Education Commons^™

Pedagogies Of Possibilities: (Re)Designing Teacher Professional Learning To Support The Use Of Digital Technologies In Multimodal Pedagogies, Lori Mckee

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Digital technologies have the potential to expand communication opportunities (Walsh, 2011), but challenges exist in including these technologies in early literacy instruction (Flewitt, Messer, & Kucirkova, 2015). The literature explains that teachers identify a need for support in using digital technologies in their teaching (e.g., Hill, 2010) and professional learning activities are herein key. Still, the research offers differing advice about the formats these activities should take and the types of literacy digital technologies can support. This exploratory multiple-case study was designed to create teacher professional learning (TPL) opportunities to support early primary teachers (kindergarten-Grade 2) in creating and enacting …

Expanding The Concept Of ‘Care’: A Narrative Study Exploring Lessons From End-Of-Life Patients To Inform ‘Medical Assistance In Dying’ Curriculum In Canada, Jill Dombroski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research primarily investigates what we can learn from patient experiences that can help inform the expected curricula that will be developed in response to the new Canadian legislation regarding Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). This is a compelling area of research because of the rapidly evolving attitudes in the general population — largely driven by terminally ill patients asserting their legal rights over their bodies and the decision to put an end to their lives as a consequence of the illness they face. The issue of medical assistance in dying has been patient initiated and patient driven. Through the …

A Case Study Of Literacy Curricula In A Canadian Offshore School In China, Wanjing Li

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This single case study is embedded in a multiple case study conducted in Canadian offshore schools in China. In response to the scant literature on literacy curriculum in transnational education contexts, particularly in secondary schools, this study reports findings regarding literacy curricula implementation in a secondary Sino-Canadian school.

The theoretical tools of the study include theories on curriculum, multiliteracies, and multimodality. Data presented in this paper emerges from observations of 46 periods of Mandarin and English literacy classes, interviews with two Chinese and two foreign literacy teachers regarding curricula actualization, and related curriculum documents.

Findings relate how Chinese and Canadian …

A Case Study Of Chinese Teachers’ Experiences Of Multiliteracies And Multimodality In Teaching Young Students Chinese Literacy In Canada, Xiaotong Xing

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Existing literature regarding teachers’ practices of multiliteracies has proven that multiliteracies enables teachers to deal with diversity and build creative teaching practices in classrooms. However, few studies have shed light on Chinese teachers’ understanding and practices of multiliteracies. This qualitative case study investigated and displayed two Chinese teachers’ diverse perceptions and practices of implementing multiliteracies in teaching young children Chinese literacy in Canada. A constant comparison approach was adopted to analyze the data collected from interviews, curriculum materials and reflective writings from two Chinese teachers. The findings show that these Chinese teachers have different perceptions regarding multiliteracies, and create innovative …

Enhancing Employability Skill Sets: The Obligation Of Community Colleges To Be Greater Than The Sum Of Their Parts, Linda C. Hill Ms.

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

The pressure upon post-secondary institutions in Ontario to address the persistent gap between the employability skill sets of their graduates and the changing needs of the modern workplace has never been greater. Forces such as the complexities of participating in a globally competitive economy, and advancements in information and communication technologies have shifted workplace expectations. Parents, students, and employers want to be assured that a diploma is indicative of the full range of skill sets necessary to achieve entry into a chosen occupation. The case method of analysis was used to examine one college’s quality assurance strategies for teaching and …

Short And Long-Term Vocabulary Learning And Retention Through Multimedia Glossing: A Mixed Methods Research, Nasrin Ramezanali

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Vocabulary development is significant for mastering a second/foreign language. There are several approaches for vocabulary instruction, including glossing. Glossing is a context-based technique that represents information on target words via definitions, explanations, synonyms, pictures, sounds, and videos. Glossing can also be used electronically through texts, pictures, audios, and video/animations. Studies on different gloss combinations in multimedia learning environments have led investigators to inconclusive findings. The present study examined which mode(s) of gloss presentation (L2 definition, aural, and video/animation) is effective for learners’ short and long-term vocabulary learning and retention. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, 132 intermediate language learners formed one …

Investigating The Place Of Children’S Home Literacy In The Ontario Kindergarten Curriculum: A Document Analysis, Hanaa Ghannoum

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Ontario Kindergarten programmatic curriculum was examined to determine and articulate how it represents children’s and families’ funds of knowledge and how it relates to home literacy and literacy learning at school. The Kindergarten Program (2016) was the primary source within the document analysis methodology. Funds of knowledge underpins this study as the theoretical framework. This study was driven by three questions: In what ways does programmatic curriculum, The Kindergarten Program (2016), connect (or not) literacy learning with children’s home language and literacy experiences from home? How are families depicted within (if at all) the programmatic curriculum in relation to …

Anger Is Very Ugly: Results From A Classwide Socio-Emotional Skills Program, Kathleen Michelle Bond

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In school-aged children, healthy development of socio-emotional processes improves cognitive, social, and psychological well-being and promotes school and life success (Goleman, 1997; Mayer & Cobb, 2000; Greenberg, 2004; Zins & Elias, 2006; Brackett, Rivers & Salovey, 2011; Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor & Schellinger et al., 2011). However, despite the number of evidence-based socio-emotional programs, issues in implementation and sustainability are present among school boards and districts (Greenberg, Weissberg, O’Brien, Zins, Fredericks, et al., 2003). The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a socio-emotional skills program on emotional literacy in grade three students. Using applied thematic analysis, …