Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Investigating Prodigy Math Program To Improve Students' Success In Mathematics, Justin A. Bledsaw

Masters Theses

This study investigates whether Prodigy improves student achievement in mathematics; whether Prodigy improves, specifically, math achievement of special education students, students of different ethnicities, and students of different genders. Further, the study wanted to explore student perceptions of Prodigy. The study was conducted in two fifth grade classrooms with a total of 31 participants. Two mathematics units were utilized to compare; one on multiplying whole numbers and the other on dividing whole numbers. In addition, participants completed a survey and a focus group interview to find out participant perceptions of Prodigy. Results reveal that the whole group scored higher in …

Review Of Inju$Tice, Inc.: How America’S Justice System Commodifies Children And The Poor, Thomas Hansen

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Book review of this title explaining the corruption and the lack of ethics in Ohio and some other states involved in juvenile justice system, foster care placement, fines, fees, and jail.

Students’ Perceptions Of Threats To Their World' Future: An Introduction To Iccs And Global Lesson Plan, James A. Duplass, Reinis Alksnis, Ireta Čekse,

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This article explains the scope and value of the only international assessment (IEA The International Civic and Citizen Education Study, IEA ICCS) of “Civic Understanding” and a uses data from the international comparative study to create a global education lesson plan for U.S. social studies teachers to have their students consider their perceptions of threats to their world as compared to students in other countries. The lesson would most likely be used with middle and high school students.

Teaching Students About The Fragility Of The Republic, William Mccorkle

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Democracy always has an element of instability or fragility. As many have warned, authoritarianism is constantly ready to undermine democratic progress. This article examines how this reality relates to the current U.S. setting, particularly in the aftermath of January 6th and the continued weakening of democratic norms. Attention is given to the historical examples of this problematic trend in the U.S. as well as global examples. The aim of this article is to inform students of the fragility of the republic while also examining ways that the ideas of the democratic republic can be sustained even when they often seem …

Grounding History Instruction: Engaging Place And Scale Through Iterative Local Inquiry Design, Megan Vangorder

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Teaching local history is often an afterthought in the high school history classroom. It is difficult to find enough instructional time to incorporate local stories and there are often gaps in resource development and approach from a local lens. This article seeks to help teachers articulate a locally driven inquiry approach. Using Illinois as the local framework and the C3 Inquiry Design Model as the tool, teachers can begin to map out how to implement the competing mandates to promote disciplinary skill development, demonstrate content expertise using state mandated units of study, drive student-oriented history, and foster civic competence all …

Remembering The Ladies! A Decision-Making Activity For Teaching The American Revolution, Presley Shilling, Jeffrey Byford, Deanna Owens-Mosby

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This content-centered American Revolution activity encourages students to utilize Robert Stahl’s rank-order approach to promote decision-making in the social studies classroom. The incorporation of women’s contributions in the years leading up to the American Revolution influences students to analyze various perspectives surrounding this historical event. Employing Robert Stahl’s four phases of decision-making, students examine a situation and rank-order the efforts of the daughters of liberty, while investigating the political, economic, and social causes of the American Revolution. Students, individually or in groups, determine which of the seven solutions will be most effective in undermining the British and King George III’s …

Developing Horizontal Expertise With Professional Learning Communities In Social Studies Teacher Preparation, Charles Tocci, Ann Marie Ryan

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

As teacher education programs become increasingly organized around accreditation and licensure standards, finding opportunities to be responsive to teacher candidates' needs and interests has become more difficult. This paper traces the evolution of a professional learning community for secondary social studies teacher candidates as a key feature of one teacher education program and analyzes the collaborative projects designed for the purpose of developing horizontal expertise. We find that professional learning communities can serve as dynamic spaces to co-construct learning experiences with candidates in ways that prepare them for future professional learning as practicing social studies teachers.

Creating Law And Order: A Content-Centered Manifest Destiny Activity, Presley Shilling, Jeffrey Byford, Alisha Milam

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This content activity shows how Robert Stahl’s negotiation activity approach can promote decision-making in the social studies classroom. The effects of the activity on students’ ability to replicate the actions of settlers taking the journey to the western territories in search of gold. Incorporating Robert Stahl’s four decision-making phases, students negotiate social, political, and economic issues associated with the mining town of Bodie, California. In doing so, students must, individually or in small groups, decide and prioritize a series of proposals to better the living conditions, economic struggles, and social problems that have plagued Bodie for some time.

Assessing The Reliability Of The Five-In-20 Classroom Observation Tool, Danielle Buechlein

Masters Theses

Effective classroom management practices are crucial to fostering a positive learning environment, student achievement, and student social-emotional development, as well as teacher job satisfaction. The Five-in-20 Classroom Observation Tool (FCOT) was developed from the 21 evidence-based strategies identified by Simonsen and colleagues (2008) to assess and support teachers’ classroom management; however, its psychometric properties are unknown. The present study looks at the interobserver agreement of the FCOT, specifically at how consistent observers’ ratings are with each other and how consistent observers’ ratings are with a standard coded copy of the FCOT. Forty-four participants, using the FCOT, rated the same 20-minute …

Evaluating The Assessment Of Resident Assistant Training, Diego Ulloa

Masters Theses

This poster provides the findings from a qualitative study of four housing professionals responsible for Resident Assistant (RA) training at four institutions in the Great Lake Association of College and University Housing Officers (GLACUHO) professional association that includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. This study looked at how those four institutions assessed, evaluated, and improved the centralized training provided to RAs by the department. Key findings include the importance of the use of learning outcomes for training sessions, developing, and maintaining strong relationships with key campus partners, and the issues around prioritizing session topics and departmental needs …

From Homeschooling To Unschooling: A Comparison Of Academic Achievement, Myra Breen

Masters Theses

Within the homeschooling community, there are many options for educational methods that a family might choose. Unschooling, which is an approach to education that emphasizes self-directed learning and does not follow a set curriculum, is often viewed as inferior to a traditional pre-determined curriculum.

The purpose of this research was to determine whether students who come from families who use traditional curricula to educate their children have drastically different assessment scores from the students in families where they follow their own interests and learn from those activities.

This study uses a mixed-methods approach. There are qualitative results based on case …

Trade Books, Comics, And Local History: Exploring Fred Shuttleworth’S Fight For Civil Rights, Jeremiah Clabough, Caroline Sheffield

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This one-week project utilized the trade book Black and White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene Bull Connor (Brimner, 2011) to explore non-violent advocacies during the 1950s and 1960s civil rights movement. Students read selected excerpts from the trade book and created a comic narrative to convey their understanding of the civil rights advocacies of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth in Birmingham, Alabama. The students were able to accurately portray Rev. Shuttlesworth’s actions in a cohesive narrative using evidence from the trade book within their comics. The students demonstrated a solid understanding of non-violent advocacies, and why these methods …

Historical Inquiry: Who Has The Power? Using Film To Introduce Students To Medieval Social Class Structures, Megan Todd, Janie Hubbard

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Using film in the classroom to teach history has long been endorsed as an effective pedagogical method when the lessons’ purposes and goals are clearly supported with facts. This article, which includes a National Council for the Social Studies C3 inquiry-based lesson plan, is targeted for educators who aspire to help students understand basic European Medieval history and engage in critical thinking. Medieval history is listed in many U.S. state curriculum standards and international teaching benchmarks; thus, this lesson contributes a teaching-ready source, particularly to introduce students to historical concepts, geographies, and politics (i.e., power structures). Clips from A Knight’s …

Theo Huxtable Becomes A Historian: Culturally Relevant, Disciplinary Writing In The Secondary Social Studies Classroom, Teaira Mcmurtry Phd

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This article brings together three conceptualizations —Disciplinary Literacy (DL) (Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008), Culturally Relevant Teaching (CRT) (Ladson-Billings, 1995, 2009), and the African Verbal Tradition (AVT) (Smitherman, 2000)— to demonstrate how a groundbreaking event in history, such as the Civil Rights March on Washington is taught through the confluence of literacy practices reading, writing, and thinking--specifically, historical practices in social studies such as sourcing, contextualization, and corroboration.

This mini-unit uses the classic sitcom The Cosby Show as a frame to teach students the investigative process of writing a historical analysis about a recent historical event. In the show, entitled “The …

Teaching And Integrating Women’S Studies Into The Classroom: Perspectives Of Elementary Teachers, Thomas Lucey

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Women’s studies represent an underappreciated aspect of elementary education. Whether or how classrooms and their resources portray, present, and value women role-models informs both boys and girls about what passes for acceptable communication, treatment, and conduct towards women. Indeed, the extent to which and the basis that a young citizenry is taught to appreciate others informs the nature of the conversations engaged.

This paper describes the results of a research study that interpreted elementary teachers’ perspectives of women’s studies in elementary settings. The online survey was administered as part of the registration for two workshops that prepared teachers in the …

Examining Public Policies From Progressive Democrats With U.S. Healthcare System, Jeremiah Clabough

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

I

In this article, the author gives an activity that lets high school students explore the healthcare policies for Progressive Democrats. Specifically, the activity looks at Progressive Democrats’ Medicare for All. The author starts by providing an overview about some of the factions within the Democratic Party over the last 70 years. Then, the focus of the article shifts to focus on best practices within civic education about teaching public policies. Finally, an activity is discussed to help students analyze the arguments made by Progressive Democrats about Medicare for All. The author also provides thoughts for how social studies teachers …

Designing A Tool And Cooperative Learning: A Macos Inspired Activity, Jeffrey Byford, Jennifer Cordero, Alisha Milam, Kate Chambers, Presley Shilling

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This simulation activity presents how elements of Man: A Course of Study (MACOS) can be implemented into the social studies classroom. Inspired by the Tool-Making Activity found in MACOS, this modified simulation activity prompts students to design an instrument to peel an orange as they discuss life and daily tasks related to the Great Plains settlement.

In The Middle Of Appalachia: Balancing Teacher Talk With Student Discourse, Ronald V. Morris, Denise Shockley, Sonya Davis

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Appalachian students co-constructed knowledge with their teacher while examining a non-fiction book about Thanksgiving. Fifth grade students used an informational trade book to promote student discourse while using text-based evidence. Students learned about Native Americans and Pilgrims as they engaged in student discourse balanced with teacher talk. Students used an inquiry arc that involved questioning texts and examining sources, and inquiry helped students to investigate narrative text as a source of data. Students used inquiry to enhance their metacognition about historical events. Students exercised agency as they recounted family history and their heritage as part of their memory. Remembering was …

Formative Assessment To Help Students Decode, Process, And Evaluate Social Studies Information, Cory Callahan

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Here the author explores formative assessment within a context of research-based social studies instructional approaches. While the notions of inquiry, alternative assessment, disciplinary thinking and interpretation, and using visual documents as powerful resources each provide an important element of conceptual structure, this article purposefully concentrates on the process of constructive evaluation. The author posits a wise-practice routine for developing formative assessment practices that cohere with criteria-based assessment and its tendency to describe what students did well, what they could have done differently to improve their recent academic performance, and, importantly, how they can improve subsequent academic performance. The article also …

Social Studies In Non-Western Contexts: The Development, Appraisal, And Implications Of Ghana's Social Studies Curricula, Razak Dwomoh

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Analyzing the position and rigor of Ghana's history in the social studies curricula is essential in ascertaining robustness in fostering historical thinking and yielding a possible restructuring of the curricula to meet students’ social, academic, and global needs. The social studies taught at the middle and high schools in Ghana incorporate a superficial historical account of Ghana, eroding Ghana’s history in the curricula without careful consideration. This paper examined the quantity and quality of Ghana’s historical contents in the middle and high schools’ social studies curricula. Primary data collection was in-depth semi-structured interviews. Document analyses of syllabus, textbooks, and trade …

History Or Heritage? An Analysis Of Ghana’S Primary School History Curriculum, Charles Adabo Oppong

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Abstract

At a time that history has gained its place in Ghana’s basic school curriculum, considerable differences of opinion arise, not about the subject’s significance in the school curriculum but concerning the legitimacy of the subject title - that is, whether or not the subject should be referenced ‘History of Ghana’ or ‘Heritage of Ghana’. The different opinions reflect Lowenthal’s (1998) observation that history and heritage are separate disciplines. However, the two subjects are often used interchangeably (Mermion, 2012) and “are habitually confused with each other” (Lowenthal 1998, p. x). While expert academics may be at ease with the distinctions …

Hybrid Learning And Standards Based Grading: Fostering Writing Instruction During A Pandemic, Elizabeth Dietz

Masters Theses

Hybrid learning is steadily growing in popularity and showing to be an effective learning modality to accommodate diverse student populations. The pandemic is an unexpected outlier in the overall picture of hybrid learning, and it is helpful to reflect upon best academic practices, including grading methods, to help mitigate loss of learning and to continue to make improvements in pedagogical practices. This thesis explores the relationship between the hybrid learning model and evaluation, specifically Standards Based Grading, and how this combination of methods influences best writing practices. Using reflections gathered from teacher surveys via a case study, it appears the …

Exploring The Special Education Classroom Context And Experiences Before And During Covid-19, Claire E. Smith

Masters Theses

During the last two and half years, school districts and special education programs have experienced a situation that turned the world of education upside down: the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic, teachers, administration, families, and students had to maneuver a new way of education and achieving student success with different learning modalities, such as remote learning. This thesis focuses on a functional life skills classroom and how the context of the classroom changed after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic using autoethnographic methods. This paper was written to display how students in special education and their teachers adapted to …

The White Ally Experience: A Look Into The Impacts Of Being A White Ally, Kristen Maclin

Masters Theses

If an ally knew what they would experience, would they be more willing to stand up? Racism, institutional racism, racial bias, discrimination, and microaggressions have existed in our country since its inception. One way to work to overcome these is by growing allyship and having allies who are willing to speak up and stand beside marginalized groups. This research study addressed what allyship means, the byproducts of racist structures that allies have encountered, ally burnout, and ways to overcome burnout. These were researched through surveys from BIPOCs, named allies, and my school colleague populations. My research found that many White …

An Exploration Of Middle School Teachers’ Utilization Of Culturally Responsive Teaching, Samantha Phillips

Masters Theses

Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) can be used as a means for effectively teaching and managing students and decreases the achievement gap between students of Color and their White counterparts. This qualitative study with an ethnographic design examines the utilization of culturally responsive teaching strategies of two middle school teachers and two principals in public schools on the Southwest side of Chicago. The study is guided by one research question: What aspects of culturally responsive teaching practices are teachers using in their teaching strategies? The study has two purposes: To analyze the effectiveness of two middle school teachers’ utilization of culturally …

Promoting Belonging And Equity Through Course Content., Primrose Igonor

Together We RISE (Making Excellence Inclusive)

As our education systems become increasingly diverse, it is crucial for “diverse” students to see themselves reflected in the course materials they consume as this may lead to higher persistence, retention and overall student success. It is also vital for “non-diverse” students to gain a better understanding of the experiences of others particularly as they navigate a world which is much more diverse and global minded than ever before.

Latina Lift Off: How Inclusive Innovation Helps Latina Undergraduate Students Rise, Kate Jackson

Together We RISE (Making Excellence Inclusive)

In this workshop, we will discuss how Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Lake Forest College is supporting and encouraging the academic success of our Latina, first-generation students. Our approach includes an Inclusive Innovation class, a rich entrepreneurial mindset curriculum, and real-world, high-impact projects. Year over year, our center has seen an increase in Latinx students choosing our program, rising to nearly 1/5 of total students.

We believe Inclusive Innovation meets the aims of a liberal arts education. And we believe other small liberal arts colleges can replicate our efforts in a way that benefits both their students and their local community. …

Cellphilming And Building Solidarity With Queer Youth To Speak Back To Historical Erasures In New Brunswick Social Studies Classrooms, Casey Burkholder

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

New Brunswick, Canada’s K-12 Social Studies curricula erases the myriad histories and experiences of the province’s LGBTQ+ communities. Building on these erasures, this study analyzes how six queer, trans, and non-binary young people (aged 14-17) created cellphilms (cellphone + mobile film production) in response to these absences. In the study, I ask: How might engaging in media and art production with young people—and screening and exhibiting these productions in online and community spaces—work to counter dominant forms of apathy and denial, and support youth to claim a stake in creating solidarities, belonging, and community-making? What is required for youth-produced media …

Teacher/Indigenous Partnerships: Building Engagement And Trust For History And Social Science Education, Evan J. Habkirk Dr.

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

No abstract provided.

America: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Comparisons: A Case Study Of The Representation Of “America” In Preservice Teacher Lectures, Kristal Curry, Suzanne Horn

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Theories and discussions around historical consciousness explore the myriad ways our identities and contexts shape our interpretations and understandings of the past. In this paper, narrative and historical consciousness will be used as a lens to understand the choices pre-service teachers make in the way they “define” America within their lectures. A total of 16 recorded 20-minute lectures from six social studies pre-service teachers were transcribed and coded for their insight into how these future teachers taught about America. Each of the pre-service teachers was white, between the ages of 20-25, considered (themselves) middle class, and were preparing to teach …