Role play has been recently studied in high school and college settings. The purpose of this study was to examine role play in an elementary-level classroom. Role play leads to increased student engagement. Early elementary school teachers' perceptions about the benefits and challenges of using role play to support student engagement were…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to explore how the implementation of physical movement brain breaks impacts engagement and academic achievement for middle school students. This study is grounded in brain-based learning theory which explains how we can use brain science to inform instructional decisions in the…

Prioritizing student engagement in the classroom, where students want to learn more and be challenged, can lead to future success. This study investigated the effectiveness of providing teachers with professional development focusing on student engagement. The study utilized a mixed-method methodology that examined the effects of professional…

Evolving over time, Extension has expanded its programming to meet diverse needs across the nation. In Georgia, UGA Extension operates in all 159 counties, where agents and specialists collaborate to address community needs. Extension plays a unique role in building relationships, conducting needs assessments, and contributing to the development…

As employers struggle to fill 9.5 million vacant positions with only 6.5 million workers available across the United States, the role of community colleges becomes critical in educating workers. Open-door access and lower-tuition costs make community college an essential resource for people to access higher education; however, research shows the…

Developing autonomy-supporting instructional communication styles is essential for modeling skills, inspiring teacher-student interactions, and motivating students to personalize the learning experience in postsecondary career and technical education programs. The study, guided by self-determination theory's dialectical framework, examined if and…

A 2015 Barna report revealed that a meager 20 percent of regular church attenders in the United States participate in any church discipleship activities. With declining attendance and more than four thousand churches closing in the United States since 2019, one would wonder what impact this lack of discipleship has had on the overall health of the…

The purpose of this quantitative cluster analysis was to create a profile of students attending, graduating, and withdrawing from an alternative high school located in Georgia. Using a hierarchical cluster analysis method, clusters were formed based on the clustering variables of age overage, poverty, Multilingual Learner status, student…

Serious games research shows that games can increase engagement and improve learning outcomes over traditional instruction, but the impact of specific elements of serious games has yet to be fully explored across many contexts. Additionally, many existing intervention studies omit the details of the game design and development theory that informed…

Dissertation objectives included investigating how environment and plant life history influence aspects of leaf vascular infrastructure that supports photosynthesis, as well as photoprotection of the photosynthetic process. Additionally, I aimed to engage students in science and plant biology through innovative teaching methods. In summer annual…

This study was conducted to see if the engagement variables from the "TummySafe 2022" online course as well as the participants' demographic variables were positively correlated with the "TummySafe" certification exam score. The study examined factors that explained participants' exam performance. The results indicated that…

Institutions have experienced an increase in enrollment of Black male veteran students, while also encountering a decline of this population throughout the academic year. There is a gap in the literature regarding the experiences of Black male veterans and their levels of engagement in higher education, which could assist with retention. This…

Teachers' ability to elicit and use evidence of student thinking during instruction is critical in high-quality mathematics instruction. The practice of anticipating students' mathematics supports teachers in noticing and being prepared to respond to student thinking during in-the-moment instruction. To date, most research on anticipating has…

Learning involves complex cognitive processes such as perception, attention, and memory, with reading being a common method to acquire knowledge. Textbooks are often supplemented with additional materials such as self-test questions and demonstration tasks to enhance learning. However, the impact of these supplemental materials, especially when…

Misinformation is one society's most pressing issues, spreading division and chaos across the globe. Videogames have become one of the more promising mediums for misinformation interventions, teaching players common falsehood indicators and helping them develop their discernment abilities. This thesis details the design, playtesting, and…