagogical agent's gender has in the learning process. Specifically, we examine whether gender of agent interacts with gender of student to influence variables related to affect and motivation in ITSs
ContributorsStone, Melissa Linn (Author) / McNamara, Danielle (Thesis director) / Snow, Erica (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Description
A previous study demonstrated that learning to lift an object is context-based and that in the presence of both the memory and visual cues, the acquired sensorimotor memory to manipulate an object in one context interferes with the performance of the same task in presence of visual information about a

A previous study demonstrated that learning to lift an object is context-based and that in the presence of both the memory and visual cues, the acquired sensorimotor memory to manipulate an object in one context interferes with the performance of the same task in presence of visual information about a different context (Fu et al, 2012).
The purpose of this study is to know whether the primary motor cortex (M1) plays a role in the sensorimotor memory. It was hypothesized that temporary disruption of the M1 following the learning to minimize a tilt using a ‘L’ shaped object would negatively affect the retention of sensorimotor memory and thus reduce interference between the memory acquired in one context and the visual cues to perform the same task in a different context.
Significant findings were shown in blocks 1, 2, and 4. In block 3, subjects displayed insignificant amount of learning. However, it cannot be concluded that there is full interference in block 3. Therefore, looked into 3 effects in statistical analysis: the main effects of the blocks, the main effects of the trials, and the effects of the blocks and trials combined. From the block effects, there is a p-value of 0.001, and from the trial effects, the p-value is less than 0.001. Both of these effects indicate that there is learning occurring. However, when looking at the blocks * trials effects, we see a p-value of 0.002 < 0.05 indicating significant interaction between sensorimotor memories. Based on the results that were found, there is a presence of interference in all the blocks but not enough to justify the use of TMS in order to reduce interference because there is a partial reduction of interference from the control experiment. It is evident that the time delay might be the issue between context switches. By reducing the time delay between block 2 and 3 from 10 minutes to 5 minutes, I will hope to see significant learning to occur from the first trial to the second trial.
ContributorsHasan, Salman Bashir (Author) / Santello, Marco (Thesis director) / Kleim, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Description
Despite the advancement of online tools for activities related to the core experience of taking classes on a college campus, there has been a relatively small amount of research into implementing online tools for ancillary academic resources (e.g. tutoring centers, review sessions, etc.). Previous work and a study conducted for

Despite the advancement of online tools for activities related to the core experience of taking classes on a college campus, there has been a relatively small amount of research into implementing online tools for ancillary academic resources (e.g. tutoring centers, review sessions, etc.). Previous work and a study conducted for this paper indicates that there is value in creating these online tools but that there is value in maintaining an in-person component to these services. Based on this, a system which provides personalized, easily-accessible, simple access to these services is proposed. Designs for user-centered online-tools that provides access to and interaction with tutoring centers and review sessions are described and prototypes are developed to demonstrate the application of design principles for online tools for academic services.
ContributorsBerk, Nicholas Robert (Author) / Balasooriya, Janaka (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Walker, Erin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-12