Educational Methods Commons^™

Using Extremophile Bacteriophage Discovery In A Stem Education Professional Development Partnership To Explore Model Classroom Research Experiences Integrating The Three Dimentions Of The Next Generation Science Standards, Carrie L. Boudreau Ms

All Student Scholarship

The National Research Council’s (NRC) A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas describes a vision of what it means to be proficient in science. The project discussed in this thesis was developed with a NIH SEPA Grant 8R25OD010937 to the Virology and Electron Microscopy Laboratory at the University of Southern Maine (USM) under the direction of Dr. S. Monroe Duboise. The goal of the project was to explore using discovery of extreme environment bacteria and their bacteriophages as a model for using the three dimensions of learning to teach Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Specifically, …

Teaching Tuba Students To Be Complete Musicians, Brandon E. Cummings

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of music educators is to develop complete musicians who successfully learn and perform all musical concepts. One of the limitations of the band classroom is that performers are required to play a part that is specifically written with the needs of the ensemble in mind, and not the needs of the developing musician. These limitations can be seen in the bass instruments of a band which typically play the harmony or bass-line. While the bass-line and harmony are integral portions of the music, they do not often progress as far as other instrumental parts with respect to the …

Using Singing As A Teaching Tool In Brass Playing, James G. Gates

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper is an examination of three prominent brass pedagogues, Emory Remington, Arnold Jacobs, and Joseph Alessi, who each emphasized the importance of singing in rehearsals and personal practice. The purpose of this project is to gather strategies for using singing presented by these pedagogues and consolidate the findings into a resource to be used by classroom educators. The three pedagogical areas included in this resource are Tone/Timbre, Rhythm/Tempo, and Phrasing/Style. The information contained in the resource section of this paper is a collection of beliefs and concepts advocated by each pedagogue. It was gathered through the viewing and transcribing …

Creating Confident Writers: Implementing Writing Portfolios In A Secondary-Level Language Arts Classroom, Julia Smagacz

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper explores the implementation of a writing portfolio project in secondary-level English Language Arts classrooms. In addition to defining the project and describing its potential parameters, this paper describes goals and strategies that educators may use to implement this project, using research from multiple school district curricula and reputable state education resources. The paper includes testimonies from four current high school English teachers, in which each teacher details his or her experience with the writing portfolio. The teachers also provided feedback on the importance of writing and the writing process in general. Also included in this paper is a …

Mathematics And Music: A Search For Correlation, Isaac Sarver

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Several studies have been conducted, which have shown connections between content in music and mathematics. Concepts such as fractions, ratios, etc. are mathematical concepts that also can be found or expressed through music. Although these connections have been made, they primarily address connections within the subject matter of music and math. This study attempts to find a correlation between a high school student participating in a school sponsored music program and receiving a higher average math grade. In the study, two school districts provided anonymous student math score data, while also showing which students participated in a music program. From …

Testing The Ability Of Two Series Of Models To Predict High School Graduation Status, David T. Marshall

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to create and test two series of predictive models aimed at projecting high school graduation status. Secondary data were obtained in partnership with an urban school district. All of the predictor variables included in the models tested in this study were academic and nonacademic variables that were found to be significant predictors of high school graduation in previous empirical work. In the first series of models tested, individual academic and nonacademic variables were tested together along with school-level variables. Eighth and ninth grade variables were tested separately to avoid multicollinearity issues. The second series …

Recovery From Design, Cassandra J. Ellison

Theses and Dissertations

Through research, inquiry, and an evaluation of Recovery By Design, a ‘design therapy’ program that serves people with mental illness, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities, it is my assertion that the practice of design has therapeutic potential and can aid in the process of recovery. To the novice, the practices of conception, shaping form, and praxis have empowering benefit especially when guided by Conditional and Transformation Design methods together with an emphasis on materiality and vernacular form.

“I’M Not Good At Math”: Mathematical Illiteracy And Innummeracy In The United States, G. Wesley Rogers

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Why do we view mathematics the way we do in the United States and how have these views created an environment where we consider mathematical illiteracy and innumeracy socially and culturally acceptable when a lack of this knowledge and ability can function to enslave, exploit, restrict, and oppress. Throughout this investigation, I have explored some of the possible reasons for why we view education, mathematics, and the learning of mathematics the way we do and the impact of these views on our motivation and desire to learn mathematics. Using my over 20 years of teaching experience and the review of …

Pervasive Pedagogy: Collaborative Cloud-Based Composing Using Google Drive, Maury Elizabeth Brown, Daniel L. Hocutt

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

Cloud-based services designed for educational use, like Google Apps for Education (GAFE), afford deeply collaborative activities across multiple applications. Through primary research, the authors discovered that cloud-based technologies such as GAFE and Google Drive afford new opportunities for collaborative cross-platform composing and student engagement. These affordances require new pedagogies to transform these potentialities into practice, as well as a reexamination of contemporary theory of computers and composition. The authors’ journey implementing Google Drive as a composing and communication environment required continually remediating content, relationships, practices, and their own identities as they interacted with students in the cloud. This chapter addresses …

An Examination Into The Instruction Of The Alphabet During Preschool Years, Amanda Titus

Masters Theses

Instruction of the letters of the alphabet is a controversial topic among early childhood educators. Not only is it debated whether letter instruction is developmentally appropriate but there is then the discussion concerning how the letters are best taught once a program deems it is developmentally appropriate. In this study, 87 children were assessed at two separate times during the school year to determine a method of instruction that proved most effective. The study took place over three consecutive school years. The first year, 27 students were exposed to alphabetic instruction through a combination of music and mnemonic device assisted …

Examining The Effects Of Student-Centered, Project Based Teaching On Students With And Without Special Needs In An Elementary General Music Classroom, Charity J. Ozier

Masters Theses

The purpose of this action research is to study the effects of student-centered learning as compared to teacher-led instruction in an elementary general music classroom. This research study is framed by the conjunction of the lenses of sociology, specifically constructivism, in a music classroom with special learners. Students in fifth and sixth grade general music classes study the musical concepts of composition and reading notation in one of two manners. One group of students is instructed in a traditional format of teacher-led lectures and discussions, with guided practice following. The other group is instructed using a student-centered approach, in which …

Evaluating Student Responses To Young Adult Literature Based On Group Dynamic Within The Literature Circle Setting, Abigail J. Schmitz

Masters Theses

The push of the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) standards encourages teachers to assist students with overcoming personal obstacles in the classroom. In the middle grades, young adult literature can be an outlet for students by allowing them to connect with characters similar to themselves and their life experiences. Within the middle level classroom, literature circles can address SEL needs and state standards while allowing students to work closely with their peers sharing in a discussion format in response to the same young adult novel. This research analyzed two groups of students and their oral and written responses to the …

Teac 308: Teaching Mathematics In The Elementary School–A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Amanda Thomas

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio outlines four aspects of the peer review of teaching project, which focused on TEAC 308: Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary School. The first aspect was the explicit articulation of student learning objectives drawn from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All (2014). During this project, the nine objectives were aligned with instructional opportunities and assignments with those objectives. In addition to defining these objectives, the portfolio describes analysis of three components: student progress toward developing and demonstrating productive beliefs about aspects of teaching and learning mathematics, student progress across three …

Teac 908e: Critical Conversations In U.S. Teacher Education Policy And Practice—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Lauren Gatti

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Since compulsory school began in the early 1900s, there have been lively and at times intense debates regarding how teachers ought to be prepared. Current debates are particularly pitched as the achievement gap persists and teacher attrition remains high, made more intense by the level of polarization in the country. Debates in the field of teacher preparation, like the country writ large, are often characterized more by heat than light. Given this reality, I opted to use this peer review of teaching opportunity to think about my graduate course as a place where students could practice perspective-taking and dialogue around …

Adhd In Elementary School Students: Impact Of Physical Activity On Adhd Symptoms, Jenny Wilcox

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore alternative treatment options to stimulant medication in reducing symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in elementary aged children. The goal was to understand whether implementing physical activity programs into elementary schools reduces characteristic symptoms of ADHD including, but not limited to hyperactivity, inattentiveness and impulsivity. Secondary data was used in this research to analyze the symptoms of ADHD and the benefits of physical activity as a behavior modification intervention for this disorder with children. The study addressed the research question, what are the most effective types of physical activity for children …

Perceptions Of Students With And Without Limited Formal Schooling, Sarah Schmidt De Carranza

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the perceptions that refugee and non-refugee English language learners hold of their academic performance and their perceived sense of membership in a school community. Students currently served in EL programs in grades 9-12 in a large urban school district were invited to participate in the study. Student perceptions were measured using the Morgan Jinks Student Efficacy Scale (MJSES) and Goodenow Pyschological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) scale.

Unexpectedly, the results indicated that differences of perceptions of student efficacy and school membership between the two groups of students were not statistically …

Teaching College: The Ultimate Guide To Lecturing, Presenting, And Engaging Students, Norman Eng

Publications and Research

Your students aren’t reading. They aren’t engaged in class. Getting them to talk is like pulling teeth. Whatever the situation, your reality is not meeting your expectations. Change is needed. But who’s got the time? Or maybe you’re just starting out, and you want to get it right the first time.

If so, Teaching College: The Ultimate Guide to Lecturing, Presenting, and Engaging Students is the blueprint. Written for early career instructors, this easy-to-implement guide teaches you to:

• Think like advertisers to understand your target audience—your students
• Adopt the active learning approach of the best K-12 teachers
• Write a syllabus …

[Preprint] The Practice Of Being A Student: Cops And Graduate Student Success, Aimee Dechambeau

Research, Publications, and Presentations

This report frames the major results of recent research into graduate student success using a community of practice model based on the work of Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger as the organizational framework and lens for analyzing collected data. The goal was to determine if a community of practice developed among doctoral students and if so, whether it aided the students in their role and practice of becoming, and being, successful students. An examination of the first eight doctoral cohorts in a hybrid low-residency, self-directed graduate education program determined that student CoPs can develop to support students’ success in the …

Commercially Available Digital Game Technology In The Classroom: Improving Automaticity In Mental-Maths In Primary-Aged Students., John O'Rourke, Susan Main, Susan M. Hill

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this paper we report on a study of the implementation of handheld game consoles (HGCs) in 10 Year four/five classrooms to develop student automaticity of mathematical calculations. The automaticity of mathematical calculations was compared for those students using the HGC and those being taught using traditional teaching methods. Over a school term, students (n=236) who used the HGCs and Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training showed significant improvement in both the speed and accuracy of their mathematical calculations. Data collected in interviews during the intervention period from students, staff and parents were analysed to provide further information on the implementation and …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Using Peer-Dialogue Assessment (Pda) For Improving Pre-Service Teachers' Perceived Confidence And Competence To Teach Physical Education, Narelle Eather, Nick Riley, Drew Miller, Bradley Jones

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Developing effective methods for improving student learning in higher education is a priority. Recent findings have shown that feedback on student work can effectively facilitate learning if students are engaged as active participants in the feedback cycle; where they seek, generate and use feedback in the form of dialogue. This novel study investigates the use of peer dialogue assessment as an assessment for learning tool used in an existing undergraduate physical education course. Our findings demonstrate that when thirty six undergraduate physical education students were provided with instruction and practice using peer dialogue assessment after consecutive teaching performances, they exhibit …