Education Commons^™

Middle And High School Experiences That Lead First-Generation College Students To Select A Stem Major, James A. Byrum

Theses and Dissertations

Careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are increasing but the number of qualified individuals to fill these positions are not meeting the demand. One way to increase the number of qualified STEM employees is to garner the interest of students from underrepresented groups in the STEM fields. One of these underrepresented groups are first generation college students (FGCS). Understanding what experiences led FGCS to pursue a degree in a STEM field may help attract more students to STEM and help meet the demand of filling future STEM jobs.

In this study, FGCS in the Opportunity Scholars Program …

Opening Eyes To What They Don't Know: Talking About Race With White Pre-Service Teachers, Stacy Payne Martin

Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to determine if a critical element of pre-service teachers' racial socialization lies within an analysis of racial isolation experiences, a lack of understanding White privilege, and how much accurate, historical instruction about racism in America they received from their middle school and high school teachers. The mixed methods action research sought answers to the following two research questions: How do life experiences shape White pre-service teachers' understanding of race? When White pre-service teachers engage in race-based self-examination activities, do they experience a shift in their perceptions and beliefs about race? This critical case study examines White pre-service …

Promoting Self-Reflection Of Foreign Language Teachers Through Professional Development: An Action Research Dissertation, Hanan Khaled

Theses and Dissertations

This explanatory mixed-method action research describes how a social constructivist professional development program impacts self-reflection of foreign language teachers at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC). The problem is that traditional professional development for foreign language teachers does not improve self-reflection. Despite their individual differences and qualifications, most teachers receive traditional in-service professional development (Darling-Hammond, Hyler, Gardner, & Espinoza, 2017) on a specific topic and have no time to reflect on their existing practices, newly presented concepts, or students' responses to instruction. The effectiveness of such professional development is questionable (Darling-Hammond, Wei, Andree, Richardson, & Orphanos, 2009; Penuel, …

A Little Help From Our Friends: The Benefits And Challenges Of Mandatory Teacher Collaboration, Jesse Leahn Barrett

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore secondary English teachers’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of professional learning communities (PLCs), with particular focus on what they considered to be characteristics of effective PLCs. Through a qualitative study in grounded theory using individual interviews among a subgroup of ten secondary English teachers, various factors distinguishing successful professional learning communities emerged. Examining what these teachers have learned from personal experience created a better understanding of what high schools can do to improve the effectiveness of teacher collaboration and, consequently, the academic success of high school students. The study determined that …

Straight Outta K-1: An Authoethnographic Analysis Of A Black Male Teacher's Experience Employing Hip Hop In A Kindergarten-First Grade Classroom, Anthony Broughton

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed the learning outcomes of a Black male kindergarten-first grade teacher’s usage of Hip Hop as an instructional approach using autoethnography as a method. The primary research question that guided this work was, “What can I learn from an examination of the experiences of Black male kindergarten/first grade teacher and students from a retroactive examination of the use of Hip Hop Pedagogy in a kindergarten/first grade classroom of African American children? Data sources for this study included of artifacts (electronic classroom portfolios, videos of classroom instruction, archived teaching evaluations, parents’ e-mails, student assessments, correspondence from administrators, lesson plans …

The Use Of Applets For Developing Understanding In Mathematics: A Case Study Using Maplets For Calculus With Continuity Concepts., Raymond Ellis Patenaude

Theses and Dissertations

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) are founded on a long history of mathematics education research emphasizing the importance of teaching mathematics for understanding. The CCSSM along with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) recommend the use of technology in the teaching of mathematics. New mobile technologies in society facilitate use in mathematics classrooms, and these technologies rely on software applications called applets. Certain applets have been developed for use in teaching mathematics.

This study investigated the questions: Is it possible to determine the characteristics of applets that lead students toward greater understanding of mathematical concepts? …