Education Commons^™

A Phenomenological Study Of Collaborative Learning: Understanding The Perceptions, Values, And Experiences Of Freshmen Language Arts Students, Teachers, And One Administrator, Sheryl Ackers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a better understanding of collaborative learning through the perceptions of freshmen Language Arts students, teachers, and one administrator. Nine freshmen Language Arts students, four freshman Language Arts teachers, and one administrator participated in the study at Falcons Rise Up (pseudonym) (FRU). FRU is located approximately 45 minutes outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Theories from both Vygotsky (1978) and Bandura (1986) framed the study. Data methods included student, teacher, and administrator semi-structured interviews. Interview questions focused on participants’ perceptions of and experiences with collaborative learning models. Moustakas’s (1994) phenomenological reduction method of data …

Liminal Practice In A Maturing Writing Department, Louise Wetherbee Phelps

English Faculty Publications

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In Spring 2011 I was awarded a Fulbright Specialist Grant to "consult, collaborate, and inform" on the future of the Department of Rhetoric, Writing, and Communications at the University of Winnipeg, located in the city of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. The Department of Rhetoric, Writing, and Communications department (hereafter, RWC) was a pioneer in writing instruction in Canada, where it became the first unit to establish itself independently as a department with a full-‐time faculty committed to both teaching and scholarship in writing and rhetoric. It remains a rare phenomenon on the Canadian higher education scene, where studies …

An Investigation Of Higher-Order Thinking Skills In Smaller Learning Community Social Studies Classrooms, Christopher Fischer, Linda Bol, Shana Pribesh

Educational Foundations & Leadership Faculty Publications

This study investigated the extent to which higher-order thinking skills are promoted in social studies classes in high schools that are implementing smaller learning communities (SLCs). Data collection in this mixed-methods study included classroom observations and in-depth interviews. Findings indicated that higher-order thinking was rarely promoted in SLC classes. Interview data suggests several factors affecting teaching for higher-order thinking in SLC social studies classrooms. These include: high stakes testing, pacing pressures, teachers' dispositions and training, and teacher autonomy.

Civics And Citizenship Education In Schools In Afghanistan, Mohammad Tariq Habibyar

Master's Capstone Projects

This thesis focuses on the status of civics and citizenship education in schools in Afghanistan. My purpose for this study was (a) to understand what is taught about civics education in classrooms, (b) what concepts of civics education are addressed in the national curriculum and the text books, and (c) what role civics education plays in Afghan schools to produce productive citizens. My assumption is that schools have direct impact on civics understanding of the students and how they use their civics knowledge in everyday life. Civics education raises students’ political, governance, and social awareness and informs them about their …