Education Commons^™

Transformative Learning Theory As Applied To Worship Studies, Loueda B. Bleiler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite extensive research regarding the application of Transformative Learning Theory in adult education, there is very little literature promoting applying these principles and practices within Christian Worship Studies. Transformative Learning Theory is an educational theory that researches and promotes perspective-changing teaching and learning. Structured educational opportunities and spiritual development through Christian worship both have the potential to be life-altering events in human experience. In each of these dimensions of learning, the final result may include a change in perspective which then leads to modified behaviors. Transformative change occurs in the life of the learner. This qualitative research study explores the …

Teaching From The Heart: Using Techniques Of Kindfulness In Teaching To Build A More Empathic And Compassionate Campus, Margaret Butcher

TFSC Publications and Presentations

In today’s world of self-absorption and social and political division, we all need a space that is welcoming and inviting. Teaching with just intellect and without heart may be ‘safe’ but can lead to passionless learning. Creating a classroom that honors space for everyone in the room with a trusting environment can help students find the “So what?” and “Who cares?” that may lurk within the course content. Teachers who view themselves simply as a delivery mechanism for content is missing the opportunity to turn on kindness and compassion in their students that can help build a better humanity. Dr. …

Learning Through Play At School: A Framework For Policy And Practice, Rachel Parker, Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Amy Berry

Student learning processes

Learning through play has emerged as an important strategy to promote student engagement, inclusion, and holistic skills development beyond the preschool years. Policy makers, researchers and educators have promoted the notion that learning though play is developmentally appropriate - as it leverages school-age children’s innate curiosity while easing the often difficult transition from preschool to school. However, there is a dearth of evidence and practical guidance on how learning through play can be employed effectively in the formal school context, and the conditions that support success. This paper addresses the disconnect between policy, research and practice by presenting a range …

All Things Merge Into One, And A River Runs Through It: Exploring The Dimensions Of Blended Learning By Developing A Case Study Template For Blended Activities, Damian Gordon, Paul Doyle, Anna Becevel, Tina Baloh

Articles

The BLITT (Blended Learning International Train the Trainer) Project is focused on developing a training programme to equip teachers to become proficient in championing the use of Blended Learning in the classroom. The training programme will be developed in two phases, in the first phase involves the development of a series of case studies relevant to Blended Learning, followed by a second phase where the BLITT training programme will be designed and developed, using input from these cases. In developing the blended learning case studies, two key documents were identified as being essential, first, a case study tracking template to …

Teaching Writing To Middle School Students With Disabilities: A Merc Research Brief, David Naff, Jennifer Askue-Collins, Julie S. Dauksys

MERC Publications

This research brief by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium explores peer reviewed literature about effective strategies for teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities. It answers the following questions: 1) Why is it important to teach writing? 2) What is the nature of the challenge in teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities? 3) What interventions help with teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities? and 4) What strategies are utilized in the MERC region for teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities?

But Are They Good Teachers? Examining Who Takes Up Teacher Leadership And How Their Instruction Differs From Their Peers, Peter D. Wiens, Jori S. Beck

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Teacher leaders function in many roles in supporting school success including instructional leadership and supporting colleagues. This study draws upon the Status of the Social Studies Survey (Fitchett & Vanfossen, 2013) to examine the responses of 6,702 US-based middle and high school social studies teachers to understand the antecedents of teacher leadership and the instructional practices of these individuals compared to their peers. Survey responses indicate that the vast majority of social studies teachers report participating in some aspect of teacher leadership. Teacher leaders tend to be less experienced and have less educational attainment while employing more research-based instructional techniques.

Ideas On Teaching And Improving Writing Skills Across Disciplines, Dasha Culic Nisula

World Languages and Literatures Publications

No abstract provided.

Contributions To The Teaching And Learning Of Fluid Mechanics, Ashwin Vaidya

Department of Mathematics Facuty Scholarship and Creative Works

This issue showcases a compilation of papers on fluid mechanics (FM) education, covering different sub topics of the subject. The success of the first volume [1] prompted us to consider another follow-up special issue on the topic, which has also been very successful in garnering an impressive variety of submissions. As a classical branch of science, the beauty and complexity of fluid dynamics cannot be overemphasized. This is an extremely well-studied subject which has now become a significant component of several major scientific disciplines ranging from aerospace engineering, astrophysics, atmospheric science (including climate modeling), biological and biomedical science …

Building A Functional Cardiograph Over Four Semesters, Part 3: Estimating Heart Rate And Respiration Rate In The Time And Frequency Domains Using Matlab, Gail Baura, Francisca Fils-Aime, Vincent Chiun-Fan Chen, Leanne Kallemeyn

Engineering Science Faculty Publications

At Loyola University Chicago (LUC), all engineering courses are taught using a mandatory minimal lecture style, where the majority of course meeting time is devoted to group activities. Each activity may take place during that course meeting only, over the entire semester, or over multiple semesters. Curricular contextual threads take place over multiple semesters. One such contextual thread is the cardiograph project, whereby students build a functional cardiograph that estimates heart rate (HR) and respiration rate (RR) over four semesters (first, third, fifth, and sixth semesters). In Part III, students acquire their own electrocardiogram (ECG) using a custom motherboard, with …

Lessons From The Pivot: Higher Education's Response To The Pandemic, Janine S. Davis, Christy Irish

Education Faculty Articles

The intensity of major events often leads us to remember minute details of where we were and what we were doing when they occurred: what we wore as we watched the towers fall on September 11, 2001; the faces of our classmates when the space shuttle Challenger exploded on January 28, 1986; the smell in the air when we lived through a major earthquake, fire, or other personal tragedy. Similarly, faculty, staff, and students will remember the series of moments that led to the closure of their schools and universities as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the world--the timeline …

Active Learning In The Liaison Multiverse, Julie Arendt, Sergio Chaparro, Bettina Peacemaker

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This session details an approach a liaison department used to innovate instruction. It takes time and effort to integrate new teaching practices such as active learning, especially across manifold upper-level courses. The challenge increases with a multitude of librarians teaching a multitude of diverse learners across a multitude of disciplines. Join us to learn how we created a community of practice around active learning and for an activity to build active learning in your work.

Educating For Global Competence: Co-Constructing Outcomes In The Field: An Action Research Project, Kristina A. Van Winkle

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Capacity building for globally competent educators is a 21st Century imperative to address contemporary complex and constantly changing challenges. This action research project is grounded in positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship, relational cultural theory, and relational leadership practices. It sought to identify adaptive challenges educators face as they try to integrate globally competent teaching practices into their curricula, demonstrate learning and growth experienced by the educators in this project, and provide guidance and solutions to the challenges globally competent educators face. Six educators participated in this three-phase project, which included focus groups, reflective journal entries, and an exit interview. Data …

Effective Teaching Practices By Acue, Module Reflection, Lida Ahmadi

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

The online course,Effective Teaching Practicesis offered byThe Association of College and University Educators’(ACUE’s). This is a comprehensive course on teaching methods that are centered on improving student engagement and learning. This work is a summary report of my reflections on selected course modules.

Motivation In The Mathematics Classroom, Evan Thornton-Kolbe

Honors Theses

Mathematics has always seemed to be an unpopular subject amongst primary and secondary students in the United States. This project seeks to identify the roots of these attitudes and examine them in ways that allow for personal reflection, community building, and student advocacy. An individual’s access to educational resources and equitable treatment play a large role in shaping their mathematics learning identity. This topic was examined via traditional research methods for the written paper portion and also includes a set of lesson plans for teachers to use. These lesson plans utilize the ideas discussed in the paper portion to provide …

Teaching And Learning Of Fluid Mechanics, Ashwin Vaidya

Department of Mathematics Facuty Scholarship and Creative Works

Fluid mechanics occupies a privileged position in the sciences; it is taught in various science departments including physics, mathematics, environmental sciences and mechanical, chemical and civil engineering, with each highlighting a different aspect or interpretation of the foundation and applications of fluids. Doll’s fluid analogy [5] for this idea is especially relevant to this issue: “Emergence of creativity from complex flow of knowledge—example of Benard convection pattern as an analogy—dissipation or dispersal of knowledge (complex knowledge) results in emergent structures, i.e., creativity which in the context of education should be thought of as a unique way to arrange information so …

Going In Thinking Process, Coming Out Transformed: Reflections And Recommendations From A Qualitative Research Course, Donald Mitchell Jr., Elizabeth Byron, Jeffrey Cross, Oj Oleka, Stephanie Van Eps, Phyllis Clark, Natalie Sajko

Faculty Publications

This article presents reflections and suggestions of an instructor and students from a doctoral-level qualitative research course. Given qualitative research courses often lack guidance for best practices and the well-being of doctoral students learning qualitative research is often overlooked, the purpose of this article is threefold: 1) to provide an introductory skeleton for designing a qualitative research course that is structured for classmates to interview each other throughout the semester, what the authors call a student-as-researcher-and-participant design; 2) to provide student reflections from the course; and finally, 3) to offer recommendations for using a student-as-researcher-and participant design for a qualitative …

The Voices Of Typers: Examining The Educational Experiences Of Individuals Who Use Facilitated Communication, Aja Mckee, Audri Sandoval Gomez

Education Faculty Articles and Research

As the number of students with autism grows, professionals must find ways to understand how to best educate this student population. Although current research addresses teaching students with autism, studies on educating autistic students with limited or unreliable verbal speech is nominal. In this qualitative study, interviews with eight autistics who type using the method facilitated communication are analyzed in relation to their educational experiences. The study resulted in a number of key findings that play significant roles in the participants' educational experiences, including (a) the notion of disability hierarchy and the presumption of competence, (b) the importance of building …

Planning For Learning: Limitations Of Teaching Algorithms, Andrew P. Johnson

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

This chapter describes lesson planning from two different perspectives: algorithmic and heuristic.

This is an except from the author's 2019 book, Essential Learning Theories and Their Applications (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield).

Variability By Individual Student Characteristics Of Student Satisfaction With Promising International Student Teaching Practices, Clayton A. Smith, George Zhou, Michael Potter, Deena Wang, Miranda Pecoraro, Renan Paulino

Education Publications

This paper explores promising teaching practices for teaching linguistically and culturally diverse international students by identifying the teaching practices that have high levels of international student satisfaction and student perceptions of learning. Data were collected through an online survey at a mid-sized Canadian public comprehensive university. Variability of student satisfaction by individual student characteristics (e.g., level of study, year of study, age, gender, field of study, country of origin, length of time studying outside country of origin, parents’ educational level, and study location) is presented. Recommendations for professional practice are discussed

Missed Opportunities For Writing In The Kindergarten Classroom, Shalise Meadows

Spring Presentation of Undergraduate Research

Writing is a very important part of life. Students begin learning to write before or during kindergarten. While in a kindergarten classroom, I noticed that there was a lot of writing, but it was mostly independent with little to no instruction. There are a few reasons as to why teachers are not spending time on writing instruction; for example, lack of time. However, there are simple ways that teachers can implement writing instruction and the feeling of a community in the classroom.

Reflecting On The Context Of A Teaching Philosophy, Judith Platania

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Teaching experience is only valuable when we reflect on our practices as professors. This reflection should expand our realization of the challenges we face in the classroom.As faculty, we have an obligation to our students and to ourselves to participate in continued assessment of our teaching philosophy.Not only is it important to do so from a pedagogical perspective, it reminds us of our responsibility to inform our students through evidence-based practices and the science of our respective disciplines.

Supporting English Language Learners Inside The Mathematics Classroom: One Teacher’S Unique Perspective Working With Students During Their First Years In America, Amy Marie Fendrick

Research and Evaluation in Education, Technology, Art, and Design

Reflecting upon my personal experiences teaching mathematics to English Language Learners (ELL) in a public high school in Lincoln, Nebraska, this essay largely focuses on the time I spent as the only Accelerated Math teacher in my school building. From 2012 – 2017, I taught three different subjects at this high school: Advanced Algebra, Algebra, and Accelerated Math. This essay highlights why I chose to become a math and ELL teacher, as well as the challenges, issues, struggles, and successes I experienced during my time teaching. I focus on the challenges I faced teaching students who did not share my …

A Phenomenological Study Of Female Stem Majors Who Have Decided To Become Educators, Porcia Richardson-Spears

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to investigate, identify, and describe the lived experiences that influence female STEM majors to become secondary educators rather than enter a STEM-related corporate profession. This study was guided by Mezirow’s transformative learning theory (TLT) and Lent, Brown and Hackett’s social cognitive career theory (SCCT) as they related to self-awareness, which guides and motivates the behaviors involved in choosing a career path. The research questions for this study were designed to investigate the experiences that prompted females to major in STEM majors and to enter the field of teaching rather than enter corporate …

2018 Master Of Arts In Teaching Teacher Education Programs Offered By The Otterbein University Education Department, Otterbein Office Of Graduate Programs

Graduate School

A graduate handbook for the Master of Arts in Teaching Teacher Education Programs offered by the Otterbein University Education Department.

Assessing The Impact Of A Faculty Book Club On Self-Reflection And Teaching Practice, Scott Moncrieff, Anneris Coria-Navia

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Decision Making Models In 2/2 Time: Two Speakers, Two Models (Maybe), Sharon Bradley, Tim Tarvin

Presentations

Our students have to learn so many new skills to be successful in law school and law practice. Legal research, client interviewing, and case analysis just for starters. Our teaching methods have to engage our students while preparing them to “think like a lawyer.” We also have the responsibility to familiarize students in evaluating the “benefits and risks associated with relevant technology” and to develop efficient practices and processes. The speakers will look at decision making models that are practical and useable.

One speaker will discuss his experiences in a clinical setting using decision trees, teaching his students to visualize …

Thinking About Students' Learning: Metacognition Across The Disciplines, Saryn R. Goldberg, Jennifer Gundlach, Amy M. Masnick, Jennifer A. Rich, Jessica R. Santangelo

Hofstra University Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series

The ability to think about one’s own thinking—metacognition—is identified as one of the keys to subject mastery in most, if not all, disciplines. It is clear that being able to be one’s own critic — assessing and reassessing one’s understanding — is of critical importance to learning. Rarely, however, is metacognition explicitly taught or discussed as a centerpiece of learning in a content-heavy classroom, even with the best intentions of the professors.

A panel of Hofstra faculty from the disciplines of psychology, biology, law, engineering and writing studies will share results from their ongoing research about the impact of integrating …

Choose Your Own Adventure: The Hero's Journey And The Research Process, Mariana Regalado, Helen Georgas, Matthew J. Burgess

Publications and Research

In Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, the hero of the story embarks on an adventure and returns transformed, empowered, and enlightened. Two academic librarians and the research process itself were incorporated into the curriculum of an undergraduate composition course that was structured around the research and writing process as a hero’s journey. The experience, which was student/hero-centered, self-directed, self-defined, investigative, and exploratory, was transformative for the students and the librarians as well.

Your Teaching Strategy Matters: How Engagement Impacts Application In Health Information Literacy Instruction, Heather A. Johnson, Laura C. Barrett

Dartmouth Scholarship

The purpose of this study was to compare two pedagogical methods, active learning and passive instruction, to determine which is more useful in helping students to achieve the learning outcomes in a one-hour research skills instructional session.

Differentiating Instruction Through Math Stations And Literacy Centers, Olivia Bates

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

Differentiating instruction based on students’ readiness, interests, and learning profiles is essential for creating effective and meaningful learning activities. Identifying these characteristics allows teachers to meet students’ needs and engage them in learning. By differentiating instruction, educators target specific students’ strengths and challenges in developing lessons to support their understanding of content. Two useful strategies for differentiating math and literacy instruction include stations and centers. In stations and centers, students work on specific skills catered to their educational needs while rotating activities in flexible groups. This guide supports teachers in identifying strategies and understanding the benefits of differentiating math and …