Education Commons^™

Coarse-Work: An Investigation Into The Impact Of Materiality In The Interior Educational Setting, Isabel G. Robb

Honors Theses

Education design in modern suburban America curates learning environments that are cold and impersonal, being used more as a place to keep youth during the day than as a place where they can truly learn about and understand the world around them. This learning environment does not suit all students, especially those with learning disabilities, and it leaves little room for flexibility in classroom usage.

Focusing on creating a learning environment where all students feel welcome and are able to effectively learn, this projective design research project aims to provide a comprehensive intervention through the built environment and interior design, …

Catalysts For Change: The Sacralizing Impulse Of The Second Great Awakening And Its Transformative Impact On American Higher Education, Blake S. Hart

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation delves into the profound impact of the Second Great Awakening on American higher education and its enduring social consequences. Examining the period from the late eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century, the research uncovers the core belief that drove the Awakening—that America and its citizens were chosen for a divine purpose, endeavoring to manifest the kingdom of heaven on Earth. It explores how Protestant-led revivalism and social reform movements fueled by this core belief influenced the establishment and evolution of American higher education. Through in-depth case studies of Andover Theological Seminary, Lane Seminary, and Oberlin College, the research …

The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence In Online Education For Recruitment, Retention, And Sustainability Of Religious Organizations, Gordon Vaill Barrows

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation explored the applicability of AI chatbot technology in the context of a church environment where it was used to promote an accessible and engaging online learning platform for education and ministry training. The primary objective was to develop an AI-powered chatbot to increase recruitment, improve retention, as well as support organizational sustainability as it relates to church membership. The research includes a comprehensive literature review on AI chatbot technology and its relevance to online education within the context of a religious organization. The literature review establishes the fundamentals for a theoretical framework, exploring the association between educational technology, …

And All Those Jazz Hands! A Curricular Show Choir In An Elementary Public School: A Case Study, Anne Valadia Binkley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite the known benefits of adolescent participation in secondary music ensembles and the advantages of singing for elementary-aged students, researchers have yet to evaluate the positive effects of student participation in a public school elementary curricular show choir. The potential benefits of an elementary show choir in a public school can reveal more possibilities for music educators to involve students in relevant music-making. This study examines the perspectives of former elementary show choir members, parents, city officials, and elementary school administrators concerned with a public school curricular show choir. Respondents have shared views on benefits to students, families, and the …

The Role Of Leaders In Implementing Effective Leadership Strategies Towards The Educational Barriers Of Us-Based Refugee Students: A Qualitative Case Study Of Congolese Refugee Students, Faustin Busane

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This qualitative research study explored the experiences of three families of refugee school students, two school officials (a Superintendent and a Principal), three teachers, and one humanitarian agent all living in a Southeastern U.S. city. The results of the study revealed that the language barrier is the main academic challenge that refugee students encounter when they enroll in U.S. schools. The study also found that educators conceptualize their responsibilities toward refugee children by emphasizing the importance of high-quality teaching, and establishing through establishing strong relationships between parents, school officials, and exercising patience in the process. This study poses important implications …

Historical Understanding In The U.S. Constitution, Kristopher W. Chesterman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

How did the America’s Founding Fathers use historical knowledge to inform their actions and decisions that ultimately led to the creation of the Constitution? This dissertation begins to answer this question by providing context to the Framers’ education on both colonial and personal levels. Starting with exposure to historical content through learning Greek and Latin, this research explores the depth of historical knowledge possessed by the Founders and how they used that knowledge to explain their thoughts and ideas throughout the tumultuous years surrounding the American Revolutionary War. This aspect of the Constitution’s formation is overshadowed by the prominence of …

Hacking The Library Exhibition Pdfs, Sally Brown, Christine Hoffmann, Lois Ann Raimondo, Karen Diaz, Sarah Pahlfrey

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The hacker ethos in the positive sense is about the ability to deconstruct and reconstruct information systems. Hacking starts with reconceptualizing libraries. L Hacking the Library presents artwork that highlights the intersecting values that shape our libraries through an artistic lens, reflecting on challenges and definitions of libraries past and as we move into the future. To provide personal context, "Community Connections" complement the art from librarians across the nation who responded to the artwork.

Artists included: Jackie Andrews (Maryland, mixed media), Trudy Borenstein- Sugiura (New Jersey, book arts), Sally Jane Brown (West Virginia, drawing), Shan Cawley (West Virginia, painting), …

Parental Perspectives On The Role Of Music As A Core Subject, Justine M. Hansen

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite the designation of music as a core subject by federal and many state education policies, instructional time for elementary music classes is disproportionately less than that allocated to other core subjects. The perceptions held by parents of elementary school children may indicate the extent to which elementary general music education is valued by the public, affecting the allocation of instructional time. At present, no research exists examining the views held by parents concerning the designation of music as a core subject and its role in a well-rounded education. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions held …

Sel And Community Engagement Strategies For The Recruitment And Retention Of Suburban Middle School Band Students, Gina Marie Vingara

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Research has not yet found a correlation between community engagement and social-emotional learning (SEL) in a manner that benefits the recruitment and retention of suburban middle school band students. Teachers who create community engagement initiatives can boost the number of student recruits as the program becomes more widely recognized as a valuable asset of the school. This explanatory sequential mixed methods design study examined strategies regarding community engagement and SEL for recruiting and retaining middle school instrumental music education students. Perspectives on community engagement and SEL benefiting recruitment and retention of middle school band students emerged. Research revealed a connection …

The Effects Of Growth Mindset Strategies On The Rhythmic Notation Comprehension And Personal Musical Self-Efficacy Perceptions Of High School Instrumentalists, Frederick Conrad Krieger

Masters Theses

Despite the depth of research in general education and music education teaching methods as well as an implied overlap in these concepts, there is little research directly linking methodology and strategies across these content areas. More specifically, the benefit and implementation of growth-mindset instruction is considered best practice in the general education classroom but is rarely discussed in the context of the performing ensemble. Consistency in educational methods between content areas is critical because it unifies each into a single education process and promotes lifelong learning that will extend into other areas and beyond the classroom. This study will explore …

Why Education Matters: Understanding Islamophobia In The United States, Cintya Felix

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Since 9/11, there has been a significant increase in anti-Muslim racism which can be linked to misinformation, misconception, and stereotypes reinforced by a lack of an educational upbringing. In this paper, I examine the extent to which an individual's education level in the United States contributes to Islamophobia. Using an original data set of responses to the questions in the Chapman University Survey of American Fears (CSAF), I find a moderately strong relationship between the highest level of school an individual has completed or the highest degree they have received, and the degree to which they are afraid of Muslims. …

Hailey's Hearing Aids, Hailey Marie Garcia

Whittier Scholars Program

Individuals from the deaf and hard-of-hearing community are likely to experience more anxiety and depression due to defective cognitive, social, communicational, and emotional skills (Azizi et al., 2019). The word “disability” is embedded with historical negative connotations with phrases such as “deaf and dumb” because if they were deaf or mute then they were automatically labeled as inferior (Horovitz, 2007). Since the 18th century, the DHH community has been seen as incapable, even inhuman, hence the development of emotional deficiencies that bleed into one’s perception of society and their self esteem (Gallaudet, 1886).

How do you navigate a hearing world …

Defining And Transferring Digital Literacies: What Does This Mean For High School And College Educators?, Jocelyn Spoor

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis aims to create a digital literacies transfer framework through a discussion regarding current conversations on transfer and digital literacies in the English field, including synthesizing the two ideas to think about the transfer of digital literacies as a concept. This digital literacies framework is made up of five components: the functional skills, critical skills, and rhetorical skills found in digital literacies scholarship and the genre awareness and meta-cognitive ideas found in transfer literature. This digital literacies transfer framework is then used to analyze information gleaned from four college and five high school English educators. The key findings from …

Nazi Education In Vienna: The Solidification Of Antisemitism And German Nationalism In The Classroom, Abigail J. Seiple

Student Publications

In contemporary Austrian schools there is an alarming number of students who know little of Austria's involvement in WWII. They see Austria as a victim of Hitler and as a conquered nation. This post-war victimization myth has survived in schools that works to undermine feelings of Austrian responsibility in the days following the Anschluss. However, this victimization myth is threatened by looking at education on the eve of the Anschluss to Nazi policy and Nazi sentiments that had already existed for decades in Austria.

La Ausencia/Presencia De La Asexualidad Y La Sexualnormatividad En La Educación Sexual Integral En Las Escuelas Secundarias En La Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires / The Absence/Presence Of Asexuality And Sexualnormativity In Comprehensive Sexual Education In Secondary Schools In The Autonomous City Of Buenos Aires, Marin Hart

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este proyecto investiga el lugar de la asexualidad en la Educación Sexual Integral en el nivel medio en la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Desde una mirada basada en la teoría queer, este trabajo analiza los lineamientos curriculares del nivel medio y entrevistas a personas involucradas en la ESI, y concluye que la asexualidad, como todas las identidades queer, no aparece en los lineamientos y aparece muy poco en la ESI en general. Además, cuando aparecen las identidades queer en la ESI, se presentan dentro del marco de la tolerancia y no discriminación, y por el modo de hacerlo, terminan …

Honoring The Gift: An Epistolary Exploration Of An Alternative Approach To Learning Grounded In Reciprocity And Gratitude, Tegan Keyes

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In this project, I explore what it means to honor knowledge as a gift. This document includes a selection of letters I wrote to my teachers to express my gratitude to them, along with a written narrative in which I describe my vision of an alternative approach to undergraduate education that centers gratitude, reciprocity, and self-determination. This narrative weaves together lessons from emergence theory, Indigenous systems of education, and gift economies to tell a story of a life-sustaining education system that is grounded in the understanding that knowledge is a gift.

The Growth Of Human Capital And The Progressive Education Movement In Houston, Texas: A History Of Houston Independent School District, 1876–1970, Wesley Patrick Jackson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The progressive education movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century made terrific strides in modernizing and improving education for all races in Houston, Texas. This movement embraced a democratic platform of participation and engagement for all citizens, which affected America’s social, political, and economic future for decades and gave rise to many future movements. The root of progressive politics was in the participation of a diverse and active population, social progress, and industrial development, of which Houston had a plethora in the early goings of the twentieth century. Where did this progressive assault begin? Was it a grassroots …

Garrott, June Rose, B. 1932 (Sc 3670), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3670. Letters and papers of June Rose Garrott, Bowling Green, Kentucky. Includes family information; letters from Japan, where she taught English; Christmas letters; an account of a trip to China; and a list of her writing and scholarly activities.

The Importance Of Art In Cross Discipline Education, Shaye E. Beeman

Masters Theses

For years, art has been pushed under the rug. Especially in education, art is seen as less advantageous than other courses such as math, English, and science. This thesis explores the advantages of utilizing art in cross-discipline classrooms to help students learn and develop skills that will improve their physical, mental, and spiritual health. This thesis will bring into account other sources of information and data including research, case studies, and visual analyses to show: How will art improve the physical health of students? How does art increase the mental health of students? How does art improve the spiritual health …

Researching Technological Advancements Through Alternative Methods Of Music Education To Engage Students In The Digital Age, Olivia Thornton Thompson

Masters Theses

While the music industry has significantly incorporated technology into music composition and production, music education is slow to teach how to use these technical methods for students living in the digital age. Current music education methods have established successful results in past music compositions; however, those methods are becoming impractical. Although music education taught in schools has been primarily successful through traditional methods, students learning in the digital age have yet to learn how to strengthen their musical abilities through technology. This secondary analysis aims to look at the different studies on incorporating technology in a music education setting to …

Preston, John Bowker, 1851-1925 (Sc 3657), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3657. Reward of Merit for correctness in spelling, awarded to John B. Preston by his teacher. The reverse is inscribed June 14, 1864.

Co-Education And Collaboration: Women At Gettysburg From 1945-1955, Olivia N. Taylor, Mckenna C. White

Student Publications

Women studying at Gettysburg College in the years following World War II (from 1945 to 1955) were given many freedoms and opportunities not previously experienced by female students of the college. The inclusion of sororities and co-educational social clubs open to both men and women expanded the social lives of female students at Gettysburg. Meanwhile, the dormitory environment and intramural sports teams helped women at Gettysburg create a sense of community through healthy competition. With all of these new social, academic, and extracurricular opportunities, there were still setbacks for women. Rules dictated how a woman could dress in certain settings …

The Wisdom In Our Stories: Asian American Motherscholar Voices, Cathery Yeh, Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath, Betina Hsieh, Judy Yu

Publications and Research

This article centers the counternarratives of four Asian American motherscholar teacher educators presented as letters to our children in which we apply tenets of AsianCrit to parenting and education, with racial realism at the forefront. Using Asian Critical Theory and motherscholar research to frame our analysis, themes within and across the data include pressures of cultural assimilation and identity loss, intersectional identities, compliance and resistance to Asianization, and learning from our children. Our Asian American motherscholar stories serve as examples of motherhood as an asset to critical scholarship and praxis.

Harmonica Pedagogy For The Full Inclusion Instrumental Music Classroom, Expanding Opportunities For Students With Disabilities, George Wallace Miklas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The harmonica was once taught in American public schools coast to coast from the 1920s through the 1940s when imports of harmonicas were curtailed due to World War II's efforts. Since then, American public-school instrumental music curricula have long forgotten the only wind instrument that makes music when the student inhales or exhales. The harmonica provides a natural calming effect to the player and medical benefits, including being a tool for overcoming mental health issues and expressing needs and feelings without words. During the era when the harmonica was taught, pedagogy lacked uniformity. Consequently, confusion about the instrument's unique tuning …

Engaging Urban Music Students Through Elements Of Rap And Culture, Jasmine Christian Jackson

Masters Theses

Teaching in the urban community requires an undertaking of counseling, constant understanding, and helping advance students’ prior knowledge to provide future comprehension. The goal as an educator is to guide the student along their journey in learning and practicing information that they receive throughout. Giving students the opportunity to see that they are capable of comprehending a subject they never thought they could is the main goal. Teaching the urban community can be a big challenge. The educator must take on learning the specific history of the demographic they instruct, and focus educate themselves on the challenges that the students …

Deciduous: Using Gamified Skill Trees And Mapping To Define Learning Opportunities For Students, Daniel Allen Burau

Masters Theses

Students can have difficulty visualizing the end goals of units of study and how one learned concept impacts another. They will benefit from seeing their progress toward completion and are motivated by how far they have come in their class. Progress in a course can be measured with the implementation of gamification tools. Gamification involves the integration of game frameworks into non-gaming areas. This research seeks to find how these and other gamification systems help increase student motivation or classroom performance. Elements of gaming are already found in some areas of education. Some schools have access to various tools to …

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.

Hip-Hop History: Grades 9-12 Local History Curriculum, Sivia K. Malloy

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

As the founders and trailblazers mature, and sadly depart this life, a new generation is left behind with limited to no knowledge of the influence hip-hop has on current popular culture locally, nationally, or internationally. Research for this learning intervention determines what and how local hip-hop history incorporates into a social studies/history course with high school (9-12 grade) students, bridging local stories to the national and international trends and events of the past. Informal discussions took place with local hip-hop subject-matter experts throughout the northeast region of New England with ties to Massachusetts. Their recommendations were to wrestle with the …

Creating A Generalized Michigan School Constitution, Kurstin K. Frank

Honors Projects

Educational theories in the past have attempted to define, arrange, and design education to benefit society, institutions, and students of all ages. The conversations surrounding those educational theories, however, have consistently neglected to include those that the structures, policies, and purpose of education will benefit the most: the students. This research project was devised to include student voice within the conversations surrounding educational theories through the construction of a Generalized Michigan School Constitution. By delving into those theories of education, the researcher was able to dissect the five most common theories and beliefs within education to be able to decipher …

A Qualitative Phenomenological Study In Perceived Experiences That Enhanced Gospel Zeal In Christian Educational Leaders, Arlynne Gail Perley-Huebscher

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate and reveal the perceived experiences that enhanced Gospel zeal in Christian educational leaders in ministry. Scholarly studies reflect that contemporary ministry trends affect Christian educational leaders' longevities (Barna, 2020a) but do not address effects on Gospel zeal. The researcher cites Ryle (1880, Chapter One, Para. 2) regarding the Gospel zeal phenomenon, “Zeal in Christianity is a burning desire to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way. It is a desire, which is not natural to men or women. It …