Education Commons^™

Finding The Humanity In Policy Work: A Teacher Educators’ Response To The 2023 Amle Policy Agenda, Kristina N. Falbe

Faculty Publications - College of Education

[In the absence of an abstract, the conclusion is presented.] When I first opened the document containing the policy priorities, I was struck by the way that AMLE centered the voices of young adolescent students. By including direct quotes from 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, AMLE positioned the priorities as being about middle school students and not just problem solving to answer calls about teacher retention, class sizes, or other structural issues that need to be addressed. I believe that policy must be in pursuit of improving and meeting the needs of these young peoples’ lives. I am hopeful that …

History And Education Of The Sacred: Black Girls And Curricular Violence In Literacy Learning, Jennifer N. Brooks, Gholdy E. Muhammad

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Black girls and their literacies are genius. Yet, education, as we know it, does not consistently offer spaces for Black girls to be loved and honored. This form of neglect extends to literacy classrooms. As displayed in the news and research, Black girls experience abuse within the confines of educational walls. Educational violence against Black girls is a byproduct of dehumanization and devaluation, and it stems from history. The underlying stereotypical conditioning centered around the dehumanized, oversexualized, unladylike, Black girl may rationalize why educators overlook them when creating literacy curricula. When classroom teachers rely on these biases, the need for …

Paraprofessionals’ Implementation Of Constant Time Delay Procedures With Elementary Students With High-Intensity Behavioral Support Needs, Allison M. Kroesch, Sarah Southall, Nancy Welsh-Young, Katherine N. Peeples

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Paraprofessionals play a significant role in the education system. However, they often need more training on specific instructional strategies to use with the students they work with. In this study, we trained two paraprofessionals working in a self-contained elementary classroom for students with high-intensity behavioral support needs. Each paraprofessional used constant time delay to support students’ learning to read grade-level sight and science words. Paraprofessionals also gathered maintenance and generalization sessions using individualized social stories created by the classroom teacher. Not only did the four student participants meet mastery of their personalized word sets but paraprofessionals also implemented all phases …

Seeking The Masculine With The Feminine: P-6 Pre-Service Teachers’ Views On Teaching About The 2020 Us Presidential Election, Tom Lucey, Xiaoying Zhao

Faculty Publications - College of Education

As democracies have deteriorated worldwide, understanding preservice teachers’ perceptions regarding teaching about the 2020 US presidential election helps teacher educators better guide them to make informed and intentional pedagogical decisions for democratic education. Through a survey study, we found that early childhood and elementary preservice social studies teachers did not express a strong degree of comfort teaching about the presidential election and were most comfortable teaching about matters of literacy and of political agreement.

The Unintended Consequences Of Integrating Trauma-Informed Teaching Into Teacher Education, Kyle Miller, Karen Flint-Stipp

Faculty Publications - College of Education

In response to the growing need for trauma-informed teaching, more teacher education programs are incorporating trauma-informed content to prepare preservice teachers for their future classrooms. For this study, we examined student coursework and clinical experiences related to student trauma and trauma-informed teaching with a group of preservice teachers (N = 25). A thematic analysis of written reflections and interviews revealed deficit-based ideologies connected to student trauma with minimal attention directed at student strengths and resilience. Preservice teachers viewed student trauma in relation to behavioral issues, as circumstances that teachers have to deal with, and as a result of family and …

Teaching Is Messy: Using Lesson Study To Reimagine Student-Centered Clinical Experiences, Kristina Falbe, Robyn Seglem

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Teacher preparation is dependent on a clinical model of instruction where students apprentice with licensed teachers to gain experience in a classroom. It is not always easy to create these opportunities in schools that are local to the university, especially with a large middle-level program. This qualitative study examines how using lesson study in an early clinical experience can create high-quality experiences and develop innovative thinking around lesson design. This research answers the following questions: (1) What events do the preservice teachers identify as memorable in their interactions with students, peers, and teachers during a clinical experience that uses the …

Scaling And Scalar Analysis As A Framework For Research On Teacher Learning, Lara J. Handsfield

Faculty Publications - College of Education

This paper argues for scalar analysis as a framework for understanding negotiations of competing ideological demands and power relationships in teacher learning. Two illustrative examples are presented, including video data of a student teacher (Camille) attempting to integrate multimodal and digital literacy practices into their instruction, and a research interview between Lara and Camille. Drawing on research in both literacy studies and applied linguistics, the illustrative scalar analyses move beyond linguistic understandings of discourse to also include embodied discourse and materiality as central to understanding complexities of teaching and teacher learning. Implications are presented for research and practice.

The Scientific Curiosity Of Preservice Elementary Teachers And Confidence For Teaching Specific Science Topics, Allison Antink-Meyer, Melisa Brown, Alex Wolfe

Faculty Publications - College of Education

This study explored whether, and how, preservice elementary teachers’ scientific curiosity related to their confidence for science teaching. A group of 29 preservice, elementary teachers in the U.S. engaged in a curiosity journaling strategy across a 16-week scientific inquiry course. Their expressions of curiosity were coded using Luce and Hsi’s framework of curiosity. Whether expressions of curiosity related to their confidence for teaching associated science topics was examined statistically. In addition, the categories of their curiosity were coded and are described across eight journal entries. The nature of the relationship between scientific curiosity and science teaching confidence, as well as …

Comprehension, Diagram Analysis, Integration, And Interest: A Cross-Sectional Analysis, Courtney Hattan, Eunseo Lee, Alexandra List

Faculty Publications - College of Education

The current study examines a multidimensional set of outcome variables to understand whether different pre-reading scaffolds influence students’ text comprehension, diagram analysis, text integration, and interest; and investigates these constructs cross-sectionally to identify any progression as students move across grades. One-hundred fifty-six 3rd through 6th grade students enrolled in a public laboratory school were randomly assigned to one of three pre-reading conditions intended to activate or build students’ topic knowledge. Students completed a series of before, during, and after reading activities while engaging with grade appropriate texts about the topics of ecosystems and living things. Results indicate that there were …

Administrative Leadership In Times Of A Global Health Crisis: Voices And Images From The Field, Linsay Demartino, S. Gavin Weiser

Faculty Publications - College of Education

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic took the world into crisis. We saw the virus alter a multitude of spheres worldwide, including our healthcare, economies, politics, social processes, and education. In fact, the impact of COVID-19 on educational administration took our leaders into forced emergency measures. Our study aims to better understand the experiences of educational administrators under crisis to ascertain what might be learned on how educational institutions may better respond to the crisis in the future. These stories were collected from educational leaders, both from K-12 and higher education, throughout the United States. In brief, this article is framed …

Adult Learners, Remote Learning, And The Covid Pandemic: Restructuring Educational Doctorate Courses In Crisis, Linsay Demartino

Faculty Publications - College of Education

This essay serves as the narrative of an early career Assistant Professor as they recall their struggles, vulnerabilities, and insecurities while navigating the need to shift their educational leadership doctoral students to emergency remote learning amid a global pandemic. Using the foundations of transformational experiences for adult learners, the need to sustain the students’ communities of practice, and positive school leadership, the author develops and executes their action plan to meet the needs of their adult learners and support them in the online environment during the COVID-19 crisis. By applying this framework as practicing EdD scholars, we serve as a …

The Covid-19 Pandemic And The Impact On Educational Institutions, Linsay Demartino

Faculty Publications - College of Education

The COVID-19 crisis continues to impact everyone across the globe. It is apparent no one is spared by the devastation caused by this virus. Previously, global citizens never considered a pandemic affecting every facet of our lives. Our social, health, economic, and political spheres are forever changed. In the field of education, adjustments were made swiftly, if not overnight. Everyone felt the pressures brought on by the pandemic and were drowning in the imperative need to radically shift their practices and provide an array of supports to their students, faculty, staff, and communities.

Who Leads The Leaders? K-12 And Higher Education Leadership Under Duress, S. Gavin Weiser, Linsay Demartino

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Beginning in March of 2020, the world of education was disrupted and potentially altered forever. This project considers the ways that leaders in both K-12 and higher education with the United States of America engaged in leadership to engage with their community. Using a two-part project, we worked with 15 educational leaders to better understand the impact that the COVID- 19 pandemic had on their work. In this paper, we outline the ways that these populations used their roles as educational leaders to provide aid, comfort, and voice for their communities. Using these experiences, we close with some recommendations to …

Striving For Equity In Pandemic Times: The Administrator's Role In The Shift To Online Education In K-12 And Higher Education Spaces, Linsay Demartino, S. Gavin Weiser

Faculty Publications - College of Education

This chapter considers the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the reality of educational administrators in U.S.-based institutions of education. Looking closely at 17 educational administrators from both K-12 systems and institutions of higher education, the authors come to a more comprehensive understanding of crisis leadership and its impact on equitable educational practices – both for students as well as for the administrators themselves. This chapter is based on a larger project the authors undertook to explore through narratives and photography the experiences of administrators during the global COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020. This chapter illustrates the …

Monological Practices, Authoritative Discourses And The Missing "C" In Digital Communities, Vicki A. Hosek, Lara J. Handsfield

Faculty Publications - College of Education

The purpose of this study was to examine teacher decisions surrounding opportunities for student voice, experiences and beliefs in digital classroom communities. The teachers’ decisions reflect monologic rather than dialogic teacher pedagogies which prompted the authors to ask the following question: What led to these teacher-centered practices in digital environments? Authoritative discourses in school policies and a missing connection between critical pedagogies and teachers’ technology practices are examined in light of teachers’ decisions to engage in monologic and/or dialogic teaching practices. The authors propose professional development and research that emphasize pedagogy that supports student voice as foundational to practices involving …

The Double-Edged Sword Of Standardized Testing, Barbara Meyer, Christine Paxson

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Assessment in Pk-12 schools has always been a challenge. Measurement and comparison of students, schools, school districts and states provides accountability for all stakeholders in education. Standardized testing has become the norm, but it is overused. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers is one test adopted on a large scale to measure whether students are prepared for college and career. Parents are one of the stakeholders who had had concerns about another standardized test, but they also recognize the need. A survey was conducted of parents whose children took PARCC to learn their expectations of the …

Lessons From Alternative Grading: Essential Qualities Of Teacher Feedback, Jay C. Percell

Faculty Publications - College of Education

One critically important step in the instructional process is providing feedback to students, and yet, providing timely and thorough feedback is often lacking due attention. Reasons for this oversight could range from several factors including increased class sizes, vast content coverage requirements, extracurricular responsibilities, and the generally hectic daily schedules of teachers. This article synthesizes the findings from a year-long qualitative study investigating the alternative grading practices of five high school teachers and gives particular attention to the nature of the feedback these teachers provided to their students. Teachers’ feedback is pared down to its essential qualities in order to …

Collaborating With Theatre, Nature, And Stem: A Multigenerational Family Event, Anni K. Reinking, Michael J. Vetere Iii, Jay C. Percell

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Family engagement can take many different formats, including community events. In this study, the researchers designed an event to encourage multigenerational family involvement using STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and DAT (developmentally appropriate theater). The study was also designed in an outside environment to encourage interactions with nature and outdoor physical activity. The researchers found that families enjoyed the event and understood the academic and social benefits of nature and arts based education. Overall, this study continues a conversation focused on the importance of engaging families in nature and art based activities.

An Exploratory Study Of Undergraduates’ Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action Policies For Asian Americans In College, Nicholas D. Hartlep, Robert Jay Lowinger

Faculty Publications - College of Education

This exploratory study examined white undergraduate students’ (a) racial attitudes towards Asian Americans, (b) principled policy attitudes toward affirmative action, and (c) self-interest in relation to their support for college-based affirmative action policies for Asian Americans at a Midwestern university. A sample (n = 264, 28% male, 72% female) of white undergraduate students from a midsized public university in the Midwest was surveyed. The findings indicate that white undergraduate women have significantly more favorable principled policy attitudes toward affirmative action in general and for an affirmative action college policy for Asians, in particular, than do undergraduate males. Implications for issues …

The Value Of A Pointless Education, Jay C. Percell

Faculty Publications - College of Education

No abstract provided.

Ivory Tower Graduates In The Red: The Role Of Debt In Higher Education, Nicholas D. Hartlep, Lucille Eckrich

Faculty Publications - College of Education

No abstract provided.

Universal Design For Instruction: Understanding Faculty Practices And Needs, Howard P. Parette, Hedda Medan, Brian Wojcik, Jeffery P. Bakken

Faculty Publications - College of Education

The purposes of this short report are to describe key principles of UDL and UDI and to describe the findings of a pilot survey study that focused on faculty members practices and needs in the areas of UDL/UDI. Limited previous research is available related to faculty perceptions of UDI/UDL in higher education settings. One exception is a study conducted by Vreeburg-Izzo, Murray, and Novak (2008). Vreeburg-Izzo et al. conducted a survey, coupled with follow-up focus groups, with faculty and graduate teaching assistants that examined the (a) climate of instructional settings for students with disabilities, and (b) perceived needs for professional …

Reflections Of Pre-Service Teachers On Their Own Teaching Practices, David W. Snyder

Faculty Publications - College of Education

The focus of this paper is self-reflection on teaching using video. The excerpts that are used in this paper are taken from the emails of pre-service music teachers at Illinois State University completing their required clinical hours with instrumental students at both the middle school and high school level. Though these teaching episodes were eventually evaluated by the instructor in the areas of teacher presence, classroom management, lesson planning, teaching method, pacing, error detection, pedagogy and assessment, the pre-service teachers received no specific guidelines on how to focus their first reflective comments. The intent was to get a glimpse into …

A Review Of Assistive Technology And Writing Skills For Students With Physical And Educational Disabilities, Howard P. Parette, Jack J. Hourcade, George R. Peterson-Karlan

Faculty Publications - College of Education

In recent years effective instruction in reading for learners with physical
and educational disabilities has received great attention in the schools.
However, instruction in the corollary skill of writing has received considerably less emphasis. This review paper notes that through the use of assistive technology, students with a variety of physical and educational
disabilities can learn to effectively (a) plan and organize their writing,
(b) draft and transcribe their work, and (c) edit and revise their narrative
and expository writing.
With teachers increasingly being held accountable for the development of
literacy skills in all students, including those students with physical …

Family And Cultural Issues In Assistive Technology, Howard P. Parette, Joan Breslin Larson

Faculty Publications - College of Education

To ensure effective assistive technology (AT) decision-making for children with disabilities, families should ideally be actively involved in the process. An evolving issue in family-centered practice is the role of cultural and linguistic issues that may influence the participation of family members in AT decision-making and subsequent implementation of and support for devices and services. Culturally and linguistically-based values may wield strong influences on family perceptions of AT, and successful implementation of AT solutions agreed upon by team members.

This discussion will address issues related to identifying and developing an understanding of family perspectives about goals and expectations for AT …

Family And Cultural Issues In At Service Delivery, Howard P. Parette, Tom Nurse

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Effective assistive technology planning and decision making for children and youth with disabilities should include careful consideration of family and cultural factors. Inclusion of the family when considering assistive technology needs of the child is the key to identifying important family and cultural perspectives that can “make or break” the successful integration of assistive technology in the home, school, and community.

Despite the recognition that families should be integral to the AT decision-making process, family and professional partnerships have often been difficult to establish in practice. Cultural and language barriers may compound the difficulty of forging a strong connection between …

Restrictiveness And Race In Special Education: The Issue Of Cultural Reciprocity, Howard P. Parette

Faculty Publications - College of Education

The issue of segregation of students with disabilities across cultural groups
is a function of cultural values demonstrated by charter schools and the
resulting dissonance between these values and those demonstrated by
families. Lack of understanding about school culture and diverse family
value systems can lead to varying family responses to the school culture,
including assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization.
Assuming a posture of cultural reciprocity is suggested as a means for education professionals in charter schools to more effectively understand families of children with disabilities. This four-step process includes (a) identifying the education professional’s interpretation of family and child …

Connecting To Learn: Educational And Assistive Technologies For People With Disabilities, Howard P. Parette, Marcia J. Scherer

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Our fundamental sense of connectedness, our sense of well-being, is usually derived from the quality of interactions we have over time. We need to feel that we're connected with our environment and the people and information that we value. Assistive and educational technologies have already done much to eliminate the challenges and barriers posed by disabilities and they will be even more crucial to the educational and vocational success of this population from the boardroom to the classroom; in the community and in the home.

While there are many benefits to be gained by using assistive technologies, they have the …