Education Commons^™

Let Them Be Little: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences Of Kindergarten Teachers During An Era Of Educational Reform, Rachel Denise Whites

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences and perceptions of kindergarten teachers who taught through an era of federally mandated, standards-based educational reforms. This study was guided by two theories as each contributes to an explanation as to how educational reform has strayed far from the central purpose for kindergartens. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development sought to explain how a child constructs a mental model of the world and postulated that there are four distinct stages of human development from birth to adulthood. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory stated that children learn through play and the …

Coloniality Of Power And The Curriculum Of Violence: Understanding Contemporary Educational Racism In The Americas [La Colonialidad Del Poder Y El Currículum De La Violencia: Comprendiendo El Racismo Educacional Contemporáneo En Las Américas], Noah De Lissovoy, Raúl Olmo Fregoso Bailón

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study shows how the notion of coloniality of power unveils the existence of a curriculum of violence by considering two contemporary cases in the U.S. and Mexico. Current restrictions on the types of content and activities allowed in civics education concerned with race in the U.S., as well as attacks on normalistas’ bodies and educational institutions in Mexico, show how racism as an international project is attached to a capital system that strategically attempts to disappear (in material and symbolic terms) educators, institutions and curriculum as part of the project of modernity underwritten by a process of coloniality. These …

Making The Rounds: An Iterative Approach To Engaging Faculty And Stakeholders In The Development Of An Integrated Curriculum In The Health Professions, Matthew Cockerell, Ms, Elena Umland, Pharmd

Library Posters

Background

Setting: Jefferson College of Pharmacy is a 4-year health science education program grounded in both science and clinical practice

Problem: Courses in the sciences and clinical practice have historically been siloed in delivery Solution: Revise curriculum using faculty and stakeholder input

Timeline: Curricular revision process began in Fall 2021; rollout beginning in Fall 2024

Leadership: Steering committee consists of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, 3 senior faculty members and a curriculum and instructional design specialist

Goals of this iterative curriculum revision process:

1. Meet the needs of today’s learners
2. Provide close spatial and temporal relationships
3. Create holistic thinkers who are …

Green Genius, Zoe Zingler

Honors Expanded Learning Clubs

No abstract provided.

Leadership Curriculum In Physical Therapy Education: A Case Study, Christina M. Kalata

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Physical therapists must demonstrate leadership skills to provide quality patient care and to facilitate healthcare reform. The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to understand core physical therapy faculty’s implementation of leadership development curriculum in entry-level physical therapy programs at graduate colleges and universities. The theory guiding this study was transformational leadership theory, proposed by Burns (1978), as it informs leadership skills and attributes, which may cultivate the change necessary for health care reform. The central research question for this study explores how physical therapy faculty incorporate leadership development into their graduate physical therapy programs to prepare students …

Review Of The Australian Core Skills Framework And Digital Literacy Skills Framework And Relevant Assessment Tools. Final Report, Louise Wignall, Anita Roberts, Jana Scomazzon

Transition and Post-School Education and Training

This is the final report of a project commissioned in 2020 by the then Department of Education, Skills and Employment to review the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) and Digital Literacy Skills Framework (DLSF) and tools available to support assessment using these frameworks. The review explored the development and history of the ACSF and DLSF, their use and application in the Australian context and examined features of selected international adult skills frameworks and curriculum. Through this desktop research and range of consultation activities with stakeholders, the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) has investigated current use of the ACSF and …

Collaborative Constructions: Designing High School History Curriculum With The Lost & Found Game Series, Owen Gottlieb, Shawn Clybor

Articles

This chapter addresses design research and iterative curriculum design for the Lost & Found games series. The Lost & Found card-to-mobile series is set in Fustat (Old Cairo) in the twelfth century and focuses on religious laws of the period. The first two games focus on Moses Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, a key Jewish law code. A new expansion module which was in development at the time of the fieldwork described in this article that introduces Islamic laws of the period, and a mobile prototype of the initial strategy game has been developed with support National Endowment for the Humanities. The …

Implementation Of A Social-Emotional Curriculum In The Middle School, Molly Ramirez

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this school improvement plan was designed based on first-hand experience in seeing the high need for social-emotional learning skills among middle school students. Research findings show that a social-emotional curriculum provides students with many beneficial skills and supports to self-regulate and respond appropriately to anguish and trauma. The findings also explicitly conclude that when implementing a social-emotional curriculum each step of the process is crucial to the positive outcome of the program. With these research findings in mind, a school improvement plan was created to promote sustainable implementation within the middle school setting.

Faith Development In Eighth-Grade Christian Students Studying Creation-Theory-Based Science: A Phenomenological Study, Stephen Matthew Lowe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived faith development experiences of eighth-grade Christian students following a creation-theory-based curriculum at a Northern Michigan Christian school. The 12 male and female students who participated were aged 13–14 years and self-identified as Christian. The study setting was a small Christian middle school in Northern Michigan. Researchers have thoroughly investigated many aspects of faith development but had not addressed the faith development of eighth-grade Christian students following a creation-theory-based curriculum. The theoretical framework underlying the study was Fowler’s faith development theory. Data were triangulated from semistructured interviews, focus groups, …

Effect Of Vertical Alignment On Elementary, Middle, And High School Music Programs, Tamekia Denise Holliday

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the effects of vertical alignment on elementary, middle, and high school music programs. Thirty-five (n = 35) elementary, middle, and secondary music educators participated in the study. Of the 35 participants, 41% (n = 15) were high school music educators, 25% (n = 9) were middle school music educators, 27% (n = 10) were middle and high school music, and 2% (n = 1) taught elementary, middle, and high school. Analysis of survey data revealed significant relationships related to vertical alignment. The most significant relationship was between vertical alignment and retention (r = .643, p < .01), suggesting that student retention increases as vertical alignment increases. As well, results indicated that as vertical alignment decreases, the number of students “who wish to continue in music classes but cannot” increase (r = -.530, p < .01). Analysis of open-ended survey questions revealed valuable themes related to consistent band participation, music teacher expectations, and the effect of vertical alignment on music programs. Applying the results of this study may improve understanding of the effects of vertical alignment and enhance effective teaching and learning in music.

"Design For Co-Design" In A Computer Science Curriculum Research-Practice Partnership, Victor R. Lee, Jody Clarke-Midura, Jessica F. Shumway, Mimi Recker

Publications

This paper reports on a study of the dynamics of a Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) oriented around design, specifically the co-design model. The RPP is focused on supporting elementary school computer science (CS) instruction by involving paraprofessional educators and teachers in curricular co-design. A problem of practice addressed is that few elementary educators have backgrounds in teaching CS and have limited available instructional time and budget for CS. The co-design strategy entailed highlighting CS concepts in the mathematics curriculum during classroom instruction and designing computer lab lessons that explored related ideas through programming. Analyses focused on tensions within RPP interaction dynamics …

Promises And Compromises: A Historical Inquiry For Middle School Students On Swedish Immigration, Michael Scarlett

Education: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

This curriculum unit was designed using the C3 Framework, a model developed by the National Council for the Social Studies. The inquiry was written for students in the middle grades to learn more about the history of Swedish immigration to the Midwest region of the United States. It engages students with primary historical sources such as letters, images, government documents, poetry, and advertisements to explore this topic.

School Improvement Plan: Updating Curriculum, Technology And Classrooms For Education 4.0, David Carter

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This school improvement plan describes Education 4.0 and elucidates the critical need for updating school curriculum and teaching methods. Our education system is largely outdated and ill prepares students for their future. The following improvement plan seeks to transform pedagogy into that which is student centered. To do this, schools must update their curriculum and teaching methods, implement the latest technology, and redesign the classroom setting. Through this project, I will identify the reasons for needed change in schools and explain Education 4.0.

Recent Graduates’ Perspectives On Undergraduate Kinesiology Programs In Canada, Kevin Cheng, Alexander Klas, Rebecca Ataman, Shannon Chou, Sep Pouresa

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Background: Kinesiologists are a growing group of health professionals in Canada who can enter practice after completing undergraduate kinesiology programs. Unlike other health professional programs such as physiotherapy that have well-established curricula and extensive national accreditation standards, kinesiology programs vary considerably between institutions. The resultant disparities in kinesiology graduates’ entry-level skillsets, competencies, and confidence levels contribute to their uncertainty regarding their role in healthcare and the public’s underutilization of kinesiology services. Conclusions: As former kinesiology students, and as current kinesiologists and allied health professionals, we offer our perspective on how undergraduate kinesiology programs could change to respond to the needs …

Developing Metacognition: Leveraging A Spiral Curriculum To Enhance Strategy-Learning Programming, Matthew Brooks

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

There is significant converging literature that emphasizes the value of learning metacognitive strategies. Current approaches to teaching metacognition focus disproportionately on domain-specific strategies. These strategies emphasize domain-specific subject material rather than the metacognition itself. The following intervention proposal aims to develop a multi-level (5th-12th grade) metacognition program designed using a spiral curriculum. This novel approach flips the paradigm and chooses to center metacognition. Additionally, this program leverages encoding, retrieval, transfer-appropriate processing and, delivered specifically through the spiral curriculum, delivers content in a manner that encourages distributed practice, a concept that has been well-documented to be beneficial for learners. The proposed …

Teachers' Experiences In Implementing Technology-Rich Curriculum For Student Achievement: A Phenomenological Study, Dorrothe Jean

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe how premillennial teachers at East Orange Public School (EOPS, a pseudonym) respond to technology-rich curriculum. Twelve elementary school premillennial teachers will participate in the study focused on one central research question and three sub-questions: (a) What is the lived experience of elementary teachers implementing technology-rich mathematics curriculum? (b)How do elementary school teachers perceive their preparedness for teaching in a classroom where technology-rich math curriculum has been implemented? (c)How do elementary school teachers describe their transitions from a premillennial curriculum to a millennial curriculum where it has been implemented? (d) How do …

Diversity As A Condition Of Cultures: Querying Assumptions Of Mainstream And Minorities In Education Policy And Curriculum, Sue Saltmarsh

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Highlights

• Discussions of diversity in relation to children’s education are often characterized by binaries of same/different, mainstream/margins, inclusion/exclusion, self/Other.

• Curriculum remains a contested site in educational debate, with differing views about curriculum as reinforcing social norms, beliefs, and values, as addressing the learning and social needs of learners from a variety of backgrounds and worldviews, or as a hybrid of these.

• Policy and curriculum designed or intended to address diversity tend to rest on assumptions of majority or dominant cultures as homogenous and distinct from the cultures of minority Other/s.

• Inequality is often multidimensional, intersecting with, …

Thinkmed: Inspiring The Future Of Stem, One Project At A Time, Steven Trinh, Lauren Dudley

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

ThinkMED is a nonprofit initiative offering a four-week curriculum specifically designed to develop critical thinking and encourage evidence-based decision making. Each week’s content material revolves around the use of a ThinkBOX science kit containing four (4) wet-lab experiments designed to supplement the curriculum. Each experiment is formulated to be inclusive of all California Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) K-5. At the end of each week, students get the opportunity to speak with university professors & scientists from a multitude of subject areas including chemistry, anatomy, computer science, physiology, and bioengineering. ThinkBOXes are donated to children and families who do not …

Teaching Music Theory Through Covid-19, Donna Deloy

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Creative Work, and Performance

This thesis surveyed music theory instructors throughout the United States. Throughout the interviews, instructors shared their insights during COVID-19 as a college instructor. This thesis seeks to describe and inform college instructors of the changes made to the undergraduate curriculum and classroom during the COVID-19 pandemic; as a result, instructors found and created new ways to engage students in a classroom through an online format. While creating an online music theory course is challenging, instructors share their experiences navigating this temporary shift beginning in March 2020. A suggestion of implementing more technology into the music theory core could create a …

A Curriculum Designed To Teach Elementary-Age Children In Diverse Settings The Kingdom Concept Of Loving One's Neighbor, Abigail J. Flood

Honors Program Projects

United States Census data from 2020 show that the country is becoming increasingly diverse and urbanized. Other research shows children are aware of race from an early age and can pick up biases and stereotypes by watching the adults around them. However, there are no children’s ministry curricula that specifically address how children should navigate differences from a biblical perspective. To fill this gap, a children’s ministry curriculum was written to model how children can love their neighbors like Jesus did, especially those who look different from themselves. The curriculum is comprised of an introduction for the ministry leader, five …

Decolonizing And Diversifying French Curriculum In Twin Cities K-12 Schools, Helen Radovic

French Honors Projects

French classes in United States K-12 schools are still largely Paris-Centric and targeted towards a white/upper-class student demographic. The purpose of this study is to examine K-12 French teacher’s strategies in promoting diversity in their classrooms, and what effect this has on student engagement. Participants include eight K-12 French immersion teachers in the Twin Cities (Minnesota). Results from the study are complex and varied, however, they indicate that use of authentic resources and connection to students’ personal interests and culture are major ways in which the French curriculum can be reshaped to promote diversity and engagement.

Creating Lightbulb Moments: Developing Higher-Order Thinking In Family Law Classrooms Through Court Observations, Sonia Gipson Rankin

Faculty Scholarship

This article fills a critical gap in the family law literature by arguing that teaching doctrinal family law in conjunction with the application of established learning theory and pedagogy yields a deeper engagement with the subject matter and leads to more practice-ready lawyers. ABA Standards 301, 303, and 304 do not clearly articulate the distinction between experiential education and experiential learning; doctrinal law classrooms are often bereft of experiential learning activities. By incorporating active learning and inclusive pedagogy in the doctrinal classroom and following recommendations from the MacCrate Report and Family Law Education Reform Project, students will be better prepared …

Honors Pathways And Curriculum Structure, Sebastian Doll

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Exploring the different pathways and curricular requirements of Honors program and colleges, I found several important recommendations tailored at Western Washington University Honors (which could also be used in conversations about Honors at other institutions) aimed at making Honors accessible to transfer students and increasing both the number and success of transfer students. Based on the research conducted, I find that offering mentoring programs to transfers, establishing agreements with community colleges, and increasing flexibility for honors requirements would help increase the number of transfer students in Honors.

The Secret Life Of Diatoms: An Exploration Of The Fascinating World Of Diatoms Through The Art Of Printmaking, Zofia Danielson

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Diatoms are a type of microscopic primary producer that fall within the group of phytoplankton. They are named for their two halves: two cell walls made of glass (silica). These glass walls have a variety of forms depending upon the species that allow diatoms to adapt to their marine environments. Diatoms also contribute to productive coastal ecosystems, global oxygen production, and nutrient cycles. This project explored the significance of diatoms to marine ecosystems and their beauty in form through relief linocut printmaking in a workshop setting. The final result of this project is a relief printmaking workshop curriculum about diatoms …

Striving Towards Efficient Curriculum Implementation, Melissa J. Hernandez

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

As an Early Learning Mentor Coach for a non-profit organization, my job is to ensure proper implementation of our curriculum within the classroom in order to be in compliance with our grant agreements. Through this process, I had to think of a way to support teaching staff and help them be successful without adding extra stress or hours to their workdays. Whether this was to be done through a binder, a reflection checklist, or a website, I needed to come up with something that was efficient, effective, and convenient for the teachers.

A Course To Prepare Undergraduate Music Education Students For Teaching Autism Spectrum Disorder, Amanda Lynn Whitmer

Masters Theses

In the field of music education, Autism Spectrum Disorder has become an area of importance requiring more thought and intentionality from teachers than normal lesson planning expectations. Because music educator programs only offer courses that cover the whole spectrum of special needs and do not focus on autism specifically, music educators are finding themselves unprepared to create music lessons that can accommodate learners with such a unique spectrum of learning abilities. Many college curriculums offer special needs courses that focus on all aspects of special education that can be found in music education but very rarely for autism as a …

Justice For All: Social Justice Curriculum For The Young Adult Centered English Classroom, Genevieve Hawkins

Honors Theses

This project is a curriculum-based approach to exploring the integration of social-justice texts, topics, and themes into the secondary English classroom. Discussion of such topics will take place in the context of teaching the contemporary novels The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed, two young-adult novels that discuss how the teenage experience is impacted by instances of racism and police brutality. This examination of race in modern society will be accompanied by supplemental texts, included but not limited to Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine and NPR’s podcast “On the Shoulders …

Understanding Student Perspective Of Undergraduate Cybersecurity Programs And Experiences Across Christian Colleges And Universities, Brandon P. Grech

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The number of Christian colleges and universities that are offering cybersecurity four-year degrees is rising. The workforce is in dire need of cybersecurity professionals; however, has anybody asked the new cybersecurity professionals in the workforce how their recent academic experience prepared them for such a global need? Research is well-documented about what industry currently needs in cybersecurity professionals; however, this research focused on asking graduates what students need for the workforce. The purpose of this explorative qualitative study was to gain an understanding of the phenomena of the holistic experience (technical, nontechnical, and whole-person) strengths and shortcomings (if any) recent …

The Experiences Of Educators In Low-Income New York City Middle Schools Navigating Classroom Instruction And Decisions For Homeless Students: A Phenomenological Study, Peta G. Henry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to develop a composite description of the experiences and instructional decisions of classroom teachers across two low-income public middle schools in New York City, specifically toward homeless students. Using purposeful and criterion sampling to select participants, the study examined the experiences of 12 certified classroom teachers who were aware of students experiencing homelessness. The theories guiding this study were Maslow’s (1970) hierarchy of needs theory and Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory. Research questions focused on how classroom teachers described their experiences with homeless students and examined their instructional decisions and perceptions of …

Curriculum Adoption In U.S. Schools: An Exploratory, Qualitative Analysis, Sarah E. Pinkelman, Kristen R. Rolf, Trenton Landon, Ronnie Detrich, Carrie Mclaughlin, Amy Peterson, Michelle Mcknight-Lizotte

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

The process of adopting curricula and programs in U.S. schools is an understudied topic. Given the importance of selecting evidence-based and contextually relevant programs that meet the needs of the school, additional research to examine this process is critical. In this exploratory investigation, we conducted semi-structured interviews with ten building-level and ten district-level school administrators to learn (a) how they identify needs for a new program and (b) the perceived factors that influence decisions in selecting a program to adopt. Qualitative data from interview transcripts were analyzed through thematic analysis as outlined by Braun and Clarke (3(2):77, 2006), and saturation …