Education Commons^™

Boundary Spanning, Networking, And Sensemaking/Sensegiving: How Career Services Directors Enact Mid-Level Leadership, Linda Kent Davis

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study seeks to understand higher education leadership overall by exploring how mid-level leadership is enacted by career services directors. Given that higher education institutions are facing a wide range of challenges that require an equally wide range of skills to address them, colleges and universities may need to become more inclusive regarding who contributes to institutional leadership. Mid-level leadership is defined in this study as a process of social interaction that originates with a middle manager and that cuts across functional areas and/or hierarchical levels to impact institutional goals. Three research questions frame the study: 1) How do career …

Experiences Of Trust In Longer-Lasting Formal Youth Mentoring Relationships, Michelle Levine

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this longitudinal qualitative study was to investigate youth experiences of trust and mentor experiences supporting youth trust in longer-term formal youth mentoring relationships. Trust was defined as youth relying on and confiding in their mentors based on experiences of mentor reliability, honesty, and emotional sensitivity and protection from emotional harm. Thematic analysis was conducted on interview data from a longitudinal dataset, involving analysis of narratives from interviews (n=147) with youth, mentors, and parents for mentoring matches that lasted at least two years. Overall, participants in this study identified multiple ways trust was experienced by youth and supported …

'Whose Goals Am I Meeting?' Policy And Practice Dilemmas In Adult Basic Education (Abe) In The Era Of Accountability, Alma Hallulli Biba

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

For the last two decades, federal legislation and Massachusetts’ state ABE policies have linked adult learners’ educational outcomes to performance systems and accountability requirements. These outcomes, represented as ‘goals’, reflect an emphasis on return-on-investment strategies and outcome-based accountability measures. Greatest emphasis is placed on that subset of adult learners’ goals that are easily measured, attainable, and that are associated with public outcomes. This dissertation, in contrast, seeks to understand the goal setting process from the perspective of learners and local ABE stakeholders. Using a novel, mixed-method approach, this dissertation presents ABE learners’ goal setting as a decision problem in order …

Enhancing The New Esl Student Orientation At Umass Boston: Applying Udl Principles And Educational Technology Tools, Karol Victoria Castaneda Guzman

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

New English as a Second Language (ESL) students often display confusion during their transition to UMass Boston (UMB). Despite the administrative staff’s best effort to provide students with information about the university, students still lack the relevant information about services, academic resources, the individuals, and offices of interest available to assist them in their success. Additionally, the majority of new ESL students do not adequately understand the information presented in the orientation due to their limited English proficiency. This evidence-based practice project describes the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of a blended orientation for new ESL students. It details …

The Living Classroom: A Professional Learning Session, Albert P. Buckley Jr.

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

The American public school classroom has begun moving from the traditional furniture of education (hard plastic chairs attached to desks) to flexible mobile furniture as part of a holistic approach to creating a learning environment that enhances learning for its students. This project describes the process derived in the development and delivery of an asynchronous professional learning session aimed at helping teachers acclimate and engage new or adapted physical and psychological attributes to the learning environments in their care. The program is backed with research demonstrating why the progressive classroom improves the learning experience for both students and teachers. The …

Social Media For Senior Citizens: An Introductory Course, Cheryl Raistrick

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

The Woburn Council on Aging is a municipal, volunteer board appointed by the Mayor of Woburn. The Woburn COA operates the Woburn COA Senior Center as a resource for the community's senior citizen population. The Senior Center provides information, referrals, information, outreach, advocacy, transportation, health screening, nutrition, education, peer support, recreation, volunteer development and intergenerational programming for members of the community. Educational programs on the use of technology are offered monthly at the Woburn COA Senior Center though members have expressed interest in learning more about social media applications and how they can be used to communicate with family and …

Work And Community Engagement: Shifting Services And Supports To Help Individuals Have The Lives They Want, Cindy Thomas, Amie Lulinski, Jennifer Sulewski, Erin Leviton, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Significant change is underway to insure that services maximize opportunities for full engagement in the community. This session includes two projects, the RRTC on Advancing Employment for Individual with IDD and the Community Life Engagement Project and panelists from MA and DC to discuss the implications of research findings on service transformation and the integration of work and non-work supports to support individuals to have full and productive lives.

'New Conversations About Integrated Employment' Webinars Shine A Fresh Light On Issues In Our Field, Melanie Jordan, Allison Cohen Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This poster session highlights creative thinking about employment supports. The RRTC on Advancing Employment for Individuals with IDD has launched an interactive and dynamic webinar series with a twist ? to expose participants to new ideas, provoke reactions, and inspire them to think differently about such topics as Employment Professionals as Leaders for Change; the Real Meaning of Informed Choice; and Reframing the Benefits Conversation Around Financial Well-Being.

Five Potential Barriers To Lms Usage, John Contrado

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

This paper began as a needs assessment investigating low Learning Management System (LMS) usage at a worldwide technology corporation. Subsequently, the company in question underwent a number of personnel changes and decide to forgo the needs assessment. As such, this paper became a review of research literature related to LMS usage barriers, with the intentions of identifying potential causes of low LMS usage in corporate environments. The review of the existing literature identified five major potential barriers to LMS usage. Because of the nature of the process, these are generalized broad barriers that can easily be identified and discovered in …

How Do Latino Students Fare In Massachusetts Charter Schools?: An Analysis Of Student Outcomes, Enrollment, Teacher Preparation, And Discipline Across 10 Districts, Michael Berardino, Lorna Rivera, Trevor Mattos

Gastón Institute Publications

The objective of the research was to better understand the experiences and outcomes of Latino students in Massachusetts charter schools. To reflect the diversity of the Latino population in Massachusetts, this research is built on comparisons of demographics and student outcomes between traditional public school districts and the charter schools that serve each school district.

Provider Transformation And Integrated Employment, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Allison Hall, Tom Heinz

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

No abstract provided.

Engaging Individuals And Families In Conversations Around Employment, John Kramer, Amie Lulinski, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Family engagement is key to successful employment and life planning, with parents and siblings often leading their family members with disabilities on the path to employment through their own role modeling and encouragement. Despite what literature says about the true importance of family engagement, many parents lack the knowledge needed to meaningfully participate in employment planning. One critical gap is thinking about financial well-being for their family member with a disability. This session will provide an overview of themes and strategies identified through research on engaging individuals and families in employment planning, followed by a discussion on key gaps around …

Report On Model Accreditation Standards For Higher Education Programs For Students With Intellectual Disability: A Path To Education, Employment, And Community Living, National Coordinating Center Accreditation Workgroup

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) enacted in 2008 created exciting opportunities for students with intellectual disability (ID) to access federal financial aid, and authorized both new model demonstration programs and a National Coordinating Center (NCC). The NCC, administered by Think College at the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston, is charged with providing technical assistance, coordination, and evaluation of model demonstration programs. The NCC is also required by HEOA to convene a Workgroup to develop and recommend model criteria, standards, and components of higher education programs for students with intellectual disability. The National Coordinating Center …

Supervisory Dyads In School Psychology Internships: Does Personality Difference Affect Ratings Of Supervisory Working Alliance, Supervision Satisfaction, And Work Readiness?, Sheila P. Desai

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The internship is a critical part of graduate training and often the only opportunity to receive on-site clinical supervision during school psychology practice. Nonetheless, the process of pairing interns with field supervisors is not standardized and sometimes relies on factors such as logistics and supervisor credentials rather than a consideration of interpersonal variables that could optimize the internship experience. Related fields have found mixed evidence for a relationship between personality similarity within a supervisory dyad and outcomes such as a strong supervisory relationship, satisfaction with supervision, and supervisee effectiveness. This study examined the influence of personality similarity on ratings of …

Urban School-Based Behavioral Health Providers' Attitudes Towards Evidence Based Practices, Erik D. Maki

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Evidence Based Practices (EBPs) in schools show promise in meeting the behavioral health needs of urban students, however there are multiple barriers to implementation. Providers’ attitudes towards EBPs may be one of these barriers. Through a cross sectional survey design, this dissertation answers four major research questions: 1) Is the EBPAS-50 an appropriate tool to use with school based behavioral health providers, 2) Do attitudes vary depending on level of experience (student vs. professional), 3) Do attitudes vary depending on a practitioners’ hire status (school-hired vs. non-school hired), and 4) Do EBPAS-50 scores predict implementation of EBPs? Participants were 160 …

Benchmarking, Brokering, And Branding: Resources For Success Across Sectors, Maureen Scully, Lisa Deangelis, Katie Bates

Emerging Leaders Program Team Projects

The fellows in the Center for Collaborative Leadership's Emerging Leaders Program practice collaborative leadership skills by working together in peer-led teams on projects that involve multiple stakeholders and have a civic impact. The theme that emerged for the 2016 projects was Benchmarking, Brokering, and Branding: Resources for Success Across Sectors - recognizing that the fellows' social capital and ability to step back and take a wide comparative view provided new resources for their partners.

The Formation Of Scholars: Critical Narratives Of Asian American And Pacific Islander Doctoral Students In Higher Education, Liza A. Talusan

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the formation of scholar identity as informed by an identity-conscious approach to doctoral student socialization, doctoral student development, and racial identity as expressed through the critical narratives of Asian American and Pacific Islander doctoral students in the field of higher education. The study explored the intersections of race, doctoral student socialization, and doctoral student development – three areas that have been approached as separate entities in existing literature. By using life history methodology and narrative inquiry, this study contributed to a more thorough understanding of racialized experiences in doctoral studies. Critical narrative was used as a methodological …

Portraiture Of Racial/Ethnic And Cultural Identity Among Students Of Color At An Institute Of Art And Design: A Post-Colonial And Critical Race Theory Study, Lyssa Palu-Ay

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Despite increasing racial and ethnic diversity within the United States, people of color remain poorly represented in fields of art (Council of Arts Accrediting Associations, 2004). Some scholars have argued privileging of a Eurocentric focus is perpetuated and sustained in the curriculum and pedagogy of higher education institutes of art and design (Behague, 2006; Garfias, 1991) which may explain the underrepresentation of artists of color at institutes of art and design.

We need to understand when the curriculum and pedagogy at institutes of art and design disseminate knowledge, values and behaviors of White culture at the expense of students of …

A World Both Big And Small: Understanding Urban Middle School Teachers’ Sense Of Self-Efficacy In An Era Of Accountability, Richard Gallucci

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This explanatory case study seeks to understand the nature of middle school educators’ self-efficacy in an urban public school district during an era of accountability. The study was conducted in a progressive school district, known as OakRidge Pubic Schools. A sequential mixed methods design with a participant-selection model variation was employed. The study identified teachers’ level of self-efficacy via the Teacher’s Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001), a quantitative survey used to determine high and low self-efficacy focus groups. During these subsequent focus group interviews, the competing objectives of fulfilling responsibilities levied from accountability mandates and initiatives, …

The Preparation And Self-Efficacy Of Teachers Of Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disabilities, Claire F. Higgins

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Inadequate preparation, combined with challenging work conditions, contribute to the shortage of skilled special educators in the United States (Levenson, 2011). Because teacher quality is linked to student achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2001), the discrepancy in access to qualified teachers has remained a serious issue, particularly for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD), whose intensive needs present great obstacles to learning. Although the research identifies strong content knowledge and social emotional competence as critical skills for educators (Bridgeland, Bruce, & Hariharan, 2012; Shulman, 1986), current standards for licensure (as they apply to EBD teachers) largely overlook these attributes (Massachusetts Department of …

A Case Study On The Influence Of Organizational Structures And Policies On Faculty Implementation Of Learner-Centered Teaching, Kevin Scott Piskadlo

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

In their seminal 1995 article, Barr and Tagg encouraged higher education to think differently about undergraduate education and suggested that a new paradigm be adopted that focused less on what is taught and more on what is learned. Dubbed the learner-centered paradigm, this reframing of education challenges long standing practices and removes the instructor as the literal and figurative center of the classroom, requiring that students take a more active role in their education and in the creation of knowledge.

Despite the fact that empirical research consistently finds that practices congruent with the learner-centered paradigm greatly benefits students, full-scale adoption …

Transmigration Experiences Of Newcomers In The Context Of An English-Only Education: Sense-Making By Former Newcomer Ells, Elizabeth Paulsen Tonogbanua

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative interpretive study explored how former newcomer English Language Learners (ELLs) in Boston Public Schools (BPS) made sense of their transmigration experiences through a digital storytelling project. The study fills a gap on transmigration experiences in the context of English-only learning environments, with a particular orientation toward the value of students’ home languages, and in turn, cultures within an urban school setting. The immigrant student population in BPS continues to increase and teachers must be able to understand and plan for newcomers’ specific needs. To this end, my conceptual framework drew on four areas: general educators and their urban …

Unique And Diverse Voices Of African American Women In Engineering At Predominately White Institutions: Unpacking Individual Experiences And Factors Shaping Degree Completion, Ellise M. Davis Lamotte

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

In 2012, 1% of the African American women who enrolled in an undergraduate engineering program four years prior graduated, amounting to 862 African American women graduating with engineering degrees. This qualitative study, anchored in interpretive phenomenological methodology, utilized undergraduate socialization with an overarching critical race theory lens to examine the manner in which African American women in engineering, such as the 862, make meaning of their experiences at predominately White institutions.

The findings of the study are important because they corroborated existing research findings and more importantly, the findings in this study emphasize the importance of faculty and institutional agent …

Teaching Critical And Creative Thinking Skills Through Problem-Solving In High School Mathematics Classes, Daniel L. Albert

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

I am a high school mathematics teacher who wants students to develop the thought process that allows them to uncover and use the patterns that are the heart of mathematics. Misconceptions belittle the subject, however, and disrupt the progress of my high school students because it disguises the purpose of studying math. My purpose in joining the Critical and Creative Thinking program at the University of Massachusetts Boston was to learn about the skills and methodologies that assist in the teaching and learning of thinking critically and creatively. This paper shows the progress and evolution of my capstone project—a set …

Sharing Wondrous Stories Of This Place: A Garrison School Website For The Wider Community, Jill Corson Lake

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

This thesis project, composed of a product and a paper, addresses the 185-acre Garrison School Forest owned by the Garrison School, a public K-8 school in Garrison, New York. The Hudson Highlands Land Trust (HHLT) proposes to purchase conservation rights from the school district to preserve the school forest in perpetuity. The HHLT proposal includes a gift of 100 acres of adjacent land that affords easier, safer access to the school forest. The thesis product is www.gufsee.org, a 52-page environmental education website created to provide teachers with resources to help them teach in the school forest on Forest Fridays. …

Thinking Deeply, Creating Richly: Learner Transformation Through Narrative, Kaylea Hascall Champion

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Narrative methods support transformative teaching and learning by accessing human cognitive strengths, including memory, reflection, and self-awareness. This paper explores the enduring and mindful use of narrative in education – as a method for transformative teaching and learning. A narrative is the intentional conversion of a group of events, participants, and details into a constructed reality that illustrates causes, characters, and results. Narrative development is a native human process by which we teach, learn, and remember. Narrative educational methods incorporate two key characteristics: integrative sense making, and shared connection building. Diverse disciplines – including biology, psychology, economics, literature, medicine, history, …

Revising The Myth Of Normal: Creating A Sustainable Secondary Academic Curriculum Predicated On Learning Diversity, Sara M. Kaplan

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

In recent years, a paradigm of neurodiversity has emerged in secondary schooling that functions as a framework to meet the needs of all types of learners. Accordingly, as our understanding of students who learn differently shifts, we must consider and evaluate pedagogical overhauls that aim to meet the needs of all learners. This synthesis details my experience as a young, fairly inexperienced administrator who has entered into a newworkplace environment and devised a curricular framework with the intention of supporting students with learning differences to become constructive and reflective agents of their own learning. In this narrative, the reader will …

Laws Pertaining To Harbormasters, Stephen Bedard

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

The Massachusetts Harbormaster Training Council (HTC) was looking to create training programs specifically for Massachusetts harbormasters. The HTC received a grant to create the training programs and began working with the Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) to coordinate the project. The UHI reached out to the Instructional Design program at UMASS Boston for assistance. The Instructional Design program contacted students looking to complete their Capstone projects to see if they were interested in creating training programs for the HTC as part of their Capstone project. Three students were selected to create the training programs as part of their Capstone and one …

Non-Tenure-Track Faculty And Community Engagement: How The 2020 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification Application Can Encourage Campuses To Support Non-Tenure-Track Faculty And Their Community Engagement, Allison Lafave, Damani Lewis, Sarah Smith

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

In 2006, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching developed an elective classification for community engagement for institutions of higher education. To receive the classification, campuses must complete an application and respond to questions by providing evidence that demonstrates a commitment to sustaining and increasing their community engagement efforts (Welch & Saltmarsh, 2013). Many of the application questions relate to policies and practices that affect faculty careers. For example, the 2015 Community Engagement Classification application asked institutions to describe relevant professional development opportunities and ways in which faculty community engagement is incentivized, recognized, and rewarded. These questions are important, …

The Tobacco Free College Campus: An Assessment Of Policy Implementation And Enforcement At The University Of Massachusetts Boston, Annie Mcdougall

Honors College Theses

To date, one of the greatest successes in the field of public health has been the nationwide awareness campaign about the negative health effects of smoking cigarettes and using tobacco. Smoking and tobacco use have been associated with a number of health problems including the increased risk of cancers and cardiovascular diseases (Office on Smoking and Health 446). The success of the anti-smoking initiative can be attributed to a number of public outreach methods including TV advertisement bans on cigarettes, an increase on taxes on cigarettes, the placement of the Surgeon General’s warning on cigarette packaging and smoking and tobacco …