Education Commons^™

Discussing Yasmina Khadra’S Novel The Sirens Of Baghdad In The Upper Secondary Classroom To Promote Intercultural Learning, Karl Ågerup

Essays in Education

Based on interviews with four teachers who engaged in discussions about Yasmina Khadra's novel The Sirens of Baghdad with a total of 92 students, this article explores the potential of using fictional narratives to achieve Global Citizenship-related goals in upper secondary education. The novel, which portrays the journey of a young aspiring Al Qaeda terrorist in Iraq, emerged as a response to the increasing need in the Western world to mitigate intercultural tensions following the September 11 attacks. The article addresses the novel's capacity to promote intercultural understanding while acknowledging practical challenges such as intense emotions in the classroom, potential …

Exploring High School Students’ Perceptions Of The Influence Of Fine Arts Education On Academic Achievement, Samantha Fields

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

This qualitative study aims to explore student perceptions of fine arts exposure on academic achievement in a southwestern Georgia high school. The study focuses specifically on exposure time and how it affects students academically. Qualitative research methods were used for this investigation. Information was collected through questionnaires, interviews, and artifacts analysis to better understand student perceptions of how fine arts education impacts their personal growth and academic success. This study’s findings provide insights about discovering students’ perceptions of fine arts exposure in relation to personal academic achievement. The results of this investigation can help educate stakeholders and policymakers as they …

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 …

The Beam In Our Own Eyes: Antiracism And Ya Literature Through A Catholic Lens, Katie Sutton, Abigail D. Grafmeyer, Dan Reynolds

Journal of Catholic Education

As Catholic schools serve an increasingly racially diverse population of students, they must grapple with the critical requirement to address these students’ unique needs while heeding the call from modern Catholic Church leaders to engage in explicit antiracist action. Using the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework (HRL), this article equips Catholic high school English language arts (ELA) teachers with practical and powerful ways to create antiracist curriculum. To do this effectively, we place antiracist Young Adult (YA) literature (both fiction and nonfiction) in conversation with Catholic canonical texts and modern voices from Catholic clergy members. By connecting with students’ complex identities …

Exploring The Status Of Transgender Students In Catholic High Schools, Dirk De Jong

Journal of Catholic Education

This paper reports on a recent survey of principals of Catholic high schools across the country regarding the existence of formal gender identity policies or informal practices with respect to the behavior and treatment of transgender students in their schools. The survey’s findings are discussed in the context of recent developments with respect to the science, clinical interventions, and legal accommodations surrounding gender variance. The paper also describes the political developments with respect to this issue and some of the pushback in communities of faith. It concludes by suggesting the need for receptivity to scientific findings as part of a …

Does Homework Work Or Hurt? A Study On The Effects Of Homework On Mental Health And Academic Performance, Ryan Scheb

Journal of Catholic Education

St. Patrick's Catholic School is a coeducational Catholic preparatory school located in a large northeastern city. The school serves an exclusively non-white, working-class student population who demonstrates the motivation and potential to attend and graduate from college. The school’s mission calls for its staff to be guided by cura personalis, meaning they will care for the whole person; yet, data show that the school’s students were extremely stressed out and that much of their stress was attributable to homework. This study sought to determine if reducing the amount of homework could improve students’ mental health while not negatively impacting …

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 …

Unit Plan For A Course On Banned Books For 11th And 12th Grade, Jonny Gherman

English Capstone Projects

This lesson plan will teach high school students (11th-12th grade) what censorship is, why it is powerful, and what to do with it. Aligned with Pennsylvania State Standards, students will identify common themes between the two most popular genres of banned books (race & gender/sexuality). Through a series of activities, discussions, and a final project, students will practice close reading, critical thinking, and basic research skills.

Quickwrites And The Quest To Reverse Writing Reluctance, Jenna Dunn

Honors Projects

Current research suggests that students’ enjoyment of writing will positively impact their writing achievement (Graham, 2007; Bulut, 2017). Given this trend, the following study explores the extent to which quickwriting, a teaching strategy developed extensively by Linda Rief (2003, 2018) as well as Donald Graves & Penny Kittle (2005), impacts the attitudes of reluctant writers. A total of nineteen eleventh-grade students were interviewed in three focus groups. All of the students within the study experienced three weeks of regular classroom quickwriting along with one week of a quickwriting extension workshop prior to participation in the focus groups. Students were asked …

Crowdsourcing Civics Instruction To Improve Student Civic Knowledge, Skills, And Citizen Engagement, Charles T. E. Jones

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Secondary students’ lack of civic knowledge, skills, and engagement is well documented in the literature. States continue to address the issue through an increase in mandated civics requirements, but a striking improvement has not been confirmed. Improving civics instructional delivery through crowdsourcing holds promise in addressing deficits in students’ acquisition of civic knowledge, skills, and engagement. Crowdsourcing is the act of using the internet to obtain information and input from multiple parties on specific topics and to find solutions to problems. The purpose of this study was to determine if crowdsourcing may be an effective instructional tool that civics teachers …

Happiness Level Among Secondary School Students In Holey Makkah In Light Of Some Variables, Dr.Ahmad Abdul Majid Smadi, عبد الرحمن الزهراني

Jerash for Research and Studies Journal مجلة جرش للبحوث والدراسات

The study proposed to determine level of happiness among secondary school students in the Holey Makkah, and to examine if there were significant differences in happiness in light of variables as: specialization, achievement level, family monthly income, and family type. A random cluster sample of 600 students answered a life happiness scale after the psychometric of the scale were ensured. A statistical analyses of the data revealed a moderate level (2.17) of happiness among secondary school students in Holey Makkah, There were no statistical significant differences in the level of happiness due to the student specialization, school level, family monthly …

Writing Inside And Outside The Rhetoric Of Containment: An Analysis Of Writing Strategies In First Semester Students Transitioning To The First Year College Composition Classroom, Brenda R. Gallardo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Based on Bowden’s (1993) notion of containment, this study analyzes how containment—as well as other pedagogical restrictions and limitations—was manifested in the high-school-to-college transition of first year student writers. This study addresses the following questions of inquiry: How do participants’ experiences in high school affect them as writers in college?; What practices and strategies do students in the first year composition classroom apply to overcome containment in the college writing classroom?; and, How can instructors use pedagogy to overcome containment? This dissertation applies a qualitative design to gather data via interviews, questionnaires, and classroom observations. Via grounded theory, data gathered …

To Read Or Not To Read: Navigating Young Adult Literature In The Classroom In The Age Of Trigger Warnings And Banned Books, Ashley Sell

Honors Projects

Most public school libraries or English classrooms celebrate Banned Books Week during the school year, featuring dozens of Young Adult novels that have been challenged or banned in public schools across the country. However, books aimed towards young readers are typically not optimized for educational use in the classroom. In this project, I will explore the benefits of using Young Adult literature in the classroom, while also investigating the obstacles that one might face in order to do so, i.e. censorship, sensitive subject matter. I also want to summarize and respond to an argument for the retainment of classic literature …

Cancer Curriculum For Appalachian Kentucky Middle And High Schools, Lauren Hudson, Katherine Sharp, Chris Prichard, Melinda J. Ickes, Sahar Alameh, Nathan L. Vanderford

Journal of Appalachian Health

Background: Appalachian Kentucky faces the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates in the country due to poor health behaviors and lifestyle choices. These poor health behaviors are facilitated by a lack of cancer education. Youth represent a vulnerable population that could be greatly impacted by increased cancer education. Teachers have the power to facilitate this learning.

Purpose: This study examined the need for cancer education curriculum in Appalachian Kentucky middle and high schools from the perspective of educators.

Methods: An online survey was conducted with science and health teachers (n=21) in Appalachian Kentucky, consisting of questions that investigated existing cancer …

Give Me A Mic And A Stage: A Case For Slam Poetry, Identity, And Socio-Emotional Learning In The High School Classroom, Cristina V. Ramirez

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Many research companies in the past decade have been interested in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). In particular, these companies often look at how a lack of SEL education in schooling affects the ability for students to learn and later develop essential skills such as identifying emotions, positive goal setting, decision-making, and many other crucial socio-emotional skills that are often taken for granted. This paper seeks to find and discuss how SEL intersects with teaching a slam poetry unit in a high school sophomore English classroom. Through looking at the connections between slam poetry and SEL, this paper argues that …

Frederick Douglass Junior And Senior High School, Kelli Johnson

Publications

Douglass High School stood as a pillar in the community for over 70 years. The school, named after abolitionist Frederick Douglass, was also the social heart of the community. Past graduates remember the school as a close-knot community with supportive teachers who expected the best from their students.

Mental Illness In Young Adult Literature: A Classroom Approach, Claire Ghent

Honors College Theses

As high school curriculum in the 21st century evolves, the need to increase exposure of diverse literature that reflects culture, gender, and ethnicity is growing. One crucial area often overlooked by educators, parents, and publishers is literature that provides attention to mental illness, in spite of the growing amount of adolescents who suffer from a mental illness. By increasing awareness of mental illness in the classrooms, teachers can reduce stigma and increase empathy in their students while still providing challenging and engaging literary interactions. One of the best vehicles to deliver mental illness and stigma education is young adult literature …

The Use Of Diverse Young Adult Literature In High School Classrooms, Lauren Mohler

Student Scholarship – English

This departmental honors project outlined research that has been completed on the benefits of incorporating young adult literature in the secondary English Language Arts classroom and discussed the benefits of using young adult literature as a means of introducing students to various aspects of diversity. While young adult literature continues to grow in popularity among teen readers, there are many negative connotations associated with texts falling under this label and their merit within the classroom. Similarly, classroom dynamics are becoming more diverse each year through the number of students representing different races, ethnicities, ability levels, interests, socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, and …

Interview Of Richard Kestler, F.S.C., M.A., Richard Kestler Fsc, Alexandria Moraschi

All Oral Histories

Brother Richard Kestler, FSC. was born John Kestler on January 8, 1942 to John and Alice Kestler. He grew up in the Oxford Circle section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brother Richard attended elementary school at his parish of St. Martin of Tours and went on to La Salle College High School, graduating in 1960. By this time, he made the decision to join the Christian Brothers and began this process for about a year before attending La Salle College. He graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor’s in Mathematics and gained a Master’s in Theology soon after. Brother Richard also has Master’s …

Perspectives Of High School Photography Teachers Regarding Visual Literacy, Kristi Oliver

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated the perspectives of high school photography teachers regarding visual literacy. A qualitative methodology that used a phenomenographic research design was employed to gain understanding about the perspectives of high school photography teachers in their conceptualization, perceptions, and experiences surrounding visual literacy. A survey/ questionnaire was used to explore participants’ paths towards becoming a high school photography teacher, the amount of years they have been teaching, and their geographic location. Participants perception of school demographics such as school size, community contexts, racial, ethnic, and economic diversity were also collected. Additional prompts were designed to investigate curricular influences, …

Archaeology In The Classroom At A New England Prep School, Ryan Wheeler

Journal of Archaeology and Education

In 1901 Robert S. Peabody lamented the lack of instruction in archaeology at his high school alma mater Phillips Academy, a prestigious New England boarding school. To rectify the situation, he used family funds and artifacts amassed by his personal curator Warren K. Moorehead to establish a Department of Archaeology at the school. A building was constructed and Moorehead and Peabody’s son, Charles, set about teaching classes. The pattern established by Moorehead and Peabody, however, was disrupted in 1914 when the school refocused the program exclusively on research. Classes were offered periodically over the next decades, and some students were …

Data Diving Into “Noticing Poetry”: An Analysis Of Student Engagement With The “I Notice” Method, Scot Slaby, Jordan Benedict

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This paper explores students’ engagement in reading poems, examining data on their self perceptions of their confidence and competence in reading poems before, during, and after using the “I Notice” methodology as adapted from The Academy of American Poets’ unit plan, “Noticing Poetry” (Slaby, 2017). The data was collected over the course of a month from January 9 through January 30, 2018 and involved five classes of one hundred general English tenth grade students across three teachers’ classrooms at Shanghai American School’s Puxi High School Campus. Data indicates that the “I Notice” method and the “Noticing Poetry” unit and its …

Hidden And Overt: Exploring Race And Other Identities In The Classroom, Colin Kelly

Race and Pedagogy Journal: Teaching and Learning for Justice

No abstract provided.

Oral History Conversation With Ben Alemu, Daniel Kurzweil, Amy Nguyen, Natalia Galan Bataller, Devin Aubert

Philosophy 332: Business Ethics

This oral history gives insight into an entrepreneur's vision, experience and execution of his dreams to create a non-profit organization which engages teens in STEM research projects with mentors of similar ages.

The Effect Of Gender And Racial Stereotypes And Education-Related Beliefs On The Academic And Social Identity Development Of Urban African American Girls, Wanda Marie Shealey

ETD Archive

This qualitative, ethnographic study explores various tensions and struggles around gender and racial stereotypes that three urban teenage African American girls encounter as they try to develop a sense of oneself as an individual and in relation to the world. The purpose of this study was to explore Black high school girls’ experiences in a predominately urban public school in the Midwest. This study is guided by the following research question: In what way do gender and racial bias contribute to the self-perception of African American adolescent girls? Interrogating the multiple standpoints that inform African American female identity and how …

“That’S Why I Say Stay In School”: Black Mothers’ Parental Involvement, Cultural Wealth, And Exclusion In Their Son’S Schooling, Quaylan Allen, Kimberly A. White-Smith

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This study examines parental involvement practices, the cultural wealth, and school experiences of poor and working-class mothers of Black boys. Drawing upon data from an ethnographic study, we examine qualitative interviews with four Black mothers. Using critical race theory and cultural wealth frameworks, we explore the mothers’ approaches to supporting their sons’ education. We also describe how the mothers and their sons experienced exclusion from the school, and how this exclusion limited the mothers’ involvement. We highlight their agency in making use of particular forms of cultural wealth in responding to the school’s failure of their sons.

Peer Teaching In A Thematic Unit On Russian Fairy Tales, Paavo Husen

Russian

The goals of the Russian fairy tale unit are to increase presentational, interpretive, and interpersonal communicative Russian skills by encouraging students to speak spontaneously in Russian, to express personal opinions, and to ask clarifying questions. This unit addresses reading, speaking, listening, and writing; truly an integrated task that can help to prepare students for the NEWL Russian (Prototype AP® Russian). Still another benefit of this unit is cultural; students become aware of and familiar with the characters, structure, and vocabulary of Russian fairy tales.

Ouachita To Host Called 2 Ministry Retreat For High School Students On July 28-29, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Have you sensed a call to Christian ministry? Are you interested in learning more about diverse ministry opportunities?

Ouachita Baptist University is hosting a Called 2 Ministry Retreat on Friday and Saturday, July 28-29 on Ouachita’s Arkadelphia campus. The unique two-day retreat is designed for high school students who sense God has called them into some area of vocational ministry or are interested in exploring the various areas of ministry available in today’s world.

The two-day retreat is co-sponsored by Ouachita, The Prestonwood Network, Cross Church School of Ministry and the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. Keynote speakers include Jarrett Stephens, …

Cultivating Engagement Through Student-Centered Learning In A High School Media Art Class, Dyane Goldman

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Student-centered-learning is a broad term for an approach to education where students are independent, self-directed learners (Krueger, 2014). This active environment is invigorating, energizing and filled with students deeply engaged in the work at hand. Educators are leaning towards embracing methods that foster independence in their students and in turn, these methods are proving to be effective in cultivating an atmosphere of engagement in all types of learners.

This study assessed implementation of opportunities for self-directed learning, and evaluated student interest and engagement in classroom activities. A review of the literature indicates that adapting this approach can be effective in …

Education For Victory: An Analysis Of Social Studies Education In American Secondary Schools During World War Ii, Rachael E. O'Dell

Student Publications

Secondary schools during World War II were viewed as a vital component of the war effort on the home front. The nation’s youth were seen as important potential contributors to the war effort, and were educated as such. The atmosphere of total war especially affected social studies classes at this level. An analysis of contemporary educational journals and supplementary teaching materials reveals that secondary school students were virtually indoctrinated with democratic and patriotic values in their social studies classes in wartime schools. Social studies classes thus functioned as a route through which students could be encouraged to participate in the …