Education Commons^™

Benefits Of Learning Without Homework For Middle School Students, Ashley Garcia Marquez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this senior capstone is to examine the benefits of learning without homework for middle school students. The research draws on the experiences of teachers in Monterey County, who provide personal input and teaching philosophies on this topic. Throughout the use of the literature review, three teacher interviews, and fifty anonymous student surveys, the findings indicate that learning without homework is essential, and in-class workshops have a positive impact on middle school student's academic success. Thus, teachers should recognize that learning without homework and in-class workshops plays a vital role in educating the growing minds of middle school …

The Not-So-Silent Period: Testimonios Of Recently Arrived Latinx Students, Teri M. Hutchinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore and amplify the experiences of recently arrived Latinx¹ students as interpreted through their testimonios in educational borderlands. Through increasingly xenophobic discourses around immigrants and their children (Pérez Huber, 2015), U.S. public schools have become entrenched borderland spaces wherein the humanity of recently arrived students is voided through silencing them with labels of linguistic deficiency and cramming them into one-size-fits-all educational programming (Fine et al., 2007; Flores & Rosa, 2015). There is demand for research that explores the experiences of these children, especially in light of their continued marginalization through neoliberal programming …

Influence Of Restorative Practices On The Middle-School Classroom, As Reported By Teachers: A Qualitative Case Study, Julia Y. Andrews

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine middle school teachers’ perceptions of the influence that restorative practices have on the middle school classroom environment. For the purpose of this study, seven middle school teachers were selected who have implemented restorative practices in their middle school classrooms to provide feedback. Findings suggest that overall restorative practices have a positive influence on the classroom. The findings from this study can be used with teachers, administrators, counselors, parents, and school and district support staff to help create a positive campus culture between students and adults in middle school classrooms. The …

The Effects Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy On Middle School Teachers' Sel Self-Efficacy And Instructional Practices, Caitlin A. O'Keefe

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

This Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice investigated the impact professional learning in Culturally Responsive Pedagogy had on teacher SEL self-efficacy and instructional practices in a middle school. Educators faced many new challenges with the onset of a global pandemic, increased political polarization, and social unrest fueled by system racism. In the blink of an eye, teachers adapted their instructional practices to teach in full remote, hybrid, and, eventually, in-person instruction with strict COVID-19 guidelines. Teachers noted a decrease in student connectedness and higher disengagement from school. Students’ social and emotional needs grew, and classroom teachers became the triage nurses in …

Translanguaging About, With, And Through Code And Computing: Emergent Bi/Multilingual Middle Schoolers Forging Computational Literacies, Sara Vogel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As computing pervades more aspects of life, and as Computer Science for All (CS for All) initiatives roll out across the U.S., the field must understand the experiences and language practices of emergent bi/multilingual K-12 students and use that knowledge to drive equitable pedagogical and programmatic approaches. But little is known about how emergent bi/multilingual students — a growing population that school systems have often viewed with deficit-based lenses and have thus struggled to educate equitably — use language in the context of CS education. This dissertation addresses this gap by (1) qualitatively documenting and using asset-based frames to analyze …

Engaging Middle School Emergent Bilinguals In Language Awareness: A Practitioner Researcher Study, Carol Lickenbrock

Dissertations

This practitioner research study (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009) traced the journey toward critical literacy of a group of seven emergent bilinguals and me, their teacher, over the course of a four-month unit on argument as part of our English for Speakers of Other Languages 3 (ESOL3) class. Many of these students, like many emergent bilinguals in the United States, had been disempowered because they had not had access to the academic texts of school. As part of this research, students worked with tools of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to analyze the interpersonal, ideational and textual metafunctions of argumentation in lessons …

The Influence Of A Short-Stay International Trip On Chaperones’ Attitudes Toward Traveling Students, Co-Chaperones, And The Destination Culture: A Case Study, Frederick N. Mbayu

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Chaperones are adults who accompany, look after, and supervise traveling students. This case study examined the influence of an urban middle school short-stay international trip to France on chaperones’ perceptions and attitudes toward traveling students, co-chaperones, and the destination culture. Five chaperones on spring break trips from 2014 to 2017 provided data during individual ex post facto semi-structured interviews. Trip-related documents and trip vendor participant online accounts were analyzed to corroborate and augment the interview data. Participants developed a positive view of the traveling students after traveling together for ten days. Chaperones increased their understanding of diversity, developed a deeper …

Translanguaging Practices For Educational Equity: Moments In A Bilingual Middle School Classroom, Luz Y. Herrera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs in New York City largely follow a 50-50 model: half of the instruction is in English while the other half is in another target language. In NYC, as well as the rest of the country, these programs are typically English-Spanish due to the large Spanish-speaking population in the U.S. Bilingual programs also tend to strictly separate languages and often insist that teachers and students only use the designated language according to the school or district’s particular language allocation policy.

This qualitative case study challenges the strict separatist language model of some dual language bilingual …

Exploring The Transition Of First-Generation Mexican American Students From Grade 8 To High School, Mary C. Curry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The dropout rate for first-generation Mexican Americans students in American schools has increased in the past decade. The purpose of this study, as reflected in the central research question, was to explore the factors that influenced the decision of first-generation Mexican American students to transition to high school or drop out after Grade 8. The research design was a phenomenological case study. The conceptual framework was based on current research surrounding first-generation Mexican American student dropout questions. In addition, how the concepts of family and community involvement and relationships between the home and school have an impact on the first …

Cross Case Analysis Of Three Middle School Mathematics Teachers, Sandra Quiroz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This cross-case analysis was designed to investigate the instructional practices middle school mathematics teachers use in classes with English language learners (ELLs); how the different practices result in differential student achievement; the types of professional development middle school mathematics teachers attend; and what effect the mathematics teachers’ academic background have on the academic achievement of ELLs. The study was facilitated by the use of data from lesson plans, observations, interviews, academic background, and professional development sessions for three seventh-grade mathematics teachers and their students’ proficiency on the seventh-grade mathematics state achievement. Investigation of the lesson plans, observations and classroom culture …

A Curriculum Unit For 8th Grade Students Of Spanish: ¿CóMo Eras Tú De NiñO? (What Were You Like As A Child?), Cheyenne A. Jones

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The following Independent Study, written in partial fulfillment for a Master of Science degree in Middle-Level Education from Bank Street College, is a nine-lesson curriculum unit on the study of imperfect tense verbs in Spanish. The unit, titled ¿Cómo eras tú de niño? (What Were You Like As a Child?) was designed for 8th grade English-speaking students of Spanish.

An Interdisciplinary Multicultural Resource Guide For Middle Schools, Carol Ann Mccombs Drinkwater

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to promote multicultural education within middle school classrooms. My intent was to provide an accessible means by which other educators could incorporate or supplement their current nine month curriculums with diverse multicultural activities for students in grades 6-8. This multicultural guide was developed around an integrated curriculum. The themes or objective areas focused on the curriculum areas of Social Studies, English, Multicultural Awareness and Art. Most of all, this resource guide was developed for the purpose of providing students additional opportunities to recognize and experience differences through a positive interactive approach. This project was …