Education Commons^™

Be A Tree: Reconceptualizing Early Education Through The Roots And Fruits Methodology Of Teaching And Learning, Virginia Dearani

Occasional Paper Series

This past Winter, my seven-year old son lived through a traumatic experience, resulting in the amputation of a significant portion of his middle finger. While reflecting on the concept of being a “Whole Child,” I was engaging in conversations with my son, exploring questions on wholeness, such as, “What is the purpose of our bodies? How will my hand work now with the loss of this finger? How will my classmates see me, and view my finger? When will my nerves re-align as I place my stubbed finger on different textures of fabric, petting our dog, holding my bike handle-bars, …

Centering Equity And Social Identity: Reflections On Culturally Sustaining Literacy Lessons From Two Elementary Classrooms, Nadine Bryce

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

Two elementary teachers illustrate how awareness of children’s sociocultural contexts and social identities can inform literacy instruction.

Beyond The Pale: Pedagogical Strategies For Analyzing Race And Whiteness, Matthew W. Hughey

Race and Pedagogy Journal: Teaching and Learning for Justice

The roots of American sociology of race and ethnicity run deep, but a focus on whiteness has matured in recent decades. This body of research is diverse: Whiteness is understood as simultaneously omnipresent, ubiquitous, rigid and flexible. Moreover, students enrolled in courses on race and ethnicity have difficulty grasping the conflicting and ambiguous character of whiteness that is exacerbated by their own misconceptions and ideological baggage they carry into the classroom. To empirically identify common student misconceptions, and to illuminate effective pedagogical interventions, I analyze two different sociology of race and ethnicity courses, offered twelve times over an eight-year span, …

Agential Cuts For Justice: Honoring Complexity In Research Through Intersectional Design Dimensions, Nadia Behizadeh

The Qualitative Report

This article explores the complexity and challenges of making decisions regarding which theories and social categories (e.g. race, class) should be emphasized in justice-centered research that includes participants’ identities as key variables in the design. Drawing on theories of intersectionality, agential realism, and complexity, the author proposes four intersectional design dimensions to help justice-centered researchers honor complexity: reflection on self and purpose; making agential cuts; complexifying social categories; and intersectional and collaborative re-view. Each dimension is illustrated with theory and empirical examples, mostly drawing from the field of educational research. By attending to and continually revisiting agential cuts related to …

Finding Your Mathematical Roots: Inclusion And Identity Development In Mathematics, Linda Mcguire

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This paper details a semester-long course project that has been successfully adapted for use in mathematics courses ranging from introductory level, general-education classes to advanced courses in the mathematics major. Through creating aspirational mathematical family trees and writing mathematical autobiographies, this assignment is designed to help battle belonging uncertainty, to challenge students to self-situate in relation to the history of mathematical and scientific knowledge, and to make visible a student’s developing identity in mathematics and, more broadly, in STEM.

The construction and scaffolding of the project, assignments, examples of student work, foundational readings, assessment and outcomes, and adaptation strategies for …

Transitioning From Professional Practice To Teaching During Covid-19: A Participatory Research Study, Yvonne Thomas, Ciara Hensey, Claire Squires, Anna Collier, Heidi Cathcart, Lindsey Coup

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The transition from expert occupational therapy practice to academic educator is stressful and complex, involving the development of a new professional identity. In 2020-21 COVID-19 created a new challenge for recently employed academics, who were in this transition process. This study utilized participatory research to explore the impact of COVID-19 on six new occupational therapy lecturers who were employed immediately before and during the pandemic. The participatory research approach simultaneously engaged participants in research processes and aimed to promote researcher development. Three focus groups were conducted to explore participants experiences before, during and after COVID-19 restrictions. Focus groups transcripts were …