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The Play's The Thing: Investigating The Potential Of Performance Pedagogy, Tamara Lynn Scoville Nov 2007

The Play's The Thing: Investigating The Potential Of Performance Pedagogy, Tamara Lynn Scoville

Theses and Dissertations

In the last ten years there has been a resurgence of interest in teaching Shakespeare through performance. However, most literature on the topic continues to focus on the pragmatic selling points of how performance makes Shakespeare fun and understandable while remaining surprisingly silent on issues of theory and ethics. By investigating the ethical implications of performance pedagogy as it affects our students' construction of identity, empathy, and pluralistic tolerance we can better understand and discuss the potential of performance pedagogy in relation to the ethical goals of the Humanities. Performance Pedagogy has particular ethical potential due to the structure of …


Beyond Fidelity: Teaching Film Adaptations In Secondary Schools, Nathan C. Phillips Jul 2007

Beyond Fidelity: Teaching Film Adaptations In Secondary Schools, Nathan C. Phillips

Theses and Dissertations

Although nearly every secondary school English teacher includes film as part of the English/language arts curriculum, there is, to this point, nothing published about effectively studying the relationship between film adaptations and their print source texts in secondary school. There are several important works that inform film study in secondary English classrooms. These include Alan Teasley and Ann Wilder's Reel Conversations; William Costanzo's Reading the Movies and his updated version, Great Films and How to Teach Them; and John Golden's Reading in the Dark. However, each of these mention adaptation briefly if at all. Rather, they approach film as a …


Transitions: Starting The Second, Full Circle, Mary Colleen Vreeland Jan 2007

Transitions: Starting The Second, Full Circle, Mary Colleen Vreeland

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will focus on the transitional influences that have led me to start the second circle of my professional life. It is an open and honest exploration of the back-story of my life and the academic and professional influences that led me to seek a Master of Fine Arts Degree at Virginia Commonwealth University. With no parallels and therefore no excuses insinuated, I will be open and dissect more of myself as the whole focus of the thesis in hopes of offering clarity to myself and other mature and disabled students seeking to become a better teacher and artist.


The Need For Caring Pedagogies: A Personal Look At Education In Depressed Economies, Catherine Curran Jan 2007

The Need For Caring Pedagogies: A Personal Look At Education In Depressed Economies, Catherine Curran

Theses and Dissertations

By grounding my work in this series of four essays in literary theory, but telling stories to which almost anyone can relate I hope to begin making the connection between sometimes heady academics and everyday working-class Americans. Only when learners understand their circumstances and the need for education, can they begin to take control of what they learn and how they employ that knowledge.


Differentiated Educational Strategies In The Elementary Art Classroom, Mary Amber Bush Jan 2007

Differentiated Educational Strategies In The Elementary Art Classroom, Mary Amber Bush

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides elementary art teachers strategies for teaching lessons in a method called "differentiation". The purpose of differentiation is to tailor lesson plans to try and meet unique needs of the students. Lessons can be differentiated through content, process, or product. A teacher may choose one of these three areas and provide different approaches to the lesson to meet different learning needs of the students. To meet different learning needs in an efficient way, students are grouped for lessons based on their readiness, interests, or their learning styles. This thesis provides greater detail on content, process, product, readiness, interests, …


Technology At The Beginning Of The 21st Century: Using An Interactive Whiteboard In Elementary Art Education, Nancy G. Kocen Jan 2007

Technology At The Beginning Of The 21st Century: Using An Interactive Whiteboard In Elementary Art Education, Nancy G. Kocen

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined whether art lessons, provided using an Interactive Whiteboard (IWB), were effective in transferring learning to a diverse student population. The descriptive investigation focused on three main areas; the impact of the IWB on student learning, the time invested in integrating the IWB, and the compatibility of the IWB with my teaching style. The research took place over fourteen weeks starting in late August, 2006, and continued in my art room during the first quarter of the school year. Data were collected through daily journal entries, video taped lessons and interviews. Although long hours were required for training …


Pedagogical Fusion, David Maurice White Jan 2007

Pedagogical Fusion, David Maurice White

Theses and Dissertations

During the five semesters that I have been at VCU I have learned a great deal from the courses that I have been enrolled in but I have learned the most through my experiences as a Teaching Assistant. These experiences have been so valuable because of the wide range of subject areas in which I have been involved and the diverse instructors that I have assisted. Although I hesitate to use the word "problem" I feel that there is a tendency in teacher training for a student to latch onto one professor and model their teaching practices after that one …


Modern Literacy: New Media's Gift To Nonfiction, The Self, And The Community, Tracey S. Carlton Jan 2007

Modern Literacy: New Media's Gift To Nonfiction, The Self, And The Community, Tracey S. Carlton

Theses and Dissertations

Integrating new-media nonfiction into secondary-level English provides an efficient and effective resource in teaching modern literacy, which requires an understanding of the participatory element of communication today. Messages can be consumed and created among multimodalities and multimedia. The form and interactivity of a publication can affect its interpretation. Technology extends students' publishing capabilities and their reach to a bounty of discourse communities.This thesis, which is available in conventional hard copy and electronic forms, explores the definitions of New Media and modern literacy, how teachers can adopt the use of New Media nonfiction, and the resources needed to do so. A …