Education Commons^™

Evolving Identity: A Case Study Of Mentor Science Teachers, Melissa N. Ortega

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation is a case study of how mentor science teachers understood and presented their experiences, challenges they faced, and learning of being and becoming a mentor teacher while they participated in a year-long district mentoring program. The purpose of this study is to examine what science teachers learn in their experiences as mentors and the role this learning played on their identities as professional educators. According to Bullough (1997), teacher identity is of vital concern to teacher education as it is the “basis of meaning making and decision making” (p. 21). Existing research on science teacher identity indicate that …

The Paradoxical Experiences Of Young Hispanic College Students: Academic Success In The Face Of Age-Related Stigma, Marilyn Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

There has been growth in programs such as the Early College High School Initiative in order to address the inequalities that racial/ethnic minorities, such as Hispanics, face when it comes to pursuing a higher education. As a result, there has been an increase of nontraditionally aged students (i.e., young students under 18) in higher education. Despite likely increases in young students attending universities, little is known about the young students' academic performance and the challenges they face while attending college; this Thesis addresses that limitation through two studies using institutional and interview data from one university. The first study used …

Efl Teachers' Identities And Their Teaching And Assessment Practices In A Public University Of A Major City In Colombia, Diana Patricia Pineda Montoya

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This one-year long ethnographic case study seeks to add to the body of literature on EFL teachers' identities in Colombia by drawing on ethnographic methods and sociocultural theories to examine the identity construction of four EFL teachers at the university level. Specifically, this study explores how EFL teachers' identities shaped and were shaped by their teaching and assessment practices. The study was conducted at a public university and involved ethnographic participant-observation with four cátedra teachers (adjunct faculty) situated across five language programs in the Foreign Language Teaching Section (FLTS) of the Department of Languages.

The analysis of multiple data sources …

Public School Based Early Childhood Teachers' Beliefs And Their Approaches To Curriculum: A Naturalistic Case Study, Jessica D. Slade

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study explores the beliefs about teaching approaches and classroom practices of public school-based early childhood pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teachers on the U.S. -Mexico border. Additionally, introduced in this work is a new framework for making visible the belief and practices of classroom teachers, as well as theories and approaches to Early Childhood Education, called the process-product continuum. This naturalist multi-case study utilized semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, artifact collection, and construction of visual timelines from three participants; participant narratives are presented, classroom practices and belief statements are analyzed, and mapped on the process-product continuum. Findings indicate that in addition to …

Analyzing School-Wide, Project-Based Learning In A Middle School: From A Cultural Historical Activity Theory Perspective, Laura Venegas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recognizing the importance of preparing students for the 21st century along with meeting the accountability measures, educators must continually seek those educational practices that will support both endeavors. Through the literature and during this research, project-based learning has emerged as a promising curriculum tool that answers these objectives. To implement 21st century educational experiences, project-based learning has been attempted in various capacities of specific contents, grade levels and individual teachers; however, there has been limited application of a school-wide practice. While there is potential of project-based learning as a transformative curriculum tool in education, challenges of implementation still exist. Given …

The Professional Identities Of Child And Youth Program Assistants (Cypas) At A Military Installation, Katherine Susan Clark

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This six-month long phenomenological case study seeks to add to the body of literature regarding the impact of learning on the construction of professional identities for early childhood care and education professionals by drawing on sociocultural theories of learning and identities. Specifically, this study explores how nine Child and Youth Program Assistants' (CYPAs) professional identities construction was impacted by their personal and professional learning experiences. The study was conducted in the Southwestern region of the U.S. at Quartz CDC (QCDC) located on Ft. Gem Military Installation where the CYPAs were employed as early childhood professionals.

The analysis of multiple data …

Beyond Teacher Knowledge: Connections Between Content Knowledge, Mindset For Learning, And Teaching In Two-Year College Mathematics Faculty, Lucy Hernandez Michal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Addressing thousands of students entering unprepared to enroll in college freshman mathematics courses is a challenge two-year college mathematics faculty face every semester. The study addresses this challenge through a mixed methods sequential nested multi-case design to investigate what faculty need, beyond teacher knowledge, to teach mathematics effectively to students. The three-part study measured the mindset learning profile and content knowledge of a sample of mathematics faculty at a two-year college. The quantitative and qualitative data provided references to select four faculty typologies to interview and observe. Interviews reflected faculty perceptions of teaching and learning. Class observations captured images of …

Language, Literacy And Project Based Learning: An Ethnographic Case Study Of A New Tech Classroom In A High School On The Us/Mexico Border, Nora Lee Paugh

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This ethnographic case study sought to understand how English Language Learners used their language and literacy practices within a project based learning (PBL) classroom to complete their PBL tasks. Studies revealed the impact of how English language learners within a PBL learning environment were able to use their language and literacy as a social practices that led to successful student engagement (Call & Sotillo, 1995; Campbell, 2012). This study was conducted at Wilson High School, located along the US/Mexico border. The focus of the case study was a 9th grade combination English/World Geography class of the school's inaugural New Tech …