Education Commons^™

Emergent Themes Surrounding The Implementation Of The Common Core State Standards For Mathematics For Students With Learning Disabilities In Mathematics, Andrew R. Mills

All NMU Master's Theses

As the nation transitions into a new national curriculum, the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM), educators face the challenge of meeting the needs of a diverse student population coupled with a change in standards. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand educators’ perceptions surrounding the implementation of these standards specific to students with learning disabilities in mathematics. Five rural, middle school educators were interviewed using a series of questions that investigated their experiences related to implementation of the CCSSM. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Coding was used to identify emergent themes surrounding the phenomenon. Six emergent …

Use Of Preponderance Of Evidence In Campus Adjudication Of Sexual Misconduct, Elizabeth Sommer

All NMU Master's Theses

How higher education institutions (HEI) handled sexual misconduct cases matters. It matters for survivors, accused, administrators, parents, HEI leaders, regulatory bodies (such as the Office for Civil Rights), and the general public. The 2011 Dear Colleague Letter published by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights mandated the use of preponderance of evidence in all sexual misconduct cases (Ali, 2011). The change to utilize a low burden of proof, preponderance of evidence, was and is controversial. Despite a large literature base of legal opinions on the use of preponderance of evidence in the campus adjudication process, there are few …

“Practicing What We Teach In Writing Methods: Crossover Strategies For Preparing Elementary And Secondary English Language Arts Teachers”, Kia Jane Richmond, Allison Wynhoff Olsen, Matthew Kilian Mccurrie, Maureen Mcdermott

Conference Presentations

Panelists shared writing methods assignments (digital documentaries, field journals, collaborative presentations, annotated bibliographies) that featured Graham and Perin’s (2007) 11 elements of effective writing instruction. Participants critiqued the assignments and discuss how pre-service teachers’ understandings of effective elementary and secondary writing instruction are transformed.

“Developing Ideas Into Articles: Strategies For Publishing About Your Teaching.”, Kia Jane Richmond

Conference Presentations

How to develop ideas into publishable articles: strategies for publishing about teaching were shared.

On The Nature Of Experience In The Education Of Prospective Teachers: A Philosophical Problem, Christi U. Edge

Journal Articles

In this exploratory paper, the author argues that a core, ontological assumption—the nature of experience—could be a part of the enduring problem in preparing prospective teachers. The paper begins by identifying contrasting perspectives of teaching as simple versus teaching as complex in order to illuminate how perspectives relate to a construction of reality. Positioning this literature review as creative inquiry, the author first identifies seventeen assumptions related to the preparation of teachers in the United States and analyzes the constructs of place, purposes, practice, and the nature of field experiences. Finally, the author asserts that the foundation for the purposes …

Impacts Of Promoting Family Literacy Knowledge: A Kindergarten Teacher’S Understanding Of How To Continue Promoting Family Literacy, Trish Sippola

All NMU Master's Theses

Learning to read is a complex process in which children have to apply their existing knowledge and experiences in addition to using reading skills such as reading comprehension and decoding abilities. Parents and guardians shape children’s first experiences with literacy. Children’s interactions with others at home create contexts for learning and children’s literacy embedded in everyday life activities. Nineteen kindergarten students and their parents participated in this action research study. Parents were given an open-ended pre and post survey questions about their child and family activities so the researcher could get to know them better. The surveys were a conversation …

Collaboration Opportunities With The Society To Enhance Indonesian Citizenry By Furthering Higher Education With The Liberal Arts (Seiche), Judith Puncochar, Don Faust

Conference Presentations

The Society for the Enhancement of Indonesian Citizenry through Higher Education (SEICHE) is an Indonesian organization analogous to The Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) in the United States. SEICHE and ASHE use similar organizational structures and promote scholarly research and debate about issues and possibilities in the advancement of higher education. SEICHE was launched on November 22, 2014, in Bandung, Indonesia, with representatives from seven universities and one non-profit organization. The SEICHE vision is to help achieve international recognition of Indonesia’s higher education system, accomplished principally through collaboration and engagement with research in curriculum, instruction, service, and …

How Does “Collaboration” Occur At All? Remarks On Epistemological Issues Related To Understanding / Working With ‘The Other’, Don Faust, Judith Puncochar

Conference Presentations

Collaboration, if to occur successfully at all, needs to be based on careful representation and communication of each stakeholder’s knowledge. In this paper, we investigate, from a foundational logical and epistemological point of view, how such representation and communication can be accomplished. What we tentatively conclude, based on a careful delineation of the logical technicalities necessarily involved in such representation and communication, is that a complete representation is not possible. This inference, if correct, is of course rather discouraging with regard to what we can hope to achieve in the knowledge representations that we bring to our collaborations. We suggest …

Preparing 21st Century English Teachers: Using Young Adult Literature To Challenge Stereotyping And Reduce Stigma Of Marginalized Populations, Kia Jane Richmond, Maureen Mcdermott, Tiffany Rehbein

Conference Presentations

Panelists shared strategies for using young adult (YA) literature to address stereotyping and reduce stigma associated with two frequently marginalized populations: those with mental illness, and those in the LGBTQ community. A recent study (Pytash, Morgan, and Batchelor, 2013) found that reading young adult literature helped preservice teachers “recognize how instances of gossip, rumors, or attention to physical attributes can make a person feel insecure or threatened.” Presenters argue that YA literature is a perfect tool for helping preservice teachers address real-life issues and teach empathy.

I Have To Say "I Love You" In A ... Affirmation?: Five Forms Of Demonstrating Our Love For Our Students, Rita Shea-Van Fossen, Gary Stark

Conference Papers in Published Proceedings

Many OBTCers share a love for teaching and a love for our students. However, is it OK to demonstrate this love and, if so, how? This session utilizes Coleman’s 5 Love Languages (5LL) as a framework for an interactive session discussing the advantages and challenges in expressing one’s love for his or her students. Participants are encouraged to complete the 5LL survey prior to attending the session at http://www.5lovelanguages.com/ to use in an interactive exercise on expressing one’s love. The facilitators will discuss their own experiences when they let their love flow. Come out and feel the love!

Pedagogical Praxis In An Age Of Privatization: The Contradiction Of Charter Schools, Tracy D. Haack

All NMU Master's Theses

This study investigates a perceived inconsistency between pedagogical theory and uncritical practice in education, specifically in charter schools. The researcher reflects on the historical creation of charter schools to fulfill the needs of struggling students in contrast to a perception of modern charter schools that are more rigorous or specialized.

The study includes thematically coded interview data from five Midwestern charter school educators in conjunction with site visits including two unspecified charters and two Montessori charters. Educators are asked to describe their evolving teaching philosophies, views on the purposes of education, and identify differences between charter schools and traditional public …

White Paper: Furthering Indonesian Higher Education Through The Liberal Arts, A Chaedar Alwasilah Phd, Judith Puncochar

Other

Mata Kuliah Dasar Umum (MKDU) is a nationally mandated series of general education courses for first-year undergraduates in Indonesian public and private colleges and universities. This white paper contains information on the general state of the MKDU in Indonesian higher education and offers several recommendations for improvements to the MKDU. Recommendations are theory-based and research-driven from Indonesian faculty focus groups, university student surveys, and educational peer-reviewed research. An urgent need for change in Indonesian higher education exists, particularly for training lecturers to teach with student-centered lessons and higher-level reasoning strategies and for infusing the Liberal Arts and associated learning outcomes …