Education Commons^™

The Impact Of Professional Development On 4th-6th Grade Science Teacher's Pck Of Argumentation And Science Teaching Self-Efficacy, Tiffany Fowler

Theses and Dissertations

With the 2015 change in science standards to align more closely with the Next Generation Science Standards, as the district STEM coach, I saw a need for professional development that addressed the lack of understanding and skill needed to teach the Science and Engineering Practices, specifically the practice of Scientific Augmentation. This mixed-methods action research study aimed to investigate the impact of professional development and coaching on 4th-6th grade science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of scientific argumentation and their self-efficacy to teach scientific argumentation. Data collection consisted of (a) PCK of Argumentation Assessment, (b) PRIME PCK Rubric and observation …

A Narrative Inquiry Into Identity Construction And Classroom Participation Of An Efl Student With A Physical Disability: Evidence From Indonesia, Emy Sudarwati, Utami Widiati, M. Faruq Ubaidillah, Luluk Sri Agus Prasetyoningsih, Urip Sulistiyo

The Qualitative Report

While studies on English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ identity construction and classroom participation in English language learning have been widely explored, there is a paucity of research addressing how EFL students with physical disabilities develop their identities within classroom participation. To fill this lacuna, the present narrative study looks into how an Indonesian female English student with a physical disability developed her identity through classroom participation and how her identity changed over time. The data were garnered through in-depth interviews and analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis. The present study revealed that the participant negotiated her …

Empowerment Of Farmers: The Role Of Actor And The Persistence Of Coffee Farmers In Rural Pattongko, Indonesia, A. Hasdiansyah, Sugito Sugito, Yoyon Suryono

The Qualitative Report

Many farmers' empowerment has failed because the process is rigid, instructive, and uses too many techniques that are not following the local conditions of the community. Therefore, the empowerment process must be improved to be able to make farmers empowered and independent. For this reason, it is necessary to explore how the learning process and the involvement of actor in the empowerment process are needed. The subjects of this study consisted of eight farmers and one empowerment actor. The method used is qualitative through in-depth interviews, observation, and document review. All data were transcribed, organized, then analyzed to produce conclusions. …

Community Of Practice In Integrated Stem Education: A Systematic Literature Review, Jung Han, Todd R. Kelley, Nathan Mentzer, J. Geoff Knowles

Journal of STEM Teacher Education

The efforts to integrate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in K-12 education have been increasing to help student learning and enhance 21st-century skills. The integrated STEM approach not only has pedagogical effects but also helps students prepare for STEM-related careers (ITEEA, 2020; NRC, 2012). Integrated STEM education is grounded in authentic, situated, and contextual learning, where Community of Practice plays a critical role. However, although educators and researchers have advocated Community of Practice as an important concept for learning, empirical research on Community of Practice within the integrated STEM context is limited. Additionally, how integrated STEM Communities of Practice …

The Practice Of Belonging: Can Learning Entrepreneurship Accelerate And Aid The Social Inclusion Of Refugees In The United States, Jabra F. Ghneim

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the role that culinary entrepreneurship communities of practice, using Lave and Wenger's Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) model (Lave & Wenger, 1991), can lead to better social and economic inclusion for Middle Eastern Muslim refugee chefs in Utah. The life history approach was used to construct life histories for two Middle Eastern Muslim refugee chefs in Utah who joined the Spice Kitchen Incubator (SKI) program. SKI is a community of practice funded by the International Rescue Committee to assist refugee chefs in the resettlement process. This was an exploratory study, and given the limited number of cases reviewed, …

Educating For Sustainable Forestry: Perspectives On The Career Readiness Of New Professionals, Samantha Jones

Education Doctorate Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study explored forestry career readiness from the perspective of forestry employers and early career forestry professionals. A virtual focus group interview, individual online interviews, and a review of forestry education documents produced study data. Participants were selected through snowball sampling. Data were analyzed through open and axial coding. Salient themes emerging from this inquiry centered on the dynamic complexity of forestry, field competence, interpersonal skills, and situated learning. Study findings concluded that sustainable forest management required field skills to conduct remote forestry activities and interpersonal skills to negotiate diverse stakeholder interests. Implications for educational practice and recommendations …

Doctoral Program Design Based On Technology-Based Situated Learning And Mentoring: A Comparison Of Part-Time And Full-Time Doctoral Students, Shaoan Zhang, Chengcheng Li, Mark Carroll, P. G. Schrader

Teaching and Learning Faculty Research

Aim/Purpose Most programs are designed with full-time doctoral students' characteristics and needs in mind; few programs consider the unique needs of part-time doctoral students, including time restrictions, experiences during the program, identity development, and different professional aspirations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential differences between part-time and full-time doctoral students in their scholarly development, and how technology may serve as a communication and organization tool for individual and program support. Background Built on the application of communities of practice, information and communication technology, and situated learning theory, this study sought to evaluate the potential differences among …

“Being Yourself”: Self-Determination At A Summer Sports Camp For Youth With Visual Impairments, Maria Lepore-Stevens

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This mixed methods study examined self-determination at a summer sports camp for youth with visual impairments. Athletes responded to questionnaires regarding their perceptions of their own self-determination across home, school, and camp settings; goals they set; and their experiences throughout the week of camp. Coaches answered similar questions concerning opportunities for athletes to practice and learn self-determination skills at camp. Five athletes also participated in interviews about their understanding of self-determination in the camp setting. A repeated measures ANOVA on the composite scores of AIR Self-Determination Scale (Wolman et al., 1994) across home, school, and camp settings revealed athletes were …

Piloting Journalistic Learning In A Rural Trump-Supportive Community: A Reverse Mentorship Approach, Ed Madison

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Partisan politics challenge educators to determine how best to navigate discussions of controversial subjects within their classrooms. This can be particularly true for new educators in the early stages of developing their confidence and classroom management skills. This qualitative case study uses situated learning and the communities of practice theoretical constructs to investigate a new approach to educator training and co-facilitation. The new approach places recent journalism school college graduates in classrooms alongside teachers to foster real-time professional development through a process best described as reverse mentoring. The model could potentially provide educators with new pedagogical strategies during divisive political …

Social Isolation And Technology: Implications For Psychosocial Development: A Theoretical Paper, Franco Zengaro, Sally Zengaro, Mohamed A. Ali

Journal of Research Initiatives

Advances in technology offer new frontiers in terms of conquering temporal dimensions, but with more significant advancements in technology, there is the possibility of having a diminished return in terms of interpersonal relationships. Without necessarily decrying technology as the culprit of a decrease in human social interaction, this conceptual paper discusses the opportunities provided to individuals through media encounters to be selective in their manner of communicating and the implications of this selectivity. This paper considers the complexity of human learning as based in situational, constructive, biological, and cognitive components underscored through the experiential, multisource nature of understanding. However, many …

A Phenomenological Look At What Motivates And Challenges Teachers To Use Outdoor Learning Activities, Kristin Elizabeth Peney

Theses and Dissertations

The specific problem of practice on which this study is focused is the lack of opportunities for students to engage in outdoor learning experiences (OLEs) and one contributing factor to this problem, the hesitance teachers demonstrate towards engaging their students and themselves in OLEs (Rickinson et al., 2004). The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper and more thorough understanding of the beliefs about outdoor learning experiences (OLEs) held by teachers in my context. An investigative action research design using the phenomenological approach was selected for this study as teacher beliefs are complex, and are best understood when …

A Case Study Of Communities Of Practice In Schools, Stephanie Ann Knipp

Education Dissertations

Abstract

This research is an examination of a community of practice, how it generates teacher social capital, and the implications for school leadership. Grounded in situated learning theory and social capital theory, this case study of teachers in a small school analyzes how communities of practice can generate teacher social capital, and how school leaders can help foster its growth. Situated learning theory is creating meaning from the real activities of daily living, and its implications for educational research and application are extensive. Developed by anthropologist Jean Lave and computer scientist Etienne Wenger in the 1990s, situated learning theory is …

Hidden In Plain Sight : Knowledge Broker Teachers And Professional Development, Margaret M. Jusinski

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative study was prompted by initiatives that addressed the need for teachers to engage in professional development that enables them to be 21st century ready. Recommendations put forth by government and business have stressed that professional development foster connected teaching and create networked educators by emphasizing peer-topeer collaboration and sharing. Despite this focus, little attention has been paid to the role that regular teachers play in becoming professional developers for their colleagues. My study investigated how four K-12 teachers, that I termed “knowledge broker teachers,” created new pathways for informal, teacher professional development in their schools.

Extending on the …

Relay Interpreting As A Tool Forconference Interpreting Training, Fanny Chouc, José Maria Conde

International Journal of Interpreter Education

The purpose of this article is to explore the pedagogical benefits of experiencing and practicing relay interpreting for conference interpreting trainees. Relay interpreting was defined by Shlesinger (2010) as “the practice of interpreting from one language to another through a third language”. This activity is occasionally featured de facto in the learning experience of conference interpreting trainees, but it has not yet been studied extensively as a deliberate tool for the training of conference interpreters. This article focuses on students’ experience and practice of relay interpreting as part of mini-conferences, a pedagogical activity built into interpreting students’ curriculum. We draw …

The Influence Of A Short-Stay International Trip On Chaperones’ Attitudes Toward Traveling Students, Co-Chaperones, And The Destination Culture: A Case Study, Frederick N. Mbayu

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Chaperones are adults who accompany, look after, and supervise traveling students. This case study examined the influence of an urban middle school short-stay international trip to France on chaperones’ perceptions and attitudes toward traveling students, co-chaperones, and the destination culture. Five chaperones on spring break trips from 2014 to 2017 provided data during individual ex post facto semi-structured interviews. Trip-related documents and trip vendor participant online accounts were analyzed to corroborate and augment the interview data. Participants developed a positive view of the traveling students after traveling together for ten days. Chaperones increased their understanding of diversity, developed a deeper …

Asset-Based Teaching And Learning With Diverse Learners In Postsecondary Settings, Erika L. Mein

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

The demographic composition of students in U.S. institutions of higher education is rapidly shifting. We know that 21st century learners are more digitally adept and more socially, economically, and culturally/linguistically diverse than at any moment historically. The The University of Texas at El Paso's (UTEP) student body reflects these broader demographic changes taking place nationwide: more than 80% of UTEP students are Latina/o, with the majority identifying as bilingual; more than 50% of students are the first in their families to attend college; and roughly half of students are Pell-eligible (e.g., many of whom have annual family incomes of less …

Project-Based Learning: Investigating Self-Directed Learning Readiness Skills And Content Knowledge Retention In An Urban Jamaican High School Eighth Grade Integrated Science Cohort, Carolyn A. L. Reid-Brown

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Self-directed learning (SDL) readiness skills and the command and/or retention of content knowledge have been identified as key factors for success in post-secondary settings. The Government of Jamaica (GOJ) has stated that two in three Jamaican secondary school graduates lack the requisite content knowledge and self-directed learning skills needed for advancement in the work space and in postsecondary education (Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan, 2009). This dissertation examined the efficacy of project-based learning (PBL) as a method of instruction for improving SDL readiness skills and content knowledge retention. More specifically, the phenomenon was explored within the context of a …

Ready2teach: Shifts In Teacher Preparation Through Residency And Situated Learning, Ryan Andrew Nivens

Ryan Andrew Nivens

Residency models for education in the medical profession have existed for many years. Nationwide, policies are being implemented to bring this model to the field of teacher preparation. How this plays out within education programs is less researched, and there is a need to document the transition from traditional teacher education, that is, education that is based heavily in the college classroom, to a residency model, where preservice teachers spend a significant amount of time in an elementary school classroom. This paper describes how a year-long residency model is implemented and presents the changes in curriculum, scheduling and challenges encountered.

Do Communities Of Practice Enhance Faculty Development?, Lum Kai Mun Abigail

Health Professions Education

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic literature review was to find out how communities of practice (CoP) work for faculty development, discover if CoP have demonstrated their effectiveness and identify factors that could influence effectiveness of CoP to inform future design and delivery of CoP for faculty development. Method: A systematic literature review was conducted in October 2015 for studies published between 1 January 1991–30 October 2015. To find out if CoP have demonstrated their effectiveness adequately, an overview of study designs, sample and sources of data used in relation to the framework for assessing value in CoP by Wenger …

Complementary Lenses: Using Theories Of Situativity And Complexity To Understand Collaborative Learning As Systems-Level Social Activity, Steven J. Zuiker, Kate T. Anderson, Michelle E. Jordan, Olivia G. Stewart

Education Specialties Faculty Publications

This article highlights possibilities for understanding challenges related to collaborative learning by bringing two complementary lenses into theoretical and empirical conversation—complexity and situativity. After presenting a theoretical comparison that characterizes complementarity between complexity and situativity in order to frame their relative contributions to a systems-level understanding of learning processes, we examine persistently unproductive social activity during a 14-session, collaborative engineering design project in a fifth-grade peer group from both perspectives. We do so in order to demonstrate the value of these complementary perspectives for understanding collaborative learning processes and to suggest different explanations of why unproductive social activity sometimes persists …

Examination Of An Independent School’S Site-Based Summer Program, Susan W. Keogh

All Theses And Dissertations

This study examined the summer program offered by a pre-kindergarten through grade twelve independent school. Three levels of theory, individual, group, and organizational, were utilized to analyze the experiences of students and instructors. The variety of opportunities and instructional design elements, the intentional alignment to the traditional school year, collegial discussions connecting summer learning and the school year, and evidence of the school’s mission were examined.

Findings revealed a wide-range of educational experiences and the benefits of continuous learning that are evident the following school year. Class designs incorporated instructional elements supported by individual learning theories. Academic standards and expectations …

Using Constructivism As An Alternative To Teacher-Centered Instruction, Jacquelyn W. Jensen, Helyne I. Frederick

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Constructivism is the idea that learners “actively try to organize and make sense” of information (Ormrod, 2012, p. 154). To do so, students “must individually discover and transform complex information” (Slavin, 2012, p. 218). Students compare new information with what they already know, and revise their understanding. Active learning is a focus of the constructivist classroom, so the instruction is most often student-centered. Students construct their knowledge instead of soaking up or only record information (Eggen & Kauchak, 2013). This means that teachers help students to make sense of new information rather than merely lecturing or controlling all of the …

The Design Of A Cognitive Apprenticeship To Facilitate Storytime Programming For Librarians, Jennifer A. Scott Brown, Jill E. Stefaniak

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The majority of research that has been conducted on structuring mentorship programs has been on career support in terms of transferring tacit and explicit knowledge from the supervisor to the protégé. While the instructional design literature touts that cognitive apprenticeships provide a great framework for constructivist and situated learning environments, little research has been done examining how much time should be allocated to the various phases of the apprenticeship framework. The purpose of this study was to explore whether the use of a cognitive apprenticeship framework could be used to mentor new librarians. Data was collected and analyzed in three …

Technology Pedagogy And Content In Web-Based Language Instruction For Secondary Vocational Students, Eleni Papantoniou, Thanasis Hadzilacos

Eleni Papantoniou

Students in vocational schools in Greece are less motivated and have low performance in courses demanding academic skills, like language learning with reading and writing tasks (e.g. essay writing). If they were asked, they would say that they prefer to do things rather than study or get involved in traditional classroom language activities. School cannot provide them with language materials and methodology adjusted to their needs. Language teaching and learning is an academic task-oriented subject and teachers find it extremely difficult to arise their students' interest. So, from this point of view there is a gap between need and supply. …

Exploring The Role Of Procedural Variations In Surgical Education, Tavis Apramian

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Variations in practice and procedure permeate clinical work. While clinical research routinely investigates the consequences of these variations for clinical outcomes, we have little understanding of their implications for education. The current policy environment in medical education makes developing a new understanding of the role of variations in medical education especially important. Current policy reforms in the assessment of learners draw on the notion of competence to suggest that medical education should focus on the performance of learners in the workplace. The current turn toward workplace-based assessment positions the observations of faculty into key functions in these assessment frameworks; therefore, …

Situated Learning And On-Farm Apprenticeships: Political Implications Of Negotiating Apprentice Identity, Lorien E. Macauley, Kim L. Niewolny

Adult Education Research Conference

By drawing upon the tradition of situated and activity perspectives of adult learning, this mixed methods study underscores the sociocultural and politicized processes by which farmer/learners negotiate apprentice identity. Our findings offer implications for the formation of equitable apprenticeship learning experiences and career pathways.

A Case For An Ecological Approach And Against Language Commodification In Elt, Vinicius O. Souza

MA TESOL Collection

This paper aims to provide an alternative approach to the English language education practiced in many developing countries which can help reverse their current low-proficiency status, as revealed by standard international examinations such as the PISA scores and others. The author argues that this can be best accomplished by adopting an ecological approach to teaching which promotes language learning as emergent and socially situated phenomena, two concepts largely neglected by current teaching methods. In fact, many of these countries have long been dominated by an extremely commodified and cognitivist ELT market, where business interests have taken precedence over pedagogical considerations. …

Recommendations For Teachers And Researchers: Supporting Female Learners Of Secondary Mathematics: A Review Of Literature, Lauren Ashley Watts

Masters Theses

This literature review is intended to collect recommendations for practices in secondary education that promote gender equity in math and science. A brief overview of the history of gender and gender equity in mathematics, science and related fields will be provided, along with an examination of current aspects of gender equity in science and math that remain to be addressed. Recommendations for practices of secondary mathematics teachers that promote gender equity will be given with reference to practice theory and situated learning.

Saps And Digital Games: Improving Mathematics Transfer And Attitudes In Schools, Richard Van Eck

Teaching, Leadership & Professional Practice Faculty Publications

Many suggest that digital games are a way to address problems with schools, yet research on their ability to promote problem solving, critical thinking, and twenty-first century skill sets appears to be mixed. In this chapter, I suggest that the problem lies not with digital games, but with our conceptualization of what it means to promote problem solving and critical thinking, and how transfer of such skills works in general and, specifically, with games. The power of digital games lies not in some magical power of the medium, but from embedded theories (e.g., situated learning and problem-centered instruction) and from …

Professional Learning Community: Thriving While Facing The Challenges Of Faculty Life Together, Deborah A. Sheehy, Heidi R. Bohler, Karen Richardson, Ann Marie Gallo

Movement Arts, Health Promotion and Leisure Studies Faculty Publications

Researchers have begun to focus attention on the participation of teacher educators in communities of practice (CoPs) and the role that participation plays in improving the quality of teacher education. This case study explores an inter-university CoP (sustained for over 10 years) that includes four faculty members at three universities, who work collaboratively on teacher education program development (e.g., accreditation), research, and service. This exploration is situated in the literature on CoPs, professional capital, and teacher educators’ involvement in CoPs. In this paper the evolution of this inter-university CoP and each CoP member’s personal meaning is shared. Key influences of …