Secondary Education and Teaching Commons^™

Original Curriculum For Encouraging Meaningful Community Service In High School Students, Elizabeth H. Naylor

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

In this paper I have explored the importance of community service experiences and ultimately created a guide for implementing a high quality and meaningful community service program at the high school level. This paper begins with an initial discussion of my personal experiences in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, when I discovered firsthand the importance of personal reflection and sharing. I have defined community as a group of people with common place and common interest. Community service is an action within the community that betters the community in some way. The reader will find examples of communities coming together to …

Stakes Increase For End Of Course Exams In 2009-10, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

As of the 2009-10 academic year, high school students in Arkansas will be required to pass socalled “End of Course” (or “EOC”) examinations in Algebra I, Biology, Geometry, and English. Students who fail to meet the requisite passing standard will be required to retake the class or to pass “an appropriate alternative exit course in order to receive credit for the course on his or her transcript and in order to graduate.” In other words, these four EOC tests will become high school exit exams. Thus, as of 2009-10, Arkansas will join some 23 other states that have high school …

The Time Is Now!: Talking With Black Youth About College, Stephanie Power Carter, James Damico, Kafi D. Kumasi

School of Information Sciences Faculty Research Publications

This article explores the authors work with a group of African American youth in an after school community literacy program. The authors examine how these youth used a set of Internet-based technology tools to evaluate whether or not a group of colleges would affirm their cultural identity and help them succeed if they attended these institutions. From this work, the authors describe how they began to rethink the relationships between college exploration,access, cultural identity, and students potential academic success.

Rigorous Curriculum And Sat, Feifei Li, Thanos Patelis, Robert Lissitz

NERA Conference Proceedings 2008

The main purposes of this study are to investigate the relation between course-taking pattern and the SAT score, and examine the invariance of this relation across subgroups. In addition, we are also going to verify the accuracy of self-reported information from the SAT Questionnaire by examining the actual high school transcripts, and build the link between SAT and the achievement by correlating SAT scores with state assessment scores. If the SAT score is a function of high school course-taking behaviors regardless of students' gender, socioeconomic status (SES) and ethnicity, every student should be provided with equal opportunity for rigorous curriculum.

Relationship Among Essential Leadership Preparation Practices And Leader, School, And Student Outcomes In K-8 Schools, Donna Braun, Robert K. Gable, Stacey L. Kite

K-12 Education

A questionnaire was administered to school principals (N=88). The questionnaire data, along with student data, were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression to investigate the relationships among leadership preparation practices, self rated leader behavior, the school learning environment, and student achievement. After controlling for demographic variables, the amount of variance explained was incremented a statistically significant degree between: preparation practices and leader behaviors ( R2 = 5%); preparation practices and student achievement ( R2 = 5%); preparation practices and leaders’ instructional knowledge ( R2 = 6%); and leaders’ instructional knowledge and instructional practices in schools ( R2 = 5%).

Relationship Among Essential Leadership Preparation Practices And Leader, School, And Student Outcomes In K-8 Schools, Donna Braun, Robert K. Gable, Stacey L. Kite

K-12 Education

No abstract provided.

Relationship Among Essential Leadership Preparation Practices And Leader, School, And Student Outcomes In K-8 Schools, Donna Braun, Robert K. Gable, Stacey L. Kite

Teacher Education

A questionnaire was administered to school principals (N=88). The questionnaire data, along with student data, were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression to investigate the relationships among leadership preparation practices, self rated leader behavior, the school learning environment, and student achievement. After controlling for demographic variables, the amount of variance explained was incremented a statistically significant degree between: preparation practices and leader behaviors (R2 = 5%); preparation practices and student achievement (R2 = 5%); preparation practices and leaders’ instructional knowledge (R2 = 6%); and leaders’ instructional knowledge and instructional practices in schools (R2 = 5%).

Dr. Skateboard’S Action Science, William Robertson

William H. Robertson

Dr. Skateboard’s Action Science is designed to incorporate both a four part Video Series and an accompanying activity booklet that focuses on concepts in physical science that integrates both skateboarding and BMX. Dr. Skateboard’s Action Science explores concepts suitable for middle grade (4-8) students in a curriculum that is designed to address both the objectives and enduring knowledge of physical science in content and process skills for both the National Science Standards and Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). The video instruction provides the teacher with a series of instructional hooks and content information that can be used to explore …

Understanding And Implementing Classroom Discussions Of Literature: A Case Study Of One High School Teacher's Beliefs And Practices Concerning Classroom Discussions, Tanya Neva Baker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Classroom discussion of literature is often lauded as a powerful pedagogical tool in the high school English classroom. Researchers have shown that student talk in the classroom is a powerful teaching strategy. Many teachers express a belief in classroom discussions as a means of teaching literature. At the same time, relatively few teachers actually use classroom discussions of literature in their teaching. Research has identified that student talk in the classroom is a powerful pedagogical tool, and also that such discussions are difficult for many classroom teachers to enact. Little research has explored why teachers might have this disconnect. Teachers …

Heroism, Voice And Hamlet [12th Grade], Lauren Gaffney

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Heroes reflect the cultural values and emotional state of the time period in which they lived/ were created.

Math In/And Physics [11th-12th Grade], Penny Whetstone

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit is written to be taught during the first two weeks of the physics course. In any physics course, from conceptual physics up through graduate studies, there is a unique and significant dependence on the mathematical concepts and skills required to succeed in the course. A keen understanding of mathematics, as well as knowing how to apply the tools, is an important piece of the physics course. Math in/and Physics is designed to answer the question, “If this is a physics class, why do I have to do so much math?” The goals of this unit are designed to …

All That Glitters Is Not Gold (Gilded Age) [11th Grade], Caesie Mchenry

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

In this unit students will be focusing on the American society during the Gilded Age. Students will understand the rise of the Gilded Age through invention and technology. Students will see how progress includes opportunities and challenges and the relationship between technology and economic development. Students will be able to see the interdependence between environment and migration due to technological and economic development. During this unit students will also analyze the growth of business, labor unrest, immigration and social inequalities that are inevitable in human societies. The culminating performance assessment allows students to explore the complexities of society during this …

Fahrenheit 451 [9th Grade], Alice Rasmussen

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit is designed for the beginning of the school year in an English I Pre-AP classroom. It assumes that students have completed their summer reading of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Overarching themes for the year are “Why do people read?” and “Why do people write?” Thus, students will begin to explore one of the reasons we read and write fiction: insight about human experience. More specifically related to the themes of Fahrenheit 451, students will see the importance of reading, writing, and enriching our brains as a species. By reading the novel, students will see an example of …

Hero’S Journey, The Alchemist [9th Grade], Kristen Morgan

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Students and ninth-graders especially are in search of something to use to make sense of the world. I start the year with the students establishing goals for themselves both academically and personally. Then, we move into a unit that overviews the uses of genre. This unit on the hero’s journey is to extend their ideas of the novel and what it can do as a work of fiction using Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. Like Santiago, the novel’s main character, the students journey to understanding by reading the story. Understanding: The novel genre can be used for different purposes; it can …

Themes Of Geography [9th Grade], Jessica Waltman

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Throughout this unit students will be introduced to the five themes of geography. These themes will be brought up in future units of study to help students better organize their understandings and perceptions of the world around them. In understanding the themes of Location, Place, Region, Movement, and Human-Environment Interaction, students will be prepared to answer the essential question of “Why is the where important?” The activities and lessons of this unit are built to aid students in their understanding of how humans interact with one another and their environments and to begin to see the differences and similarities of …

Surface Area And Volume [10th Grade], Maeve Goetz

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

The students will be introduced to the surface area and volume of cylinders, prisms, pyramids, and cones. The main questions on which the unit is focused are: - What are different ways that three-dimensional objects are described or depicted? - What types of problems are solved using three-dimensional objects? They will participate in activities to help them create the formulas for both surface area and volume and become comfortable using these formulas to solve real-world problems and create their own applications. They will also analyze the relationship between surface area and volume. The culminating activity in this unit is a …

“Louis Sachar’S Holes: Palimpsestic Use Of The Fairy Tale To Privilege The Reader”, Laura Nicosia

Department of English Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article explores how readers respond to the multiple timelines and fairy tales in Sachar's novel, Holes.

Walking The Talk: Examining Privilege And Race In A Ninth-Grade Classroom, Kelly Sassi, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Kelly Sassi and Ebony Elizabeth Thomas describe their struggles and eventual success with students in constructing a "counternarrative to colormuteness and colorblindness"--the self-imposed student segregation and silencing of voice. Because of discussions during a Native American unit and student participation in a classroom intervention activity, interpersonal dynamics openly shifted for the better.

Creating A Space For Yal With Lgbt Content In Our Personal Reading: Creating A Place For Lgbt Students In Our Classrooms, Katherine Mason

Faculty and Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Primary Sources And Their Effects On Student Interest, Kevin T. Foster

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of primary sources on the interest levels of three Honors classes during my Student Teaching. I wanted to see if my students would enjoy the ten primary sources I introduced to them. The study was conducted over a month's time. Data was collected using hundreds of surveys, over sixty questionnaires, fifteen interviews, and anecdotal notes to determine my seventy-five students' interest in the primary sources I chose for their classes. After analyzing the written data, I concluded that my students overwhelmingly enjoyed the primary sources we read and analyzed together. …

Show Me You Care, Denise Calore

Theses and Dissertations

Although caring in the classroom has been a widely researched topic in education, the impact it has on student behavior is one aspect of caring that has been overlooked, especially at the secondary level. This study's main focus was to investigate if modeling caring behavior can correct negative student behavior, such as being disruptive in class, and reinforce caring behavior amongst classmates. Through observation and various caring activities, I was able to uncover student perspectives of caring, how students define a caring teacher, and a positive impact of my caring actions on student behavior.

The Impact Of Mentoring On Retention, Quality, Commitment Of Graduates From One School-University Partnership, Brenda Kraber

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the impact of mentoring on retention, quality and commitment of graduates from one school-university partnership. This project explored this issue through a review of relevant literature on effective teaching, components of quality teacher preparation programs, beginning teachers, mentoring and Professional Development Schools. How to best prepare teachers for the multi-faceted, challenging job that needs to be done has been a question that has faced universities and school districts for many years. With the growing numbers of veteran teachers now ready to retire and the increasing need for more teachers, the proportion between experienced and inexperienced teachers is …

Erin Gruwell: Catalyst For Change, Lisa Penrod, Jennifer Edmond

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

On the evening of February 19^th, 2008, we had the distinct honor and pleasure of meeting Ms. Erin Gruwell, teacher, motivational speaker and author of The Freedom Writers’ Diary and Teach With Your Heart. Upon being introduced, Ms. Gruwell focused the attention of the audience on her greatest passion, the students. After asking the teenagers to stand and be recognized, she ardently requested that the adults in the room purchase a copy of her book The Freedom Writers’ Diary, for every student present so that they might be inspired by students like themselves.

Erin Gruwell And The Freedom Writers: Two Books Reviewed, Jessica Cannaday

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Two books, “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them,” by the Freedom Writers and Erin Gruwell, and “Teach With Your Heart,” also by Erin Gruwell will be reviewed herein. Together, they weave an integrated tale of discovery and self-actualization. This is true for both the students who undergo catharsis with diary entries in “The Freedom Writers Diary,” and for Ms. Gruwell who learns more deeply about who she is as a teacher, a professor, and a person, through a heartfelt journey to help 150 at-risk students find …

A Qualitative Case Study Of Developing Teacher Identity Among American Indian Secondary Teachers From The Ute Teacher Training Program, Virginia Norris Exton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this foundational study was to explore the factors that contributed to developing teacher identity among new American Indian teachers. Multifaceted research into the history of American Indian education, the design of American Indian teacher training programs, and the beliefs and experiences of four American Indian secondary teachers gave this study a richly detailed context.

Three overarching patterns emerged during the process of analyzing the data: (a) solidarity and independence, (b) habit and change, and (c) tradition and invention. From these patterns, six factors were identified as contributing to developing teacher identity. School-based experiences that affected developing teacher …

A Qualitative Study Of The Epistemological Interplay Between Teachers And Students In A High Stakes Testing Environment, Donald Bruce Bierman

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Employing grounded theory methodology informed by microethnographic discourse analysis, studies the classroom conversations, interviews with students and teachers, and students' written texts in a high stakes test preparation program for tenth graders to determine the effects students and teachers have upon one another's epistemological beliefs concerning the source of knowledge. Students were preparing for the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT).

Benefits Of Leed Designs In Arkansas K-12 Schools, Philip Thrift

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper provides and evaluation of an existing LEED certified sustainable green building for energy-efficiency, environmental impact, economic value, and occupant health. The new Bethel Middle School located in Bryant, Arkansas was the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified public school building in the state. Based on actual building specifications and validated with the first year's utility bills, a simulation model was used to evaluate various design aspects of the school building. The building's baseline energy usage was compared with numerous energy and environmental scenarios. Results include both environmental and economic assessments. Overall, the study found that …

Blessed Unrest: The Power Of Unreasonable People To Change The World, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

In her keynote address at the 2008 NCSSSMST Professional Conference, Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall addresses what work can be done with the collective resources of its Consortium members which beg to be shared and connected--and also explores what the source of "...our Blessed Unrest that will give us the courage to become unreasonable advocates for our children and for STEM transformation?"

Troy Vanderlaan Interview 2008, Richard Cooley

Video Interviews for 28 Teachers, Thousands of Lives

No abstract provided.

All “Homework” And No Play…, Shamsah Raheem Dhanani

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.