College of Education
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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
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Item Executive Function, Engagement, and Attention: Effects on Comprehension(2021) Mohan, Svetha; Bolger, Donald J; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Cognitive control/executive function (EF) and attention deficits are prevalent among students and impact comprehension performance. While EF and attention impairments are well-studied, the interaction between cognitive control/EF, attention, arousal/engagement, and comprehension has yet to be explored. Undergraduates’ ADHD symptoms, cognitive abilities, and cognitive control were assessed prior to listening to passages of varying degrees of emotional valence and responding to comprehension questions. Exploratory EEG data were also collected to examine patterns of cognitive engagement/emotional arousal. Results showed that comprehension for participants with high numbers of ADHD symptoms and/or proactive cognitive control types were influenced by the emotional valence of the context. In emotional contexts, those with high ADHD symptoms showed better comprehension overall and deep levels of processing, and those with proactive cognitive control types showed better deep processing. These findings indicate the need for further research to tease apart the interaction of EF, attention, and arousal on comprehension across different contexts.Item The Effects of Explicit Instruction with Dynamic Geometry Software for Secondary Students with ADHD/Learning Disabilities(2015) Toronto, Allyson Patricia; De La Paz, Susan; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The current study examined the effect of an instructional package on the ability of secondary students with mathematics difficulties to solve geometric similarity transformations. The instructional package includes a blend of research-based instructional practices including explicit instruction, the CRA sequence, and Dynamic Geometry Software. A multiple probe design across four participants was used to evaluate the intervention. The participants were four students with a history of mathematics difficulty in a suburban mid-Atlantic high school. Results of the study demonstrated that all four students improved their accuracy on geometric similarity transformations and maintained those skills four weeks after the completion of the intervention. Furthermore, providing multiple visual representations, including technology such as dynamic geometry software, as well as concrete manipulatives, allowed participants to make connections to geometric content and enhanced their metacognition, self-efficacy, and disposition toward geometry. This study supports the use of integrated instruction utilizing explicit instruction and visual representations for high school students with MD on grade-level geometry content.Item Achievement and integration factors related to the academic success and intent to persist of college freshmen and sophomores with learning disabilities(2007-03-28) DaDeppo, Lisa Marie Wilson; Speece, Deborah; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The number of students with learning disabilities (LD) attending college has increased over the past several decades, yet outcomes including graduation rates continue to lag behind those of non-disabled students. In addition to students' background characteristics and past academic achievement, Tinto's (1975; 1993) constructs of academic and social integration have been the focus of much of the research identifying factors associated with college student success and persistence. Previous research has validated the impact of academic and social integration on college student persistence and success; however, these factors have not been studied with a sample of students who have disabilities. In this investigation hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to study the relative influence of pre-college achievement and college integration variables on the academic success and intent to persist of college freshmen and sophomores with LD, while controlling for background characteristics. Participants were 97 freshmen and sophomores with LD at a large, public university in the southwestern United States. Students completed a demographic questionnaire as well as portions of the Freshmen Year Survey (Milem & Berger, 1997) to measure integration and intent to persist. High school GPA, SAT scores, and college GPA were obtained from university records. Academic, social and total integration were not unique significant predictors of college GPA beyond background characteristics and past academic achievement. However, total integration was a significant predictor of intent to persist, accounting for 17 percent unique variance. Academic integration was a significant predictor of intent to persist accounting for 12 percent unique variance. Further, social integration was a significant predictor of intent to persist, accounting for 18 percent unique variance beyond background characteristics and past academic achievement and 7 percent unique variance in the model that also included academic integration. These findings suggest academic and social integration are promising constructs to explain the persistence of college students with LD. Implications of this study include the need for continued research on the role of academic and social integration for college students with LD, as well as on the practices of high school and college personnel in preparing students with LD for college.