Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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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
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Item Exploring the Classroom Norms of an Undergraduate Precalculus Course and Their Relationship with Students' Self-Efficacy, Achievement, and STEM Intentions: A Convergent Mixed-Methods Study(2022) Gruber, Sean; Brantlinger, Andrew; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The number of students pursuing a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degree in the United States has continued to decline over the last two decades. These trends are alarming considering the national focus on providing accessible and quality STEM education to underrepresented students, as well as the fact that the number of STEM careers is projected to continue growing over the next decade. Following the nationwide push to retain students and workers in STEM fields within the United States, educational researchers have attempted to explain what goes on within undergraduate STEM classrooms to explain these trends. In so doing, researchers answer the call to analyze the teaching practices of college STEM instructors, particularly mathematics teachers, with the goal of improving instruction and student outcomes. Researchers generally agree that findings from research in K-12 classrooms on practices that engage students in the learning process, including student-centered learning, may be beneficial to students in undergraduate STEM classrooms. This study followed a convergent mixed-methods design that integrated quantitative and qualitative results in the analytic and results stages. The study utilized survey, interview, and observational data from the Precalculus course offered at Blackboard University (pseudonym) to describe the classroom norms of Precalculus and their predictive power of students’ achievement, self-efficacy, and STEM intentions. While evidence suggested some variation by dimensions of teaching considered and the Teaching Assistant (TA) for a discussion section, in general, instructors’ perceptions of classroom norms in the large lecture and discussion sections aligned with those of the students. Evidence from participants’ survey responses and interview comments suggested that both instructors and students perceived a hybrid of instructor- and student-centered norms in the large lecture and discussion sections, with more instructor-centered norms being perceived in the large lecture and more student-centered norms in the discussion sections. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to explain differences in students’ final exam grades, self-efficacy, and STEM intentions, controlling for the discussion sections students were in. Results suggested that students’ perceptions of the norms related to the teaching dimension of variation in instruction (e.g., having students explore different solution pathways and representations of problems) in the large lecture predicted an increase in students’ final exam grades and self-efficacy. However, norms related to the teaching dimension of instructor-to-student engagement (e.g., the instructor and students engaging with each other through asking and answering questions) in the large lecture predicted a decrease in students’ final exam grades. With respect to the discussion sections, norms related to the teaching dimension of instructor-to-student engagement predicted an increase in both students’ final exam grades and self-efficacy. None of the variables considered in this study predicted students’ STEM intentions.Item “A CONSTANT FIGHT WITH OUR MORALS:” EXAMINING UKRAINIAN JOURNALISTS’ NORMATIVE DEMOCRATIC BELIEFS AMID PLURALISM, PROPAGANDA, AND WAR(2018) Nynka, Andrew; Oates, Sarah; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This work addresses a central problem in contemporary democratic theory. John Rawls, the American political philosopher, defined the potential problem of division in plural, liberal democracy: “How is it possible that there may exist over time a stable and just society of free and equal citizens profoundly divided by reasonable though incompatible religious, philosophical, and moral doctrines?” In considering the question of social division, this dissertation asked whether journalists in Ukraine – a country dealing with propaganda, fake news, war, and a difficult transition to liberal democracy – believe they should play a role amid such tension. Qualitative in-depth, semi-structured interviews of 31 Ukrainian reporters probed their normative beliefs for a journalistic pragmatism that represents the full spectrum of beliefs and positions in their society. This research also contrasts and compares the broader normative beliefs of post-Soviet Ukrainian journalists with Western normative journalism theory by analyzing interviews conducted with 41 American journalists. This dissertation used the theoretical work of pragmatist philosopher Richard Rorty, who argued that journalists could ease tension in plural society by fulfilling normative journalism theory’s charge for reporters to be a voice for the voiceless. It was hypothesized that journalists in Ukraine would deprioritize journalistic pragmatism, while prioritizing war-time reporting that polarizes society, primarily because of three factors: the business needs of the press, war in Ukraine, and the legacy of Soviet culture on journalistic norms. The findings defied expectations to a degree by showing that journalists believe the press should represent the full spectrum of positions and beliefs in Ukraine and they should uphold established western norms. Journalists said oligarchic ownership of media and a legacy of control over the press by people in power limit their independence. The findings show division on objectivity: roughly half believe reporters must remain neutral amid pro-Russian propaganda and fake news, while the second half said objectivity leads to false equivalency. Journalists said on-the-ground, factual reporting can fight propaganda and fake news. Analysis of the U.S. interviews showed more convergence of concerns between Ukrainian and American reporters than was expected, suggesting that journalistic norms can transcend country contexts to an unexpected degree.