Education Commons^™

A New Charter Challenges Popular Paradigms, Levi Sharpe

Capstones

Many popular charter schools in New York City, which are highly rated, are known for being heavy on test prep and rigid in structure. Success Academy, the largest charter network in New York City, is the paragon of this type of model. But these models, known as "no-excuse" charters can burn out teachers. Critics also say they squelch students' creativity and their desire to be in class. A New York Times article from April 2015 described Success’ “polarizing tactics," which lead to high teacher turnover. Six months later, The Times also reported on a Success Academy charter in Fort Greene …

Minecraft In The Math Classroom, Aaron J. Hultstrand

Senior Honors Theses

The spread of technology is creating the need for teachers to evolve and adapt their strategies within the classroom. Teachers must continually improve upon their technological integration in order to teach students ever more effectively. Game-based learning has recently gained prominence as a plausible use of technology in the classroom. This thesis will discuss the classroom implications and application of game-based learning. Specifically, the use of the video game Minecraft in the high school math classroom will be examined. The potential of Minecraft as an effective teaching tool to advance the quality of student learning will be examined through a …

Addressing The Past, Embracing The Future: An Analysis Of How Historic Inequality Has Created Current Obstacles To Learning English In Brazil And A Proposal For A New Community-Based Approach, Aja C. Bryant

MA TESOL Collection

This paper contextualizes current challenges to English learning in Brazil within the educational history of the country. It explores the ways in which language, both native literacy and foreign, has been used to set apart and advantage the elite class, while educational policy and approaches have served to pacify and control the majority. This history has left psychological, cultural, and economic legacies which inhibit learning today. Nevertheless, modern globalization is placing increasing pressure on Brazilians to achieve fluency in English and other languages. This paper briefly outlines the new and complex intellectual and social skills needed to participate in a …

A Grounded Theory Of Individualized Learning Practices In New Jersey Higher Education, Dennis William Devery

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to develop a theory, grounded in data provided by faculty, administrators, and institutional document analysis, concerning why and how faculty and administrators at three New Jersey higher education institutions use individualized learning practices. Individualized learning practices, as defined in this study, are the actions, activities, and procedures performed by faculty and administrators at the course, program, and institutional levels that assist students as they progress through a higher education institution. The study found a variety of individualized learning practices are utilized by faculty and administrators at the course, program and institutional levels …

The Role Of Critical Thinking In Reader Perceptions Of Leadership In Comic Books, Renee Krusemark Edd

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

This study qualitatively explored how readers use critical thinking to perceive leadership in The Walking Dead comic books. Sixty-nine participants gave responses regarding their thoughts about leadership in the comic via an online survey. A majority of the participants indicated a wide range of values for comics as a learning experience. Most participants perceived leadership in the comic books as an individual who protects others and makes decisions. After completing the online survey, 22 participants gave acceptable and relevant responses about their perceptions of leadership and how they form these perceptions. Information was collected through email interviewing. The study concluded …

Pim Pedagogy: Toward A Loosely Unified Model For Teaching And Studying Comics And Graphic Novels, James B. Carter

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

The article debuts and explains "PIM" pedagogy, a construct for teaching comics at the secondary- and post-secondary levels and for deep reading/studying comics. The PIM model for considering comics is actually based in major precepts of education studies, namely constructivist foundations of learning, and loosely unifies constructs inherent therein with other available frames and frameworks for studying comics. As such, the article fills a dire need in the scholarly literature on comics pedagogy and paves a way for those who seek to teach comics courses in the future but who need direction and for those who seek to study/read comics …

A Reflection On My Challenged Assumptions, Darvesh Karim

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

No abstract provided.

Initial Results From The First National Survey Of Student Outcomes From Small Satellite Program Participation, Jeremy Straub

Jeremy Straub

This paper presents initial results of the first national / international survey of student participants in CubeSat and other small spacecraft programs. It aims to make portions of the results of the survey available for immediate use by the CubeSat / small spacecraft community prior to the completion of a thorough analysis of the results and consideration of correlating and prospective causation factors for various outcomes.

Teaching English In Saudi Arabia Through The Use Of Multimedia, Linah A. Sofi

Master's Projects and Capstones

The purpose of this project is to design model lesson plans which will require the use of available modern technology and movies, songs and graphic novels, etc, to enhance students’ communicative competence and motivate critical thinking. In fact, The project will be constructed to implement the use of technology in the Saudi Arabian traditional classrooms. It will serve as a model for teachers to build their own lesson plans accordingly, using a communicative language teaching approach. Finally, it is hoped that with this handbook, Saudi Arabian English language learners will develop critical thinking skills and enhance higher communicative competence in …

Teaching Reading Comprehension Skills To Saudi Female Students At The University Levels: A Handbook For Teachers, Dina Sofi

Master's Projects and Capstones

By using innovative language teaching techniques and methodologies based on Communicative Language Teaching Approach and Multiple Intelligences Theory , the author of this project aimed to develop a handbook for EFL female teachers in Saudi Arabia. The handbook serves as a guide for teaching reading comprehension to Saudi female students at the university levels. The handbook illustrates different teaching methods that activate different learning modalities. It also include sample units with reading passages and activities that model teaching reading, integrate different language skills and enhance the students’ communicative skills.

Integration Of Content In Early Childhood Education, Sara Rayburn

Honors Projects

In order to effectively engage students in today's society, teachers must be willing and prepared to be innovative in their methods. Integration of the content areas is one such way that teachers can build upon prior knowledge and develop meaningful learning experiences for young children. An event titled "Flight Partners for Life" was developed in order to practice integrating content, as well as to serve a need in the Sibs-n-Kids Weekend 2015 schedule at Bowling Green State University. In this specific example of content integration, Language Arts standards were taught in collaboration with Christian religious education curriculum.

Telescopes And Spyglasses: Using Literary Theories In High School Classrooms, Danielle M. Rains

Honors Projects

This project, “Telescopes and Spyglasses: Using Literary Theories in High School Classrooms,” is a pedagogy book that provides information about literary theories in a way that can be applied directly to a classroom. Each chapter includes background information on the theory, instructions on how to read following the theory’s guidelines, how to teach and introduce the theory to students, and how to begin writing an analysis of a work using the theory as a guiding framework.

This project is important because students are being demanded more and more to be able to analyze texts for deeper understanding of the work, …

Differentiation In The Classroom Using Chromebooks And Google Applications, Allison Carney

Honors Projects

The purpose of this research was to differentiate using Chromebook and Google technology to improve engagement and grades in the classroom. Chromebooks have been implemented into classrooms all over the country, but the use of Google applications in order to differentiate instruction and assessment is not as prominent in schools. I created four assignments on the Chromebooks that differentiated instruction and assessment based on interest and ability levels. I used a total of six applications and differentiated for forty-four students in a sixth grade math and science classroom. I found that differentiating using Chromebooks and Google applications boosted student engagement, …

Choice--‐Based Art: Students Who Create, Not Replicate, Hillary K. Moczerad

Masters Theses

The problem that I researched in today’s art education world is how to teach our art students to be problem solving, confident, independent thinkers. It seems that in a classroom that is supposed to be full of innovation and creativity, it is currently falling flat. Through research, I discovered a teaching methodology called Choice-­‐Based Art that claims to eliminate these problems in the art room through student-­‐directed learning and choice while still delivering art curriculum. In order to test these theories, I aligned my classroom with the demands of the methodology and planned a field test with two groups of …

Exit Tickets' Effect On Engagement And Concept Attainment In High School Science, Amy Mastromonaco

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Many high school students struggle to stay engaged in their science class. As a result, student learning often suffers. The purpose of this study was to implement one additional strategy (Exit Tickets) to the teacher’s pedagogy in order to help better engage students and promote student learning. The teacher then evaluated the efficacy of the strategy by: comparing both participant behavioral engagement and assessment results prior to and during/after the implementation of the Exit Tickets. The data was disaggregated to compare students who were typically behaviorally disengaged to those who were consistently behaviorally engaged so as to better determine the …

Arts-Integration In A Middle Grades Social Studies Classroom, Stephanie J. Dorminey

Honors College Theses

Many middle grades students are not engaged in their Social Studies classrooms, and history teachers are faced with the task of finding an effective way to engage students and help them remember the required content. The purpose of this study was to investigate how integrating the arts in a middle grades history classroom influences student learning and student satisfaction in social studies. The study is mixed-methods; therefore, data collected are both quantitative and qualitative. Participants are two classes of middle grades students at a rural school in the Southeastern United States. This study will benefit educators who are interested in …

Comparing Contemporary Dystopian Novels With Canonical Classics In The Classroom, Elizabeth Moser

Honors Projects

This is a set of twenty lesson plans combining canonical classic dystopian novels and contemporary dystopian novels in the classroom. The first ten lesson plans involve teaching Divergent by Veronica Roth and 1984 by George Orwell together. The second ten days involve teaching The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and 1984 by George Orwell together. These sets of lessons are not necessarily meant to be taught together but each of the ten day sets were created to show the different possibilities for teaching these types of novels together.

Involvement Of Undergraduate Students In Research: A Comparison Of Course Research Components, Paid Research Activities, Student-Led Projects And Independent / Directed Study Courses, Jeremy Straub

Jeremy Straub

Involving undergraduate students in bona fide research can provide multiple types of benefits. Whether students elect to pursue research careers or not, research experiences can be beneficial. Students gain an excellent resume item and interview discussion topic. They also gain experience in team participation dynamics and project management and the opportunity to put techniques that they have learned in the classroom to use. In interdisciplinary projects, they learn to work with those from other disciplines, gain an understanding of the challenges of doing so and gain an understanding of the vernacular of these other disciplines.

This paper presents an overview …

Prophetic Imagination: Confronting The New Jim Crow & Income Inequality In America, Cornel West

Engaging Pedagogies in Catholic Higher Education (EPiCHE)

On October 11, 2014, Cornel West delivered the keynote address to nearly 600 students at the regional Leadership & Social Justice Conference, hosted at Saint Mary’s College of California. The conference occurred two days before West was arrested in Ferguson, Missouri, during a demonstration to protest the killing of young Black men by White police officers, as in the case of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson. Speaking of the students, West said, "I would like to see these precious young people commit themselves to lives of integrity, honesty and decency, where they are vigilant against all forms of evil—White supremacists, …

Students' Knowledge And Perceived Confidence In An Interdisciplinary Experiential-Learning Environment, Lee J. Florea, Adam J. Kuban, Michelle O'Malley

Lee J Florea, PhD, P.G.

Experiential-learning theory suggests that students acquire knowledge through hands-on learning environments, and aspiring journalists need a setting where they can experience science — its process(es) as well as how to report empirical findings. Researchers utilized pre/post questionnaires, field-notebook evaluation, and focus-group analysis as methods to assess an interdisciplinary, experiential course that combined science and media undergraduates. Results revealed students valued procedural over fact-based knowledge. Students also indicated increased perceived confidence—even when they answered questions incorrectly.

The Disabled Teacher: A Memoir Of An Interrupted Pedagogical Career, A Life With A Chronic Illness, And An Encounter With Real Barriers To Inclusive Education, Dorothy M. Bossman

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation is a narrative exploration of multiple themes relevant to education research: the relationship between the university and school, epistemology, teacher identity, disability studies, researcher subjectivity, and the retention of quality educators. This work of “autoethnography” (Ellis, Bochner, & Adams, 2011) approaches these topics through the tellings of a teaching career, the awakening of an education scholar, and the development of a chronic illness. While the focus of this inquiry often returns to the researcher’s pedagogical identity, the three storylines interact in myriad ways that relate to the larger field. Removal of one of these narrative threads would, metaphorically, …

A Concept Paper On Networks Of Excellence For Research And Education, Suresh V. Garimella, David B. Janes, Anne Slaughter Andrew

PPRI Digital Library

Research and education ecosystems, foundational components of knowledge-based economies, are relatively underdeveloped in Latin America. The entire ecosystem of a research university — including resources, corporate partnerships, and research — must capitalize on a symbiosis between the research, education and commercialization missions. A university cannot transform unilaterally nor can universities sustain the required transformation without government and industry participation. Initiatives to accelerate the development of research university ecosystems are critical for the realization of knowledge-based economies and resilient civil societies.

To accelerate the development of research and education ecosystems across the Americas, the authors propose to establish “Networks of Excellence” …

Effectively Using Discussion Boards To Engage Students In Introductory Leadership Courses, Deborah N. Smith

Faculty and Research Publications

This article discusses the use of online asynchronous discussion boards as a valuable tool for connecting students to leadership concepts, theories, and models in introductory leadership survey courses. Recommendations are given for designing effective discussion boards that engage students and enhance their learning. Student outcomes include construction on knowledge, relevant connections between course material and personal lives, and critical reflection.

University Of The Future Colombia-Purdue Workshop Report, Suresh V. Garimella, David B. Janes, Liliana Gómez Díaz

PPRI Digital Library

The University of the Future Workshop, a joint Colombia-Purdue event, was held at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, October 28-29, 2014. Participants included rectors and board members from six top universities in Colombia, along with executive directors of NGOs, government representatives from the U.S. and Colombia, and Purdue faculty and administrators. The workshop was focused on a dialog among participants on key programs and focuses that will allow universities to be responsive to the 21st century needs of the Americas.

This report is a summary of the workshop and is based on the contributions of all the participants. Key …

You're And Your, Stella Rich

Grammar Fair Posters

This poster was created by a UNE teacher education candidate for use in a mini-lesson on the words Your and You’re, which students often confuse. During the lesson, students were given the rule for when to use each of the words correctly and the tip that when using “you’re” they can substitute you are in place of the word and when using “your” they can substitute the word my in its place to see what makes sense. After students went over the words they were each given either “your” or “you’re” on a star and asked to Velcro the …

Then Or Than?, Jamie Buyak

Grammar Fair Posters

This poster was created by a UNE teacher education candidate for use in a mini-lesson on the words Then and Than, which students often confuse. During the lesson, students learned the rule for when to use each word correctly and this trick to help: use THEN when referring to time (both “then” and “time” contain the letter e) and THAN when comparing things (both “than” and “compare” contain the letter a). Once students learned the rule they were each given the words then and than and a sentence was presented. Students were asked to come up and Velcro the …

Prefixes, Christine Beecher

Grammar Fair Posters

This poster was created by a UNE teacher education candidate for use in a mini-lesson on Prefixes. During the lesson, students first were taught what prefixes are and how they are combined with a root word to alter the meaning of the root word. Students then were each given index cards—some with prefixes and some with root words. They had to match up their prefix with someone else’s root word to make a new word and then share this with the group. Certain common prefixes such as un, dis, pre, non, re, ex, mis, bi and con were emphasized. …

Synonyms, Saige Sturvist

Grammar Fair Posters

This poster was created by a UNE teacher education candidate for use in a mini-lesson on Synonyms. During the lesson, the teacher first explained what synonyms were and gave some examples. Students then were given some predetermined words and were asked to match their word (written on an orange straw) with its synonym written on the outside of a cup. They were asked to put the word in the cup with the related synonym. To conclude the lesson, students generated their own words that matched a word on a synonym cup and the teacher challenged the students to come …

El Futuro Es La Historia: El Pasado Doloroso Y Las Generaciones Futuros En Los Espacios De Memoria En Buenos Aires / The Future Is History: The Painful Past And Future Generations In Memory Sites In Buenos Aires, Leslie Niiro

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Para contar una historia reciente y dolorosa a otros que no vivieron esta historia, con la esperanza de que no ocurra más, nunca puede ser objetivo en un ‘espacio de la memoria’. Casi siempre se lleva una agenda social, una mirada al futuro y para muchos, esta esperanza es en la próxima generación. En esta investigación, miro a la historia de la última junta cívico-militar (1976-1983) y las décadas después para entender de qué forma trabajan los espacios de la memoria para enseñar la historia reciente a estudiantes. Abordada por entrevistas, visitas guiadas, y observaciones participantes en espacios de la …

A Comparative Analysis: Indigenous Students And Education Models In Canada And The United States, Alison M. Perkins

Global Honors Theses

Equity in education for minority students is an issue that has been ignored for quite some time. This is important to note because education is an important aspect to human development. This thesis focuses on education models in Canada and the United States, and how those models affect indigenous students specifically. Indigenous peoples are a historically marginalized group that have faced inequity in their educational experiences. This paper explores the historical context of education for indigenous peoples in both nations in order to understand their current educational issues. I used the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples …