Education Commons^™

Design Thinking For The Development Of Formal Operations: A Team-Based Middle School Design Curriculum, Stephanie K. O'Dell

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I propose a team-based design curriculum that aligns with the cognitive development of middle school age students. The ability to think abstractly develops at a specific time in development, according to widely accepted cognitive theory. The middle school years are the launching pad of abstract thinking. At this age, students are also primed for learning through social activity. The design process often includes abstract problem solving challenges, and working within a team structure. These ideas build a foundation for a research question—could a team-based design curriculum in middle school strengthen students’ natural cognitive development by providing opportunities …

Understanding Teacher Morale, Jesse Senechal, Tamara Sober, Samantha Hope, Teri Johnson, Felicia Burkhalter, Teri Castelow, Debbie Gilfillan, Kenya Jackson, Autumn Nabors, Patrick Neuman, Rodney Robinson, Rob Sargeant, Stacy Stanford, Deanna Varljen

MERC Publications

This study emerged from discussions within the Policy and Planning Council of the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC), a research alliance between Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Education and seven surrounding school divisions.

The project has two goals. The first goal is to develop an understanding of the factors that impact teachers’ experience of their work in the current PK12 public school context. Although this topic could be, and has been, investigated through a number of lenses (e.g., burnout, trust, motivation), this project focuses on the idea of teacher morale, a choice that will be discussed in detail in the …

Cultural Diversity Professional Development For Teachers: A Research Brief, Samantha Hope, David Naff

MERC Publications

Many regions of the United States have experienced rapid shifts in the racial and ethnic makeup of the population over the past decade. As a result, many of the nation’s schools have undergone significant changes in student demographics. This includes growth in the numbers of Asian, Hispanic, and multi-racial students.1 Regionally, enrollment data reflect this demographic change (figure 1). It is also worth noting that these demographic changes are more dramatic in some schools and communities than others. Aggregate data for the region shows the largest growth in the population of Hispanic students, which increased from 2.98% of the population …