Education Commons^™

The Art Of Sketchnoting In A High School Language Arts Classroom, Rachael Bourne

Doctor of Education in Secondary and Middle Grades Education Dissertations

This case study addressed how visual note-taking (sketchnotes) impacted students' learning in an English Language Arts (ELA) classroom. The purpose of this qualitative study was to analyze if sketchnoting was a useful tool that students could use to deepen their understanding of concepts learned in ELA. Data from student examination of their own sketchnotes, teacher/researcher examination of the sketchnotes, and interviews were analyzed by identifying quality of work, themes, and assessment questions. The interview questions focused on student experiences with sketchnotes, test score outcomes, and student emotions towards sketchnotes. The examination was a document analysis of sketchnotes parallel to student …

The International Academy Of Language And Culture: The Global (Pre)K-12 Charter School Network, Dree-El Simmons

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The International Academy of Language and Culture (IALC) is a charter school based on the original concept of charter schools by Ray Budde and Albert Shanker, as an academic environment dedicated and designed to improving the educational outcomes for its students through innovative pedagogy. Committed to American (and global) education reform, the IALC incorporates elements from higher education into the early childhood and adolescent settings. We accomplish this by utilizing an interdisciplinary approach in our language and culture-based program.

The IALC is a multilingual, full-immersion program. Food Studies (including culinary arts), the Arts, the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Martial Arts …

A Longitudinal Analysis Of The Development Of Mandarin Chinese In Fourth Grade Chinese Immersion, Robin E. Harvey

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Many studies have confirmed the benefits of dual language immersion programs. Research into reading and writing development in these programs, and particularly in Chinese immersion, is less common. In this dissertation, an attempt is made to address this gap in research by exploring the literacy development of fourth grade Chinese immersion students. Participants were 70 students, the entire fourth grade of an urban Chinese immersion school in the northeastern U.S. The school had recently made several curricular changes. They were adopting a practice of freewriting, or independent writing. In freewriting, students are encouraged to write as much as they can …

Graphic Novels In The Foreign Language Classroom: Teaching Central American History In The Target Language, Vanessa Elizabeth Guzmán

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Graphic novels are becoming increasingly helpful in the foreign language classroom. As a Spanish teacher in the Bronx, I have introduced numerous graphic novels into my lessons. Some graphic novels include familiar characters and are presented in a translated work, while others are graphic novels that were originally printed in Spanish. I have witnessed the advantages of using graphic novels in my classroom as the illustrations provide my readers with context clues to better understand the reading. I have also found some graphic novels that focus on historical events in Latin America but these works were either written entirely in …

An Application Of Tajfel’S Social Identity Theory To Understand Gamer As A Social Identity Among Saudi College-Level Students, Mohammad M. Assiri

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Understanding the social identity construction of Saudi college-level students who self-identify as gamers in Saudi Arabia is essential when designing a student-centered education. Although support exists within the literature for exploring what it means to be a gamer from the perspective of gamers, a review of the literature revealed a gap in this regard in the context of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this grounded theory study explored self-identification as a gamer in Saudi Arabia using Tajfel's (1981) three tenets of self-identification with a group. A social identity framework was used to understand the characteristics of Saudi gamers, their positive or negative …

An Integrative Study Of The Effect Of Early Learning With Touchscreen Technologies Using Samr Framework: A Meta-Analysis And Systematic Review, Atefeh Taherian Kalati

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Digital technologies have brought about a remarkable shift in early childhood learning. Among different technological devices, touchscreens have attracted special interest among young children given their intuitiveness and interactive features. However, the existing empirical findings regarding the effect of this technology on young children’s learning are not consistent. Touchscreen technologies have been also postulated to have the potential for transforming learning experiences. However, there is a dearth of research explicating if the transformative potentials of touchscreens are benefited in early learning and examining the factors/conditions contributing to the improvement of young children's learning with touchscreens. To address these gaps in …

Ell Cultural Inclusion Initiative, Julia L. Gidley

Masters Theses

This project draws on Maslow’s theory of motivation using his hierarchy as a framework, as well as Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. This project aims to engage and involve English Language Learners (ELL) in the classroom by informing educators of strategies that help to find commonalities among students and cultivate communication between Native English Speakers and ELLs thus developing a culturally inclusive classroom. By building the relationships between the two student subgroups (ELLs and NESs) teachers will gain a class of students who have a well-developed world view, increase language acquisition, and develop a deep appreciation and respect for other cultures. Through …

Multimodal Vocabulary Instruction: An Approach For Supporting Reading Comprehension, Mary K. Van Singel

Masters Theses

Children bring a wide range of vocabulary knowledge and prior experiences with them when they enter school. Research suggests that in order to bridge childrens’ word knowledge and the word knowledge needed for academic success, teachers must take on a multimodal instructional approach to foster vocabulary development and reading comprehension in students. This project explores how word knowledge develops in children as well as various research based features of vocabulary instruction to support word learning in the classroom. The project is designed to offer teachers professional development that works to grow teacher expertise for what effective vocabulary instruction is, the …

Addressing Disengagement In Text Through An Increase In Autonomy, Access, And Relevant Text Selection, Amanda L. Saffian

Masters Theses

This project proposal employs a broad range of research to design a plan of implementation that would address the effectiveness of increased permanent exposure to more diverse text sets. The essential components of this design are to investigate the efficacy of increasing access to multimodal, high-interest, and responsive texts in closing educational equity gaps as a substantive conceptual model of educational effectiveness and theory-based approaches to increase engagement in literacy and learning. This work would include developing a comprehensive catalog of texts which would allow for the most significant impact on student engagement. The literature used to justify design includes …

Professional Development Through Literacy Coaching: Tools To Assist Literacy Coaches In Self-Reflection To Build Capacity, Rose M. Brooks

Culminating Experience Projects

Professional development should be job-embedded, focused on the context of the work and allow ample time for practice and application. Recently, literacy coaching has been more widely implemented as a way to improve professional development for teachers. While there is a great deal of research around effective coaching practices, few resources to assess the implementation and quality of literacy coaching exist. This project explores the features of high-quality professional development and literacy coaching in order to develop self-reflection assessment tools for literacy coaches. This project offers a rubric, along with other supporting documents, to assist literacy coaches in reflecting, goal …

Critical Conversations In A Second-Grade Classroom Using Diverse Literature, Joanne Susan Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the effects of reading diverse texts during SEL morning meeting time and observe how 2nd grade students engage in conversations. Diverse texts were selected related to themes of identity, race, poverty, gender, sexual identity, and gender identity. Data collected included student conversations and journals. After analyzing the data collected, it was found that the inclusion of diverse texts during SEL morning meetings yielded positive results. Students engaged in more personal conversations when they could connect to the text and speak freely, students spoke more when they had control of the conversations, …

Developing Teacher Knowledge Of The Science Of Reading: Phonemic Awareness & Phonics, Megan Erin Dziedzic

Culminating Experience Projects

In 2000 the National Reading Panel addressed the low reading proficiency of students in the United States with a report detailing the result of many meta-analysis studies regarding five key areas of literacy: literacy, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (Report of the National Reading Panel, 2000). Through compiling research regarding literacy teaching practices, the panel concluded that to improve literacy scores, we need to focus on research-based, systematic, and explicit instruction, especially in the foundational years of lower elementary (Report of the National Reading Panel, 2000). The science of reading is a broad heading that incorporates neuroscience research …

Every Good Thing: Promoting Culturally Relevant Education And Early Literacy Skills Of Young African American Boys Living In Poverty, Laura Thormann

Culminating Experience Projects

Research has shown a persistent literacy achievement gap between African American males and their peers. This problem has its roots in historical inequity within urban schools serving students living in poverty, as well as gaps in school readiness and learning related skills among many young Black boys. This project seeks to understand the various components affecting emergent literacy within these communities and seeks to better understand how teachers and schools can form meaningful and productive partnerships with families. For too long these children and families have been viewed through a deficit model and have struggled to form positive self-identities as …

Improving Writing Instruction Through Professional Development, Katherine Irene Miller

Culminating Experience Projects

Educators have many demands placed on them that influences classroom instruction and the amount of time spent on each subject area. Teachers typically spend a large part of the day focusing on reading. However, they are less likely to spend the same amount of time on writing instruction. This project states the importance of writing instruction having an equal amount of time devoted to it as reading and should be taught in coordination with reading. It is important for students to receive quality writing instruction because it is a skill they will need to develop to become successful in post …

A Study On How Different Glosses Affect L2 Idiom Acquisition, Liting Luo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Adding glosses to a reading text is expected to be helpful for second (L2) language learners, especially when inferring the meaning of words or expressions is challenging. This project examines the use of glosses to foster comprehension and retention of L2 idioms (e.g., go against the grain and stick to your guns). More specifically, it compares the benefits of different types of information in glosses: simply clarifying the idiomatic meaning, clarifying the literal meaning from which the idiomatic meaning is derived, or clarifying both. The participants were 37 Chinese ESL learners who read texts with one of the three …

Professional Learning Communities: A Way To Provide General Education Teachers With Strategies To Support Fluency, Meredith Skorupski

Culminating Experience Projects

General education teachers are tasked with the important and challenging job of teaching a diverse group of students each school year. Students’ struggles range and are influenced by environmental and social factors. To meet the needs of their students, teachers must be provided with instructional guidance for using research-based strategies to combat areas of concern. Professional learning communities on the topic of fluency provide a space for these conversations to happen within schools. Fluency is an overlooked aspect of reading, but it vital for a student’s reading growth. This project will provide the framework needed for professional learning communities on …

An Instructional Framework To Building Comprehension And Engagement Through Dialogic And Metacognitive Inquiry, Alicia Eileen Wells

Culminating Experience Projects

The highly Anglicized cannon of literature found in American high schools, combined with an antiquated and oversimplified literacy pedagogy, is leaving students disengaged and lacking a nuanced understanding of the literature. Consequently, intermediate and novice learners fail to develop proficient comprehension of assigned materials. This is due to two significant problems: (1) a lack of culturally relevant pedagogy and cultural responsiveness, and (2) a lack of historical, social, and cultural schema. By examining and connecting sociocultural theory, reader response theory, and schema theory, this project will create an instructional framework to facilitate student engagement within an English language arts classroom. …

Latinidad In Summer Reading: A Collaborative Approach To Multicultural Literacy For Latino/A English Learners’ Self-Efficacy In Transitioning To Middle School, Elizabeth Fincher

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative interpretive case study unites literacy education and the field of second language acquisition with quantitative surveys and questionnaires to explore self-efficacy beliefs and literacy learning during transitional experiences of rising fourth through ninth Latino/a/a English Language Learners (LELLs) in a summer reading program. Community Engaged Scholarship in a co-developed summer program with community partner Centro Hispano de East Tennessee frames this research to offer diverse perspectives in curriculum and instructional improvement efforts towards equitable literacy education. How schools and youth-serving organizations support LELLs’ transitional processes in second language acquisition and literacy is shaped by how well teachers and …

The Effects Of Immersive Virtual Environments On Motivation, Oral Communication, And Instructional Strategy In Efl Classrooms, John Martin Shipko

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The creation of web-based real-time computer simulations has given language educators incredible new opportunities to create immersive experiences for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. This thesis reviewed 12 empirical studies, 3 previous literature reviews, 3 non-empirical journal articles, and 23 additional background sources investigating the impact of Immersive Virtual Environments (IVE) on EFL learners’ motivation and oral communication in EFL learning. 12 empirical studies were analyzed closely while other sources were used to provide additional information and theoretical insights. The findings indicate that IVEs offer novel ways to connect EFL learners to native-speaking communities where they can acquire …

Applying The Dialogic Method In An Eighth Grade English Curriculum, Maggie Repko

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In this thesis, I provide an analysis of Paulo Freire’s (1973) dialogic method for language education. I then synthesize his theories with the work of sociocultural and linguistic researchers who have determined the strongest activities to bring about student language development. Finally, I apply these theories to my appendices of created works that might be utilized in an eighth-grade creative writing course. This thesis demonstrates the similarities between Freire’s students and our students in the USA today and the ways that a critical dialogic pedagogy will meet their language learning needs while also inspiring their creative, critical conscientização. Paulo Freire …

Language Ideologies In First Year Composition Textbooks, Joanna Clevenger

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This thesis examines how standard language ideologies are perpetuated in the five most frequently assigned first year composition textbooks from four higher education institutions in Southern California’s Inland Empire. Standard language ideologies position one variation of a language as superior, correct, appropriate and the normal variation of a language which everyone should be able to speak. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, the five textbooks were analyzed in order to uncover the embedded power and hegemony over women, people of color, and those from a lower socioeconomic status which are prevalent throughout society because they are unchallenged and widely accepted as the …

Curriculum Is A Map, Not A Gps: Culturally Responsive Reading Instruction In Urban Schools, Danielle Hay

Culminating Experience Projects

With the literacy achievement gap growing, particularly in urban schools, many teachers are missing the training, tools, and support necessary to best meet the needs of their students beyond the curriculum given. This project argues the importance of sustainable teacher improvement through reflective, collaborative professional development and the support of a literacy coach. To attain the highest impact on student achievement, teachers must have a deep understanding of their students as well as evaluate their current teaching practices to identify where students may need additional support and what classroom practices may need to be adjusted. By providing students with a …

The Development Of Discourse Markers In Narrations Written By Spanish Heritage Language Learners: A Case For Explicit And Implicit Instruction, Mark Cisneros

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

This Dissertation attempted to determine the types and number of discourse markers (DMs) used in narrations written by Spanish Heritage Language (SHL) learners and if they benefitted from the following pedagogical intervention (i.e., Explicit Instruction + Input Flood + Textual Enhancement) regarding the use of DMs. It also calculated the syntactic complexity, morphosyntactic accuracy, and fluency of their narrations. For this study, 39 SHL learners served as participants: 19 in an Experimental group and 20 in a Control group. All participants wrote two narrations of two short, silent films: a pre-test narration and an immediate post-test narration. Before completing the …

Investigating Bilingual Aac Practices In Bilingual Communities, Johanna R. Salisbury

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates best practices for teaching and supporting bilingual augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) users as they develop their communication skills. Although there are guidelines that inform best practices for teaching and supporting bilingual AAC users, there is very little information on what these practices look like. This thesis investigates the techniques and strategies that bilingual speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who practice in Catalunya, a bilingual community in northeastern Spain, use to evaluate, teach, and support people who use pictogram-based AAC modalities to communicate.

To do this, six SLPs who practice in Catalunya participated in interviews regarding their practices when …

Effective Reading Practices For Inclusive Classrooms, Andrew Block

Graduate Teacher Education

This paper examined research on what are best practices for teaching reading comprehension to students in an inclusive classroom. This topic is explored through research findings from multiple quantitative and qualitative studies which examined the effectiveness of structured reading instruction, explicitly taught reading strategies, student autonomy, and discussion and collaboration as best practices for improving reading comprehension skills. While research showed a variety of effective practices and strategies to increase reading comprehension among all students, the research also suggested the need for content area teachers to receive on-going professional development to consistently implement evidence-based practices throughout the course of the …

Affirming Respect And Kindness Within A Classroom Community Through Discussion And Multicultural Literature, Angelica Gitter

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate how students in a third-grade classroom can engage with multicultural texts and learn about cultures that are different from their own. Furthermore, it investigated the impact of multicultural literature on respect and kindness in a classroom community. Throughout the four-week study, students read twelve different multicultural texts and engaged in classroom discussions during Morning Meeting. Students participated in group discussions expressing their ideas, thoughts, feelings, and beliefs related to the context of the books read. The strategies used for this qualitative research were questionnaires, teacher observations, and whole group and small group …

Using Multicultural Texts To Help Shape Student Perceptions Regarding Individual Beliefs And Values While Developing Empathy For Diverse Cultures, Megan N. Karpinski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the effects of multicultural literature in a second grade classroom and how it impacts students' perceptions of other cultures, beliefs and values while showing empathy and acceptance of other cultures. Throughout the study, students read and connected to a variety of multicultural literature. They participated in activities while expressing their own experiences, thoughts and feelings while connecting with the texts. The assessment tools used throughout this study were questionnaires, surveys, observations, interviews, class discussions and student notebooks. Through discussion and analysis of the texts, students were able to make connections while …

Improving Read-Aloud Instruction In An Autism Preschool Classroom, Amanda M. Bruffy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to look at what literacy strategies can be implemented to engage autistic preschool students during read-aloud instruction. Through this qualitative case study, I conducted research to find strategies that would engage my students in a way that is purposeful, effective, and create instruction where students take something meaningful away from the lesson. The research was conducted in a self-contained preschool classroom with a focus on Autism. A teacher's journal, family questionnaire, observational and anecdotal notes were used and collected to analyze data from read-aloud instruction. The data that was collected was analyzed through the …

Exploring Factors That Affect English Language Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs In The English As A Second Language Context, Alexandra Charnina

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study explored factors that affect English language teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs in the English as a second language (ESL) context. Data were collected via two interviews with five English language teachers, one stimulated recall interview, and a full day observation of their classrooms. Based on the context and program requirements, the results showed that English language teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs are impacted by language proficiency, the curriculum and materials, the administration and collective teacher efficacy, and teaching online. Teachers view language proficiency as a principal quality of successful and effective English language teachers and this without doubt impacts their sense of …

Using A Cultural Response To Select Multicultural Social Studies Read Alouds In A Kindergarten Classroom, Meredith Shockley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to examine student interactions before, during, and after the reading of multicultural literature in kindergarten during the science and social studies instruction. The texts selected were picked based on information about the students' Funds of Knowledge, family make-up, and culture within the particular classroom. Over the course of two months, five multicultural texts were read aloud and discussed. Recorded book discussions, student drawings, and one-on-one interview questions were used to gather data. After all the data was collected, the following themes became apparent: family connections, diversity, and student engagement. Based on the data, …