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- All Subjects: Education
- Creators: Arizona State University
Description
Masters Entry into Professional Nursing (MEPN) students are entry level students in an accelerated nursing curriculum with a minimum requirement of a Bachelor’s degree in a non-nursing discipline. This qualitative descriptive study sought to explore the experiences of MEPN students during the program using the conceptual framework of Schon’s reflection-in-action and an associated lens of interprofessional education and practice. Nine participants were recruited using maximum variation sampling. Participants were all female, over the age of 21, all recent graduates of a MEPN program, with previous baccalaureate degrees in the sciences and humanities. Data were analyzed using directed content analysis. Participants identified five steps in the MEPN journey: (1) Choosing to Pursue Nursing, (2) Coming into MEPN, (3) Bridging Disciplines to Become a Nurse, (4) Reflecting on the Journey, and (5) Being a Nurse. They identified facilitators and barriers they encountered navigating the program and described the knowledge they brought from their prior discipline and provided examples of how they applied it in nursing practice during the MEPN program.
The findings have significant implications for nursing practice and nursing education. The essential elements of Schon’s framework for effective problem solving were evident and necessary for building knowledge in practice. Participants recognized the need to think differently when solving professional practice problems consistent with the process of reflection-in-action. They acknowledged benefits and challenges of working with peers in interprofessional education and practice.
Faculty can more purposefully use what students bring from other disciplines to support interprofessional relationships and reflection-in-action in clinical practice.
ContributorsMueller, Judith Marie (Author) / Lamb, Gerri (Thesis advisor) / Evans, Bronwynne (Committee member) / Krahe Billings, Eve (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
The Sonoran Desert is a magical place full of beauty and wonder. With an increase each year in the number of new families calling Arizona their home, so also comes an increase in pre-conceived notions of the dangers of the Sonoran Desert. Dangers such as plants, animals, and weather conditions can cause fears in families. Though these fears are valid, understanding different ways to stay safe and engage with nature in the Sonoran Desert is critical to building future generations of adults that value the natural world. Current literature does not address the Sonoran Desert and Arizona as a space to engage in nature play. The current action research study builds on the literature to offer new perspectives on nature play in the Sonoran Desert. A mixed-methods approach was used to assess caregivers' perception of safety, risk, and benefits of nature play in the Sonoran Desert. The intervention utilized the social media platform, Instagram, to administer the intervention content. Results from this study suggest that even though participants were already engaged in nature play, their perceptions of risk, safety, and benefits of nature play in the Sonoran Desert changed positively or were reinforced. The analysis expands the current literature on risk, safety, and benefits of nature play.
ContributorsBello, John (Author) / Rotheram-Fuller, Erin (Thesis advisor) / Zuiker, Steven (Committee member) / Stone, Sarah (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
There exists extensive research on the use of twisty puzzles, such as the Rubik's Cube, in educational contexts to assist in developing critical thinking skills and in teaching abstract concepts, such as group theory. However, the existing research does not consider the use of twisty puzzles in developing language proficiency. Furthermore, there remain methodological issues in integrating standard twisty puzzles into a class curriculum due to the ease with which erroneous cube twists occur, leading to a puzzle scramble that deviates from the intended teaching goal. To address these issues, an extensive examination of the "smart cube" market took place in order to determine whether a device that virtualizes twisty puzzles while maintaining the intuitive tactility of manipulating such puzzles can be employed both to fill the language education void and to mitigate the potential frustration experienced by students who unintentionally scramble a puzzle due to executing the wrong moves. This examination revealed the presence of Bluetooth smart cubes, which are capable of interfacing with a companion web or mobile application that visualizes and reacts to puzzle manipulations. This examination also revealed the presence of a device called the WOWCube, which is a 2x2x2 smart cube entertainment system that has 24 Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screens, one for each face's square, enabling better integration of the application with the puzzle hardware. Developing applications both for the Bluetooth smart cube using React Native and for the WOWCube demonstrated the higher feasibility of developing with the WOWCube due to its streamlined development kit as well as its ability to tie the application to the device hardware, enhancing the tactile immersion of the players with the application itself. Using the WOWCube, a word puzzle game featuring three game modes was implemented to assist in teaching players English vocabulary. Due to its incorporation of features that enable dynamic puzzle generation and resetting, players who participated in a user survey found that the game was compelling and that it exercised their critical thinking skills. This demonstrates the feasibility of smart cube applications in both critical thinking and language skills.
ContributorsHreshchyshyn, Jacob (Author) / Bansal, Ajay (Thesis advisor) / Mehlhase, Alexandra (Committee member) / Baron, Tyler (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
This qualitative case study conducted in a higher education institution in Guyana aimed to address a need for more transformative approaches to professional learning and development given that accelerated transformation of the education system is required to meet the fast-paced national economic development. Through the lens of the Transformative Paradigm, Critical Pedagogy, and Transformative Learning Theory, this study explored four educators’ perceptions of Principled Innovation Educators (PIE) workshops and their influence on educators’ ability to (a) identify, (b) redefine problems in their educational practice, and (c) generate new ideas for problem-solving in their practice. Principled Innovation was used as a guiding framework for the workshops that were embedded in a research proposal course at the University of Guyana, a key provider of professional development for educators. In the four online PIE workshops, participants engaged with Principled Innovation. They used the generative and reflective questions on the Generative and Reflective Question Card Deck to work collaboratively, self-reflect, and make decisions related to identifying problems and generating ideas to address these problems during the problem identification stage of their research proposals. Triangulated data analysis from five data sets (pre-intervention focus group, field notes, journals, post-intervention individual interview, and final reports) indicated that participants’ perceptions aligned with mine as the researcher and facilitator in revealing that the PIE workshops were successful in creating an empowering professional learning environment that supported transformative learning for the study participants. Implications for practice and recommendations are discussed.
ContributorsRose, Pamela Vanessa (Author) / Wylie, Ruth RW (Thesis advisor) / Basile, Carole CGB (Thesis advisor) / Gibbs, Norman NPG (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Becoming a researcher not only involves the acts of contributing to the body of knowledge in a field, but it also involves constructing the image or identity of a researcher. Doctoral students who aim for positions within academia upon graduation see doctoral education as a phase where they develop their research skills and prepare for publication. An existing body of literature in the field of writing has explored the publishing practices of graduate students, with extensive attention given to the role of external factors such as the adviser/advisee relationships, resource access, issues of authority, and so on. However, less attention has been given to exploring the role of internal motivators or intrinsic factors in graduate writing and how it relates to research work and research productivity. Conducting semi-structured interviews with four doctoral students who have published research articles in peer-reviewed journals, this study explores the process through which doctoral students develop a researcher identity, the challenges they face, and the role of the doctorate program in developing a researcher identity. Using a narrative approach and by first-person accounts of experiences told in the story form, the process of identity formation is elicited through individual stories focusing on the narrated experiences, thoughts, and actions. The findings of this study showed that validation and recognition are crucial factors in helping doctoral students see themselves as researchers and persevere through the challenges faced in publishing. All participants in this study recognized collaboration opportunities as experiences that helped them become a researcher. In working with others, they felt like they had a valuable voice and insight, creating a positive attitude toward their work by realizing that their work is meaningful. The most significant challenge discussed by all participants was receiving negative comments or criticisms that inhibited their motivation. Having a better understanding of the experiences, perspectives, and challenges of doctoral students in identity development brings attention to points of conflict and how these conflicts can be resolved or mediated for doctoral students. It offers insights into doctoral students' training and advising by illustrating how research productivity can be enhanced at the doctoral level.
ContributorsNouri, Melika (Author) / Matsuda, Paul (Thesis advisor) / Hannah, Mark (Committee member) / Prior, Matthew (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Children and youth in foster care experience poor K-12 educational outcomes compared to their peers without foster care histories. Child welfare and school professionals hold shared responsibility for ensuring their educational well-being based on federal policies and role expectations. However, professionals often experience challenges in effectively collaborating with one another to support the educational of children and youth in foster care. Guided by ecological systems and critical theory, this mixed methods explanatory sequential design explored the facilitators and barriers that child welfare professionals, school professionals, and professional caregivers viewed as promoting and hindering effective interprofessional collaboration between child welfare and school professionals. The quantitative phase involved the analysis of surveys (N = 136) collected from child welfare professionals, school professionals, and professional caregivers in an urban county in the Southwest. In the qualitative phase, interviews and focus groups were conducted with a subsample of survey participants (N = 22). Facilitators of interprofessional collaboration included: centering the best interests of the child, opportunities and capacity to meaningfully engage, effective communication, positive and trusting relationships, being knowledgeable about the child, policies, roles, and systems, and empathy towards other professionals. Barriers of interprofessional collaboration included: competing priorities or agendas, unmanageable workloads and limited time, little to no timely communication, weak ties and mistrust, limited knowledge about the child, policies, roles, and systems, and biases towards professional caregivers and other professionals. The overall findings have multiple implications for social work practice, policy, research, and education to enhance collaboration between professionals to better serve children and youth in foster care.
ContributorsVillagrana, Kalah M. (Author) / Lietz, Cynthia A (Thesis advisor) / Lechuga-Peña, Stephanie (Committee member) / Wu, Qi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
This study was an action research study that explored teacher’s beliefs about student engagement and their role in student engagement through the development of a professional development innovation, the Transforming Student Engagement Professional Development program. This professional development program innovation was designed to lead participants through the stages of transformative learning theory and used the community of inquiry framework as the lens through which to explore student engagement strategies. A mixed-methods action research design was used to explore how participants transformed their feelings, beliefs, and assumptions around their online student engagement practices as they designed their online classroom as a community of inquiry. Pre/post Teacher Self Efficacy and Community of Inquiry surveys were used as well as a Learning Activities Survey and Interview. Study documents included calendars of training and agendas, participant journals, and my research memos.
Participation in the Transforming Student Engagement Professional Development program resulted in significant changes in the participants’ beliefs about student engagement, what their role in student engagement is, and their understanding and use of the Community of Inquiry framework as a lens through which to implement student engagement strategies.
ContributorsBrooks, Christopher (Author) / Marsh, Josephine P (Thesis advisor) / Graves Wolf, Leigh (Committee member) / Zellner, Andrea (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
As computers and the Internet have become integral to daily life, the potential gains from exploiting these resources have increased significantly. The global landscape is now rife with highly skilled wrongdoers seeking to steal from and disrupt society. In order to safeguard society and its infrastructure, a comprehensive approach to research is essential. This work aims to enhance security from three unique viewpoints by expanding the resources available to educators, users, and analysts. For educators, a capture the flag as-a-service was developed to support cybersecurity education. This service minimizes the skill and time needed to establish the infrastructure for hands-on hacking experiences for cybersecurity students. For users, a tool called CloakX was created to improve online anonymity. CloakX prevents the identification of browser extensions by employing both static and dynamic rewriting techniques, thwarting contemporary methods of detecting installed extensions and thus protecting user identity. Lastly, for cybersecurity analysts, a tool named Witcher was developed to automate the process of crawling and exercising web applications while identifying web injection vulnerabilities. Overall, these contributions serve to strengthen security education, bolster privacy protection for users, and facilitate vulnerability discovery for cybersecurity analysts.
ContributorsTrickel, Erik (Author) / Doupe, Adam (Thesis advisor) / Shoshitaishvili, Yan (Thesis advisor) / Bao, Tiffany (Committee member) / Wang, Ruoyu (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
This dissertation study investigated how Somali refugee families living in Nairobi, Kenya experience and negotiate their religious and secular identities through literacies. This study provided detailed experiences and reflections of individuals––children and parents about their literacies. The children in this study learned to read in English and Kiswahili in school, and they learned to read in classical Arabic—three languages they do not speak at home. The study explored Qur’anic schools which literacy researchers have long overlooked, yet these are spaces that shape many children’s rich multilingual, multiliterate, and multiscriptual repertoires while, at the same time, shaping and negotiating their fluid identities. Three themes, literacy as social practice, liturgical literacy, and funds of knowledge offered a complimentary lens through which this community was studied. Literacy, as a social practice, demonstrates how certain social groups use specific socially constructed literacies within specific contexts to achieve various goals. The concept of liturgical literacy foregrounds how minority languages, such as Classical Arabic, have great symbolic value for communities, including those who neither speak nor understand the language, while funds of knowledge conceptualize the knowledge and related activities present in homes that have the potential for contributing positively to children’s learning. Using the ethnographic methodology, this inquiry spanned six sites and focused on participants during their interactions with literacy, orality, and text for eight months. The study occurred in three homes, two Dugsis, and one school site. A rich description of the community was achieved by presenting language and literacy practices in a multi-sited ethnography. This dissertation ultimately also offers contemporary relevance: investigating a community whose literacies are invisible, minoritized, and marginalized, and aimed to inform educational researchers, policymakers, and teachers who are devoted to rethinking what counts as literacy, for whom, in what contexts, and with what kinds of consequences. In a time of increased movement of people across borders, this research has important implications for teacher preparation, theories of language learning, and literacy education.
ContributorsMohamed, Saida Hussein (Author) / Bernstein, Katie (Thesis advisor) / Warriner, Doris (Thesis advisor) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Expedited by the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the expanding portfolio of Arizona State University's online degree programs, this study undertakes the task of enriching the “Experimental Mechanical Engineering” course within ASU's online Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering curriculum. This thesis outlines the development of simulations accurately mirroring the characteristics and functionalities of water pump laboratory experiments, which previously necessitated on-site, group-based participation. The goal is for these simulations to serve as digital twins of the original equipment, allowing students to examine fundamental mechanical principles like the Bernoulli equation and Affinity Laws in a virtual, yet realistic setting. Furthermore, the simulations are designed to accommodate uncertainty calculations, replicating the instrument error (i.e., bias and precision uncertainty) inherent in the original water pump units. The methodology of this simulation design predominantly involves the use of MATLAB SimScape, chosen for its configurability and simplicity, with modifications made to match the original experiment data. Then, subsequent analysis of results between the simulation and experiment is conducted to facilitate the validation process. After executing the full laboratory procedure using the simulations, they displayed rapid operation and produced results that remained within boundaries of experimental uncertainty, it also faces several challenges, such as the inability to simulate the pump cavitation effect and the lack of animation. Future research should focus on addressing these limitations, thereby enhancing the model’s precision and extending its functionality to provide better visualization capabilities and exploration of pump cavitation effects. Furthermore, students’ feedback needs to be collected, since it is essential to assess and validate the effectiveness of this instructional approach.
ContributorsZhong, Ziming (Author) / Milcarek, Ryan J (Thesis advisor) / Wilbur, Joshua D (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023