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Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

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Full-Text Articles in Education

Advising In A Multidisciplinary Master's Program: An Evaluation, Kimberly Jackson Jan 2010

Advising In A Multidisciplinary Master's Program: An Evaluation, Kimberly Jackson

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Multidisciplinary programs have begun to complement traditional models of graduate and professional education. The development of these programs has begun to reflect the change in graduate student advisement. Multidisciplinary programs necessitate the need for quality advisement approaches. This study assessed faculty satisfaction and commitment to advising graduate students in the Multidisciplinary Studies Individualized (MDSI) program at a metropolitan college in New York State. The intent was to examine faculty level of satisfaction, level of commitment and identify barriers to advising MDSI students. This quantitative study employed a paired samples t – test to compare faculty advising groups. The findings revealed …

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Look, Think, Act: Using Critical Action Research To Sustain Reform In Complex Teaching/Learning Ecologies, Leslie Patterson, Shelia C. Baldwin, Juan J. Araujo, Ragina Shearer, Mary Stewart Jan 2010

Look, Think, Act: Using Critical Action Research To Sustain Reform In Complex Teaching/Learning Ecologies, Leslie Patterson, Shelia C. Baldwin, Juan J. Araujo, Ragina Shearer, Mary Stewart

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This paper argues that educators interested in sustainability should look to complexity science for guiding principles. When we view our classrooms and campuses as living, dynamic ecologies, we can, as insiders, make sense of what might otherwise seem chaotic or meaningless. This perspective enables us not only to describe and explain what is happening around us, but also to use our findings to influence emerging patterns across our classrooms, campuses, or our larger communities. We suggest that educators use a Look, Think, Act cycle recommended by Ernie Stringer to encourage and support sustainable school reform.

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Answering My Sister's Question: The Critical Importance Of Education For Diversity In Those Spaces Shere We Think We Are All The Same, Michael Corbett Jan 2010

Answering My Sister's Question: The Critical Importance Of Education For Diversity In Those Spaces Shere We Think We Are All The Same, Michael Corbett

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This essay is a response to a question about school desegregation in Nova Scotia, Canada posed by my sister in 2008. I argue that the question itself illustrates the extent to which critical analysis of the politics of race in Canadian schools, particularly in rural areas, is seldom taken up. This feeds into a persistent mythology of a racially integrated, benevolent Nova Scotia where nasty problems of race were taken care of in the historic past. The reality in many rural regions of Canada is, I argue, quite the opposite and it may be precisely the friendly, homespun imagery which …

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The Implications Of Dialogue Journals In The Art Classroom, Allison L. Davis Jan 2010

The Implications Of Dialogue Journals In The Art Classroom, Allison L. Davis

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Despite the enactment of No Child Left Behind (2001), many urban school districts continue to battle the achievement gap and struggle with low literacy rates. Authentic writing instruction, a main component of literacy, is being cut in those districts that struggle most to accommodate other demands made by the nation and state. The primary purpose of this study was to determine if the use of dialogue journals in the art classroom could effectively and unobtrusively increase the amount of time students spent authentically writing. Secondarily, the journals were analyzed to see if they contained information on student interests and cultural …

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The Road To Ambitious Teaching:Creating Big Idea Units In History Classes, S.G. Grant, Jill Gradwell Jan 2009

The Road To Ambitious Teaching:Creating Big Idea Units In History Classes, S.G. Grant, Jill Gradwell

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Although the literature base is replete with ideas about how to develop and support rich social studies teaching, advocates have been unable to show a consistently positive effect. Good history teachers take no single shape. Grant (2003, 2005) suggests that it is the interplay of teachers’ deep subject matter knowledge, knowledge of their students, and the challenging contexts they teach in which makes them ambitious teachers. In this article, based on Grant’s framework, we describe four cases of ambitious history teaching using big ideas. The principal question driving the project was: How are ambitious teachers making use of big ideas …

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Reflection And Resistance: Challenges Of Rationale-Based Teacher Education, Todd Dinkelman Jan 2009

Reflection And Resistance: Challenges Of Rationale-Based Teacher Education, Todd Dinkelman

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

The author draws on the voices of beginning teachers in a particular teacher education program and his own experiences as a teacher educator in several different settings to account for preservice teacher reflection and resistance to rationale-based social studies teacher education. Twelve categories represent the perspectives of beginning social studies student teachers. Some are directly related to larger explanatory frameworks offered by teacher education research. Others reflect commonplace tensions in the university classroom. These twelve categories of reflection and resistance in rationale-based teacher education may serve as starting points for thinking about more effective approaches to helping beginning teachers answer …

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Big Expectations: Big Ideas In Honors And Inclusion Classes, Sarah Foels Jan 2009

Big Expectations: Big Ideas In Honors And Inclusion Classes, Sarah Foels

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

“Big Expectations” discusses the benefits of developing and using big ideas for a diverse set of learners in social studies. Experimenting with both honors and inclusion classrooms at the middle school level, I found that all students are capable of relating to and thinking deeply about the content through the use of big ideas. Although the challenges of standardize testing and differentiated learning initially made me hesitant to try out big ideas in my transition from teaching an honors class to teaching an inclusion class, I came to recognize the importance of showing every student how to form their own …

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A Tale Of Two Towns: The Significance Of A School To A Rural Community, Edward Mills Jan 2009

A Tale Of Two Towns: The Significance Of A School To A Rural Community, Edward Mills

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This manuscript examines the current health and vitality of two rural communities with similar beginnings but contrasting present day circumstances. The two towns have existed alongside one another, only 5 miles apart, for well over 100 years. The writer explores a variety of circumstances for each community that appear to have been set in place by a series of events over a span of several decades. The decisions and occurances, and respective outcome,may have become 'tipping points' that impacted, or more so, determined a set of identifiable contemporary outcomes.

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3 Strikes And You’Re Out: Reasons To Eliminate Sports In School, Craig Vivian Jan 2009

3 Strikes And You’Re Out: Reasons To Eliminate Sports In School, Craig Vivian

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

The overgrowth of sports in our society and has resulted in a host of potential problems for the young people who associate with the sports culture found in schools. Although the positive elements of sports are routinely touted, the negatives are far more insidious to youth. Most of the positive aspects of sports are unproven, overstated, or subverted by the culture of sports as it exists today. The sports culture creates understandings of the world and self that are at odds with the public mission of schools in a democratic society. The essay proposes that sports be taken out of …

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Developing Literacy Through Play, Alissa Mielonen, Wendy Paterson Jan 2009

Developing Literacy Through Play, Alissa Mielonen, Wendy Paterson

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Researchers agree that language and literacy derive from the first days of a child’s life. Children become literate members in society by listening and interacting with the people that surround them. This study examines how children develop literacy through play by looking closely at the benefits of uninterrupted play and how it encourages language development. The development of language skills, including reading and writing competence, through social interaction was observed to see how literacy development occurs within a home environment. This study also offers successful strategies to use during play that will enhance reading and writing skills within young children.

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Cognitive Transfer Of A Reading Strategy From Oral Participation To Silent Reading, Myrtle Welch Jan 2009

Cognitive Transfer Of A Reading Strategy From Oral Participation To Silent Reading, Myrtle Welch

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This article explains a viable, researched, teaching activity that I call Treasure Hunt. Treasure Hunt is an oral participation, vocabulary lesson that facilitates the transfer of reading comprehension to silent reading. I designed and used this activity with adolescent, challenged readers. The readers had scored below the 70th percentile on a state exam. This activity became a research project for the purpose of testing its reliability. Students actually thought of the activity as a vocabulary game; however, their ability to comprehend texts was enhanced after they participated. Comprehension was fostered through locating words in texts, reading orally, listening to themselves …

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Tackling Low-Level Cognitive Task Teaching In Secondary Mathematics: One Pproach To Mold Pre-Service Teachers’ Pre-Conceived Beliefs Into Best Practice, Jeremy Zelkowski Jan 2009

Tackling Low-Level Cognitive Task Teaching In Secondary Mathematics: One Pproach To Mold Pre-Service Teachers’ Pre-Conceived Beliefs Into Best Practice, Jeremy Zelkowski

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This article focuses on a secondary mathematics teacher education program where traditional field placements are prevalent in grades 9-12. Traditional, for this article, is defined as and comprised of: (a) straight-rowed desks in classrooms, (b) explicitly direct instruction (teacher-centered classrooms), (c) predominantly repetition of low-level cognitive tasks, and (d) consistent absence of technology use by students to explore mathematics concepts and problem solving. This article aims to inform readers of how one secondary mathematics teacher education program is addressing the challenges many programs currently experience in producing new teachers of best practice through advanced mathematical tasks and advanced technology use …

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The Evolution Of A Big Idea: Why Don’T We Know Anything About Africa?, Michael James Meyer Jan 2009

The Evolution Of A Big Idea: Why Don’T We Know Anything About Africa?, Michael James Meyer

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This article is about my experiences as a ninth grade history teacher trying to implement a “big idea” unit on ancient African history. My experiences as a first year teacher and also my experience in seeing this unit develop over three years are chronicled. I conclude that implementing a big idea strategy of instruction is possible in a “real” classroom, that this implementation is more of a journey than a destination, and that big ideas do help students to learn.

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Defining Success With Big Ideas: A New Teacher’S Growth And Challenges, Meg Sampson Jan 2009

Defining Success With Big Ideas: A New Teacher’S Growth And Challenges, Meg Sampson

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This article is a compellation of my work with big ideas and my findings based on that work for the second semester of the 2006-2007 school year. I worked with three 11th grade students that have in the past struggled to pass the Global Studies Regents exam. The class was created as a RCT (Regents Competency Test) preparation course. The purpose of this class, as it was told to me in January, was to give these students the skills and motivation they needed to pass the Global Studies RCT in June. I encountered many obstacles along the way, attendance issues, …

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The Holocaust To Darfur: A Recipe For Genocide, Joseph Karb, Andrew Beiter Jan 2009

The Holocaust To Darfur: A Recipe For Genocide, Joseph Karb, Andrew Beiter

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

All too often, social studies teachers present the cruelty of the Holocaust as an isolated event. These units focus on Hitler, gas chambers, and war crimes and end with a defiant and honorable “Never Again!” While covering mass murder in this way is laudable, it ultimately might not go as far as it could. For as teaches if we really want to empower our students to prevent genocide, we must look beyond the facts alone to the larger lessons these horrific events can teach us. It is with this background in mind that we wrote this chapter; that in order …

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Deconstructing The Nclb Impact On The Instructional Goals And Practices Of Urban School Teachers: A Case Study, Pierre W. Orelus Jan 2009

Deconstructing The Nclb Impact On The Instructional Goals And Practices Of Urban School Teachers: A Case Study, Pierre W. Orelus

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

With the enactment of the NCLB mandates, emphasis on high-stakes testing became more prevalent than ever. Some argue that high-stakes tests can be a driving force behind fundamental change in schools. Whether or not this type of test-driven change leads to school improvement is an empirical question. What we do know is that high-stake testing can affect teachers’ disposition of and their dedication to the teaching profession if what they accomplish at school is measured only in test scores. Drawing on data collected over the course of three academic years, this case study examines the extent to which the institutional …

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Human Relations: Assessing The Affect Of Cultural Awareness Curriculum On Preservice Teachers, Seth D. Olson, Kristine M. Reed Ph.D., Amy Schweinle Jan 2009

Human Relations: Assessing The Affect Of Cultural Awareness Curriculum On Preservice Teachers, Seth D. Olson, Kristine M. Reed Ph.D., Amy Schweinle

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Human relations training is intended to prepare teachers to be more culturally sensitive to an increasingly diverse population. There is a growing trend in teacher education to train preservice teachers more effectively to meet the demands of multicultural society. However, limited research is available to guide the future design of human relations training courses. This research was conducted to address the gap in the literature, by investigating the effectiveness of human relations training course on preservice teachers. Results indicated that the course made a significant difference on improving knowledge and skills categories for participants, but there was no significant improvement …

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Homeless Education: Analyzing The Problematic Legal Remedies Available To Homeless School Children, Clifton S. Tanabe Jan 2009

Homeless Education: Analyzing The Problematic Legal Remedies Available To Homeless School Children, Clifton S. Tanabe

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Given the extent to which our society values education, it is perplexing to learn that we continue to struggle to provide all children, especially homeless children, an adequate education. This troubling issue is the focus of this paper. Specifically, this paper will center around two basic questions; 1) what has the legal system done to ensure that homeless children receive an adequate education, and 2) what might be done, legally, to advocate for the educational well-being of such children? In addressing these two questions, this paper will begin by problematizing the definition of homelessness and by analyzing some national statistics …

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Motivating The Generations, Wade Herley Jan 2009

Motivating The Generations, Wade Herley

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This paper examines the various generations that include the greatest generation, the baby-boomers, generation X, and generation Y. The research encompasses many motivational elements that each generation covets, rejects, or shares. These generations are at different stages in life and each plays a vital role within our society. The workforce has become a melting pot of generational influences that produce a unique and complex dynamic that economic entities must decipher.

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Does Substitute Teaching Before Graduation Improve First Year Teacher Quality?, Timothy Sharer Jan 2009

Does Substitute Teaching Before Graduation Improve First Year Teacher Quality?, Timothy Sharer

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Several problems exert force on teachers just entering the profession including mandated testing, public reporting, and the loss of the flexible contexts teacher preparation institutions had for developing undergraduate teacher candidates. Teacher training institutions are scrambling to implement more effective ways to prepare teachers without losing richness and thoroughness. The problems of entry level teacher quality and the opportunity to gain experience through substitute teaching are related. Enhancing the development of pre-service teacher quality is directly influenced by “real” teaching experience. The Northeast Nebraska Teacher Academy is a palpable response undertaken by a Midwestern public college to provide these types …

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Welcome To Jiae!, Paul Theobald Jan 2008

Welcome To Jiae!, Paul Theobald

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Welcome to the Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

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The Narrowing Of Knowing: What It Means To Be Literate And Learned In Today's Society, Thomas Smith Jan 2008

The Narrowing Of Knowing: What It Means To Be Literate And Learned In Today's Society, Thomas Smith

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Currently, the idea and definition of learning and literacy is being pushed and pulled in competing directions. Current governmental policies, most notably embodied in the No Child Left Behind law, are pushing the definitions to mechanical enterprises aimed at the lowest common denominator. At the same time, the technology race is working to open access to being learned and literate to populations that are traditionally underrepresented in these arenas; however, at the same time, this technology is setting up new barriers that act to limit access. Finally, the student population of schools in the United States is quickly becoming the …

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The Meaning Of Place And Community In Contemporary Educational Discourse, John Siskar, Paul Theobald Jan 2008

The Meaning Of Place And Community In Contemporary Educational Discourse, John Siskar, Paul Theobald

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Place and community are terms used with ever more frequency in discussions, reports, and research related to education, yet there is little agreement related to what these terms mean. This article examines the concepts of place and community in an attempt to bring more clarity to the role they may play in educational theory and, ultimately, educational policy.

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The Effects Of Mismatching Teacher Candidates With Mentoring Teachers, Hibajene Shandomo, Jeremy Zelkowski Jan 2008

The Effects Of Mismatching Teacher Candidates With Mentoring Teachers, Hibajene Shandomo, Jeremy Zelkowski

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

The majority of teacher candidates are eager to enter the field of teaching for their junior participation to try out methods such as Problem Solving Approach that they have been learning throughout their classes at college. In mathematics, for example, semester after semester, I place an emphasis on the use of Problem Solving Approach which is natural to children because the world is new to them. Children exhibit curiosity, intelligence, and flexibility as they face new situations (Principles and standards for school mathematics, 2000). In science, the inquiry method is emphasized. The challenge for preservice teachers is to build on …

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The Anatomy Of A Teachable Moment: Implications For Teacher Educators, Phyllis Thompson Jan 2008

The Anatomy Of A Teachable Moment: Implications For Teacher Educators, Phyllis Thompson

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

A university professor observes the use of a Native American stereotype by a cooperating teacher in an elementary art classroom while supervising a preservice teacher. She identifies ways that the teacher’s words potentially harmed her students and reflects on her own role. This “teachable moment” is described, and characteristics of institutionalized racism and white dominance are examined as a foundation for racist insensitivities in the classroom. The professor calls for preservice teachers to be prepared in their teacher education programs to be culturally responsive. She draws on a study of preservice teachers mentoring minority children to demonstrate how change can …

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