DEVELOPING AND VALIDATING A QUALITY OF DELIVERY SCALE AND ASSESSING ADULT-TRAINEES’ COGNITIVE LOAD, MOTIVATION, AND COMPLIANCE

Effective communication is crucial for successful behavior change. However, despite much research in training and development, instructional communication, and public health surrounding communication, it is still unclear what constitutes such effective delivery behaviors, especially for an adult learner population (those over 25 years old). Using cognitive load theory and cognitive-affective theory of learning with media as theoretical frameworks, this dissertation proposes a quality of delivery scale for measuring effective communication across instructional settings with an adult learner audience. Informed by public health, training and organizational communication, as well as adult education and instructional communication, the final valid and reliable QD scale consists of seven communication characteristics that are associated with reduced cognitive load, increased motivation, and increased compliance. Ultimately, this three-phase study consisted of: (a) developing the QD scale, (b) confirming the factor structure, as well as convergent and predictive validity, and (c) testing a theoretical model of QD

Mass Communication Andragogy for Teaching Online Adult Learners

Adult learners, or those over the age of 25, are a rising subset of the university population. Additionally, online higher education courses consist mostly of adult learners (Silva, 2018), who find freedom and flexibility with this medium ( James, Swan, & Daston, 2016). While adult learners enter college with rich life and career experiences, they also have families and other responsibilities. This means that their educational needs, expectations, and interests are different from those of traditional college-age students. As a result, an understanding of how faculty could reach online adult learners becomes paramount. The Community of Inquiry Model and the theory of andragogy helped to guide 10 best practices for teaching online adult learners. These practices are contextualized within several communication courses such as journalism, mass media, and newswriting

The Symbiotic Relationship Between Reading and Music: A Natural Pedagogical Collaboration

Reading and music instruction can form a symbiotic relationship to positively impact lower-elementary literacy and increase student engagement. In this action research study, cross-curricular instruction between reading and music at the 2nd grade elementary level was taught by both the reading and music teacher. This study employed reading, rhythm, rhyme, instrumentation, writing, physical movement, and song to benefit students’ phonemic awareness while reading. Developmental Reading Assessments (DRAs) were used to measure student growth from the start of the study to its conclusion. These DRAs were used as pre- and posttests and were bookended around instruction using reading, rhythm, rhyme, instrumentation, writing, physical movement, and song in the regular and music classrooms. This type of cross-curricular instruction between reading and music reinforced learning in both classroom settings. Results revealed that co-planning reading and music instruction have a positive impact on fluency, comprehension, and student engagement, but that DRAs are not the most accurate tools to measure phonemic awareness

The End is Not the Injury: Posttraumatic Growth After Sport Injuries

This quantitative study explored whether serious injuries in varsity high school or collegiate athletes could produce Posttraumatic Growth (PTG). The impact of injury (season- or career-ending) and an athlete’s highest level of competition played (varsity high school or collegiate) were examined on five elements on the 2-item Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI): (1) relating to others, (2) new possibilities, (3) personal strength, (4) spiritual change, and (5) appreciation of life. This study provides evidence that sport level does not impact an athlete’s ability to produce PTG and bring awareness to trauma and the role PTG can have in an athlete’s life

U.S. Navy infrastructure--planning, bugeting and acquisition at Naval Submarine Base New London

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1997.Vita.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-163).by Brian K. Moore.M.S