Theses and Dissertations from UMD
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
Browse
7 results
Search Results
Item INVESTIGATING DIFFERENCES IN STRUCTURAL KNOWLEDGE AND METACOGNITIVE PROCESSES AMONG LAY HELPERS ADVANCED STUDENTS AND SENIOR PROFESSIONAL THERAPISTS(2011) London, Kevin; Kivlighan, Dennis M; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Therapist expertise is associated with the use of complex knowledge structures and metacognitive processes. A cross sectional ex-post facto design assessed differences in structural knowledge and metacognitive processes between lay helpers, advanced students, and senior professional therapists. A card sorting task involving 19 therapist intentions was used to assess the following structural knowledge indicators: minutes to complete a card sort, number of card sort categories, and card sort score. Metacognitive processes were assessed using an adaptation of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory and the Self-reflection subscale of the Self-Reflection and Insight subscales. An inverse U shaped relationship was found in where compared to lay helpers and senior professional therapists; advanced student's had higher card sort scores, indicative of greater consistency with a sample of experienced therapists. Compared to lay helpers and advanced students, senior professional therapists used significantly more time to sort therapist intentions and sorted intentions into a greater number of categories. Relative to metacognitive process, advanced students and senior professional therapists reported significantly greater knowledge of cognition than lay helpers. Also, advanced students also reported greater self-reflection than both lay helpers and senior professional therapists. Discriminant analysis assessed the potential for a linear combination of structural knowledge indicators and metacognitive processes to differentiate participants by level of therapist development. Self-reflection and card sort scores discriminated advanced students from senior professionals, whereas knowledge of cognition and minutes to complete the card sort discriminated experienced professionals from lay helpers. Multidimensional scaling analysis was used to assess the optimal structural configuration of the pooled card sort data and yielded a 4 dimensional solution of the 19 therapist intentions. Results were consistent with Skovholt and Ronnestad's (1992) model of therapist professional development. Results also supported the attenuating effect of ill defined problems on problem solving ability of highly experienced individuals in their respective domain. The study concludes with implications for training, therapy, and research.Item The Contributions of Expectancy-Value Theory and Special Education Status to Reading Achievement of African American Adolescents(2011) Andrusik, Katryna Natalya; Speece, Deborah L; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In light of concerns about decreased academic motivation among adolescents and the subsequent lack of achievement, particularly among African American students and those with learning disabilities, this study examined adolescent motivation for academic achievement and future course enrollment intentions. Expectancy-value motivation has been extensively explored with European American adolescents without learning disabilities; the associated constructs of this theory are positively correlated with GPA, classroom-based assessments, and future course enrollment and employment. Limitations of the extant literature included homogeneous samples, limited reliability and validity of academic achievement measures, and a lack of control of extraneous variables. Using exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, I found that the expectancies for success/perceived ability, importance value, and intrinsic value latent factor models of expectancy-value motivation for a sample of urban African American adolescents do not differ from those for their European American peers; however, the constructs themselves have different relationships with the two dependent variables, reading achievement on a standardized assessment and future enrollment intentions. Motivation latent factors did not predict reading achievement when SES, prior achievement, and gender were in the analysis. However, all motivation constructs were significant predictors when enrollment intentions constituted the dependent variable. Additionally, the IEP reading goal variable (learner status) was not a significant predictor of either dependent variable. These results are discussed in light of the limitations of the study. Finally, areas for further research are suggested.Item Effect of Instructional Consultation on Academic Achievement in Third Through Fifth Grade(2011) Maslak, Kristi Samantha; Strein, William; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The present study evaluated the effect of Instructional Consultation (Rosenfield, 1995) on the academic achievement of third through fifth grade students. Students whom teachers did (n = 201) and did not (n = 8119) select as the focus of consultation were balanced on their estimated propensity to be selected using logistic regression of observed covariates. Multilevel modeling compared students in the two treatment conditions on teacher assigned grades and standardized measures of reading and math, net of prior achievement. A small, but statistically significant negative effect of the program (d = -.13) was found for standardized measures of math. No significant differences were found on the other outcome measures. Limitations include model misspecification, missing data, and treatment diffusion.Item A Case Study of Online Peer Coaching of Consultant Communication Skill Development(2010) Wizda, Lorraine; Rosenfield, Sylvia; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: A CASE STUDY OF ONLINE PEER COACHING OF CONSULTANT COMMUNICATION SKILL DEVELOPMENT Lorraine L. Wizda, Doctor of Philosophy, 2010 Dissertation directed by: Professor Sylvia Rosenfield School Psychology Program The purpose of the this study was to explore how peer coaches support the development of collaborative communication skills in an online format for consultants in training (CITs). The program examined was Instructional Consultation which pairs a consultant with a teacher to work collaboratively to resolve the teacher's concern regarding a student. The focus is on improving instruction and modifying environmental variables. The study was approached using case study methodology. Research questions were: (a) how do online peer coaches support the development of collaborative communication skills in CITs and (b) what skills were selected most frequently by the CITs as focus skills? Transcripts of the email exchanges between the coaches and CITs which include self-reflection by the CIT and structured feedback from the coach are the data used. results show that the coaches use targeted feedback, examples, practical suggestions, and modeling collaborative language to support the development of CIT skills. Not all of the CITs consistently identified a focus skill (a skill they request specific feedback on from the coach). Collaborative communication skills were selected more frequently in the early stages of the process while more content related concerns were selected toward the end of the process. The findings provide a better understanding of how collaborative communication skills are supported in an online format and provide direction for future research.Item Relationships Among Internalizing Symptomatology in Kindergarten and Later Self-Concept and Competence(2010) Denny, Michelle Setser; Strein, William; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study used a longitudinal sample of 9,160 children participating in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study- Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) to: (a) describe characteristics of children who present with elevated internalizing symptomatology, (b) investigate stability of elevated internalizing status across early and middle childhood, and (c) explore possible relationships between elevated symptomatology in kindergarten and later academic competence and self-concept. Children were dichotomously categorized at kindergarten (Time 1), three years later (Time 2) and five years later (Time 3) as having either elevated or typical levels of internalizing symptomatology based on their scores on the internalizing subscale of an adapted version of the Social Skills Rating Scale (SSRS). Elevated internalizing symptomatology was unrelated to gender. In middle childhood more lower SES children than expected fell within the elevated category and fewer higher SES children than expected fell within the elevated category. Elevated internalizing symptomatology, as measured by teacher ratings, was associated with weaker academic skills and less social/behavioral competence at all three points in time. Elevated internalizing symptomatology was also associated with heightened internalizing and externalizing symptomatology, as measured by children's self-report, in middle childhood. Elevated internalizing symptomatology was negatively associated with social self-concept, but not academic self-concept. Teacher-rated elevated internalizing symptomatology was very unstable from early to middle childhood, and only slightly more stable within the middle childhood years. Kindergarten internalizing symptoms were not predictive of later self-concept and competency. The impact of selected socio-cultural factors (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, SES) on temporal relationships was not significant. Results are discussed with regard to future directions for research and implications for practice.Item The Effects of a Structured Parent Tutoring Program on Students' Reading Fluency(2010) Loving, Michele Lynn; Rosenfield, Sylvia; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examined the effectiveness of a brief parent tutoring intervention on the reading fluency of four second-grade students. The students were all below grade level readers, participating in a structured reading intervention with the school's reading specialist. A structured home program was developed to complement the school-based intervention, using the same classroom reading materials. The home program included: modeling and feedback, repeated readings, error correction, and praise and incentives. Parents were trained to use the strategies with their children, and implemented the procedures in their homes for three to four weeks. Parents taped all tutoring sessions. A review of the audiotapes, tutoring logs and checklists, as well as weekly telephone and/or e-mail contact with parents, served to monitor program implementation. The dependent variable was oral reading fluency, as measured by words read correctly per minute and an overall score on a 12-point fluency rating scale. A multiple baseline across participants design was used and results were analyzed using visual inspection and percentage of non-overlapping data points. Although some students showed improvement in reading fluency from baseline to intervention, results could not be attributed to the parent tutoring due to variability in baseline and intervention performance. Generalization to untutored passages at school and in peer-expected books was assessed, and a follow-up measure was completed with each participant approximately six to eight weeks after the intervention period. A measure of treatment integrity indicated high implementation of the program components by all parents. Exit interviews were completed with each student and parent participant, as well as the classroom teachers. Data collected from parent ratings and exit interviews indicated high acceptability of the intervention. Results of this study were discussed in terms of the feasibility of parents implementing a home tutoring intervention for reading, recommended modifications to the program, implications for generalization to classroom performance, and future research considerations. Limitations to the study included ethnicity and number of participants, training of raters for reliability, and the time of the school year the tutoring program was implemented.Item Racial Congruence and Its Effects on Social Integration and School Involvement: A Multi-Level Model(2010) Barrett, Courtenay Anna; Gottredson, Gary D.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Several initiatives have been taken in order to diversify schools and communities in advance of scientific research investigating the effects of racial diversity on students. The present study used data from 41,639 students across 87 schools to answer the following research question: To what extent do students with high levels of racial congruence feel more socially integrated and experience higher levels of school participation than similar students who are racially incongruent in their school environments? Racial congruence is defined as attending a school with a high percentage of peers of the same race as oneself. This secondary data analysis used a nested-model (students within school social environments) and found a cross-level interaction between an individual's race and the percentage of same-race peers for certain racial groups. Findings support previous literature concerning the attenuation of individual-level racial group differences in social integration when Asian American students are in racially congruent schools.