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Title: Assistive Technology to Enhance Written Expression of Struggling Writers in Elementary School: A Tablet-based Literacy Intervention Project
Contributor: Heather R. Stace-Smith (author), Kenneth Pudlas (thesis supervisor), Katrina Korb (second reader), Julie Corkett (external examiner), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Educational Studies - Special Education
Abstract: Using a switching replications quasi-experimental design, this study investigated the effectiveness of the application Clicker Docs and tablet accessibility features as a 6 week alternating intervention tool for improving writing. Aspects of writing included writing quality, writing output, and attitudes of struggling writers. Two groups of 11 students from grades 2-7 who were identified with a disability or as a struggling writer, alternated participation in this intervention program. A mixed 2x2 repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with pre-test scores as covariate was used. Results showed a large significant effect on writing quality at Post-test 2. On average, those in the iPad intervention group demonstrated better writing quality than those in the control group. In addition, a medium significant effect was found for writing output. On average, those in the iPad intervention group wrote less overall than those in the control group. No effect was found for attitude towards writing.
Publication Year: 2017

Title: Disclosure of ASD Diagnosis and Peer's Social Response in Grade 3 to 7 Children
Contributor: Jasmine (Tsing) Lee (author), Ken Pudlas (thesis supervisor), David Carter (second reader), Grace Iarocci (external examiner), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Educational Studies - Special Education
Abstract: Deficit in social communication skills is common to people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which hinders their social interaction with others. Bolton and Ault (2018) suggested a positive correlation between Autism diagnosis disclosure and positive social response in college students and adults. The current study investigated if similar results can be observed from younger participants. Forty-three participants from grades three to seven participated in this study. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire to ascertain their social responses toward a peer who demonstrates ASD traits with or without an ASD diagnosis disclosure. Also, information about participants’ gender, grade level and empathy scores were collected and analysed. The result showed that the group which was disclosed to an ASD designation demonstrated more prosocial responses and less asocial responses. Although the difference was not statistically significant, this initial study suggested the possibility of a positive effect of ASD diagnosis disclosure.
Publication Year: 2020

Title: Educational Support For Novice Teachers In Creating Inclusive Classrooms
Contributor: Alyxandra T McClure (author), Kenneth Pudlas (thesis supervisor), Lara Ragpot (second reader), David Carter (external examiner), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Educational Studies - Special Education
Abstract: Shelley Moore wrote, “We are diverse, all of us. We all have strengths, we all have stretches, and we all need to get better at something” (Moore, 2016, p.5). Numerous teachers in British Columbia (BC) feel professionally unprepared to fulfil the needs of students with special needs (Naylor, 2003; Moore, 2016). This qualitative study examined how employed novice teachers are being supported to create and teach in inclusive classrooms. To answer this question, I interviewed six participants comprised of novice teachers and leadership team members. I made three recommendations. First, I recommended that schools establish mentorship programs for their novice teachers. Second, I recommended establishing collaboration time, so that all teachers will have time to share and discuss their understandings and learning. Finally, for the benefit of all teachers I encouraged schools to focus professional development on topics related to inclusion.
Publication Year: 2021

Title: GROUP STRUCTURING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MATHEMATICS: PEER-BASED OR ACADEMIC-BASED
Contributor: Rachel A Poon (author), Lara Ragpot (thesis supervisor), Yu-Ling Lee (second reader), Kakoma Luneta (external examiner), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Educational Studies - Special Education
Abstract: This quasi-experimental pilot study examined how structuring of groups affects academic progress in math for grade 3 students (N = 71) from School X in Surrey, British Columbia. Participants completed the Vancouver Island Numeracy Assessment (INA) as a pre-test, followed by an intervention (group structuring: academic-based and peer-based). After 16 weeks, all participants, completed the INA a second time as a post-test to determine if the structuring of groups impacted mathematical abilities. When mathematical performance was considered, a main effect was revealed: pre-test (M = 33.55, SD = 8.27, p < .001); post-test (M = 37.61, SD = -6.58, p < .001). No other main effects or interactions were observed between groups, or when sex and age were considered. Despite a small sample size and no significant results between groups, the study sheds initial ideas on the way in which groups are structured and paves the way for further inquiry.
Publication Year: 2021

Title: Growing up Male: a Social-Emotional Program for Grade 11 Males with Behavioural Needs in a BC Secondary School
Contributor: Brendan Kwiatkowski (author), Allyson Jule (thesis supervisor), Janelle Kwee (second reader), Byle Frank (external examiner), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Educational Studies - Special Education
Abstract: Male adolescents who have behavioural needs are some of the most vulnerable students in schools today. To meet the pressing need of helping such students, a gender-conscious 9-session intervention course was developed and implemented by the researcher for nine grade 11 male students with behavioural needs for and at a public secondary school in British Columbia. Exit interviews with participants suggest that participants gained social and emotional insights via the intervention. Quantitatively, participants filled out the Gender Role Conflict Scale for Adolescents to self assess three variables associated with emotional health, while their teachers completed the Conners 3-TS to assess for two variables related to social health. Only one variable improved, Restricted Emotionality (p < .05), from the start to end of the intervention. Within this study’s ethnographic framework, the researcher’s interactions with the young men also revealed their frustrations regarding their feelings of being marginalized by educators in schools.
Publication Year: 2016

Title: How Parents of Children with Autism Access Service: The Recollection of Eight Families
Contributor: Kaitlyn G Born (author), Ken Pudlas (second reader), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution), David Carter (thesis supervisor), Ted Wormeli (external examiner)
Discipline/Stream: Educational Studies - Special Education
Abstract: Autism Spectrum Disorder has an increasing prevalence in children; diagnostic tools have become more refined and children are diagnosed younger. Parents of children with ASD learn to cope with challenges. It was hypothesized that many parents in the lower mainland of British Columbia are self-educating instead of learning from healthcare professionals. It was also hypothesized that parents are unaware of the resources available to them after receiving a diagnosis, and are therefore seeking help for their child and assembling services in much the same way they self-educated themselves. Eight families were interviewed about their experiences post-diagnosis. It was observed that families varied greatly in emotional response and were provided with information from a physician. However, few actually used the information provided to achieve a service assembly. This qualitative research revealed that families experience relational strain and parents desired a resources to guide, support, and educate them throughout their autism journey.
Publication Year: 2018

Title: The Impact of Three Math Interventions on Number Fact Knowledge among Elementary School Students: Emphasis on Students with Lower Math Abilities
Contributor: Katrina Korb (thesis supervisor), Angela C. Feyter (author), Lara Ragpot (external examiner), Kenneth Pudlas (second reader), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Educational Studies - Special Education
Abstract: This study examined the impact of three math interventions on students with lower math abilities (LMA) in connection to their ability to gain number fact knowledge. Grade level was also used as a variable. Sixty-five students in Grades 2-6 participated in one of the following three interventions: drill-and-practice, strategy instruction and peer-mediated practice. At the end of 10 weeks, participants completed a number fact test that consisted of addition and multiplication statements. ANOVAs were used to analyze the results for each research question. Results demonstrated that the three interventions had no significant interaction effect on the number fact knowledge gained by the students with LMA. As well, students with LMA and without LMA benefitted equally from the interventions. It was also found that there was no significant interaction between the grade of the student and the intervention used. However, all students benefitted from all three interventions.
Publication Year: 2018

Title: Partners in Learning: Supporting Student Learning Through Parent Mindset Training
Contributor: Corinne L M Peters (author), Kenneth Pudlas (thesis supervisor), Dave Carter (third reader), Yu-Ling Lee (second reader), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Educational Studies - Special Education
Abstract: Parent involvement in a child’s learning has been strongly linked to student academic achievement and success. Similarly, the development of a growth mindset, the belief that intelligence is developed through effort and perseverance, has also been linked to increased student achievement. While research supports both claims, there are few studies that examine the impact parent mindsets have on their level of involvement in their child’s learning. This study examined whether providing a workshop to parents on mindsets and learning support impacted their self-efficacy and involvement with their child’s learning. By conducting pre- and post-training questionnaires on parent self-efficacy and involvement, the study sought to explore possible relationships between parent mindset training and self-efficacy levels, and parent training and the amount of time involved in supporting student learning. Although in-depth analysis was limited as a result of sample size (N = 4), implications of this research are discussed.
Publication Year: 2022

Title: Theory of Mind, Affective Empathy, and Academic Achievement: A Correlative Study of Children in Grades 4 to 6
Contributor: Adam Knowlson (author), David Carter (thesis supervisor), Ken Pudlas (second reader), Lily Dyson (external examiner), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Educational Studies - Special Education
Abstract: Scholars have posited that educating the “whole child,” includes teaching both social emotional learning (SEL) and academics. This study analyzed the relationship between two constructs of the social awareness SEL competency, theory of mind (ToM) and affective empathy, with academic achievement. Thirty-six participants in grades 4 to 6 from a public elementary school in British Columbia completed assessments of ToM and affective empathy, and results were compared with academic achievement. Multiple regression analysis revealed that neither ToM, nor affective empathy correlated with academic achievement in the total sample. In females, academic achievement positively correlated with ToM, B = .05, p = .04, as measured by interpretation of ambiguous stories (Bosacki, 1998). In males, academic achievement positively correlated with ToM, B = .06, p = .02, as measured by an eyes test (Baron-Cohen, Wheelright, Spong, Scahill, & Larson, 2001). Lastly, both measures of ToM positively correlated with affective empathy.
Publication Year: 2016

Title: Universal Screening for Social Emotional Competencies: Is Dibels an Option?
Contributor: Catherine M. Lorenz (author), Kenneth Pudlas (thesis supervisor), Dave Carter (second reader), Christina Belcher (external examiner), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Educational Studies - Special Education
Abstract: To be successful in school and in life students need to possess academic as well as social emotional competencies (Bridgeland, Bruce, & Hariharan, 2013; Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011; Zins & Elias, 2007). Academic skills include the ability to read, write and count whereas social and emotional competencies refer to skills that allow an individual to get along with others by being in control of their own behaviors (Zins & Elias, 2007). For social emotional and academic programming to be effective, schools need to have a data-driven system to facilitate and monitor student progress. A screening and progress monitoring system allows educators to pinpoint students who require targeted social emotional and/or academic learning opportunities and would inform on the effectiveness of intercessory programming. Such a system would ensure that students’ learning opportunities are optimally effective. Whereas academic assessments are plentiful, a stumbling block has been the lack of measurement tools for social emotional competencies, necessary for the identification of students in need of intervention (Maras, Thompson, Lewis, Thornburg, & Hawks, 2014; Nese et al., 2012). This study investigates the viability of utilizing an established measure of literacy skill, which is widely used in school systems, to provide insight into students’ social emotional competence. The author suggests that a reading fluency assessment may lend itself to inform on social emotional competence because both domains are processed in a similar area of the brain. The statistically significant results of the hierarchical regression analysis used in this study suggest that further research into measures of affective skills should explore the correlation between academic skills and social emotional competency.
Publication Year: 2016

Title: FINDING FAITH: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SERVICE-LEARNING IN FAITH FORMATION AT A CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL
Contributor: Ian Sharp (author), Heather Strong (thesis supervisor), Jim Parsons (second reader), Allyson Jule (third reader), Douglas Atha (second reader), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Educational Leadership
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between SL and faith by addressing three questions. First, is service-learning (SL) more effective than classroom-learning (CL) in helping high school students value faith, scripture, integrity, and prayer? Second, what elements enhance SL’s effectiveness in helping students grow in their faith? Third, what factors affect the motivation of teachers to offer SL? This mixed-method study analyzed the responses of 52 grade 10-12 Kelowna Christian school students and alumni. Additionally, three KCS high school teachers were interviewed to understand teacher motivation. The findings demonstrated SL to be more effective than CL in maturing faith and helping students value scripture, integrity, and prayer. Moreover, the student’s narrative affected the effectiveness of SL’s reflection. Finally, the findings revealed the following factors inhibiting teachers from offering SL: prep time, community contacts, planning logistics of SL, rigid timetable, and unclear vision for SL at KCS.
Publication Year: 2022

Title: An Analysis of the Ongoing Validity of the Documentary Hypothesis for Final Form Interpretation: The Portrayal of Outsiders in the Abrahamic Narratives as a Case Study
Contributor: Daniel E. Hawkins (author), Craig Broyles (thesis supervisor), Andrew B. Perrin (second reader), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Biblical Studies
Abstract: This thesis will investigate three inter-connected questions. First, how are outsiders portrayed in the Abrahamic narratives? Secondly, is the portrayal of outsiders different between the different sources of Genesis, and, if so, what does the possible historical context of each source contribute to an understanding of why these differences exist? This in turn will contribute to the larger and third question: does the Documentary Hypothesis specifically, and diachronic analysis in general, have sufficient value for understanding the text as it now stands? It will be shown that while the Documentary Hypothesis involves some speculation, it offers a more coherent framework through which one can interpret and understand many of the complexities that arise in a reading of the Pentateuch. As such, diachronic analysis proves to be an invaluable tool for interpreting the final form of Genesis, if one is aware of its limitations.
Publication Year: 2020

Title: Apostolic memory leveraged : the development of apostolic identification for purposes of theological validation in the first two centuries of the Church
Contributor: D. William Springer (author), Bruce Guenther (thesis supervisor), Archie Spencer (second reader), Craig Allert (external examiner), Trinity Western University GSTS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Theological Studies
Abstract: This thesis examines apostolic memory and the manner in which these memories were leveraged in the early church. Chapter One provides a summary of the apostolic portrait in the New Testament and charts all references to the twelve among the apostolic fathers, through to Justin and Hegesippus. These writers reveal a view of the apostles distinguished primarily for their honoured role as Christ’s messengers. Chapter Two demonstrates how Irenaeus utilized apostolic memory in such a way that led to an all-encompassing apostolic identity for the church. This development is compared with Tertullian’s ideas, and the comparison reveals a marked difference in emphasis and strategy. In contrast to Irenaeus, Tertullian minimized apostolic referencing and identification, and instead utilized language more dependent on Christocentric identity. These differences are explained in Chapter Three, which argues that the key point of differentiation was the writers’ perspectives on the apostles’ empowerment by the Holy Spirit.
Publication Year: 2014

Title: The Born-again Friar: American Evangelical Appropriations of Saint Francis of Assisi, 1972-2013
Contributor: Paul R. Foth (author), Bruce L. Guenther (thesis supervisor), Robert K. Burkinshaw (second reader), Don M. Lewis (third reader), Trinity Western University GSTS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Theological Studies
Abstract: Beginning in the late twentieth century, some evangelical Protestants in America turned to historic Catholic saints as inspirational exemplars of Christian faith. A surprisingly diverse range of American evangelicals appealed to Saint Francis of Assisi because he was perceived as a quintessentially authentic Christian. Saint Francis provided historical justification for some of these evangelicals’ own ideals of Christian discipleship, and served as an example for inspiration and emulation as they navigated contemporary American culture and the evolving evangelical movement. This thesis examines a range of American evangelical appropriations of Saint Francis of Assisi from 1972 to 2013, focusing on several sub-groups or movements within American evangelicalism. This examination of the evangelical reception of Saint Francis of Assisi contributes to a deeper understanding of evangelical Protestant interactions with Catholic spirituality, while also illuminating changing evangelical conceptions of what constitutes true Christian faith.
Publication Year: 2019

Title: Cinematic Childhood(s) and Imag(in)ing the Boy Jesus: Adaptations of Luke 2:41-52 in Late Twentieth-Century Film
Contributor: James Magee (author), Dirk Büchner (thesis supervisor), Adele Reinhartz (external examiner), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Biblical Studies
Abstract: Despite sustained academic examinations of Jesus in film over the past couple of decades, as well as biblical scholars’ multidisciplinary work in the areas of children’s and childhood studies, the cinematic boy Jesus has received little attention. This thesis begins to fill the lacuna of scholarly explorations into cinematic portrayals of Jesus as a child by analyzing two adaptations of Luke’s story of the twelve-year-old Jesus in late twentieth-century film. Using methods of historical and narrative criticism tailored to the study of film, I situate the made-for-television movies Jesus of Nazareth (1977) and Jesus (2000) within the trajectories of both Jesus films and depictions of juvenile masculinity in cinema, as well as within their respective social, cultural and historical contexts. I demonstrate how these movie sequences are negotiations by their filmmakers between theological and historical concerns that reflect contemporary ideas about children and particular idealizations about boyhood.
Publication Year: 2019

Title: Conceptualizing Historical Periodization in the Apocalypse : The Canonical Shaping of the Beast with Seven Heads and Ten Horns
Contributor: Omele Burrell (author), Kent Clarke (thesis supervisor), Tony Cummins (second reader), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Biblical Studies
Abstract: The academic study of the seven-headed sea beast symbolism in the Apocalypse has proceeded along contemporary historical lines since the modern period. This approach seeks to locate the meaning of this symbolic reference within the historical context from which the book derives. While it remains true that careful historical analysis has advanced our understanding of the world in which the seer of Patmos lived and wrote, a strictly contemporary historical focus threatens to confine the significance of this apocalyptic symbol to the environs of the first century. In seeking to recover the theological and contemporary relevance of this symbol as a critique of imperial ambitions, this thesis argues for a reading strategy which locates the Book of Revelation foremost in the context of "canon." Such a reading stance illuminates the meaning of the symbolic beast in relationship to the deep intertextual and theological history which the final book of the Bible shares with the canonical corpus of Christian Scriptures.
Publication Year: 2015

Title: A Critical Edition of Codex 0150 Including Its Textual and Reception History
Contributor: Matthew J Hama (author), Kent D Clarke (thesis supervisor), Dirk L Büchner (second reader), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Biblical Studies
Abstract: Codex 0150 is an unpublished New Testament manuscript that has received minimal scholarly attention since its discovery. This critical edition offers a conservative transcription of 0150 based upon high resolution digital images provided by the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM). The transcription includes a comprehensive analysis of variants, which occur when 0150 is read against both the NA28 and the RP versions of the Greek New Testament. This edition critically engages background information of the manuscript such as date, provenance, and content, while also providing a close examination of scribal features present in 0150. Additionally, this work maximizes digital imaging technology to better understand the contents of the manuscript, its author, and the ancient world from which it arose. This edition provides access to an important piece within the New Testament manuscript tradition, and offers a rich foundation on which future scholarship can build.
Publication Year: 2017

Title: Discerning Between True and False Prophets in Jeremiah
Contributor: Janick Fortier (author), Andrew Krause (thesis supervisor), Robert J. V. Hiebert (second reader), Lissa M. Wray Beal (external examiner), Trinity Western University GSTS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Theological Studies
Abstract: How does one differentiate between true and false prophets? The Bible gives numerous criteria for such discernment, but biblical scholars have long recognized the challenge to their applicability. Focusing on the book of Jeremiah, my investigation leads me toward a clearer understanding of what constitute a true prophet and a list of criteria on how to distinguish them from false prophets. My criteria bring attention primarily to the person and the message of the prophet. These criteria do not eliminate all doubts for all prophetic claims, but I argue that they prove to be useful enough to inspire confidence for the assessment of prophets. It is my contention that complexity and difficulties should not lead one to conclude that prophetic discernment is impossible. Like in many more areas, discernment criteria expect the use of prudence and wisdom in their application.
Publication Year: 2022

Title: Employing Deuteronomy: an Analysis of the Quotations and Allusions to Deuteronomy in the Dead Sea Scrolls
Contributor: Joshua M. Matson (author), Martin G. Abegg, Jr. (thesis supervisor), Andrew Perrin (second reader), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Biblical Studies
Abstract: The study of quotations and allusions to the Hebrew Bible in religious texts has only recently began to be methodically approached and analyzed. Although previous studies on quotations and allusions to the Hebrew Bible in the Dead Sea Scrolls are amply available concerning individual manuscripts, no such study has sought to approach the subject from a perspective of universality. This study seeks to identify and analyze universal conclusions that have been obtained by a study of the quotations and allusions to Deuteronomy in all of the non-biblical Dead Sea Scrolls manuscripts. This is accomplished through an in-depth study of the history of studies on quotations and allusions in religious texts, a detailed explanation of the methodology utilized in this study, and an analysis of fifteen universal conclusions that are exhibited by the authors/scribes of the Dead Sea Scrolls when quoting or alluding to the Deuteronomy text of the Hebrew Bible.
Publication Year: 2015

Title: The exegetical interpretation of Leviticus 19:1-18 and the restoration of the Jewish community in the post-exilic period
Contributor: BaeSick P. Choi (author), Dirk Büchner (thesis supervisor), Craig Broyles (second reader), Trinity Western University SGS (Degree granting institution)
Discipline/Stream: Biblical Studies
Abstract: The goal of this thesis to look at the functions of the commands and laws in Leviticus 19:1-8 as follows: (1) the function of Leviticus 19: 1-18 and the Holiness Code; (2) Leviticus 19:1-18 as an aid to the restoration of Jewish Community. (3) The Prophet Ezekiel's understanding of the Holiness Code and possible connections to Leviticus 19:1-18. The thesis is divided into sections as follows: Chapter 1 will present an exegesis of Leviticus 19:1-18. The relationship between these two sources will be discussed in chapters 1 and 2 in order to show the function of Leviticus 19 in relation to the other Pentateuchal sources. Chapter 2 will examine the life of the Jews in the exilic. Chapter 3 will present the ideas in Leviticus 19 against life in the exile. The Book of Ezekiel with its close relationship to H will also be brought into focus.
Publication Year: 2013