Education Commons^™

Re-Thinking Education For Sustainable Development: Key Learning Insights From The Sdsn Usa Transformative Education Summit 2023, Radhika Iyengar, Sumie Song, Deepak Sridhar, Wendy M. Purcell, Ann Nielsen, Iveta Silova, Matthew A. Witenstein, Wen-Wen Tung

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper summarizes key learning insights from the 2023 U.S. Summit on Transformative Education organized by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network USA. Over 400 members from higher education institutions, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, students, and teachers, joined the online event held February 23-25. The Summit created a bridge between social justice issues with an historical lens and sustainable development. Learning insights include those shared by session speakers, dialogue among participants during thematic conversations and regional networking forums, comments made by attendees on session Jamboards and the Zoom Chat function, and post-Summit feedback. A high-level thematic review was undertaken to cluster …

Making The Most Of The Peer Review Process, Christy Galletta Horner, Sherri L. Horner, Richard Henry Maguire

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

In this brief mentoring corner article, we focus on defining what different editorial decisions mean (e.g., accept with revisions; revise and resubmit; reject: revise and resubmit), discussing factors you might consider when deciding what to do after receiving a decision (e.g., resubmit or move on) and considering how to best approach the revisions. We also provide guidance on effective communication with editors, including an example of a successful response to review table and cover letter.

Review Of Student Agency In The Classroom: Honoring Student Voice In The Curriculum, Clyde Barnett Iii

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

A review of the book Student Agency in the Classroom: Honoring Student Voice in the Curriculum by Margaret Vaughn.

Emergent Design Thinking, Rigorous Research, And Perseverance: Comments From A Keynote Address, John H. Hitchcock

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

This invited article is a follow-up to the 2022 keynote address given to the Midwestern Education Research Association. This article reviews national, contemporary challenges to conducting applied education research. It also reviews broad principles that might help one continue to conduct high-quality research, namely: embracing emergent design thinking, flexibility, and perseverance.

Using Intercultural Sensitivity To Predict Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Self-Efficacy Among Preservice Teachers, Christopher M. Estepp, Jennifer G. Beasley, Stephen R. Burgin, Donald M. Johnson

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

As student diversity increases, it is imperative that Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) prepare preservice teachers to manage these classrooms. Educators are expected to possess the skillset, experience, and confidence necessary to engage diverse students from varying cultural backgrounds. Thus, intercultural sensitivity is an important affective trait for teachers, however, the connection between intercultural sensitivity and self-efficacy for culturally responsive classroom management has not been well documented in the preservice teacher literature. In this study, one mid-southern university examined the relationship between preservice teachers’ perceptions of their intercultural sensitivity and their self-efficacy for tasks related to culturally responsive classroom management. …

Examining The Digital Divide In Education During Covid-19 From Teachers’ Perspectives, Elife Ceviker, Tuba Gezer

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

The outbreak of COVID-19 resulted in unprecedented school closures in education, leading online education to become “the new normal.” Concurrently, emergency online instruction further exacerbated what is known as the digital divide, one of the contributing factors to inequality of educational opportunities. The purpose of our research is to examine in what ways the digital divide influences teachers and students during COVID-19. A better understanding of teachers' perceptions of teaching online and the digital divide can offer more information for effective teaching during the pandemic. In this multi-method study, researchers collected data from 36 teachers through Likert scale questions …

Editors' Notes, Christy Galletta Horner, Sherri L. Horner

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

Editors' Notes: Volume 35, Issue 2

Comparative Curricular Study Of Undergraduate Music Education Programs At Ohio Public Institutions, Benjamin Jenkins

Honors Projects

Music Education programs must fulfill numerous requirements to receive approval from multiple accrediting bodies. At the national level institutions must meet the standards set forth by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). In Ohio, programs must also follow requirements from the Ohio Department of Higher Education. This study examines undergraduate music education degree requirements from twelve public institutions in Ohio. It discusses how each university fulfills NASM requirements and to gain insight into how they balance the requirements of multiple accrediting bodies.

Overcoming Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety: Practical Approaches In The Classroom, Sarah Day

Honors Projects

Foreign language speaking anxiety is a prevalent issue impacting language learners' confidence, participation, and overall language acquisition. With personal experiences as a language learner, a Spanish teacher in the United States, and an English teacher in Spain, I have observed how foreign language speaking anxiety affects learners from various demographics. Using a combined approach of personal observations, experiences as a language learner and teacher, and secondary research this project aims to address the primary sources of foreign language speaking anxiety among high school students and how both students and teachers can work to lessen the negative effects of foreign language …

“A Joyous And Frightening Shock”, David W. Jardine

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper uses several photographs to focus on a hermeneutic exploration of several terms that have become used in contemplative or holistic education circles: mystery, elusiveness, miracles, energy, and aliveness. It ends with brief thoughts on the presence of my 22-month-old grandson on various ventures -- gardening, seeing and hearing birds nearby, feeling captivated by the Earth -- that his grandfather knows well.

Evaluating The Perceived Preparedness Of Pre-Service Music Educators To Teach Students With Disabilities, Emily Jarvis

Honors Projects

This study evaluated the perceived preparedness of pre-service music educators to teach students with disabilities based on their university’s curriculum. Ten participants responded to a survey that asked questions on their feelings of preparedness in classroom management, teaching students with disabilities, university education, and personal perspectives. Overall, participants indicated they felt comfortable with teaching students with disabilities, but felt unprepared to teach specific components of disability education based on their program studies alone. Suggestions to improve university programs are based on implementing Universal Design Learning (UDL) practices.

An Evaluation Using Universal Design For Learning, Lilah Nye

Honors Projects

This research was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of an Educational framework known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in a set of lesson plans published by a nationally recognized organization. The intention of this focus was to push major professional organizations in mathematics education to produce inclusive resources for all students. UDL is an opportunity to increase accessibility of curriculum for students by reducing barriers to learning that play a role in educational inequity, and generally the goal of UDL is that lessons are made accessible preemptively to benefit all students rather than for individual students as the …

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, …

Knowing The Unknowable: Visions Of Troubled Lands, Estella C. Kuchta

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper describes the author’s clairvoyant visions of war and personal experiences of transrational knowledges. It is an account of one Westerner coming to know outside of and despite Western episteme. Transrational knowing was modelled by companion dogs in the author’s childhood and literary figures in early adulthood, and was experienced as a means of self-protection. Western culture fosters skepticism about transrational knowledges, such as psychic visions and telepathic connections. This paper asserts that transrational knowing—whether between humans, other species, or humans and other species—is a valid and readily available form of knowing that exists outside of and in spite …

Philosophical Counselling Through Meditative Inquiry: Insights For Holistic And Contemplative Educators And Practitioners, Ashwani Kumar

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This paper explores how meditative inquiry can contribute to philosophical counselling, and how these two perspectives together can inform the work of holistic and contemplative educators and practitioners. After outlining the definition, goals, and practices related to meditative inquiry and pointing to its transformative potential, the author draws attention to how meditative inquiry and philosophical counselling share similar goals, such as engagement in authentic inner exploration of questions of deep existential significance, and highlights the benefits of processes related to meditative inquiry, such as developing attentive listening and observation, engaging in creative and aesthetic exploration, and connecting with nature. Rather …

Delivering Standards-Based Professional Development Online, Evangeline Newton, Ruth Oswald, Denise Stuart

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

No abstract

Index Of Articles: 1997, Deborah L. Bainer, Gene A. Kramer, Richard M. Smith

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

Index of Articles

Index Of Authors: 1997, Deborah L. Bainer, Gene A. Kramer, Richard M. Smith

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

Index of Authors

Challenging Dominant Ideologies In Order To Center Marginalized Voices And Enrich Learning: Theorizing Social Justice In English Studies Teaching, Heather Holliger

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio explores the reproduction of and challenges to dominant ideologies in popular culture and scholarly contexts and examines pedagogies for advancing social justice in the field of English studies through three distinct but interconnected projects. The first project considers pedagogy in the public sphere, examining the power of the meme genre to serve as “critical public pedagogy” within movements for social change. The second project focuses on the role of dominant norms in reproducing social injustices through classroom writing assessment, offering insights from antiracist, queer, feminist, decolonial, translingual, and disability justice scholars. The paper also reviews composition scholars’ strategies …

The “Other” Nil And Sportcrit: Narrative Identity And Liminality Of Black Gendered Scholar-Athletes, Joseph L. Herman Ii

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

The purpose of this conceptual manuscript is to advance a new integrated model: the Narrative Identity (NI), and Liminality Model (NILM). The NILM advances narrative as an intervention tool for Black gendered scholar-athletes (BGSAs) by integrating NI theory (Adler et al., 2017) with the Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) model (Yosso, 2005) for positive outcomes intra-intercollegiate career. The developmental characteristic of sense-making of one’s life via the life story model and life stage phases (McAdams, 1985, 2011) are paramount to BGSAs’ articulation and development during their liminal condition (Sutton, 2017) as athletes in their orientation to sport. More specifically, orienting the …

Decisions, Decisions: Analyzing College Choice Amongst Ncaa Division Ii Transfer And Non-Transfer Athletes, Eric G. Kramer

Journal of Athlete Development and Experience

Abstract

Many pundits and fans within college sport have exhausted an inordinate amount of time analyzing the impact of recruiting in intercollegiate athletics amidst recent regulatory changes within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The most recent changes to Division I transfer regulations have introduced a level of uncertainty about the future of college athletics. While these changes may garner significant attention for Division I revenue sport programs, recruiting plays a critical role in across all levels of competition (Nixon, et al., 2021). Yet, scant research has been conducted to determine which factors are most influential in an NCAA Division …

Book Review: Place, Pedagogy And Play: Participation, Design And Research With Children, Tim Thomas

International Journal of Playwork Practice

This book review outlines the key features of the book, Place, Pedagogy and Play: Participation, Design and Research with Children, edited by Matluba Kahn, Simon Bell, and Jenny Wood. The book consists of 13 chapters divided into three parts. Part 1 details the importance of outdoor play. Part 2 describes strategies teachers have implemented to connect learners to the outdoors and their impact on student learning. Part 3 highlights opportunities to involve children in the design of spaces they occupy. Strengths and weakness of the book are discussed.

Beyond Words: Exploring History Through The Lens Of Literary Theory And Research, Andrea Weaver

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

The narrative of this Master's portfolio reflects on the academic journey of Andrea Weaver. The three projects showcased in this portfolio reflect her experience during the Master of Arts in English with a Specialization in English Teaching program. It includes a rhetorical Ohio Suffragist unit plan created for high school sophomores, a seminar paper critically analyzing the film Interview with the Vampire (1994), and a digital presentation of artifacts and research about literary theorist Wolfgang Iser and his work in Reader Response Theory presented on the platform Microsoft Sway. The framework of New Historicism is threaded throughout each project, linking …

Giving And Taking Care During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Secondary Teachers’ Experiences Of Social Emotional Learning, Janna Jobel, Rebecca J. Lloyd

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) has been primarily researched in elementary schools, and within this context, SEL curriculum is often presented as an isolated, preplanned curriculum, with a list of curricular objectives to be delivered. A phenomenological inquiry was conducted to better understand the ways in which SEL and SEL curriculum are understood and experienced in a high school context. Data gathered from close phenomenological observations and interviews with three high school teachers in mathematics and physical education afforded the opportunity to orient, interpret, and describe the phenomenon of SEL-in-action. Rich descriptions of SEL as it is lived were generated and …

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.

Closing Racial Disparity By Dismantling Constructs Of Fear - A Practical Methodology For Learning To Swim, Dane W. Wolfrom, Christine L. Snellgrove, Marisol A. Rivera, Keisha Laguer Vandessppooll, Emily D. Feliciano

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

African American, Black, Hispanic, Latino, and low-socioeconomic communities have lower swimming ability and higher relative drowning rates than White and high-socioeconomic communities, distinguishing the former as high-priority populations to engage with effective learn-to-swim programming. This article demonstrates how prioritizing the reduction of fear-producing brain processes while learning to swim can result in 79.5% of high-priority population non-swimmers being able to jump into deep water, roll onto their backs and either float or tread for 60 seconds, and swim 25 yards after an average of 14 practice sessions. Practical explanations of four key components— water exploration, structured games, emulating coaches, and …

Racist Or Radical? The Strange Case Of Robert Moses And The Building Of New York City's Aquatics Infrastructure, Steven N. Waller Ph.D., James H. Bemiller J.D., Jason L. Scott Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Who was Robert Moses? In this article, we want to cast a bright light on Robert Moses as a visionary urban planner, which included the comprehensive planning of the outdoor and indoor aquatic infrastructure for New York City. Second, we want to highlight some of his administration's significant accomplishments and challenges in providing aquatics opportunities for diverse populations, including people of color. Finally, we aspire to illustrate what happens when officials with power and authority in local government are permitted to operate without scrutiny and are unbeholden to a meaningful series of checks and balances. Robert Moses’ tenure as a …

Blue-Mindfulness Training: A Story Of Restorative Justice Decolonizing And Re-Indigenizing Communal Relationships With Water, Thaddeus Gamory, Miriam Lynch Ph.D., A. Udaya Thomas, Angela K. Beale-Tawfeeq Ph.D., Mph

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

This article aims to introduce and describe the development of the concept of Blue-Mindfulness Training^TM, which was created and designed by Thaddeus Gamory and supported by research and the experience of other experts in the field. Drawing from the author’s and others' practical experience, the authors present a "Voice from the Field" perspective on creating and developing the Blue-Mindfulness^TM . This Instructional Framework, coined by Mr. Thaddeus Gamory Blue-Mindfulness^TM, addresses the impacts of historical racial discrimination and trauma in BIPOC communities, specifically on marginalized African American communities while promoting a communal and safe relationship with …

A Leisure Model: Barriers And Black Womxn Collegiate Swimmers, Tiffany Monique Quash

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

There remains a gap in the literature about the experiences of Black Womxn Collegiate Swimmers (hereafter referred to as BWCS) and the application of the leisure constraints model. Whether research has been conducted with Black Womxn Swimmers enrolled in a swimming course while using an autoethnographic lens (Norwood, 2010) or the representation of one Black Womxn Swimmer from a Predominantly White Institution (Quash, 2018), minimal knowledge is known about this specific demographic representative of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) and the barriers they experience. Using a qualitative methodological approach to understand the leisure constraints …