Education Commons^™

Expanding Local To Global Through Esri Story Maps, Ann Marie Gleeson, Lisa Andries D'Souza

Education Department Faculty Works

For decades, the “expanding communities” model has dominated the elementary classroom, sustained by notions that young children need to first understand their local communities before they can understand the broader world. As proponents of this approach value how it supports young learners developmentally, critics fault its narrow scope. How will children become global thinkers if they fail to explore the world beyond their home?

Instead of separating local and global perspectives and topics, we set out to integrate them, to teach children about the world through their local communities. We created Community Story Maps as an inquiry-driven project where students …

A New Charter Challenges Popular Paradigms, Levi Sharpe

Capstones

Many popular charter schools in New York City, which are highly rated, are known for being heavy on test prep and rigid in structure. Success Academy, the largest charter network in New York City, is the paragon of this type of model. But these models, known as "no-excuse" charters can burn out teachers. Critics also say they squelch students' creativity and their desire to be in class. A New York Times article from April 2015 described Success’ “polarizing tactics," which lead to high teacher turnover. Six months later, The Times also reported on a Success Academy charter in Fort Greene …

The Inclusion Of False, Falsified, And Falsifiable Data That Favor An Evolutionary Worldview In The High School Science Curriculum Of Public And Private Schools In The Philippines, Jerry F. Smith

Christian Perspectives in Education

This paper examines a curricular issue in general within public and private high schools in the Philippines. This paper presents six known and documented errant points found in textbooks that promote an evolutionary worldview and are commonly found in local high school biology textbooks. The proposed solutions present several questions designed to facilitate formation of the readers’ own views regarding this phenomenon.

Using Literature Circles To Increase Reading Comprehension And Student Motivation, Michelle Jacobs

Theses and Dissertations

Many educators arrange students in guided reading groups based on their reading lexile. Usually the books selected for guided reading are from a basal reading series and are used to teach different reading components and strategies. However, the books don’t always reflect student cultures, making it difficult for students to hold discussions and make connections. Oftentimes, students are unmotivated to read the assigned books and rarely engage in discussions. Based on research conducted by Daniels (2006), when kids are engaged in well-structured book clubs their comprehension and their attitude towards reading both improve. With ongoing changes in education, educators must …

“Big History At Other Institutions: “Introduction’ And ‘The Big History Project: Bill Gates’S Favorite Course.’ ”, Mojgan Behmand

Mojgan Behmand

“Assessing Big History Outcomes: Or, How To Make Assessment Inspiring.”, Mojgan Behmand

Mojgan Behmand

"Big History And The Goals Of Liberal Education”, Mojgan Behmand

Mojgan Behmand

Finding The Resilient Teacher Within: A Workshop To Address K-12 Teacher Well-Being, Laura Jones

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Teacher stress comes from a variety of sources: accountability pressures, lack of time to relax, students who are not motivated, excessive duties and responsibilities that go beyond the classroom, testing pressure, large class size, lack of administrative support, and general concern for the safety and well being of their students (Richards, 2012). As a result of the constant high stress, more teachers are reporting mental/physical health issues and leaving the profession (Richards, 2012). One way to help deal with the stress teachers are feeling is to strengthen the teacher from within by using the resources they have already. This paper …

A Selected Survey Of Sacred And Secular Music From The English Reformation, With Emphasis On Pedagogical Applications For The High School Choral Classroom, Caroline Morse

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this project was to examine the historical and applied performance aspects of music from the English Reformation, and to explore and explain the pedagogical methods of teaching this music to developing musicians in high school. I was responsible for organizing, programming, rehearsing, and conducting a recital featuring several works of sacred English, sacred Latin, and madrigal/secular songs. In addition, I was responsible for researching and presenting a lecture recital on the Tudor Dynasty, and the effect the monarchy had on the publication of music during 1517-1648.

I developed a lecture recital based upon age appropriate choral pieces …

The Effects Of An Overnight Environmental Science Education Program On Students' Attendance Rate Change For Middle School Years, Jennifer Elizabeth Basham

Dissertations and Theses

Programs that engage middle students in participatory, real-world, and hands-on field based instruction can be a powerful asset to the educational experiences for students; motivating and inspiring some to appreciate and value school in a different way. Overnight environmental science programs have a unique opportunity to support students by creating experiences where students can participate in learning in vastly different ways from what they may engage with in the traditional 4-walled classroom, while concurrently developing a relationship with the natural world. Decreasing educational budgets and increased need to substantiate educational programs in terms of their impact on students has added …

Enhancing Esl Instruction Through Reflective Teaching: A Resource Guide For Administrators Of Intensive English Programs, Wesley Weston

Master's Projects and Capstones

Reflective teaching practices are meaningful and practical ways for administrators to support and encourage ongoing professional development among ESL teachers. Today, the global demand for English instruction has greatly surpassed the supply of qualified and experienced teachers. Many ESL teachers, therefore, can benefit significantly from continuous professional development, especially at Intensive English Programs preparing international students for higher education in the US.

Administrators can help further teacher development through the implementation of microteaching, peer observations, and surveys. These methods effectively foster professional growth by stimulating reflective inquiry, which promotes personal learning, behavior modification, and better performance. Furthermore, these practices help …

Identifying Characteristics Of Expert Elementary School Technology Integration Teachers - A Cognitive Task Analysis, Mark Campoli

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

In all domains, certain individuals consistently perform better than their peers. In ill-structured domains such as education, the identification of experts can be difficult. This is especially true when considering technology integration experts (TIEs). In order to be a TIE, one must be an expert in content knowledge, pedagogy, and instructional technology. Systematically identifying and studying TIEs could provide characteristics consistent with expert performance.

Typically, it takes 1,000 hours, or ten years, of practice to acquire expertise. In domains such as education, the acquisition of expertise can happen sooner. Acquiring expertise can be further hastened by deliberate practice. Not all …

Teachers' Attitudes And Their Effect On Placement Recommendations For Students With Cognitive Disabilities, Kathleen M. Everett

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

The implementation of Public Law 94-142 in 1974 guaranteed that students with disabilities had the right to be educated alongside their peers in the least restrictive environment. However, decades later, administrators, teachers, and parents continue to struggle to resolve the issue on how to include students with disabilities in general education classrooms, as well as how to recognize why students with cognitive disabilities were embodied more in self-contained classrooms than in comprehensive environments. In this study, I aimed to understand how special education teachers’ attitudes about inclusion, LRE, and students with cognitive disabilities influence placement recommendations. Through the qualitative thematic …

Utiliser La Force Du Nombre Pour Favoriser Le Développement De La Fluidité De Lecture En Contexte Subsaharien, Élisabeth Boily, Chantal Ouellet, Catherine Turcotte

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

L’enseignement de la lecture au primaire s’effectue dans des conditions difficiles au Burkina Faso, ce qui affecte sans contredit l’apprentissage de cette habileté nécessaire à la réussite scolaire et à l’épanouissement personnel. Chez les élèves des premiers cycles du primaire, la fluidité de lecture se développe difficilement. Cette recherche a pour but d’implanter un programme de lecture orale répétée et assistée et d’évaluer les effets de cette intervention sur le développement de la fluidité d’élèves provenant d’une classe à large effectif et hétérogène de CE1 au Burkina Faso. Une évaluation de la fluidité a été effectuée auprès de 94 élèves …

Negotiating Tesol Discourses And Efl Teaching Contexts In China: Identities And Practices Of International Graduates Of A Tesol Program, Roumiana Ilieva, Aojun Li, Wanjun Li

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

This article reports on a study of the material effects of the discourses circulating in a TESOL program housed in a Canadian university on the professional identities and practices that international graduates of the program negotiate and develop in their local professional contexts in China. The principal researcher and two of the study participants discuss pedagogical values salient among program graduates and explore complexities accompanying professional identity negotiation. The article offers recommendations for TESOL programs in affording EFL teachers the possibility to construct hybrid professional identities and dwell comfortably in a “third space” as educational practitioners in a globalized world.

Comparison Of Beginning Teachers' And Experienced Teachers' Readiness To Integratetechnology As Measured By Tpack Scores, Heather S. Fontanilla

Dissertations

Despite a growing awareness of the importance of technology in education, increased investment and attention to preparing teachers to integrate technology into the classroom, research shows that technology continues to fail to live up to its potential for transforming education. As schools move from standards based testing to implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), an expectation exists that teachers will be using technology to transform their teaching practices. There is also an expectation that schools are providing students with 21st century skills, including the use of technology. In exploring the reasons teachers are not using technology effectively, much …

The Achievement Gap: A Dual Nation Perspective, Myka Chavez

Honors Projects

This essay seeks to explore the achievement gap, which is a disparity in educational achievement between certain economic and racial groups, by taking a unique approach and bringing a fresh perspective. Specifically, this research focuses on how this gap is manifested in two countries: the U.S. and England. This dual nation perspective opens the door for more information and a better understanding of the gap as a whole. Analysis will be done regarding the various issues surrounding the gap in each country such as its causes, effects, and past/present solutions. Based on how these issues occur in each country and …

Teachers' Discourse On English Language Learners: Cultural Models Of Language And Learning, Amy Heineke

Amy J. Heineke

This qualitative case study explores teacher learning about English language learners (ELLs) in a small-group, school-based context at an urban elementary school inArizona. Sociocultural perspectives on teacher learning guided the analysis of teachers’ participation in a teacher study group over six months. The teacher study group aimed to support educators of ELLs at a time of new language policy implementation, which required ELLs to enroll in an English language development (ELD) classroom for four hours of skill-based English language instruction.

In the first semester of language policy implementation, I collected discursive data that showcased the social interaction of teachers and …

Staff In Australia’S Schools 2013: Main Report On The Survey, Phillip Mckenzie, Paul R. Weldon, Glenn Rowley, Martin Murphy, Julie Mcmillan

Dr Glenn Rowley (retired)

This report provides an overview of the results obtained from the Staff in Australia’s Schools (SiAS) 2013 survey commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Education and conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The work was supported by an Advisory Committee of government and non-government school authorities and other stakeholder groups. The survey was intended to provide a detailed picture of the Australian teacher workforce, and to gather information to assist in future planning of the workforce. It was also designed to provide comparative and updated data following on from the previous SiAS surveys conducted in 2006-07 …

Leveraging Resources Across Units And Universities To Address Academic Literacies And Research Skills In Ontario Graduate Students, Melanie Mills, Elan Paulson

Melanie Mills

Motivating Factors And Barriers To The Online Faculty Professional Development, Kathryn L. Miller

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the College of Education at Morehead State University by Kathryn L. Miller on April 16, 2015.

Reciprocal Teaching, Jannet A. Machado

South Florida Education Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Academic Risk-Taking In Higher Education, Yselande Pierre

South Florida Education Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Sjsu Erfa Board Minutes, December 7, 2015, San Jose State University, Emeritus And Retired Faculty Association

SJSU ERFA Minutes

SJSU ERFA Executive Board Minutes

December 7, 2015

Improving Urban Teachers’ Assessment Literacy Through Synergistic Individualized Tutoring And Self-Reflection, Dennis Murphy Odo

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

In this reflective piece, I provide an account of one method I am developing for fostering the assessment literacy of pre-service teachers’ in an Master of Arts in Teaching program through individualized tutoring of K-6 learners that also incorporated collaborative reflection. This method was developed for a pre-service teacher education course on individualized literacy assessment and instruction. I incorporated the individualized tutoring sessions and candidate reflection activities to develop candidates’ assessment literacy in response to several observations I made as I taught the class. The teacher research I consulted to address this challenge echoed my experience of the general superficiality …

Empowerment For Whom? Empowerment For What? Lessons From A Participatory Action Research Project, Meagan Call-Cummings, Christine James

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

This article sets forth the process through which I, an educator of over 20 years, my research mentor, and my 52 Latino/a students answered questions that were important to us through participatory action research. I start the process by asking if and how I am empowering my students, and they start their own parallel process by asking about their relationships with their White teachers. By engaging in various data collection approaches, including Boal’s (1985) Theatre of the Oppressed and Photovoice, we are all able to answer these questions. I learn that as a teacher I do not empower students; they …

Multimedia Teacher Research, Heather Leaman, Connie Dilucchio

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

In this qualitative study, two teacher educators and course instructors in a Masters of Education (M.Ed.) program explored beginning teacher researchers’ use of multimedia to support action research. Fifty-eight teachers (36 in spring 2010 and 22 in spring 2011) completed teacher research as the capstone in their M.Ed. program. Teachers utilized the MERLOT website (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) to develop and submit their research as an alternative to traditional paper submission. As teachers conducted their research, course instructors investigated how the teachers’ use of multimedia strengthened or limited their teacher research work. Data from teacher researchers …

A Book Review – Digging Deeper Into Action Research: A Teacher Inquirer’S Field Guide, Jim R. Carlson

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Digging Deeper into Action Research proves itself a handy companion for practitioners embarking on the journey of action research. The chapters are organized in logical order, beginning with a brief historical overview of teacher research and its critical contribution to the national dialogue on education. Dana frames educational research as highly contextualized, reminding readers that “outside experts,” those removed from the day-to-day operations of school, have historically set the terms for what counts as research in education (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993).

Teacher Candidates’ Learning Gains: The Tale Of Two Co-Teachers, Hillary Merk, Melanie Betz, Colleen O' Mara

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Co-teaching during the student teaching experience has been given increased attention among researchers and teacher educators. Co-teaching facilitates an apprenticeship arrangement that encourages modeling of classroom practice for the candidate and provides a chance to implement directly what is being learned. This qualitative study explored teacher candidates’ learning gains using the co-teaching model for student teaching. Teacher candidates were able to see more clearly the dynamics of how a classroom works and the process by which teachers plan lessons, implement curriculum, and manage the many duties of a classroom teacher.

Editorial Introduction, Suzanne Porath

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Too often teacher research is conducted in isolation, but deeper reflection and action can occur when teacher research is conducted and/or shared with others. In Volume 17, Number 2 of Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research educators/researchers illustrate how collaboration with others enhanced their understanding of their own practice. This issue provides a broad range of perspectives in using teacher research including teacher candidates, classroom teachers, and graduate students.