Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Ctrl-Alt-Delete: Shifting Mindsets & Building Momentum, Courtney Caruthers, Steve Zant

Professional Learning Day

Using the Ctrl-Alt-Delete framework, this interactive session will draw on coaching, mentorship, and progressive conversations to inspire growth. Together, we’ll explore what to control, what alternatives to try, and what barriers to release. Participants will leave with practical tools, renewed clarity, and a sense of momentum; because sometimes we all need a reset.

Weaving Steam Into Tradition: The Science And Art Behind The Mexican Zarape, David Hernandez

Professional Learning Day

This presentation explores the deep interconnection between traditional Mexican textile practices and modern STEAM education through the lens of the zarape. The zarape is more than a cultural artifact—it embodies centuries of scientific, technological, artistic, and mathematical knowledge. From the physics of hand-spun cotton and wool to the chemistry of natural dyes and the mathematical patterns in weaving, the process of creating a zarape offers powerful ancestral knowledge of STEAM in action.

Quantum Science And Engineering: An Emerging Field Where Imsa Can Have An Impact, Dr.Evan Glazer,, Anastasia Perry, Kishor Kapale,

Professional Learning Day

Illinois’ $500 million investment in the future development of Quantum Computing and Microelectronics Park is a great opportunity for IMSA to get connected in this emerging field. This workshop will explore what is quantum, classroom examples, why it is important to IMSA, how we are engaged right now, and how we might create future opportunities for IMSA students and IMSA outreach.

The Effects Of Personalized Learning On High School English Language Arts Students' Self-Perceived College And Career Readiness: A Phenomenological Study, Erica Hyneman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover the lived experiences of personalized learning when implemented in a high school English language arts class for students at County High School. The theory guiding this study was constructivist learning theory, as it is the foundation for personalized learning. The central research question aimed to discover the lived experiences of personalized learning in a high school English language arts classroom. This transcendental phenomenological study included 12 participants enrolled in an 11th-grade English language arts class at County High School, a rural, public, Title I school in the deep south. Data was …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Lived Experiences Of Educators In Nursing Programs Experiencing Changes In Academic Nurse Administrators From High Attrition, Anny Dionne

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutical study was to describe and interpret the lived experiences of educators in nursing programs who experienced changes in academic nurse administrators at colleges and universities in a southern state in the United States. Nursing academic administrators influence the quality of nursing programs. Changes in academic administrators are experienced by educators of nursing programs, who, in turn, contribute to the students' learning experience. Stress is perceived differently in individuals. Lazarus and Folkman's transactional theory of stress and coping (TTSC) is the theory guiding this study. This theory examines how individuals interpret and react to events. The …

Stoic Wisdom For The Contemplative Teacher: Prosochê And Praemeditatio Malorum As Alternative Approaches To Mindfulness, Anna Rumjahn

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

In K-12 environments where teacher burnout and attrition are increasingly prevalent, where can educational professionals seek sustainable approaches to reduce exhaustion, emotional demands, and uncertainty? In this paper, I extend Christopher McCaw’s research on the direct and dynamic relationship between contemplative practices and who teachers are and are becoming. By examining the current debates around defining reflective and contemplative practitioners, I call for alternative definitions of mindfulness when considering teacher professional becoming and submit for consideration the perspectives of Greco-Roman philosophy which has hitherto been less explored apropos education. Using prosochê (attention) and the Stoic exercise of praemeditatio malorum to …

Introduction: Facing The Challenge Of Ai With Feminist Pedagogy, Margaret A. Murray

Feminist Pedagogy

This special issue truly faces the challenge of AI with feminist pedagogy. The introduction briefly summarizes the five critical commentaries, five original teaching activities and three book reviews that make up this issue on AI.

Towards An Ecofeminist Pedagogy: The Environmental Ethics Of Ai, Jessica K. Crowell

Feminist Pedagogy

Previous scholarship has outlined some of the ethical considerations regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom and beyond, such as the potentials for plagiarism, information bias, disinformation, or even violations of user privacy. Though research suggests that machine learning is a major and ever-increasing contributor to carbon emissions, there has been little discussion of how we teach about the ethics of AI from an environmental perspective. Therefore, this critical commentary first outlines how an ecofeminist pedagogy can help students consider the environmental and ecological effects of new technologies, including AI. At its core, an ecofeminist pedagogy argues …

Rethinking Civic Education. A Review Of Education For Liberal Democracy: Using Classroom Discussion To Build Knowledge And Voice, Jordan Garner, Colton Morton, Palak Shah

Democracy & Education

In his book Education for Liberal Democracy: Using Classroom Discussion to Build Knowledge and Voice, Walter Parker (2023) takes a centrist approach to redesigning civic education. Throughout the book, Parker provides valuable strategies teachers can implement into the K–12 social studies classroom to teach for democracy. While we believe Parker's instructional strategies lay the groundwork for reshaping civic education, we contend that the book does not adequately address issues of inequality and inequity. We would also challenge Parker to think about how teachers can educate for democracy outside of the social studies curriculum in the United States and globally. …

Democratic Education In The Literature Classroom: Integrating Political Literacy And Political Emotions Into Agonistic Literary Discussions. A Response To “Agonism In A Classroom Discussion On Strindberg’S Miss Julie”, Baptiste Roucau

Democracy & Education

In an era of rising polarization and populism, how can we transform the literature classroom into a site of democratic education? Drawing on agonistic scholarship, Tysklind et al. (2024) offer the agonistic literary discussion, a novel pedagogical approach aiming to prepare students for the complexities of democracy by forming collective identities and navigating conflictual consensus. To build on the authors’ work, this response article proposes two additions—political literacy and political emotions—and cautions against the risk of antagonism. Agonistic literary discussions can integrate political literacy through teaching relevant knowledge and careful questioning, enabling students to situate characters’ experiences in political contexts …

Action Civics As A Powerful Tool—Not A Panacea—In The Provision Of High-Quality Civic Education. A Response To “The Domino Effect”: How Early Adolescence Describe Their Capacity For Civic Engagement", Daniela Kruel Digiacomo

Democracy & Education

Action civics happens when young people do research, action, and reflection on social or political issues they care about. In this third decade of the 21st century, action civics is often found in after-school and/or out-of-school contexts, and substantive research now shows its power and potential for providing transformative learning experiences for young people, as is evidenced again in "The Domino Effect: How Early Adolescents Describe Their Capacity for Civic Engagement"—one of the feature articles of this issue. At the same time, action civics, precisely because it is so often conceived and enacted in out-of-school time spaces, is not, and …

The Need For ‘Soft Skills’ In Occupational Therapy Curricula: A Descriptive Analysis Of French Students’ Internship Comments, Cynthia Engels, Nadia Oubaya, Aliki Thomas

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

A competent occupational therapist needs soft skills. Although the French national occupational therapy (OT) curriculum lists 10 competences to be acquired, they do not include soft skills. The objectives of this study were to (a) Identify the proportion of soft skills in OT students’ internship comments written by internship tutors and (b) characterize the mentioned soft skills to help determine whether and which soft skills should be included in the new OT curriculum nationwide in France. This was a qualitative descriptive analysis of tutors’ comments on internship evaluations based on the framework method. Of the 1060 internship reports, 1035 (98%) …

Curbing Fatal And Non-Fatal Drowning Deaths: An Effort To Reach Under-Resourced Children In Baltimore, Maryland, Ashton P. Christo, William D. Ramos

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Drowning remains a significant public health problem in the United States, with The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting approximately 4,000 drowning deaths annually. Children aged 1-4 face the highest risk, and African American children are disproportionately affected–7.6 times more likely to drown than white children (CDC, 2024). In a city on the East Coast that is predominantly African American, limited access to swimming lessons heightens the risk. To reduce drowning rates, a collaborative swimming program was established between a city high school and a public school enrichment program. The initiative provided essential water safety and swimming skills …

Diversity In Aquatics:4th Special Issue, Tiffany M. Quash Ph.D., Angela K. Beale-Tawfeeq, Steven N. Waller Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The theme of this special issue is “Building a Community of Champions.” The purpose of this theme is to highlight and promote a civic engagement perspective that engages, advocates, and supports communities of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) in addressing the national, regional, and local evolving health-related issue of drowning. Aquatic Settings have been a pivotal focal point of social justice, water safety, and public health, not only in the past but also in our present day (Beale-Tawfeeq, Quash, et al, 2023 and Waller and Bemiller, 2023). Diversity In Aquatics (DIA) strives to positively impact the field of aquatics …

Teaching Swimming To Children With Disabilities: A Qualitative Analysis Of Swim Instructorstea, Stephanie S. Garcia-Hidalgo, Martin E. Block

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

When teaching children with disabilities, swim instructors need to be able to assess the unique strengths and needs of each child to determine modifications needed to instruction, equipment, and the setting and then be flexible enough to make changes in real-time to ensure success for the child. Unfortunately, many swim instructors only work seasonally and have the occasional child with a disability, and as a result are likely to have limited training and experiences with children with disabilities. The purpose of this pilot qualitative study is to examine backgrounds, training, and experiences of six swim instructors who work with children …

Building Swimming Skills In A Community Based Program For Black Youth: An Evaluation, Tyler Lennon Md, Mph, Ashley Hayes Mph, Leonardo Barrera Mph, Amy Hill Ms, Mph, Andy Miner, Michelle Macy Md, Ms

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Black youth in the United States disproportionately experience fatal drowning at rates up to five times higher than their white peers. Eliminating these inequities requires new approaches that address historical and structural barriers of learning to swim. The objective of this study was to evaluate the three-week long swimming component of a community-based discovery program to empower Black youth in Evanston, IL. Participants were Black youth ages 8-10 years enrolled in summer 2023 and 2024. Swim skills were assessed by instructors using the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Water Competence (PSPWC). Caregiver surveys, collected post-intervention, also assessed perceived changes in swim …

The Effect Of Genially Based Gamification Learning Models On Student Analysis Thinking Skills In Mathematics, Rosiana Liwayanti, Ida Fiteriani, Ajo Dian Yusandika

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

Berpikir analisis adalah kemampuan untuk menguraikan suatu permasalahan menjadi bagian-bagian yang lebih kecil, kemudian menghubungkannya kembali secara logis sehingga dapat diperoleh pemahaman yang lebih mendalam. Penelitian ini dilatarbelakangi oleh tingkat keterampilan analisis berpikir siswa yang kurang memuaskan, khususnya dalam matematika, serta rendahnya tingkat partisipasi aktif selama pembelajaran. Model pembelajaran gamifikasi dengan memanfaatkan platform Genially menjadi salah satu pilihan inovatif yang dapat diterapkan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji pengaruh penerapan model pembelajaran gamifikasi berbasis Genially terhadap kemampuan berpikir analitis siswa kelas V pada mata pelajaran matematika di MIN 1 Bandar Lampung. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah eksperimen dengan metode Quasi Experiment …

Writing Workshop Journal: A Student-Centered Guide For College Composition, Tanya Zhelezcheva

Open Educational Resources

This comprehensive OER workbook supports ENGL 101 (Composition) students through a structured journal-based writing system. The resource combines Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles with post-process pedagogy to offer diverse pathways for student learning and writing development.

The workbook features:

- 4-component journal entry structure (exercises, reflection, next steps)

- 40+ writing exercises across four categories (Foundation Skills, Reading Logs, Drafting, Growth Mindset)

- Extensive planning and organizational tools (weekly/monthly calendars, goal-setting frameworks)

- Metacognitive reflection exercises that build writing awareness - Backward planning and time management strategies

- Evidence-based approaches to developing thesis statements, integrating sources, and crafting arguments …

Call To Submissions Volume 74, Issue 1, Cinde Wollenberg

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.

Reviving Independent Reading: A Review Of Just Read It, Cinde Wollenberg

Virginia English Journal

This is a book review of Just Read It: Unlocking the Magic of Independent Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms by Jarred Amato in 2024. Reviewed by a high school Reading Specialist, this thorough review of Amato's book for educators includes many strategies and tools for having an effective independent reading program in the classroom.