Education Commons^™

Who Picks Where A Student Sits In A Classroom?, Kathryn Kummer

Honors Projects

This ACTION research study aims to explore who should pick where students sit in a classroom. Disruptive behavior is a common issue in managing a classroom, so in this study, the results of each arrangement will be done by observing how often disruptive behavior happens in the classroom due to the seating arrangement. Student preference for seating arrangement will also be noted to determine if that affects disruptive behavior. The three arrangements to explore are: student choice, teacher choice, and random selection. By the end, the study will provide the arrangements effect as it relates to disruptive behavior and if …

Restorative Practices In English Language Arts: My Journey Towards Linguistic Justice, Ariana Skeese

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

In this final portfolio, I examine anti-racist pedagogy in English Language Arts Education.

Sexual Health Education Scope And Sequence, Sara Wadsworth

Honors Projects

Based on a significant amount of prior research, comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) has been identified to be the most effective method of teaching sexual health education (SHAPE America, 2021; World Health Organization, 2023). Comprehensive sexual health education improves healthy behaviors and outcomes, provides useful information, and is positively perceived by students (Gardner, 2015; Kirby, 2002; Robinson et al., 2022). However, the United States’ current sexual health education has not implemented this ideal method, which is shown through state laws, students’ experiences, underdeveloped skills and flawed understanding of concepts, and – most importantly – a lack of resources for teachers (Foley, …

Room For Breathing: Mindfulness, Currere, And Contemplative Practices In Teacher Education, Hongyu Wang, Jo Flory

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper explores the intersections of using autobiographical (currere) writing and mindful meditations as two forms of contemplative practices in teacher education, from the perspectives of both a secondary classroom teacher and a teacher educator. An experientially-based conceptual inquiry, it is contextualized through first-person autobiographical narrations reconstructed from the authors’ currere writings and mindfulness practices, in order to draw connections between both through the theme of making room for breathing. The pedagogical contexts surrounding how students practice mindfulness and currere in teacher education are discussed, and the body, emotions, temporality, space, and relationality are analyzed as intersecting and complementary …

Your Story, Your Life, Your Learning: Autobiography Reveals Basis For Supporting Personalized, Holistic Pedagogy, Michael Maser

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Each person ongoingly experiences the world uniquely through vital processes shaping their subjectivity, personhood and sense of self. Learning, an innate characteristic or modality of each human life, of living, likewise arises subjectively or idiosyncratically. In this paper, a phenomenological lens is applied to auto/biographical excerpts concerned with various learning experiences to help reveal essential, subjective characteristics of emergent learning. The insights help establish a basis for challenging the primacy of objectivist learning evaluations. The insights also confirm the importance of personalizing learning as a pedagogical gesture nurturing and enfranchising student learning in significant ways beyond conventional educational approaches …

Analyzing The Impact Of An Informal Mathematics Teaching Experience On Preservice Teacher Mathematics Teaching Self-Efficacy, Kayla Fruth

Honors Projects

A teacher’s sense of efficacy is their belief in their capability to successfully accomplish a specific task. Teachers with a high sense of efficacy exert more effort, persistence, and commitment to teaching, which leads to higher student achievement and attitudes. The purpose of this study is to determine how participation in an informal mathematics teaching experience impacts preservice teachers’ sense of mathematics teaching self-efficacy. This research was conducted at one informal mathematics teaching experience, during which, all participants completed pre-surveys and post-surveys rating their mathematics teaching self-efficacy using the MTEBI. Later, some participants were interviewed to gain insight into their …

“A Word For Nature”: A Reflection On A Contemplative Teacher-Training Course In The Desert, Netta Baryosef-Paz, Nirit Assaf

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper reflects on an interdisciplinary, environmental, and contemplative course the authors taught at Kibbutzim College of Education in Tel Aviv. Entitled “I am in Nature,” the course was co-taught by an ecologist and a literary scholar. It included a two-day base camping and hiking experience in the Negev Desert and three on-campus meetings. The students read Nature Writing and Ecopoetry, practiced guided mindfulness meditations in the field, and kept contemplative-writing journals. In this community voices piece, we offer an innovative pedagogy for higher education that centers on the integration of the learner’s mind, body, and heart through interdisciplinary, contemplative, …

Book Review: Kumar, Ashwani. (Ed.). (2022). Engaging With Meditative Inquiry In Teaching, Learning, And Research: Realizing Transformative Potentials In Diverse Contexts. New York, Ny: Routledge., Giovanni Rossini Phd

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Book Review of following text:

Kumar, Ashwani. (Ed.). (2022). Engaging with Meditative Inquiry in Teaching, Learning, and Research: Realizing Transformative Potentials in Diverse Contexts. New York, NY: Routledge.

The Four Protocols Of Engagement And How To Apply Them, Joyce A. Schneider

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

In response to concerns as to how to respectfully mobilize Canada's 2015 Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) 94 Calls to Action in our teaching/learning and/or life practices, I developed the Four Protocols of Engagement as a starting point for those ready to authentically engage with First Peoples, their/our lands, and ways of doing, knowing, and valuing. I demonstrate how I apply the Four Protocols in my own work through detailing how each protocol enacted requires preparatory knowledge seeking and actions to make meaningful and impactful Land Acknowledgements. I conclude by reflecting on the content and practices outlined in this example of …

The Tactical Versus Technical Paradigm: Scholarship On Teaching Games With A ‘Catch-22’, Adrian P. Turner

School of Human Movement, Sport, and Leisure Studies Faculty Publications

This chapter examines specific game-based and technique approaches that constituted the foci for experimental research attempting to test hypotheses concerning cause-and-effect relationships. Games teaching approaches, e.g., Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) and technique instruction, were manipulated and measured on criteria that included skill assessments, declarative and procedural knowledge, and game performance components. Research also contrasted off-the-ball offensive and defensive player movements. This method of experimental inquiry necessitated a meticulous approach; it required investigators to restrict threats to the internal validity of the research while simultaneously trying to protect the ecological validity. This scenario represented a “Catch-22” for sport pedagogy scholars …

Pause And Possibility: Pre-Service Teachers’ Perspectives On Creative Writing Clubs, Stephanie Altier

Honors Projects

Creative writing clubs can enrich the lives of writers and facilitators. These clubs provide many opportunities to enrich their members’ academic, social, and personal development (Clifton, 2022; Siskel & Jacobs, 2011; Lawton, 2021). This project uses a focus-group study of five pre-service Integrated Language Arts teachers to explore the teachers' perspectives on advising creative writing clubs. Their insight informs a web-based teacher resource, Creative Writing Club Hub. Major findings are that participants harbor low self-efficacy towards creative writing and that the most effective method for encouraging them to advise these clubs may be to create a creative writing community …

Journaling As A Social-Emotional Teaching Practice To Promote Adolescent Mental Health, Mackenzie Robertson

Honors Projects

Given the current state of education in the United States, there has been an influx in the number of adolescents diagnosed with a mental illness or have experienced struggles with their mental health. Because of this, Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies have been introduced further into adolescent education to bolster the skills students learned in their youths. To assist in the promotion of the five SEL competencies, different journaling strategies can be introduced to impact adolescent mental health positively and continue to practice SEL for life beyond high school. The purpose of this research is to introduce these strategies to pre-service …

Impact Of Traditional Versus Alternative Assessment On Student Achievement, Beth Lustgarten

Honors Projects

The focus of this study looks at the effect of alternative assessment on student achievement in a high school science classroom. Within this action research, students have choices and are able to demonstrate creativity in their alternative assessments. By comparing student results from traditional and alternative assessments, the impact of assessment showed students had an overwhelming preference for completing alternative assessments, and a majority of students did better on the alternative assessment when compared to the traditional assessment.

Connecting Confidence To College Mathematics And High School Ability Tracks, Kaleb Wourms

Honors Projects

Ability tracking within mathematics education is commonplace in American high schools. Some feel that students’ ability tracks act as a predictor for their success in university mathematics. Research has shown that many factors, such as socioeconomic status and more, have substantial effects on student success. The purpose of this study was to further investigate variables related to success in university mathematics. Confidence in mathematics is one factor in student performance that is particularly under-researched. This research investigated the relationship between ability tracking in high school mathematics, student confidence level, and performance in university mathematics. Data was gathered via a survey. …

The 6e Instructional Model In The Mathematics Classroom, Danielle K. Deutsch

Honors Projects

The focus of this action research study is to compare the 6E instructional model to a traditional instructional model in the mathematics classroom. Literature shows that the 5E model has a significant positive impact on subject mastery, knowledge permanence, and students’ attitude and interest toward the content. Further, the 6E model is shown to allow for easy implementation of tiered differentiation strategies so that all students’ needs are met. Two classes of seventh grade students received instruction on the same content, with one class receiving 6E instruction and the other receiving traditional, lecture-demonstration style instruction. Results showed that the 6E …

Setting Faculty Up For Success: Unlocking And Using Resources To Support Faculty Development And Career Advancement, Lisa Hanasono

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Academy Conference

No abstract provided.

Student Academic Conversations: Benefits, Tools, And Strategies, Katie Perkins, Benjamin Cramer

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Academy Conference

Teaching Practice: This presentation focuses on the improvment of student participation by increasing student academic conversations through the use of several instructional tools and strategies. Presenters share their personal experiences, benefits, and how to effectively implement guided student academic conversations in both virtual and in-person settings.

Existentially Guilty: Where Do I Go From Here?, Devontae Wilson

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

Teachers, students, parents, and even politicians have been forced to confront the by-products of not having difficult conversations about race and class. Political pundits are using this moment in history sparked by recorded injustice and the publicized murders of unarmed black people at the hands of law enforcement to demonize Critical Race Theory (CRT), a framework created to analyze how the law is racialized. This portfolio is largely a result of Dr. Rudine Sims-Bishop’s “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors” and contextualizing it through my personal experience as a classroom teacher, as a black man in a majority white, female …

Using Sports To Develop Community In The Mathematics Classroom, Benjamin Lawson

Honors Projects

A positive classroom climate and community should be achieved in every classroom (Frisby, 2020, pgs. 199-200). This sense of community is especially sparse in the field of mathematics education. According to the High School Athletics Participation Survey (2019) the number of high schoolers participating in sports continues to rise. Sport ideologies could offer a bridge to connect mathematics classrooms and establish community in ways a pure educational perspective has not been able to. The purpose of this analysis is to shed light on an alternate perspective of mathematics education and incorporate sport philosophies to foster community building by establishing rapport, …

Final Master's Portfolio, Elaina Halverstadt

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

Practical matters of teaching college writing are the primary focus of this portfolio. Specific topics include an exploration of best practices in preparation for teaching an online college writing course, a rationale for introducing technical writing into an institution as a co-taught interdisciplinary course, a four-week teaching unit for teaching grammar concepts through creative writing, and a resource guide for teaching an introductory technical writing course at the college level.

Teaching In The First Year Writing Course, Maryjo Moluse

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

Teaching for transfer, peer review, grammar in the context of writing, and teaching technical writing are four subjects addressed in this capstone project. The first two are addressed in seminar papers and the last two in actual lesson plans.

Mental Health Of Students: A Teacher Resource, Kathryn Seguin

Honors Projects

Mental Health of Students: A Teacher Resource is a professional website regarding the four main types of mental health disorders, which are anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and substance use. The website also includes both a detailed list of legal responsibilities of teachers and a list of school personnel to be involved in improving the mental health of students. The objective is for the website to be used for the educational basis of teachers regarding mental health issues in their students and is a compilation of research information collected from several sites.

A Final Portfolio, David Chapman

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio includes an example of English/Language Arts research, literary analysis, technical writing, and syllabi for teaching high school seniors.

Teacher Passion: A Student Perspective, Rebecca Stetler

WRIT: Journal of First-Year Writing

Existing research explores teacher passion and its effects in student outcomes using teachers as participants. This paper examines teacher passion and student outcomes from the perspective of recent high school graduates. This broadens the scope of pedagogy regarding teacher passion and student outcomes. This study reveals some agreements as well as some discrepancies concerning teacher passion between the two perspectives.

College Students And Their Political Participation, Emily Williams

Honors Projects

Historically, college students have had a low voter turnout despite having particularly high political engagement. This is a problem because it is instilling a bad habit of not politically engaging to the extent that a productive United States citizen should. By not voting, Americans are losing their rights to representation that reflects their views and beliefs. In this paper I discuss why this low voter turnout is negative and what the United States can do, via the government and educational institutions, to increase voter turnout. In this research, the reader will discover the reasons for low voting rates among college …

The Impact Of Frayer Models In A Mathematics Classroom, Makenna Geise

Honors Projects

The purpose of this action research study was to explore the impact that Frayer Models have on students’ attitudes towards mathematics. I conducted a two-week unit on transformations, where students were introduced to a classroom focused on academic language, supplementing their learning with Frayer Models for homework and in-class assessments. I assessed their attitudes towards mathematics before and after the use of the Frayer Models, where I analyzed the effect that the Frayer Models had on the students and their use of academic language. It was evident that most of the students’ found the focus on academic language beneficial to …

Teaching Tolerance Through English Language Arts, Samantha Casarella

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio examines the ways in which tolerance can be taught and reinforced through English Language Arts. Substantive research is presented justifying the urgency of teaching tolerance at the high school level and the role that English Language Arts teachers play in the process. Methods of practical application are presented through three separate unit plans, each focused on elevating students’ social consciousness.

Genetics With Nettie And Friends: An Exploration Of Genetics In Children's Literature, Erin Soule, Madeleine Gray Burland

Honors Projects

Genetics with Nettie and Friends is an exploration of chromosomal disorders and its place within children's literature. The book provides a comprehensive examination the genetic composition of Downs syndrome, Williams Syndrome, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy at a level to increase understanding in children. This paper provides an insight to the development and construction of the children's book that is available for purchase on Barnes and Noble as well as why representation of genetic disorders in children's literature is needed.

Nailing Jell-O To A Tree, Jayson Lozier

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio contains papers addressing writing instruction, women's studies, queer theory, and literary analysis. “Mr. L 2.0 or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love English Composition” details the implementation of more effective techniques to teach writing in the secondary English classroom. “Educating Women in Afghanistan: Power, Revolution, and Rebellion” examines the feminist struggles around education and the efforts of the Afghan Institute of Learning to bring about change. “Out of the Closet and into the Classroom: Introducing Queer Reading Strategies to the Secondary English Classroom” examines the importance of queer theory and queer reading techniques in high school …

Philosophy And Actions For Authentic, Meaningful, And Lifelong Learning, Anthony Klever

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio explores several major areas of education related to English teaching. A major research essay, “Incomplete Instructions: Building the Future of Technical Writing in Ohio Education”, explores the current situation and prospective future of technical writing in the state of Ohio’s education system. Also, a reflective essay, “Reflective Narrative: My Journey as a Student and My Map for Teaching”, explores the many elements of teaching philosophy with particular attention to English teaching. Another research essay, “Meaningful Revision: Revise for a Day, Teach Revision for a Lifetime”, explores the function of revision and offers suggestions for increasing the meaningfulness …