Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Seeing Reading In First-Year Composition, Matthew Felumlee

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on a study of reading-into-writing strategies employed by students in two sections of first-year-composition (FYC) that were paired with a support course as part of an accelerated learning program (ALP) at a community college. Each FYC course was comprised of 11 students whom the college had deemed college-ready without the ALP course, and 11 students who were deemed at remedial levels in reading and / or writing and who were subsequently required to enroll in the ALP course. The study employs grounded theory methodology to identify and consider the many factors that influenced how reading was portrayed, …

Student Voices: African American High School Seniors' Perception Of Culturally Responsive Teaching., Whitney M. Stewart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examined African-American high school seniors’ perceptions of culturally responsive teaching in one public high school within a large urban public-school district in the southeastern region of the United States. It begins with a brief historical overview on the plight of African-Americans in the US public education system and how public school educators have failed to leverage Afrocultural learning orientations as an asset to educate and increase the academic achievement of African-American students in classrooms. The Philosophical Aspects of Cultural Difference Framework (Nichols, 1986, 1995) will guide this dissertation study. The latter part of the dissertation reveals that a …

Interprofessional Education: How Curriculum Influences And Develops Future Healthcare Professionals, Karen Keune

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The value of higher education is a topic of great consideration and discussion, not only for current and future students, but also for legislators, educators, and employers. A college degree is more than a pathway toward advanced knowledge in a given subject; it is a component of a larger outcome beyond a diploma, it's a job. While the scale of employment opportunities appears to rise for those with a college degree, it is not enough to guarantee security for new graduates, no matter their topic of study. More than a competency in the field of study is required to prove …

Aged 539 Graduate Internship Report, Derek L. Silva

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

The Galt High School Agriculture Department is committed and dedicated to promoting and developing personal growth, career technical skills and rigorous/ relevant instruction for all students. Offering several pathways in the Agri-Science, Ornamental Horticulture and Ag Mechanics personalized to student’s career and technical skills interest areas through engaging hands on laboratories and industry insight and certification.

In order to accomplish the skills and abilities listed above, the Galt High School Agriculture Department currently overs the following courses for the 2017-2018 school year: Introduction to Agriculture Mechanics 1, Agriculture Mechanics 2, Agriculture Power Mechanics 1, Advanced Agriculture Mechanics, Agricultural Construction BITA …

School Shouldn’T End When The Bell Rings: An Exploratory Homeschooling Study, Mackenzie Dukelow

MA Research Paper

Homeschooling has experienced significant growth over the last several decades, yet little to no research has explored the relationship between homeschoolers and the public education system. Being the first to explore this relationship, the current study collected and examined data from 3 semi-structured interviews and 15 online homeschooling blogs in order to understand the growth of homeschooling in Ontario and the relationship between homeschooling and the public education system. The results of this study reveal the relationship between homeschoolers and the public education system varies significantly over time and locale, the challenges within each system and the difficulty of transitioning …

The Initial Planning Process Of An International Service-Learning Pilot Initiative Under Development, Denise P. Krohn

Theses & Dissertations

This research explored the initial planning process of an international service-learning (ISL) initiative under development that involved a collaboration among a south-central Texas private university, a ministry of Catholic Sisters in Peru, a U.S. non-profit organization, and a Peruvian optometry school. Three collaborators were founded by the same religious order. An overlapping in mission and values influenced the context. By delving into the expectations of higher education and its pedagogical practices, ISL’s history and conceptualizations, and concepts of program planning and designing related to the fields of ISL and adult learning, this study presented significant program development aspects. Furthermore, the …

Failure-To-Rescue Simulations As A Risk Management Strategy For Registered Nurses, Trena K. Seago

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

In the hospital setting, prevention of failure-to-rescue (FTR) events is an important aspect of patient safety. The use of patient simulation as a strategy to educate nurses on the prevention of these events offers two modes of learning: 1) experiential learning through simulation and 2) reflection through debriefing. The act of practicing to recognize a deteriorating patient through experiential learning and reflection may help increase nurses’ self-efficacy in recognizing a similar situation in their future practice. This quasi-experimental, one-group, pretest-posttest pilot study investigated the use of patient simulation among registered nurses (RNs) in the hospital setting as an anticipatory educational …

School Climate: A Comparison Of Teachers, Students, And Parents, James A. Jacobs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to examine the benefits of positive school climate and to measure the perceptions of school climate for intermediate grades in a Northeast Tennessee School district. An online school climate survey was used to collect responses from participants in intermediate grades and focused on the 3 major components of school climate: school engagement, school environment, and school safety. Data were collected for 2 consecutive years in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. Response totals included 1,955 student responses, 116 teacher responses, and 210 parent responses that were analyzed and used for this study. Of the student totals, some students that …

The ‘Just City’ Or Just A City? : Evaluating Social Justice And Equity In Planning Education., Wes Grooms

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary evaluations of accredited planning education performance have eschewed the principles and methodologies of formal program evaluation and performance management. This dissertation tests hypotheses that this contributes to the lack of social equity and justice commitment, content, and inquiry on the part of accredited graduate planning degree programs, their clients, and administrators. The organizations, resources, and processes involved in the purveyance of accredited graduate planning education were conceptualized as a singular, evaluable program and illustrated in a series of program logic models. These models revealed sources of the inattentiveness to normative issues that past evaluations have evidenced, and informed assertions …

Aged 539 Graduate Internship Report, Natalie Vaz Sanchez

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

The AGED 539 graduate internship report contains a multitude of validated documents that is required in meeting the quality criteria for the Agriculture Incentive Grant. This grant is specifically allocated for secondary- level programs of instruction in agriculture. All documents in this report are used for the Agriculture Incentive Grant review process for Kingsburg High School, which is administered by a representative of the California Department of Education. The internship includes information in regards to the development, current standing, and future goals for the Kingsburg High School Agriculture Department. The supporting material includes all required evidence needed in order to …

Teens In Queens: Engaging Teens Living In Queens, New York Through Museum Partnerships, Emily Gross

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The teen program presented in this document was inspired by my own experiences living and attending school in Queens, New York. This program is designed as a museum partnership between the New York Hall of Science, the Queens Museum, and the Queens County Farm Museum, for the benefit of middle school adolescents living or attending school in Queens, New York. This year long program exposes teens to local museums, connecting three different content areas (STEM, art, and agriculture) in museum settings. During the program, teens will engage with their community on a deeper level, learn through skill based activities, explore …

Cognitively Guided Instruction In Elementary Mathematics: Understanding Factors That Influence Classroom Implementation, Teresa A. Conowal

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

This study focused on the teaching technique known as cognitively guided instruction (CGI), through which teachers explore the individual learning styles of their students and use the information they gather to teach more complex concepts more effectively. The focus of this study was on 10 elementary mathematics teachers, with the goal of gaining a deeper understanding of the reasons they are making limited use of CGI techniques in their classrooms. The study used interviews and classroom observations of the 10 participants to identify the factors influencing their willingness or reluctance to apply CGI techniques to their instructional practices. The study …

An Action Research Investigation Into An Early Childhood Digital, Storytelling-Based Solution, Jessica Smith

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The development of literacy skills prior to the classroom has been established as essential for future school and life successes. However, the present achievement gap between lower-socioeconomic neighborhoods and their higher-income counterparts illustrate vast dissimilarities in early childhood provisions for quality reading materials and instructional aides. In an effort to bridge the educational breach, a collaborative, storytelling-based program entitled Kid Forward was introduced to five nationwide families as a means of assistance for early childhood literacy development. Through the use of demographic surveys, interviews completed before and after the program implementation, and exit surveys, the action research study examined early …

The Leader In Me? Understanding Student And Teacher Perspectives Of Leader In Me, Summer El-Attrache

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

Within the last 20 years, Leader in Me has become increasingly popular among elementary schools looking to incorporate leadership skills in their curriculum. The purpose of this study was to look at the perceptions that students and teachers have of Leader in Me and their perceptions about its impact on student leadership. The author collected data through student and teacher surveys, student and teacher interviews, observations, and document collection. After analyzing and coding the data using the constant comparative method, the author found four major themes. First, participants believed Leader in Me helped students take more ownership of their learning. …

Competition: Motivating Or Declination Of Academic Success, Nicholas Mazza

Honors Projects

This study examines if competition in the classroom is more of a motivating or declining factor. I am examining the positive and negative effects of competitions on students. Games and individual worksheets will be employed to explore influence on academic achievement. Through my research, I did not find competition to be motivating for students. However, I did find the competition intervention to provide higher average quiz scores.

Addressing The Lack Of Awareness Regarding The Various Resources To Finance A College Education, Corin Rau

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

While there are many different resources to assist students with paying for college, some may not understand the different types that are available for them to utilize, be unaware of the requirements that are necessary to be eligible for certain types of funding, or may accept loans that they do not actually know much about. This possible lack of knowledge may lead to financial stress during and after college. The goal of this project was to have the participants meet three learning outcomes: 1) indicate the types of funding they will use to pay for college in the future,, 2) …

Integrating A Farm Study Into A Mixed Age Classroom, Rachel Kanegis

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper, Integrating A Farm Study Into A Mixed Age Classroom, explores the impact and benefits of integrating a farm study into a classroom. It reports on the course and the results of how students responded to the farm study over one full school year. In addition, it shows how the integrated farm study could be incorporated into the core academic topics such as reading, writing, math, social studies, and science. In fact, this paper proves how students become more motivated and engaged to learn in the core academic topics through their focus on the farm study. The class that …

"We're Not Going To Talk About That:" A Qualitative Case Study Of Three Elementary Teachers' Experiences Integrating Literacy And Social Studies, Rebecca L. Powell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this interpretive, qualitative multi-case study (Merriam, 2001; Stake, 1995) was to describe the experiences of three elementary classroom teachers as they integrated literacy and social studies during their literacy instruction. This study was grounded in an interpretivist paradigm and a theoretical lens of symbolic interactionism. The guiding questions were: What are the experiences of three elementary teachers when integrating literacy and social studies instruction? What information do teachers use when making decisions about integrated instruction? How do teachers’ beliefs align with their practices? How do teachers organize, plan for, and provide integrated instruction, including how they use …

Practitioner Research In Schools: Revealing The Efficacy Agency Cycle, Edward Resnick

Educational Studies Dissertations

Years of high stakes testing and managerial directives to improve student test scores created a trend of teachers’ declining sense of efficacy and agency. Researchers have yet to examine the perceptions of teachers following requirements to improve student engagement and school climate in an effort to improve academic performance following the authorization of local and national educational accountability reforms. The purpose of this study is to examine how teachers perceive their efficacy and agency in response to the addition of nonacademic measures and the requirement of documented input from teachers and other stakeholders into educational policy planning procedures. Veteran K-12 …

Creating Grace And Space: The Foundation On Which Progressive Educators Build A Sense Of Belonging And Safety For Marginalized Gender And Sexual Diverse High School Students, Lisa M. Ortiz

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This descriptive case study focused on a single high school community which is intentional in its efforts to craft a school culture, fostering belonging and safety in students who are Gender and Sexual Diverse (GSD). The researcher examined the perspectives of classroom-based and non-classroom-based educators, as they strove to articulate how they address the needs of this student-population without negatively impacting academic and other school priorities, and how they incorporate understandings regarding this population into their practice. Through a multi-phase process including interviews, observations, focus group, and document analysis, the researcher explored how seven educator-participants navigate changing demographics both personally …

Aesthetic Shapes Of Holocaust Literature And Pedagogical Applications, Kate A. Bonacorsi

All NMU Master's Theses

This project specifically examines three narratives that are part of the genre of Holocaust Literature: Elie Wiesel’s Night, Art Spiegelman’s Maus, and John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and the way in which each of these texts contributes to collective Holocaust memory and traumatic literature: as a memoir, graphic novel, and work of fiction, respectively. The paper draws on Anne Whitehead’s work on memory, as well as other trauma and memory theorists: Cathy Caruth, Pierre Nora, Maurice Halbwachs, and Marianne Hirsch to offer a close rhetorical and structural analysis of each text analyzed through a traumatic theoretical lens. …

The Impact Of Mentoring At- Risk Youth On The Socialization Process Of Pre-Service Teachers, Theresa Allgaier

Theses and Dissertations

While much is known about how traditional field based practical experiences in teacher preparation programs impact the socialization of pre-service teachers, less is known about how practical experiences within after-school programs and other contexts influence pre-service teacher socialization. Relatedly, many scholars have sought to understand at-risk youth and have investigated teachers’ experiences with these students within the context of schools and the gym. The purpose of this study was to understand how mentoring at-risk youth in an after-school program impacted the socialization of six pre-service teachers. Occupational Socialization Theory provided the theoretical framework for this study. Six PETE majors, in …

Latino Students’ Stories Of Advanced Placement Success: A Critical Case Study, Marcie S. Plummer

Dissertations

Purpose: This qualitative, critical case study identified and described culture factors Latino students in Monterey County, California, perceive influenced academic success in Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

Methodology: This qualitative research design explored the phenomenon of internal and external culture factors Latino students perceive influenced academic success in AP courses. Through semistructured focus group and follow-up interviews, the researcher gathered detailed data on each factor and how it influenced academic success. Using Perna and Thomas’s (2008) student success framework, some success factors were revealed as interdependent.

Findings: Factors that influenced Latino students’ academic success in AP courses included support by teachers, …

Double Chins And Double Standards: A Meta-Analysis Of Weight-Based Bullying Amongst Female Adolescents, Juliah Distefano

Major Papers

Scholars are beginning to explore and understand the experiences of adolescent females in regards to weight-based bullying in their elementary school setting (Puhl, R. M., Luedicke, J., & Heuer, C. (2011). Weight‐based victimization toward overweight adolescents: observations and reactions of peers. Journal of School Health, 81(11), 696-703). The educational and social implications that weight-based bullying has amongst female adolescents can include: poor academic achievement coupled with a low degree of comfort when participating vocally in the classroom, the inability to initiate and maintain friendships, and an unwillingness to participate in extracurricular sports and activities. This should be cause …

The Arts In The United States: Can The Arts Become A Public Good?, Alexander Van Der Veen

Senior Projects Fall 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.